“Apple announced earlier this week that it generated $10 billion in revenue from its App Store in 2013,” Adam Levy writes for The Motley Fool. “To put that in perspective, that’s nearly half of Apple’s approximate total App Store revenue since it opened shop in 2008.”
“Meanwhile, Google’s Android continues to grab market share, but is still far from matching Apple’s app revenue,” Levy writes. “Interestingly, Google Play was able to close the gap in sales in the largest apps market, Japan. It’s unlikely that Google Play will continue to outpace the App Store in 2014, however, as Apple has made moves to improve its position in Japan and remain a dominant force in the high-end market. It doesn’t help that Samsung products don’t sell well in the country.”
“In 2013, Japan surpassed the U.S. as the largest apps economy. The rapid growth in app purchases is due to the growth in smartphone penetration, which is now on par with the U.S. App Annie expects Japan’s smartphone adoption rate to surpass the U.S.’s in 2014,” Levy writes. “Apple is poised to capitalize on the growth in the largest app economy. The company teamed up with NTT DoCoMo in September to offer the iPhone 5s and 5c to its 61.8 million customers. This move has led at least one analyst, Timothy Arcuri of Cowen & Co., to project that Apple could take 50% of the Japanese market in 2014. The iPad already holds over 50% of the tablet market in the country.”
Read more in the full article here.
[Thanks to MacDailyNews Reader “Edward W.” for the heads up.]