Apple's App Store Most Profitable for Developers According to New Study

[DodgerKing]

[h=1]Apple's App Store Most Profitable for Developers According to New Study[/h]

Analytics firm Flurry revealed today that Amazon’s App Store is three times better at generating revenue for developers than Google's own Android Market, now re-branded “Google Play.”

Not bad if you’re Amazon. The only problem? Flurry used revenue generated for developers by the iOS App Store as the barometer.

According to the study Flurry set Apple’s App Store Revenue at a value of 100 percent. In a normalized comparison of leading cross-platform applications Amazon’s Appstore generated 89% of the revenue that the same app would on Apple’s App Store. Google Play managed to generate a paltry 23% of what the same app would generate on Apple’s platform.

In dollars and cents (probably the whole reason Flurry set Apple at 100) this means that for every dollar of revenue generated by Apple’s App Store, Amazon’s app store brings in $.89 per active user and Google Play brings in $.23.

Apple, iPhone and iPad News | ModMyi - Apple's App Store Most Profitable for Developers According to New Study

 

[yourbeliefs]

I think the bigger shock is how profitable the Amazon marketplace is..

 

[Scott Greczkowski]

When I had my Android phone at first I liked the Android marketplace but after awhile I avoided it since my phone kept letting me know there was newer versions available and when I tried to update them the update would fail since I got them for. The Amazon marketplace instead of the Google app store. Then they were always slow in releasing the updates to the Amazon store, with it sometimes being a few weeks until updates were made available in the regular google app store.

 

[digiblur]

I believe it as between the amazon app store and Google play I have gotten a ton of apps for free or very cheap compared to apple. As my kid says, apple charges you for everything...surprised they don't make you pay them to charge the thing.

 

[Rey]

I do love android based phones. But I also have an iPad. The wife has an asus android tablet. Great tablet but I feel the apps on the iPad are more polished and superior to some of the android apps. For example the directv app for apple blows away the version for android. And there are other examples as well. One thing I find to be a PITA is having to deal with iTunes.

 

[John Kotches]

As digiblur points out, there are significantly more pay apps in the Apple store vs. the Google and Amazon stores. The last time I saw the numbers (going back several months), 2/3 of the Apple apps were pay, 2/3 of the Android apps were free. If these numbers still hold true, then that's a part of the equation.

I have never seen numbers for the Amazon store, so I don't know what the ratio is. I do love the free app o' the day though... There have been some gems they've given away

 

[Scott Greczkowski]

Most of the Free Android apps are CRAP. Anyone can post an Android app and have it show up in the store. And these crap apps have heavily devalued how good the Android platform really is. People download these crap apps and think that the OS is not good and not polished, when in truth there are some amazing apps for Android which shows in some cases how much better it is when compared with an Apple device.

The openness that Android is that many love is also a big reason why it is failing.

 

[berck]

I wonder if they also accounted for the 30% mafia skim Apple takes off for the price of each app? That is definitely not going to developers.

 

[dangue]

I wonder if they also accounted for the 30% mafia skim Apple takes off for the price of each app? That is definitely not going to developers.

Mafia skim? They are providing both the devices that drive sales of these apps and a marketplace for them to be sold/distributed. Or are they not supposed to make a profit beyond the original device sale? Clearly it's still worthwhile for developers to code for Apple's iOS devices.

Anyone with retail buying experience able to comment on what the typical markup between wholesale prices and retail prices is? Granted, it'll vary greatly depending on the product, but I'm thinking 30% wouldn't be out of line in a comparison with markup on some traditional goods.

 

[meStevo]

Developers would be lucky to see even 30% from a retail game, most of that money goes to publishers/retailer. The only area that the 30% is a significant issue is in books and the mandatory agency model Apple forced on the industry, but government antitrust folks are about to sort that out IMO.

 

[mperdue]

I'm guessing that you have never developed software for a living. Giving the developer 70% is extraordinarily generous.

I wonder if they also accounted for the 30% mafia skim Apple takes off for the price of each app? That is definitely not going to developers.

 

[mperdue]

In my experience the developer is lucky to get 5-10% of retail in royalties - normally closer to 5%...

Developers would be lucky to see even 30% from a retail game, most of that money goes to publishers/retailer. The only area that the 30% is a significant issue is in books and the mandatory agency model Apple forced on the industry, but government antitrust folks are about to sort that out IMO.

 

[John Kotches]

The openness that Android is that many love is also a big reason why it is failing.

So your idea of failing is to be the worldwide leader in sales and activations?

That is a curious definition of failure in my book.

Sent from my MB855 using Tapatalk

 

[digiblur]

As digiblur points out, there are significantly more pay apps in the Apple store vs. the Google and Amazon stores. The last time I saw the numbers (going back several months), 2/3 of the Apple apps were pay, 2/3 of the Android apps were free. If these numbers still hold true, then that's a part of the equation.

I have never seen numbers for the Amazon store, so I don't know what the ratio is. I do love the free app o' the day though... There have been some gems they've given away

Prime example...my kid wanted the new Angry Birds space. He has had to buy like two or three of the angry bird apps on his ipod. I have paid absolutely zero for the 3 or 4 of them and they work great.

Compared to about a year ago I would see lots of iphones in peoples hands around the building, in elevators, etc. I see very few and far between now. Same goes for people wanting their email setup, its all android now. They always tell me they upgraded and gave the old phone to their kids.

 

[Scott Greczkowski]

So your idea of failing is to be the worldwide leader in sales and activations?

That is a curious definition of failure in my book.

Thats because the phones are cheap and in many cases now... free.

If they clamped down and weeded out the junk from the good apps people could see how good android really is. But when they download a few free apps and they all suck people think that all the Android apps are like that which we all know is not the case.

 

[rockymtnhigh]

Prime example...my kid wanted the new Angry Birds space. He has had to buy like two or three of the angry bird apps on his ipod. I have paid absolutely zero for the 3 or 4 of them and they work great.

Compared to about a year ago I would see lots of iphones in peoples hands around the building, in elevators, etc. I see very few and far between now. Same goes for people wanting their email setup, its all android now. They always tell me they upgraded and gave the old phone to their kids.

I think we "see" what we want to see. Like what Todd Smith said when he went to Philadelphia a few months ago.

A year ago, I saw a lot more android phones on campus. Today it is iPhone everywhere, now that Verizon and sprint have it, people are swapping out daily. Witness that 50% of the phones VZW sells are iPhones, and the other half is split by 16 other devices.

But the point about the market not having quality controls is valid. The apple app store has its critics but it's not a bad thing to have some oversight. Does not mean there aren't crap apps, but it is better than the alternative.

Sent from my iPad using SatelliteGuys

 

[rockymtnhigh]

Thats because the phones are cheap and in many cases now... free.

If they clamped down and weeded out the junk from the good apps people could see how good android really is. But when they download a few free apps and they all suck people think that all the Android apps are like that which we all know is not the case.

Lets add this to the list of Android problems these days...

The sorry state of Android hardware fragmentation | ZDNet

Speaking to The Next Web, Smith outlines the top six Android devices running his Audiobooks and Audiobooks Free apps based on 1.3 million downloads:

Droid X (7.8 percent of users)
Samsung Galaxy S2 (4.3 percent)
Droid (4 percent)
HTC Desire HD (4 percent)
HTC Evo 4G (3.7 percent)
Droid incredible (2.3 percent)

Remember, these are the top six devices out of a total of 1,443. Factor in the Android version that these devices are running, Smith says that half of the users are running Android 2.3.3 and then the rest are on versions ranging from 1.6 to 4.0.3. No developer can be expected to support hundreds of devices running a variety of aging platforms.

 

[Ronnie-]

Compared to about a year ago I would see lots of iphones in peoples hands around the building, in elevators, etc. I see very few and far between now.

That is interesting. My personal experience has been the exact opposite. Of course, not long ago it was one/two carriers with the Iphone. Now in my area it is three large ones and our main regional that carry the Iphone. No doubt that plays a big role in it for Mississippi.

I did share my experience in Pennsylvania a month or so ago though, it seemed like everyone and their sister had the iPhone. It may have been that I simply noticed them because I also had one though.

 

[DodgerKing]

Thats because the phones are cheap and in many cases now... free.

If they clamped down and weeded out the junk from the good apps people could see how good android really is. But when they download a few free apps and they all suck people think that all the Android apps are like that which we all know is not the case.

Doesn't mean they failed. If they develop and OS after the leader at the time already has a foothold on the market and then a few years later surpasses the former leader, that is not a definition of failure. They may make a wide range of products from very cheep to very good, but they are still profiting and growing. That does not a failure make.

Keep in mind that I have Android and iOS products, and prefer iOS much more over Android. I can still acknowledge the fact that they are in no way a failure.

 

[Scott Greczkowski]

Another way to look at it is why is Amazons Google Marketplace making so much money while Googles own Marketplace is NOT?Amazon filters out the crap, Google Marketplace does not. People trust Amazon but do not trust Google.