Google Play Beats Out iTunes In App Downloads, But iTunes Still Leading In Monetization

In the early years of the battle between iOS and Android, Apple had the bragging rights in terms of the number of apps available in the iTunes App Store as Apple held the lead for quite a while. However over the years and with Android becoming more prevalent, the Google Play Store has caught up.

In fact recently in a report from analytics firm App Annie (via Re/code), it seems that in terms of downloads, Google Play managed to outpace Apple’s App Store by as much as 60%! That is significantly more downloads than Apple’s App Store, but if you’re wondering why developers are still choosing to develop for iOS, it is because in terms of monetization, Apple is still leading the way.

App Annie notes that the App Store made 70% more in revenue when compared to Google Play last year. In fact a prime example would be the game Monument Valley in which its developers reported that a whopping 81.7% of their close-to $6 million in revenue came from iOS devices, while the remainder came from Google Play and Amazon.

This seems to be in line with an earlier report in which it stated that Apple is still leading the way in terms of profits for gaming apps, although that report also pointed out that Android games are starting to become just as profitable. App Annie also notes that countries such as Japan, South Korea, and the US generated more app revenue than the rest of the markets combined.

Tyler Lee
Categories: Apple, Cellphones, Tablets
Tags: Android, Apps, google play, iOS