Nearly 1,000 new apps are published every day on the Apple App Store, the most popular mobile app marketplace for developers globally. Apple’s platform is now seeing a significant number of new app releases, indicating a possible paradigm shift in the mobile app market.
41 New Apps Are Being Published Every Hour
According to data presented by Burga, as of September 5, 2021, the average number of apps published on the Apple App Store was 988 per day, meaning 41 apps per hour, 6,916 per week, and 29,640 per month. Estimates further indicate that developers publish approximately 355,680 apps to the App Store annually. In terms of apps categories, Games ranks first with 247,589 apps, followed by Business with 183,658, and Education with 179,070 apps. Entertainment is tenth with 76,593 apps. Data on the number of apps in the App Store is provided by the 42matters.com mobile app platform.
Factors that Bring New App Releases to the App Store
The average number of apps published in the App Store reflects the platform’s position as a vibrant marketplace for mobile apps. Apple, to some extent, has supported developers with educational and app-building resources.
It’s worth noting that the massive release of app data comes in the wake of the coronavirus pandemic, which has focused attention on smartphones and pushed up the demand for apps. The pandemic has changed consumer behavior and has forced developers to come up with the apps needed to help people navigate the crisis. For example, delivery, education, gaming, and entertainment apps have seen significant interest because they helped people cope with the health crisis. At the same time, publishing correlates with the increasing penetration of next-generation smartphones.
Moreover, the number of published apps remains significant, despite Apple’s introduction of new regulations to improve standards and quality. For example, the platform has recently removed old apps that are no longer compatible with newer versions of iOS, apps that copy other apps, and apps that offer tools that are not needed on the iPhone, such as antivirus tools. With this regulation, the number of newly released apps may decrease, but the quality is clearly improving.
Why Gaming Is the Most Important Category in the App Store
Gaming is the top category in the Apple App Store, which is not surprising given the thriving mobile gaming industry. Rising demand has led developers to invest more resources in creating new games, as well as mobile versions of popular computer games. At the same time, much of the growth is the result of the pandemic, with developers leveraging stay-at-home mandates to offer consumers an alternative form of entertainment.
Moreover, games also hold the top position partly due to the rise of casual gaming. In recent years, game developers have been targeting casual gamers. In particular, a large proportion of casual gamers are reluctant to spend money on games because they do not intend to play them in the future.
Play Store vs App Store – Number of Apps
During its launch in 2008, the Apple App Store had only 500 iOS apps available. Today, it boasts 2.22 million apps, which makes it the second-largest app store on the market.
Google Play Store is the largest app store with 3.48 million Android apps as of the first quarter of 2021. In 2020, users worldwide downloaded 108.5 billion mobile apps from Google Play, up from 76 billion apps in 2018.
As Google Play is available for a broader range of products, it generates more downloads than the Apple App Store, which is available only for Apple devices. Moreover, the number of apps fluctuates constantly for both app stores since they regularly remove low-quality apps or apps that do not follow the current guidelines.
Apple’s App Store Grossed More Than $64 Billion in 2020
Apple doesn’t disclose how much revenue its App Store makes per year, but, according to an analysis by CNBC, Apple’s App Store grossed more than $64 billion in 2020.
That’s up from an estimated $50 billion in 2019 and $48.5 billion in 2018, according to the same analysis, suggesting that the growth of App Store sales accelerated strongly during the Covid-19 pandemic, as people stayed home and spent more time and money on apps and games. App Store revenue grew 28% in 2020, up from a 3.1% growth rate in 2019, according to CNBC’s analysis.
Interestingly, the app store releases come despite Apple’s controversial 30% standard fee on apps and in-app purchases of digital goods and services. However, the company recently introduced the App Store Small Business program. Under the new plan, the fee was reduced to a more convenient rate of just 15% for developers who gross less than $1 million a year. Could this indicate a possible paradigm shift in the mobile app market for Apple? Only time will tell.
