Google Play's worldwide downloads in the first quarter of 2015 were approximately 70 percent higher than the iOS App Store, according to App Annie. The firm drew data from its App Intelligence tool as the basis for its Market Q1 2015 Index.
- The growth in Google Play downloads is an increase of 60 percent from the third quarter of last year.
- iOS App Store's worldwide revenue in the first quarter of 2015 was about 70 percent higher than on Google Play, up from about 60 percent in the third quarter of 2014.
- In the first quarter of 2015, Education apps on Google Play saw the second highest absolute revenue gain over the fourth quarter of 2014, after Games, overtaking Entertainment.
- iOS downloads in China overtook those in the United States.
- Mexico overtook South Korea and now ranks among the top five countries by quarterly Google Play downloads.
"Unsurprisingly, emerging markets like Mexico, Turkey, Brazil and Indonesia were the primary drivers of Google Play's growth. As the population of first time smartphone buyers in these countries reaches critical mass, the Android ecosystem is likely to be a major beneficiary," the report said. "The revenue performance on iOS continued to be buoyed by two of Apple's core markets, China and the United States. In stark contrast with Google Play, growth on iOS seems to be a function of more established markets."
The report offers a pretty clear indication of where both Google and Apple need to focus their mobile strategies over the long term. iOS needs to find a bigger audience in emerging markets, while there's plenty of room for Android to compete for mindshare in areas like North America and Europe. Although some of this will come down to device choice and pricing, the current data suggests that "Android for reach, iOS for revenue" remains a rule of thumb app developers may choose to follow, at least for now.
For more:
- download the report here
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