UPDATED 10:59 EDT / SEPTEMBER 08 2011

Android App Ecosystem Overtaking Apple App Store

Android Market has shown some real growth over the last year, and there’s no doubt that at some point this had to happen.  Or, at least, it will.  Since the launch of the iTunes App Store by Apple in 2008, no other app market has been so close to beating it than Android has become.

Android app downloads will take a “significant lead” over those on Apple iPhones by the end of 2011, according to analyst firm Ovum.  Apparently, Android will garner a total of 8.1 billion downloads compared with Apple’s 6 billion before the year’s close.  Over the course of 2010, 1.4 billion Android apps were downloaded placing Google’s OS well behind Apple’s booming sales of 2.7 billion.

“The huge lead in downloads that Android will take on Apple is being driven by the growth of the platform as a result of its increasing popularity and progress into lower price points,” states Ovum devices analyst Nick Dillon.

“But although Android phones will lead on total download numbers, iPhone will continue to dominate the market in terms of revenues from paid-for apps, reaching $2.86 billion in 2016, compared to $1.5 billion for Android.”

Google’s Android will dominate total mobile phone apps downloads in Asia-Pacific as compared with Apple’s iPhone.  Android will take a significant lead in AP, with 1.8 billion downloads compared to Apple’s 1.5 billion.  Last year the two top players reached downloads of 244 million and 424 million in AP respectively, according to Ovum.

“Consumers’ seemingly insatiable demand for mobile applications is set to continue this year, with downloads from app stores increasing around the world. The outlook for the longer term is also positive, with consumers set to continue to use apps to add new features to their phones and to access their favorite services on the go,” Dillon added.

Meanwhile Dillon believes that while much has been made of the threat HTML5 poses to the hegemony of native applications and app stores, the app store will remain the primary channel for consumers to get applications into their mobile phones.

Android’s dominance in this area will soar over the next few years, and by 2016 there will be almost double the total number of Android phone application downloads compared to iPhone in AP, with 6.07 billion and 3.4 billion respectively.

The overall app market is set to explode this year.  According to Ovum, mobile phone application downloads will exceed 18 billion by the end of 2011, representing a growth rate of 144% growth over 2010.  Furthermore, revenues from paid-for mobile phone apps are set to reach $3.7 billion in 2011, growing 92 per cent over last year, the analyst firm said.


A message from John Furrier, co-founder of SiliconANGLE:

Your vote of support is important to us and it helps us keep the content FREE.

One click below supports our mission to provide free, deep, and relevant content.  

Join our community on YouTube

Join the community that includes more than 15,000 #CubeAlumni experts, including Amazon.com CEO Andy Jassy, Dell Technologies founder and CEO Michael Dell, Intel CEO Pat Gelsinger, and many more luminaries and experts.

“TheCUBE is an important partner to the industry. You guys really are a part of our events and we really appreciate you coming and I know people appreciate the content you create as well” – Andy Jassy

THANK YOU