Android app marketplace, Google Play hits an all time high record of just over 19 billion downloads in the last quarter of 2017. The new record according to a report from App Annie represents a lead of a massive 145 percent over Apple’s App Store.
It is generally believed that Google’s investment and concentration on emerging markets over past the few years is responsible for the huge number of downloads.
Markets in countries like Brazil, India and Indonesia have been identified as the major drive behind these numbers. According to the report, combined downloads on the Google Play Store and Apple App Store in India surpassed downloads in the U.S. in 2017.
From a global perspective, games, finance, and personalization were the most downloaded apps on Google Play in the fourth quarter of 2017, while shopping apps were the most downloaded in the fourth quarter of 2017 on Apple’s App Store. Finance apps came second on the App Store, and App Annie says that it’s likely finance apps will continue to be popular in the first quarter of 2018 given the tax season.
Also, there were record spending numbers recorded last year. Google and Apple both enjoyed 20-percent year-on-year growth in the fourth quarter, and despite Google’s lead in raw download numbers, App Store purchases accounted for $11.5 billion — almost twice that of Google Play’s purchases.
In closely related development, spending in entertainment apps is going up. In-app subscriptions from entertainment services, like Netflix, went up by a factor of four between 2015 and 2017. In-app subscriptions for productivity apps also went up, particularly on Google Play — where it was the fastest growing app category.
Many believe if Google continues to concentrate on emerging market, it might record higher figures by the end of 2018.
