In September, the total number of Android and iOS app downloads in EU5 countries reached 790m, according to the Q4 Madreport from Madvertise. Thats an increase of 43 per cent since January, though not the highest figure of the year so far – downloads peaked at 809m in July.

Meanwhile, iOSs share of the app market has slipped significantly – down from 53 per cent in January to under 30 per cent in September. Thats perhaps to be expected with the burgeoning sales of Android devices – monthly Android downloads doubled in all key demographics by September – but iPhone owners have traditionally been considered more engaged and more likely to download apps. Even more surprisingly, iOS app downloads actually dropped during the same period, by 20 per cent.

The effect is most pronounced in Spain, where Android made up 78 per cent of all apps downloaded in September. Even in France, where Android has the smallest lead, it still makes up 59 per cent of downloads.

The UK remains Europe’s biggest app market, with 277m apps downloaded per month – 207m of which are on Android – and more than four monthly downloads per capita in September. Its followed by Germany (168m downloads) and Spain (120m).