The mobile app industry generated $67.5 billion in revenue through the App Store and Google Play in the first six months of 2023, representing a year-on-year increase of 5.3%, with gaming apps representing $40.9 billion of the total.

Additionally, 76.8 billion apps were downloaded globally on both the Apple and Google Play ecosystems, representing a 3.2% growth compared to H1 2022.

That’s according to Data.ai’s latest report, which suggests that the app industry is returning to positive growth, following the worldwide slowdown that epitomised 2022, and further movement may be just around the corner. The report stats that “While mobile game spending remaining flat might not seem like a positive signal at first glance, recent trends present a strong sign that growth for this largest of all categories is likely just around the corner.

“Positive YoY growth returned in both March and May 2023 after hitting its low at -13% in May 2022. In fact, growth rates in H1 2023 don’t look all that dissimilar from the start of 2020. Expect more signs of normal growth to emerge after the turbulent past few years.”

Battle of the platforms

Apple’s app store continued to pull ahead in terms of consumer spending, with almost 65% of combined app store spend. iOS users spent a total of $43.5 billion in H1 2023, representing a 6% year-on-year increase from H1 2022. In contrast, Google Play accounted for $24 billion in H1 2023, representing a 6% increase over the same period.

Consumer spending on gaming, however, tells a somewhat different story. Gaming accounted for $24.6 billion on the App Store in H1 2023, which is the same as the same period last year. On Google Play, however, there was a 1.8% year-on-year decrease.

However, Google Play once again pulled ahead in terms of downloads, with a combined total of 58.7 billion, representing a 1% increase from $57.9 billion in H1 2022. Games saw 26.1 billion downloads, representing a 2.3% year-on-year increase from 25.5 billion.

H1 saw Apple users download a total of 18.1 billion apps - 10% more than 16.5 billion in the same period of 2022. Gaming downloads stood at 4.3 billion, compared to 4.5 billion in H1 2022. This suggests once again that Apple consumers are far outspending their Android counterparts, however Google is seeing the bulk of downloads. However, it’s worth noting that Google Play is unavailable in the world’s largest mobile gaming market, China, which could account for the disparity in terms of revenue.