“Google Play had 70% more app downloads than Apple’s App Store in the first quarter, but Apple’s app revenue was about 70% higher than on Google Play, according to App Annie,” Daisuke Wakabayashi reports for The Wall Street Journal. “Google Play had 70% more app downloads than Apple, bolstered by demand in emerging markets such as Mexico, Turkey, Brazil and Indonesia, the report said.”
“In recent quarters, two trends have emerged in the battle between Apple and Google’s app marketplaces. Google Play had more app downloads and its lead was growing. The Google Play store also was catching up to Apple’s App Store in revenue generated,” Wakabayashi reports. “In this year’s first quarter, Apple reversed one of those two trends. It extended its app revenue lead by 10 percentage points.”
Read more in the full article here.
MacDailyNews Take: Color us wholly unsurprised.
Android is pushed to users who are, in general:
a) confused about why they should be choosing an iPhone over an inferior knockoff and therefore might be less prone to understand/explore their devices’ capabilities or trust their devices with credit card info for shopping; and/or
b) enticed with “Buy One Get One Free,” “Buy One, Get Two or More Free,” or similar offers.Neither type of customer is the cream of the crop when it comes to successful engagement or coveted demographics; closer to the bottom of the barrel than the top, in fact. Android can be widespread and still demographically inferior precisely because of the way in which and to whom Android devices are marketed. Unending BOGO promos attract a seemingly unending stream of cheapskate freetards just as inane, pointless TV commercials about robots or blasting holes in concrete walls attract meatheads and dullards, not exactly the best demographics unless you’re peddling muscle-building powders or grease monkey overalls.
Google made a crucial mistake: They gave away Android to “partners” who pushed and continue to push the product into the hands of the exact opposite type of user that Google needs for Android to truly thrive. Hence, Android is a backwater of second-rate, or worse, app versions that are only downloaded when free or ad-supported – but the Android user is notoriously cheap, so the ads don’t sell for much because they don’t work very well. You’d have guessed that Google would have understood this, but you’d have guessed wrong.
Google built a platform that depends heavily on advertising support, but sold it to the very type of customer who’s the least likely to patronize ads.
iOS users are the ones who buy apps, so developers focus on iOS users. iOS users buy products, so accessory makers focus on iOS users. iOS users have money and the proven will to spend it, so vehicle makers focus on iOS users. Etcetera. Android can have the “Hee Haw” demographic. Apple doesn’t want it or need it; it’s far more trouble than it’s worth. – MacDailyNews, November 26, 2012
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“All men are created equal.”
Well, not when it comes to users of smartphones and tablets…
The bottom line: Those who settle for Android devices are not equal to iOS users. The fact is that iOS users are worth significantly more than Android settlers to developers, advertisers, third-party accessory makers (speakers, cases, chargers, cables, etc.), vehicle makers, musicians, TV show producers, movie producers, book authors, carriers, retailers, podcasters… The list goes on and on.
The quality of the customer matters. A lot.
Facile “analyses” that look only at market (unit) share, equating one Android settler to one iOS user, make a fatal error by incorrectly equating users of each platform one-to-one.
When it comes to mobile operating systems, all users are simply not equal. – SteveJack, MacDailyNews, November 15, 2014
[Thanks to MacDailyNews Reader “BD” for the heads up.]
Related articles:
Apple’s iPhone and the minority majority – February 2, 2015
Apple iOS users spend vastly more money and time online than Android users – December 30, 2014
iPhone users earn significantly more than those who settle for Android phones – October 8, 2014
Yet more proof that Android is for poor people – June 27, 2014
More proof that Android is for poor people – May 13, 2014
Apple’s iOS dominates in richer countries, Android in poorer regions – March 25, 2014
Why Apple’s iPhone keeps raking in the majority of mobile phone profits – March 19, 2014
Apple dominates with 60% share of mobile phone profits – March 18, 2014
Android has the most unit share, but Apple dominates profit share, making more money than all Android smartphone makers combined – November 15, 2013
Android users poorer, shorter, unhealthier, less educated, far less charitable than Apple iPhone users – November 13, 2013
IDC data shows two thirds of Android’s 81% smartphone share are cheap junk phones – November 13, 2013
Android phones 3 times more likely than Apple iPhones to have been bought at discount store – August 22, 2013
CIRP: Apple iPhone users are younger, richer, and better educated than those who settle for Samsung knockoff phones – August 19, 2013
Twitter heat map shows iPhone use by the affluent, Android by the poor – June 20, 2013
iPhone users smarter, richer than Android phone users – August 16, 2011
Yankee Group: Apple iPhone owners shop more, buy more, remain more loyal vs. other device users – July 20, 2010
Study: Apple iPhone users richer, younger, more productive than other so-called ‘smartphone’ users – June 12, 2009
I might have missed it, but you didn’t mention how many versions of Fragmandroid are currently in use by a significant percentage of device owners, and the attendant compatibility issues or six versions of apps running around. Most of iOS is on the most recent version its hardware will support, and the lion’s share is iOS 8.x.
90% of google play’s revenue comes from fart apps.
One thing Apple needs to do with the App store is to figure out how to sunset zombie apps that are years out of date. And apps that have no actual functionality except to act as a front end for a subscription to something or another. They’ve started flagging the in-app purchase. Curation, maybe through filtered search tools, to eliminate those two classes of apps when you’re are trying to discover something useful would help a lot.
You make good points, quiviran. I’d only add that, in general, I think the search and discovery tools in the App Store are weak and could be greatly improved.
These are the facts that the Android does not seem to comprehend.
This should NOT BE HAPPENING when your platform supposedly sold one BILLION units in a single year, a figure which Apple just cumulatively reached since introducing the iPhone in 2007.
This disparity in app store revenue in Apple’s favor should simply not be happening in any possible way, shape or form, yet it is happening which points to serious, fundamental, structural flaws in the Android ecosystem.
But most of the talking heads don’t see it. At all.
I love my apple devices. I’ll start with that. But why does Google have to “beat” apple in app store revenues? It is not really their core business at all. From Google’s perspective it is more important for them to put devices in as many hands as possible. Not everyone can afford an iPhone. Why does that strategy make them a failure? Are they hurting? Do you think they’re gonna have to pull the plug on Android because they’re making less profit than Apple in their store? There is room for competition, especially competition that focuses on different market segments. This rhetoric is getting pretty old. Its not 2007 anymore. Lets move on people.
How about tabulation of the percentage of MALWARE at each store? I’ll start us off:
Apple App Store | Google Play
————–|———–
0%_____________|_____________
Here’s an example of recent Android malware, reported in February, 2015:
New Android Malware Strikes At Millions Of Smartphones
A number of applications have been lying dormant for up to a month before triggering pop-up adverts when a smartphone is unlocked that encourage users to click on them. These clicks can potentially open up malware-infested web pages, run illicit processes on the handset, or prompt the user to install other applications. . . .
Adware inviting botware…
The table looked good at my end! (Double dashes were turned into long dashes by WordPress).