App Store still makes almost twice as much money as Google Play

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App Store
Apple apps no longer dominate App Store search results.
Photo: Ste Smith/Cult of Mac

App downloads hit a new record in Q1 2018 after the App Store and Google Play served a combined total of 27.5 billion downloads. More than half of those downloads came from the Play Store, yet iOS devices continue to earn developers almost twice as much cash.

Android devices made up a whopping 85.9 percent of the worldwide smartphone market in 2017, according to the latest data from Gartner, while iPhone accounted for just 14 percent. A greater selection of devices and more affordable price tags has helped Google widen the gap at the top.

And yet, the Play Store, which has a larger catalog of apps and games, still doesn’t pull in anywhere near as much money as the App Store. A new report from App Annie shows that while Google may be gaining ground, there’s a very steep hill to climb.

App Store pulls in 85 percent more cash

Q1 2018 saw a new record for mobile app downloads, reveals new data from App Annie. More than 27.5 billion titles were served by the App Store and Google Play for a total of $18.4 billion in revenue — a 22 percent increase year-over-year.

Almost 19.2 billion of those downloads came from the Play Store, which enjoyed a 25 percent increase in spending this year — but App Store users spent 85 percent more. iOS remains a more lucrative platform for app developers, then, even though it has a fraction of the users.

App Store vs. Google Play
App Store revenue is still well above Google Play.
Photo: App Annie

Google is closing the gap — and quickly — but it will likely be a very long time before Android users are spending as much as those on iPhone and iPad. iOS users are traditionally willing to spend more on mobile software than those on any other platform.

App Annie says that games were a big driver of increased downloads, with “monumental changes to mobile gaming” following the release of PlayerUnknown’s Battlegrounds and Fortnite. Music and entertainement apps were also big yet again.

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