Katie Marsal
Propelled by the launches of new iPhones and iPads, Apple's iOS App Store saw daily downloads surge in the month of October, reaching a record 7.8 million downloads per day.
The number of downloads was up considerably from the 5.5 million daily downloads the iOS App Store saw in September, according to the latest "App Store Competitive Index" from mobile tracking firm Fiksu. The App Store's performance in October represented a 42 percent increase from September and 39 percent year-over-year growth.
October's growth came after the debut of the new iPhone 6 and iPhone 6 Plus, and was also the same month the iPad Air 2 and iPad mini 3 hit store shelves. Apps taking advantage of Apple's recently released iOS 8 mobile operating system were also available to drive download numbers to a new record level.
With iOS 8 came a whole range of new application types, including keyboards, extensions, and software that taps into Apple's HealthKit developer tools. There are also games that take advantage of the new Metal API found in iOS 8, and applications can also tap in to the secure Touch ID fingerprint scanning capabilities of newer iPhone and iPad hardware.
The latest data provided by Apple in September indicated that there are more than 1.3 million applications available in the App Store in 155 countries around the world. The company also revealed that the App Store receives more than 300 million visitors each week.
And last month, Apple revealed that of the downloads available on the App Store, 675,000 of those have been specifically designed for the larger displays of the iPad Air and iPad mini.
The App Store was also enhanced with the launch of iOS 8, adding new discovery features, making it easier for users to browse and find new apps that might be of interest to them. Downloads and deals have also been enhanced with app bundles, allowing developers to offer a collection of applications together at a discounted price.
AppleInsider Staff
Malcolm Owen
Oliver Haslam
Andrew O'Hara
Wesley Hilliard
William Gallagher
Christine McKee
12 Comments
Now they need to work on making quality content easier to find. The changes in iOS 8 were nice, but it's still hard to know if an app is decent or not. Allowing demos (should the developer choose) would be nice. If I can try it first, I feel more comfortable spending a little more on an app.
$10 on FTL didn't bother me, but it was a gamble I'd like it (and it's amazing), though I have to keep my comments of "get the shields working, Geordi!" to a minimum.
Now they need to work on making quality content easier to find. The changes in iOS 8 were nice, but it's still hard to know if an app is decent or not. Allowing demos (should the developer choose) would be nice. If I can try it first, I feel more comfortable spending a little more on an app.
$10 on FTL didn't bother me, but it was a gamble I'd like it (and it's amazing), though I have to keep my comments of "get the shields working, Geordi!" to a minimum.
Agreed.
Despite the improvements in the Explore section, Apple are still only scratching the surface of the App Store potential.
As TS says: subcategories of subcategories of subcategories.
Now they need to work on making quality content easier to find. The changes in iOS 8 were nice, but it's still hard to know if an app is decent or not. Allowing demos (should the developer choose) would be nice. If I can try it first, I feel more comfortable spending a little more on an app.
I totally agree. As a developer, you can kind of do-it-yourself by making the app initially free with an IAP to unlock functionality. However, this method often misleads users into thinking that the entire product is free as "demo" and "trial" are both banned words. This results in a lot of negative reviews.
Microsoft nailed this first time with Xbox Live Arcade back in 2006. I don't know why Apple is resisting it so much.
7.8 million app downloads daily? Is that all? Pffft. Doesn't Google activate that many Android devices daily?
/s
[quote name="Steffen Jobbs" url="/t/183570/apples-ios-app-store-reaches-record-7-8m-daily-downloads#post_2644062"]7.8 million app downloads daily? Is that all? Pffft. Doesn't Google activate that many Android devices daily? /s [/quote] Since you brought it up the surge in App Store downloads is probably still not enough to outnumber app downloads from Google Play. Revenue-wise the App Store has a good lead, approx 60% higher as of last month, tho it was 90% higher just 6 months earlier. At the end of the day revenue matters more than the sheer quantity of downloads and the App Store holds the #1 position.