iOS Users Buy More Apps in 2011, Pay More for Them
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We iPad users sure do love our games and apps, and thanks to the incredible sales of the iPad and the iPad 2, plus a wider distribution of the iPhone (nearly 1/3rd of all iPhones are on Verizon), App Store downloads have risen an amazing 61% since 2010.
iPad and iPhone users are now downloading and using an average of 83 apps, which is a significant increase than the 51 app average from last year. In fact, as a collective, we’re downloading 32.3 million apps a day. That’s a lot of Angry Birds! In contrast, iOS users are only downloading 11.9 million iTunes tracks per day, so it’s safe to say that apps have taken over the iTunes store.
Back in 2010, average downloads per user had only by grown 4%. This year, we’ve come to see more value in the App Store, and are now willing to spend a bit more. iOS users now spend 14% more per app in 2011 over 2010.
According to Apple’s internal data, there are 425,000 apps in the App Store, 5 billion total app downloads, and $2.5 billion dollars that’s been paid to developers.
Piper Jaffray analyst Gene Munster, in a note to investors, estimated that 82% of iOS apps available in the App Store are free apps, and the remaining 18% are paid. He believes that the App Store will earn $4.2 billion dollars this year, with developers getting a hefty $3 billion dollar chunk of that. Munster predicts that App Store revenue will continue to increase next year to $7.7 billion dollars, and that users will download even more apps.
This may be heartening news for Apple and app developers, but it’s great for us consumers as well. More apps means more great games and programs available in the App Store for us to use, plus it equates to more people wanting to buy iOS devices to see what all the fuss is about. And more people will result in even more spending and development, continually improving the App Store for everyone.
