Reports have revealed that the Google Play store revenues are growing much faster than Apple’s App Store, despite the Cupertino company still leading overall sales.
For the first quarter of this year, Google’s app store revenue is growing much faster than the App Store.
The Google Play store revenues for this quarter were 90 per cent higher than Q4 2012, due to the ever increasing amount of Android mobile devices used by consumers, including the search engine giant’s own range like the Google Nexus 4, or other Android devices like the upcoming Samsung Galaxy S4, HTC One or Sony Xperia Z.
Nearly 70 per cent of the smartphone market is now under Android rule worldwide, helping the Google Play store to now earn 38.5 per cent of the App Store’s revenue figures, up from 10 per cent a year ago.
Collectively the two app stores accumulated $2.2 billion (£1.4 billion) revenue, with Apple accounting for $1.48 billion (£971 million) or 74 per cent, and Google Play making up 18 per cent for the past three months.
Apple is still ahead for overall sales, but Google is making headway with its rapidly increasing revenues, with its app store the strongest rival against Apple, especially in comparison to Microsoft’s Windows Store.
“Although Google is catching up, Apple has such a head-start in revenues that, on present trends, we would not expect Google to overtake Apple until sometime in 2016,” said Adam Daum, chief analyst at Canalys.
The larger revenue currently accrued by Apple is potentially due to its simpler payment system for the App Store, which allows users to register their credit and debit cards directly on their Apple accounts. The Google Play store relies on more complex payment systems like Google Wallet or additional network provider bills.
“In terms of downloads, Google Play has caught up to 90 per cent of Apple’s, and will close the gap soon, but this hasn’t translated to revenues,” said Oliver Lo, Video President of App Annie in Beijing.
Lo also attributed the App Store’s revenue dominance to iPhone and iPad owners usually being more affluent than Android users, although this may be a somewhat broad generalisation.
Via: Reuters
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