In brief
China became the world's largest iOS App Store revenue market in Q3 2016, with spending of US$1.7 billion and a 15% lead over the US. App Annie urged app publishers and promoters to treat China as a core market.
Research firm App Annie released a report today stating that, in the third quarter of this year, China overtook the United States for the first time to become the world's largest iOS App Store market by revenue. The United States had been the world's largest iOS market since 2010, but China finally displaced it in the quarter just ended. In the first quarter of this year, App Annie had already predicted that, at the current pace of growth, China would overtake the United States before the end of the year.
China did more than overtake the United States: it took a 15% lead. In the third quarter, Chinese consumers' spending in the iOS App Store reached US$1.7 billion, five times the amount spent two years earlier. China's market is expected to continue growing rapidly over the next few years.
Games remain the main source of revenue in the iOS App Store. However, new revenue models, such as in-app subscriptions, are also growing rapidly. As consumer habits mature, non-gaming revenue is expected to account for a larger share by 2020.
In China, non-gaming apps are primarily in categories such as entertainment, social networking, books, photography and video. Revenue from apps in these categories has already increased twofold this year.
App Annie noted that, as an app publisher or promoter, if you had not previously considered China a core market, you should at least start doing so now.
In the second quarter of this year, China's iOS gaming revenue had already overtaken that of the United States for the first time to rank first worldwide. At that point, however, its overall iOS revenue had yet to surpass that of the United States. App Annie said at the time that the rise of China's iOS business could encourage Western game developers to develop games for the Chinese market. To succeed, however, they would also need to work with local Chinese companies.
Reading this, you cannot help but admire Apple's distorted stance, which has actually cultivated a willingness among Chinese consumers to pay for legitimate products.
http://www.hksilicon.com/articles/1202563