Apple Watch apps have surpassed the 15,000 mark, according to App Annie. The marketing analytics firm took a broader look at the company's wearable ecosystem following the release of its first smart watch and most recent watchOS 2 platform update.
The Stats:
- The number of Apple Watch apps has grown from 6,352 when the device was first launched in June, with the leading categories being Utilities, Games, Productivity, Lifestyle and Health & Fitness.
- The top five watchOS categories command 44% of the total app count while the top five iOS categories represent 57% of the total.
- "All other" represents 38% percent of the total, suggesting wearable apps remain a mixed bag so far
- Games, while growing rapidly, still represents less than half the share on watchOS as it does on iOS.
- Catalogs has less than 1% share of the watchOS total, while Catalogs, Weather and recently launched Shopping claim less than 1% of the iOS total.
Source: AppAnnie
The Quote:
"The Apple Watch category mix will and should show variation versus iOS apps. The wearable's hardware constraints stand unique among Apple products," App Annie said. "Moreover, iOS developers face unprecedented choices in terms of where to expand beyond their current iPhone apps. In addition to Apple's CarPlay iOS extension and game-friendly tvOS platform, there are always a bevy of new iPhone-relevant technologies such as HomeKit and Metal to consider."
The Context:
There sometimes seem to be a collective shrug around the availability of apps for Apple Watch. It's almost as though the industry has forgotten that even apps for the iPhone didn't explode overnight but took time as device usage and design best practices began to take shape. App Annie's research is largely optimistic on this front, particularly regarding the potential for more wearable games and business apps that make use of "glances" and other new mobile scenarios the Apple Watch presents. These are admittedly still early days, but the Apple Watch's long-term success with developers and consumers alike feels like it's really just a matter of time.
For the full report, click here.
Related Stories:
Smartwatch strategies: The reality of wearable mobile games so far
watchOS 2 delay: The reaction from Apple developers