The more things change, the more they stay the same, based on some new data from Distimo. The analytics firm's Top Global Apps - September 2013 is based on data gathered through its AppIQ service. Some of the findings:
- YouTube became the top free iOS app, displacing former No. 1 Despicable Me: Minion Rush, which dropped to No. 4. On Google (NASDAQ:GOOG) Play, Facebook (NASDAQ:FB) continued its reign as favorite app, while Skype cracked the top five.
- Angry Birds Star Wars II was the top paid iOS app, while Google Play's top five paid apps were completely unchanged with Swift Keys hanging on to the top spot.
- From a marketshare perspective, the Apple (NASDAQ:AAPL) App Store is still leading with 65 percent, compared to 35 percent for Google Play.
- Continuing a trend, the top apps in both Apple and Google app stores were games, with two developers, Supercell and King.com Limited, having two titles in the global top 5 grossing charts in the Apple App Store and King.com's Candy Crush Saga performing well on Google Play.
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Distimo data shows YouTube unseating Despicable Me: Minion Rush as the top free app in the Apple App store. |
"The interesting development behind these numbers is that the growth from Google Play was relative smaller compared to previous months, while the revenue portion of the Apple App Store grew a little stronger," the report says. "This growth was mainly based on revenue generated through the iPhone, which is likely related to the introduction of iOS7 along with the new iPhone models 5C and 5S. It will be interesting to see, if Apple can increase this growth even further next month."
To some extent, it seems the "iPhone effect" continues to hold for developers, obviously favoring some of the largest publishers most of all. What should be encouraging to developers, perhaps, is that mobile games can gain such high revenues, suggesting monetization remains difficult but not impossible for some titles. On the free side, however, the sharp fall of Despicable Me: Minion Rush may indicate that utility-based apps or social apps can enjoy a more consistent stream of new users. As we move past early fall toward the holiday season, expect some possible challengers to these charts as more developers and publishers release titles to help consumers enjoy their new smartphones.
For more:
- to look through the complete Distimo report, click here
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