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King of the castle: Google Play downloads dwarf App Store's by 60 percent

East versus west?

King of the castle: Google Play downloads dwarf App Store's by 60 percent

Google Play downloads are showing no signs of slowing down, with the figure exceeding that of the App Store's by roughly 60 percent last quarter, a 10 percent increase over the same period in 2013.

That's according to the findings of App Annie's Q2 2014 Market Index survey, published today, which proves that Google Play is dominating its rivals, thanks, in part, to the stores' growth in emerging markets.

The survey has found that Google Play downloads have increased significantly in regions such as Brazil, Thailand, and India, while, in contrast, mobile heavyweights China and Japan continued to drive iOS revenue for Q2, bringing in 80 percent more revenue on iOS than they did on Google Play.

Global shift

App Annie's EVP of Marketing, Oliver Lo, has analysed the surveys findings, explaining that the East-West divide is starting to dissolve as emerging markets gain influence and begin to make the world a truly global market.

"The notion that ‘West is Best’ is holding less sway as Google Play and iOS App Store are being increasingly supported by emerging smartphone markets such as India and China," said Lo.

"The fact that only 10 percent of the Indian population is smartphone-enabled is an exciting prospect for app publishers looking for new markets to explore.

"We expect strong Google Play downloads combined with future smartphone adoption could help set the stage for rapid growth in India’s mobile app-related revenue by 2017.”


What do you call someone who has an unhealthy obsession with video games and Sean Bean? That'd be a 'Chris Kerr'. Chris is one of those deluded souls who actually believes that one day Sean Bean will survive a movie. Poor guy.