Sure, phones with the Android OS from Google. are outselling iPhones from Apple.
But Apple still dominates app revenue—at least for the next few years, according to market research group Strategy Analytics.
“Apple is expected to account for 53 percent of paid application download revenue in 2013,” Zara McAlister reported in Financial Post. “Apple Inc. isn’t afraid of being overshadowed by a growing army of little green robots.”
Angela Moscaritolo reported in PCMag.com that Strategy Analytics projected that Apple will be No. 1 in app downloads followed by Google while Amazon and Barnes & Noble are expected to fight Microsoft for third place.
“Unlike paid downloads that offer one time payment, virtual goods allow developers to earn recurring revenue from heavily used apps, making the business opportunity appealing,” said Josh Martin, director of apps research at Strategy Analytics.
Apple’s app revenue share is expected to decline as Android grows. Android is projected to reach 22 percent of the market in 2013, a doubling from 2010.
Martin noted that Google is finding its way in the app revenue world as it traditionally has focused on search and advertising.
Strategy Analytics found that the cost for paid app downloads has been falling on all the major platforms.
“To offset these losses, carriers and developers are turning to virtual goods (purchased with apps), which unlike one-time paid downloads allow developers to earn recurring revenue,” Moscaritolo said. “The market for virtual goods is expected to quintuple this year to more than $1 billion. Apple and Android have both been early movers in the virtual goods space, likely giving them a leg-up on competitors.”
Apple has ruled the tablet computer space in terms of sales of iPads, but also in app downloads. More than 3 billion have been downloaded for iPads since the tablet was introduced in 2010, according to research firm ABI. Only 440 million apps have been downloaded for Android tabs.
