Android App Stores Make More Money than Apple’s For The First Time

A new report from analyst company Digi-Capital says that Android apps generated more money now with the help of China.

Apple often highlights how much money the iTunes App Store is generating for its developers. Now the tide has shifted to Android says the new Digi-Capital Mobiel Internet Report for Q1 2015.

Analyzing revenue data and research across global app stores (including China) changes the picture from iOS versus Google Play, to iOS versus Android. So where iOS generates the most revenue of any one individual app store globally (followed by Google Play and Chinese Android), all Android app stores combined passed iOS revenue at a global level for the first time in 2014. 

“Accepted wisdom and research tells us that iOS makes more money than Google Play, despite Google Play having more downloads. Nobody would argue with that. But what about iOS vs Android at a global level? Include the massive Chinese Android app stores, and Android didn’t just dominate download volumes, it made more money than iOS last year,” says Tim Merel, Managing Director, Digi-Capital.

Apple and Google took very different approaches to China. Apple embraced China with spectacular success, but Google ultimately exited. Together with China’s inherent strengths and business dynamics, the Chinese app ecosystem now looks fundamentally different to all other markets. There are not just two dominant app stores, but five major groups (and other smaller ones). Baidu, Apple, Qihoo 360, Tencent, Wandoujia (and others) compete for the largest download market in the world.

The Chinese Android app stores (Baidu, Qihoo 360, Tencent, Wandoujia, others) are true Volume markets. Apps in China must hit more than eight times the number of downloads on average compared to iOS to make the same amount of money.

Apple had the highest smartphone marketshare in China in Q1 in terms of sales, so the balance between iOS and Android could change yet again by the end of 2015. 

The full report is available on the Digi-capital site.