Google Continues to Dominate App Download Numbers, Apple Dominates Revenues

Meerkat Periscope
Video streaming apps are growing in popularity

Google Play continues to dominate iOS in terms of download numbers, according to data from App Annies Index: Market Q2 2015 report. Google Play’s worldwide downloads in Q2 2015 were approximately 85 per cent higher than on the iOS App Store, a significant increase from the 70 per cent gap seen in Q1 2015.

Emerging markets, led by Brazil, India and Southeast Asian countries like Vietnam and the Philippines, fuelled Google Play’s performance. This appears to be the result of increasing smartphone ownership caused by the influx of inexpensive yet capable Android devices. However, it is worth noting that smartphone penetration remains below 30 per cent in many of these countries, leaving significant room for growth. This bodes well for Google Play’s long-term growth prospects.

Despite its lower download figures, however, the Apple App Store worldwide revenue in Q2 was around 70 per cent higher than Google Play’s similar to Q1. The top five countries for iOS app revenues in Q2 were the US, Japan, China, the UK and Australia. In terms of iOS download numbers, China retained its lead over the US in second, Japan in third the UK in fourth, and Russia in fifth.

For Google Play, the picture looks different. Top five countries for revenues in Q2 were Japan, the US, S. Korea, Taiwan and Germany. In download terms, the top five were the US, Brazil, India, Russia and Mexico.

Games were the top category for both download numbers and revenues for iOS and Google Play. On iOS, Photo & Video were second for download numbers, with Social Networking second for revenues. For Google Play, Tools were second in terms of download numbers, and Communcation for revenues.

It was a good quarter for video streaming apps. HBO NOW and Hulu led revenue growth in the US as both apps made it into the Worldwide Apps Index for May 2015. Video streaming apps also saw explosive revenue growth in China in Q2, led by Youku, iQIYI and Tencent Video. In Q2 2015, apps from these three services also dominated monthly active user rankings of iOS Entertainment apps in China.

These apps offer a broad range of content, including YouTube-¬like user-¬submitted videos, regional and international movies, popular regional TV shows like The Voice of China, hit international series like Game of Thrones, and even original programming. Last but not least, they have gone one step further by securing broadcasting rights for live sports from popular international leagues like the NBA.

You can access the full report here.