Katie Marsal
A mobile analytics firm has published new findings which show the iPhone taking the majority of the app market — especially when it comes to the sheer number of users.
The study, provided to ReadWriteWeb, reveals that 72 percent of the developers being tracked by Flurry are writing for iPhones, while Google's Android is a comparatively distant second at 22 percent. JavaME and BlackBerry had far smaller shares at 5 percent and 1 percent each, though Flurry's marketing VP Peter Farago explains the BlackBerry's weakness as the product of too few BlackBerry developers on its network at the time of the report. He notes that the absence of the smartphone may have its own implications for the interest, or lack of it, in apps for the platform.
"Why haven't [more] BlackBerry developers signed up for analytics?" he asks.
The gap appears less severe in the actual number of apps produced, with the iPhone garnering 64 percent of business where Android and JavaME each have 16 percent, but quickly widens once real-world use is taken into consideration. There, a massive 87 percent of all users are running iPhone apps — a clear lead that gives Android and JavaME just 6 percent and 7 percent, respectively, of what's left. Blackberries don't register on the chart.
Relative share of the mobile app space in Flurry's metrics. | Image credits: Flurry.
Usage itself is also on the rise, supporting the notion that many of the downloads aren't simply being neglected. While apps have traditionally been orphans, as only 10 percent of smartphone owners have actually used third-party software, Flurry believes many more are now actively running software. Of those apps launched daily, some are invoked as many as 20 times a day.
While the statistics for share and day-to-day use don't reflect the full market as Symbian and Windows Mobile aren't included in the results, they're given as an indicator of the strong interest in Apple's platform versus others — an effort which will garner more public attention as Apple marks its 1 billionth app download later this week.
Andrew O'Hara
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48 Comments
My favorite apps (I suppose that would have to include Safari) collectively get used at least 50 times a day. A large number of other apps sit idle for weeks at a time, that is if I don't decide to delete them instead.
While Apple has a clear lead here (as can be expected), I have to say that those numbers for Android are not bad at all. There is only one rather ugly phone so far, and its distribution is fairly limited; still, developers seem to bet on the success of the platform. This does not really hurt Apple a lot, but it could be bad news for new entrants ? supporting too many platforms, all of them having different input methods and varying resolutions, is nothing smaller developers can easily manage.
Android has a future as the 'official opposition' but the others can forget it. It ain't happening. There's really no incentive.
Android has a future as the 'official opposition' but the others can forget it. It ain't happening. There's really no incentive.
Apple's store and payment method make so many of the alternatives obsolete. I just wish there was a better way to find and navigate apps. I feel like I've just barely scratched the surface of what is available.
This really does need the Symbian, Win Mobile, AND Palm OS included. We don't know the real numbers because of this.