In the previous posts we saw that in terms of app volume, Android’s Google Play took the lead. On the other hand, in terms of revenue, it was Apple App Store that earned the most from apps. Over the last six months, the aggregated revenue of the Apple App Store remained mostly stable, however Google Play’s revenue was seen to grow by 61 percent when compared to the revenue at the end of March and August 2013. The combined revenue of both major stores grew by 17% over the past six months. In August 2013, the market shares for Google Play and Apple App Store were 35% and 65%, respectively. About 6 months ago, Apple App Store had a market share of 75% and Google Play had 25% market share. Although, Apple App Store continues to lead in terms of revenue, Google Play’s revenue is showing a consistent increase month over month.
The 10 leading countries that spend the most on apps continue to drive the revenue for each platform. The scenario hasn’t changed since July 2013. The US is still a big spender in the app market overall, followed by Japan and South Korea. Despite that there are no free apps offered in China on Google Play and the estimated revenue only relies on the iOS platforms, the country still ranks 5th in August 2013. The combined revenue from both iPhone and iPad was the largest in the US. Germany had the fourth biggest revenue portion in August 2013 for Google Play after Japan, Korea, and the US.
Top apps play an important role in driving the revenue upwards. Let us take a look at the top 5 apps in every segment.
Top 5 Free Apps
Apple App Store
In the free apps category, Gameloft’s Despicable Me: Minion Rush that topped the charts since July 2013 held its position throughout August. The second position was held by the hugely popular Candy Crush Saga by King.com which was closely followed by the new PopCap title- Plants & Zombies 2 which was also featured in the New & Noteworthy category across many countries in the Apple App store in August. The fourth and fifth positions in the chart were filled by Google, Inc.’s YouTube and Google Apps, respectively. The release of a new version of YouTube along with its being featured in categories like What’s Hot, New & Noteworthy, and College Survival Guide, amongst others, could be the likely reasons behind the increased download volumes.
Google Inc. was the top publisher in Apple App Store with two of its apps featuring in the top 5.
Google Play
Facebook app was once again the most downloaded app on Google Play in August 2013, followed by WhatsApp Messenger. Candy Crush Saga moved up to third position followed by another messaging app- LINE. The 5th position was filled again by Facebook Messenger. Messaging apps seemed to be most popular in August 2013 as Candy Crush Saga was only one game among the top five.
Facebook emerged as top publisher holding both the first and fifth position.
Amazon Appstore
Despicable Me: Minion Rush again topped the charts, overthrowing Where’s My Mickey? Free and Princess Hair Salon from top positions down to second and third positions, respectively. vTube – viewer and downloader for YouTube and Netflix ended up in the fourth and fifth positions respectively.
The free app charts of all stores show that non-game apps also have the potential to enter the top-five. Google Maps showed an increased popularity for Google Maps, which might have been caused by increased number of travelers during the summer. Dominating four out of five positions on Google Play in August highlighted the increased popularity of messaging apps. The increasing popularity of video streaming on mobile devices was highlighted by the presence of YouTube in App Store, in line with vTube and NetFlix on the Amazon Appstore.
Top 5 Paid Apps
Apple App Store
Minecraft- Pocket Edition by Mojang climbed up the top spot for the first time in the past six months. Following the leader closely was the August-released racing game, Asphalt 8: Airborne, that gained popularity very quickly. Another new app in the App Store was the Smart Alarm Clock: sleep cycles and noise reduction, which showed a 50% increase in download volume in August as compared to July. The removal of WhatsApp from the Paid Apps charts in July made room for other apps to move up. Pimp Your Screen and Pou moved up to fourth and fifth positions, respectively.
Google Play
Swiftkey Keyboard remained the number one app for six consecutive months since March 2013. Minecraft- Pocket Edition followed next pushing Titanium Backup PRO to number three. Nova Launcher Prime and Poweramp Full Version Unlocker took up the fourth and fifth position respectively. All these top 5 paid apps showed a growth in terms of paid downloads during August.
Amazon Appstore:
Minecraft- Pocket Edition continued to dominate the paid charts in the Amazon App Store as it was once again the most downloaded paid app. The following positions were filled by Plants vs. Zombies, Wreck It Ralph, which pushed Where’s My Mickey to the fourth position. Cut the Rope moved up to the fifth position of the top 5 apps in the Amazon Appstore based on an increase in paid downloads by almost 50% after being featured on the Amazon Appstore at the end of July
Minecraft – Pocket Edition proved itself as a worthy contender by staying at top positions across all stores, establishing Mojang as a top publisher. The conversion of WhatsApp into a free app made it possible for other apps to climb up, and doesn’t mean that those apps gained momentum because of increasing number of downloads.
Top Grossing Apps
Apple App Store
Candy Crush Saga, which has been holding on to rank one for two months was pulled down to the number two position by Clash of Clans again this time in August 2013. The featuring of Clash of Clans in the What’s Hot category in the Japanese App Store may have resulted in the second most revenue for the game after United States. Publisher of Clash of Clans, Supercell was still successful with its other title – Hay Day, defending its third position in the chart against Puzzle and Dragons at rank number four. The Hobbit: Kingdoms of the Middle Earth remained unchanged at number five.
Google Play
Candy Crush Saga remained at the top, followed by Puzzle and Dragons. LINE Corporation’s LINE Pokopang and LINE: Free Calls and Messages held the third and fifth position, while 모두의마블 for Kakao moved down one spot to fourth.
Candy Crush Saga and Puzzle and Dragons were the only apps common to both platforms. Games still are the most popular apps across all stores, but the number of non-game apps featured in the top 5 apps show the potential of useful and functional apps. App downloads have increased by 38 billion in 2013 and an increase of 36 billion is expected in 2014. Free apps still account for 91% of total downloads in 2013, and paid apps are expected to show a gradual increase in downloads.
Source: Distimo
