In brief
Combined Android app store revenue could exceed the App Store’s in 2017, according to App Annie’s forecast. Google Play and third-party Android stores are projected to generate US$41 billion together, compared with US$40 billion for the App Store, which is expected to retain its individual-store lead through 2021.
Mobile app analytics and marketing firm App Annie published its 2016–2021 global app store forecast report this Wednesday (3/29), stating that Apple’s App Store remains the world’s highest-revenue individual app store and will retain its leading position through 2021. However, this year, the combined revenue of Google Play and third-party Android app stores could surpass that of the App Store.
According to App Annie’s research and statistics, the global app store market remains a rapidly growing sector. Worldwide revenue is projected to rise from US$61.8 billion in 2016 to US$82.2 billion this year, reaching US$139.1 billion in 2021, with a compound annual growth rate (CAGR) of 18%. This represents only part of the mobile app economy: the report does not account for business opportunities from in-app advertising and mobile commerce.
In fact, Android’s share of the mobile operating system market remains far ahead of iOS. According to Statista’s research, Android held an 81.7% share of the global market in the fourth quarter of last year, compared with 17.9% for iOS. Yet the App Store has consistently been the highest-revenue app store, generating US$34 billion last year, exceeding Google Play’s US$17 billion and the US$10 billion generated by third-party Android app stores.
However, App Annie predicts that revenue from Google Play and third-party Android app stores will grow to US$21 billion and US$20 billion respectively this year. Their combined revenue will exceed the US$40 billion the App Store is expected to generate this year (below; source: App Annie). Even in 2021, the App Store is expected to retain its lead as an individual store with US$60 billion in revenue, ahead of Google Play’s US$42 billion and the US$36 billion generated by third-party Android app stores.
Outside observers have suggested that this is because the markets where Android is most popular are mostly countries with relatively low user incomes. Android users in these countries may not have credit cards or may be less inclined to pay for apps. This can also influence developers’ app development strategies: they may offer paid apps on the App Store and apps that are free to download but contain advertising on Google Play.
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