Study: Free iPhone Apps Quickly Gather Dust

By

post-8648-image-8db1c2cae7fbf5c78ada2ad7a5d4bdf5-jpg

A new study highlights what could be the iPhone version of attention-deficit disorder. A day after a free iPhone app is downloaded, there’s only a 20 percent chance it will used.

Possibly more disconcerting for Apple and iPhone developers: just 5 percent of free apps are used one month after downloaded – and nearly no free app is used after three months , according to data compiled by Pinch Media.

The tracking data was announced at an iPhone Developers Meetup in New York by Pinch Media CEO Greg Yardley.


Paid applications have an advantage over free applications, according to Yardley’s talk.

Free ad-supported iPhone apps need to earn $8.75 per thousand to equal the revenue from paid apps. However, such free iPhone apps garner between $0.50 and $2 per CPM, according to Pinch Media.

“Unless there’s something inherent about the app that screems ‘free,’ sell it,” Yardley said.

Newsletters

Daily round-ups or a weekly refresher, straight from Cult of Mac to your inbox.

  • The Weekender

    The week's best Apple news, reviews and how-tos from Cult of Mac, every Saturday morning. Our readers say: "Thank you guys for always posting cool stuff" -- Vaughn Nevins. "Very informative" -- Kenly Xavier.

Comments are closed.