Apple’s App Store Generates 85% More Revenue vs Google Play

According to a report from App Annie, the Google Play Store is starting to catch up to Apple’s App Store.

The chart above shows that Google had more app downloads during the first three months of this year, while Apple is still on top in terms of revenue. App Annie does not disclose absolute numbers for downloads and revenues, the values on the chart above are not indicative of the exact values.

The Google Play Store tops the App Store by about 45 percent in terms of downloads, which is up 10 percent from last quarter. Apple beat Google in terms of revenue by about 85 percent, however, the revenue gap between the Google Play Store and Apple’s App Store is decreasing.

The majority of apps downloaded are games (accounting for around 90 per cent of google Play’s revenue and 75 per cent of the App Store’s), but anti-virus and security tool apps proved particularly popular in the wake of numerous internet security revelations.

The data from App Annie comes from 150 countries. During Q1 2014, Google Play saw more downloads from Brazil, Turkey, Russia, and Mexico. During the first quarter China became a crucial market for growth in Apple’s App Store, which could be due to the company’s move to start selling iPhones on China Mobile, the world’s largest carrier with over 700 million subscribers.

Today’s premium Android phones and Apple’s iPhone are pretty much on par with each other, although Apple still arguably has the best build quality and design. Apple could be put at a disadvantage if developers being making apps and games for Android before iOS.

[via The Telegraph]