Smartphone App Market Q3 2014: Apple Takes Revenue, Google Downloads !

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Arch rivals Apple Inc. (NASDAQ:AAPL) and Google Inc. (NASDAQ:GOOGL) continue to compete when it comes to app market. App Annie Index: Market Q3 2014 has released its latest report analyzing the global app market in Q3 2014 based on the data collected from more than 150 countries. According to the data, Google Play has once again shown confidence in worldwide quarterly downloads as it leads iOS App Store downloads by 60 percent. This dominance is in continuation of its previous performance last year in the same time period when iOS App Store downloads were trailing Google Play downloads by 25 percent.

However, iOS retained its stronghold on app store revenue. it was higher than that of Google Play by strikingly coincidental figure of 60 percent with US being the largest contributor.

Highlights Of The Report:

1. Google Play leads iOS in downloads by 60 percent, trails behind the latter in app revenue.

2. Communication and Social Networking apps show impressive growth both in terms of downloads and revenue, Facebook Messenger and Hike turned out to be star performers.

3.  Brazil continues to back Google Play’s download growth in Q3,2014, followed by India and Indonesia.

4. Games continue to account for lion’s share in Google Play’s worldwide revenue.

 Messaging Downloads Responsible For Up-ticking App Download Growth And Revenue

Communication and Social Networking categories are driving growth in app market both in terms of growth in downloads and revenue. Messaging apps, of all,is leading the chart. Facebook Messenger and Hike have been the biggest contributors in this growth. Facebook’s latest decision of moving messaging functionality from Facebook to Facebook Messenger in July has been the prime reason for its impressive growth witnessed this quarter. Download number of Facebook messenger kept increasing in follow months as more number of Facebook users started downloading the separate app for all communication. Hike, which describes itself as India’s only homegrown instant messaging app, also showed significant growth with its user base crossing 35 million mark ending September, an increase of 15 million from June 2014. Back in April 2013, this figure was stuck at 5 million. Its creative marketing campaigns targeting both offline and digital platforms contributed to its growth. $65 million investment from Tiger Global and Bharti SoftBank in late August are expected to fuel this continued growth. However, it needs to plan out strategically for its extension to global markets beyond India.

Brazil Shows Highest Growth, India and Indonesia Follow

top-countries-by-app-downlaods-and-revenue-Q3-2014

Following its splendid performance in previous quarter, Brazil market share recorded maximum growth followed closely by India and Indonesia. The growth was expected from India, which is one of the fastest growing smartphone markets in Asia-Pacific. Experiencing double-digit quarter-over-quarter growth for the last nine consecutive quarters, Indonesia’s growth in the app market was a refreshing news.  With an exploding smartphone market, this country is expected to see smartphone penetration growth double over the next four years to over 40 percent. Young population craving for new and innovative technology, roll-out of high speed 4G networks are being seen as prime factors in the growth.

Games Driving Growth In App Earnings

In Q3, 2014 apps from Gaming, Social Networking and Entertainment categories emerged as the clear winners in both downloads and revenue segments. Among all top five categories by downloads and revenue on both App Store and Google Play, Gaming apps unonimously dominated over the app market.

With improvements in resolution and graphics in smatphones, game app developers have a lot to gain. Revenue growth in countries like US and South Korea have risen the most with games like Game of War – Fire Age, Boom Beach and Clash of Clans,Monster Taming,Summoners War and Dragon Guard. FIFA ONLINE 3 M and Everybody’s Marble were seen to be specially hit in South Korea and had a large impact in Q3 2014.There has been an increased preference for real time games for they are known to provide users a feeling of being a part of the game. FIFA 14, Asphalt 8 are latest in the list with high-end graphics which are being preferred by users. Previously, we have covered mobile device gaming market where we analyzed how love for gaming moves beyond linguistics and demography.

With emerging markets on rise in app market, app developers have nothing to lose. Yet, they will have to keep an open eye on the markets that are emerging faster and challenging the likes of the giants like US which have had a strong hold for long.

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