On its Newsroom page, Apple announced that economists at Analysis Group have published a new report on the proliferation and “global success” of third-party apps on the App Store. It offers insights into how third-party apps perform in categories ranging from maps to music streaming, among others.
The report analyzes apps from Apple and third-party developers across many popular app types, breaking down regional and global top performers. It also highlights just how many channels developers now have to distribute their apps — from mobile platforms, to PCs, to video game consoles.
The report also offers a deep analysis on a wide variety of app types, from service-based apps that offer TV, movie, or music streaming, to core smartphone features like communication. Some highlights from the report include:
- Third-party apps are the only options for consumers for entire types of apps, including social networking, dating services, travel planning, and food and drink.
- Leaders in app types often vary across countries, with many regional leaders outperforming their globally competitive counterparts.
- Third-party apps are the most popular among iPhone users in most regions for major app types, including music streaming, TV and movie streaming, reading, communication, and mapping apps.
- Across many app types, Apple’s own apps account for a relatively small share of app usage among iPhone users. This is the case even though some Apple apps are preinstalled to enable core functionality of the device.
- iPhone users often use multiple apps within a single category, especially apps for communicating, reading the news, watching videos, or navigating — underscoring how easily users can switch between apps and the breadth of opportunity for developers.
The report relies on outcome-based engagement metrics to analyze the success of third-party apps on the App Store, and finds that the most appropriate engagement measure depends on an app’s purpose and functionality. It also addresses how different usage measures can present different figures of success, and stresses the importance of making app comparisons within app categories.
The full Analysis Group report on third-party apps on the App Store is now available.
