Consumers looking for free apps are turning to the App Store on iPhone, iPod touch and iPad en masse, according to statistics published by Piper Jaffray analyst Gene Munster.
Total free downloads for iDevices have now reportedly topped 4 billion globally, which represents 81 per cent of all downloads on the marketplace to date, Munster claimed, with daily App Store downloads now almost double that of iTunes 16.6 million to 8.9 million.
Virtuous cycle
In terms of paid apps, Munster states the top 50 paid applications have an average selling price of $1.49, with developers taking home $1.04 of the revenue to Apple's $0.23.
As such, the data suggests the App Store has a gross margin of 44 per cent.
"We see a virtuous cycle of Apple's robust app ecosystem adding features and functionality to the iOS devices, which drives sales, which makes the ecosystem more robust, which encourages more developers to write apps, and the cycle repeats itself," Munster said, explaining the App Store's continued success.
Money maker
Indeed, Munster states Apple has a mutually beneficial relationship with developers, following Apple's claim that developers have picked up more than $1 billion since the App Store launched, counterbalanced by the $428 million in revenue Munster believes Apple has generated.
As a result, Munster states Apple has taken home $189 million in gross profit on paid apps alone.
"This does not factor in the roughly $81m Apple has spent since launch to deliver the 4b free apps that have been downloaded," he concluded.
Apple Insider
News
With a fine eye for detail, Keith Andrew is fuelled by strong coffee, Kylie Minogue and the shapely curve of a san serif font.
Top Stories
Feature
May 17th, 2024
New release roundup: The best new mobile games from a battle royale to a console classic remake
Feature
May 16th, 2024
Behind the scenes: How adding sandwich offers to an idle merge game boosted three metrics at once
Events
Digital Dragons | Europe | May 19th |
GamesBeat Summit 2024 | North America | May 20th |
Mobidictum Meetup Tallinn May 2024 | Europe | May 21st |
Nordic Game Spring 2024 | Nordic | May 21st |
Impact 2024 - Indie Games | May 23rd | |
Morocco Gaming Expo | Africa | May 24th |
MomoCon 2024 | North America | May 24th |
Unreal Fest Gold Coast 2024 | Australasia | May 29th |
Popular Stories
Feature
May 14th, 2024
53 top mobile games in soft launch: Squad Busters, Battle Guys: Royale, Plants vs. Zombies 3, LEGO Hill Climb Adventures, and more
Feature
May 13th, 2024
Hot Five: Dubai's new Gaming Visa, April's mobile game charts, and Xbox studio closures
Feature
May 14th, 2024