Overview of the App Store and Google Play

Before we dive into the differences and considerations, let’s start by understanding what the App Store and Google Play are:

The App Store:

The App Store is Apple’s official marketplace for iOS and macOS applications. It was launched in 2008 and has since become one of the largest and most lucrative app platforms in the world. The App Store offers a wide range of apps, including games, productivity tools, social networking apps, and more. It is known for its strict app review process and premium user experience.

Google Play:

Google Play, on the other hand, is Google’s counterpart to the App Store. It is the primary marketplace for Android applications and was launched in 2012. Google Play serves as the central hub for Android users to discover, download, and update apps. It caters to a diverse user base and offers a vast selection of apps and games.

Now that we have a basic understanding of both platforms let’s explore the key differences and considerations when deciding between the App Store and Google Play.

Key Differences:

1. Platform Ecosystem:

One of the most significant differences between the App Store and Google Play is the ecosystem they belong to. The App Store is tightly integrated into Apple’s ecosystem, including iOS, macOS, watchOS, and tvOS. This means that apps developed for the App Store are optimized to work seamlessly across various Apple devices. On the other hand, Google Play is part of the broader Android ecosystem, which includes a wide range of device manufacturers, screen sizes, and hardware capabilities.

Consideration:

If you have a specific target audience within the Apple ecosystem, the App Store might be the better choice for you. Conversely, if you want to reach a more diverse audience across various Android devices, Google Play is the way to go.

2. App Review Process:

The app review process is where the App Store and Google Play differ significantly. Apple is known for its stringent review process, where every app submission is thoroughly examined for quality, security, and compliance with Apple’s guidelines. This strict approach ensures a higher level of app quality and security but can lead to longer approval times and potential rejection.

Google Play’s review process is generally less strict, focusing primarily on security and malware checks. While this means quicker app approvals, it can sometimes result in a higher number of low-quality or potentially harmful apps on the platform.

Consideration:

If your app adheres to Apple’s guidelines and you prioritize quality and security, you might find the App Store’s review process more suitable. If you value faster deployment and a less stringent approval process, Google Play could be a better fit.

3. Revenue Models:

Both the App Store and Google Play offer revenue-sharing models for developers, but their fee structures differ. Apple’s App Store charges a 15-30% commission on app sales and in-app purchases, depending on the developer’s annual revenue. Google Play follows a similar model, with a 15-30% commission on app sales and in-app purchases.

However, there is a key difference when it comes to in-app subscription fees. Apple’s policy states that if a user subscribes to a service within an app, the developer must share 15-30% of the revenue with Apple. In contrast, Google Play reduced its subscription fee to 15% for the first year and then 15% for subsequent years, making it more developer-friendly for subscription-based apps.

Consideration:

Consider your app’s revenue model and how the platform’s fee structure aligns with your business goals. If your app relies heavily on in-app subscriptions, Google Play might be a more cost-effective choice in the long run.

4. Market Share and Audience:

Another critical difference between the App Store and Google Play is their market share and user base. As of my last knowledge update in September 2021, Android had a larger global market share compared to iOS. Android’s open ecosystem has made it accessible to a broader range of users, particularly in emerging markets.

Apple, on the other hand, maintains a strong presence in high-income markets and has a loyal user base. iOS users tend to spend more on apps and in-app purchases, making it an attractive platform for monetization.

Consideration:

Your target audience plays a significant role in your choice between the two platforms. If you want to reach a more extensive, diverse user base, Google Play’s larger market share may be advantageous. However, if your app caters to a premium audience with higher spending capacity, the App Store might be the better option.

5. Development Tools and Language:

The development tools and programming languages used for app development also differ between the App Store and Google Play. Apple’s preferred programming language for iOS app development is Swift, with Objective-C being used for legacy apps. Google Play primarily relies on Java and Kotlin for Android app development.

Consideration:

Your choice of development language and tools may depend on your development team’s expertise and your app’s specific requirements. Consider your team’s skillset and comfort with the chosen language when making your decision.

6. Revenue and Monetization Strategies:

Both platforms provide various monetization opportunities for developers, including:

• Paid Apps: You can charge users to download your app.
• In-App Purchases: Offer additional content or features within your app for a fee.
• Ads: Integrate advertising to generate revenue.
• Subscriptions: Offer premium content or services on a subscription basis.
• Freemium Models: Offer a free basic version with the option to upgrade for premium features.

Consider which monetization strategy aligns best with your app’s content and target audience. For instance, if your app relies on ad revenue, you might consider Google Play’s larger user base. If you’re developing a premium app or content-based service, the App Store’s higher-spending user base could be more profitable.

Considerations for Choosing Between the App Store and Google Play:

Now that we’ve explored the key differences between the App Store and Google Play, let’s summarize the key considerations to keep in mind when choosing the right platform for your app:

1. Target Audience: Determine whether your app’s target audience is primarily iOS or Android users. This will significantly influence your choice.
2. Development Resources: Assess your development team’s skills and experience with the respective platforms and programming languages.
3. Revenue Model: Consider how your app plans to generate revenue, whether through app sales, in-app purchases, subscriptions, or ads.
4. Monetization Strategy: Align your app’s monetization strategy with the platform that offers the most favorable terms and access to your target audience.
5. Market Share: Evaluate the global and regional market share of both platforms to understand where your app can gain the most traction.
6. Review Process: Decide whether you prioritize a stringent review process for quality and security (App Store) or a quicker approval process (Google Play).
7. Ecosystem Integration: Consider whether your app can benefit from tight integration with Apple’s ecosystem (App Store) or the open Android ecosystem (Google Play).
8. Long-Term Goals: Think about your app’s long-term goals and how they align with the platform’s policies and fee structures.
9. User Spending Habits: Analyze user spending habits on each platform and choose the one that aligns with your revenue expectations.
10. Geographic Reach: If you have a specific geographic target, research the platform’s market penetration in those regions.

Conclusion:

Choosing between the App Store and Google Play is a crucial decision for app developers and business owners. Each platform has its own set of advantages and considerations, and the right choice depends on your app’s goals, target audience, and revenue model. Carefully assess the factors discussed in this blog post to make an informed decision that sets your app up for success in the competitive world of mobile app development. Remember that the app landscape is continually evolving, so staying up to date with platform changes and user preferences is essential for long-term success on either platform.

The post The App Store vs. Google Play: Key Differences and Considerations appeared first on Mobile Marketing Watch.

According to an announcement emailed to MMW, this Smart Blocking feature addresses “a critical and growing consumer problem, as the YouMail Robocall Index revealed that U.S. phones were hit by a record 2.6 billion robocalls in both August and September.”

This problem has become so pervasive that the Federal Communications Commission formed a Robocall Strike Force to fight robocalls, which met on Oct. 26 in Washington, D.C.  At that meeting, the FCC commissioners stressed the importance of rolling out effective solutions to consumers as soon as possible.

However, users of iPhone and Android phones, which make up 99.3% of global smartphone sales based on market data by IDC,  don’t have to wait for the carriers or FCC to make progress. “YouMail’s flagship mobile app stops robocalls through a two-part process when a problematic robocaller is identified.”

“Americans are fed up with being pestered by the continual onslaught of robocalls, and they want to take preventative actions,” said YouMail CEO Alex Quilici.  “YouMail’s solution leverages its patent pending Smart Blocking technology that combines call patterns, call histories, user data, and user feedback to create and maintain an ever-changing database of nearly 100,000 problematic phone numbers in the U.S. alone.”

YouMail for iPhone can be downloaded for free at the App Store and YouMail for Android can be downloaded for free at Google Play.

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Amid widespread fire and explosion concerns that, despite being blown out of proportion by some media outlets, have warranted legitimate investigations and a need for action to ensure the safety of consumers.

Samsung wants sales and exchanges halted for “further investigation.”

The electronics giant told consumers with either an original Galaxy Note 7 or a replacement Galaxy Note 7 device that they should power down and stop using the device immediately.

The news comes against a backdrop of troubling reports indicating that even replacing devices may be overheating.

“I appreciate the safety leadership role the wireless carriers and retailers are playing by temporarily stopping the sale of the Note 7 and not providing the Note 7 model as a replacement device,” Consumer Product Safety Commission Chairman Elliot Kaye said in a statement quoted by CNBC. “No one should have to be concerned their phone will endanger them, their family or their property.”

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The IDC reported Wednesday that global smartphone shipments in the third quarter of 2013 were heavily skewed in favor of Android.

Data published in the International Data Corporation (IDC) Worldwide Quarterly Mobile Phone Tracker reveals that 211.6 million smartphone units shipped during the quarter, and Android accounted for 81.0% of them.

This marks the first time that Android’s market share topped 80% in its short history.

Despite high saturation rates in a number of mature markets, the overall smartphone space grew 39.9% year-over-year in the third quarter.

“Android and Windows Phone continued to make significant strides in the third quarter. Despite their differences in market share, they both have one important factor behind their success: price,” said Ramon Llamas, Research Manager with IDC’s Mobile Phone team. “Both platforms have a selection of devices available at prices low enough to be affordable to the mass market, and it is the mass market that is driving the entire market forward.”

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By the end of 2013, IHS projects that the app ecosystem will have raked in revenues totaling $15.5 billion.

When it’s all said and done, 90 billion smartphone and tablet apps will have been downloaded in 2013. That’s nearly double 2012’s total app downloads of 49 million.

Of the mammoth amount of green generated by this download boom, 85 percent of the revenue was generated exclusively by apps on iOS and Android.

What’s perhaps most remarkable about this growth, however, is that 80% of total app revenues now originate from freemium products.

“Games count for the vast majority of revenue for Google and Apples stores,” reads the IHS report. “Maybe two or three years ago, you would pay $1 or $2 for a game, but there was no opportunity for them to charge you more. Now they give it to you for free, then keep charging you for additional features.”

For the full year, ad revenue from apps is on pace to reach $6 billion.

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According to the latest projections from ABI Research, app revenues are projected to reach almost $6.8 billion by the end of 2013.

Nonetheless, the Android platform is still trying to play catch-up to iOS’s smartphone revenues, which continue to lead the industry.

Still, the smartphone app market, ABI asserts, “will be Android’s most fruitful hunting ground compared to other devices.”

In fact, Android smartphone app revenues are expected to increase from 59.1% to 65.9% when compared to iOS smartphone app revenues over the next twelve months.

“Apple’s iOS still leads all the other mobile operating systems’ revenues by a significant margin; however, the greater number of Android smartphones in use is clawing back Apple’s lead in this market,” says ABI senior analyst Josh Flood. “This year, Android smartphones will ship by a factor of more than three-to-one to iPhones.”

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According to details provided to MMW, the partnership will offer parents a new way to download their children’s favorite books… for free.

The iStoryTime library app, available for iOS but coming soon to Android, will integrate the Tapjoy Mobile Value Exchange model where parents engage with advertisements to earn Story Points to spend on hundreds of iStoryTime digital books for their kids.

The partners, however, confirm that these offers will be behind a “parental lock,” ensuring that the advertisements are directed at the parents and not kids.

Additionally, the books purchased with Story Points are completely free of advertisements.

The partnership underscores a significant shift in how consumers are looking to acquire premium content, whether it is for themselves or their family members.

“With zuuka and the iStoryTime app, we are empowering parents to earn credits for use toward their family’s favorite narrated books,” says Steve Wadsworth, president and CEO of Tapjoy. “We are seeing a trend of app publishers utilizing the mobile value exchange model to enable their users to get the premium content they want. With this partnership and the amazing brands and narrated storybooks that are available through iStoryTime, we’re breaking new ground and continuing to deliver innovative ways to deliver the premium content people love.”

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In the process, the volume of mobile app downloads also inched upward.

The July Index fluctuations reflect several factors, Fiksu reports.

First, Apple’s recent incorporation of app ratings into its App Store Top Charts ranking algorithm managed to shake things up, followed by the burgeoning number of brands leveraging Facebook’s mobile app install ads, and – finally – increased mobile app activity during the dog days of summer.

The Fiksu Cost per Loyal User Index increased by 20 percent in July, or 30 cents, to $1.80 from June’s $1.50, representing the most expensive month since December 2011.

This month’s sharp increase is attributable to two trends: the surge of brands using Facebook’s mobile app advertising platform, which is driving up costs and competition, and Apple’s change to the App Store rankings, which by helping the best-rated apps move up the charts likely caused mid-ranked and lower-rated apps to spend more to try to regain their position.

“There’s a major sea change underway, now that Apple’s ranking algorithm appears to favor highly-rated apps and penalize others. App marketers must now work even harder to generate positive ratings from engaged users, since user acquisition costs for apps without stellar ratings will now be more expensive,” says Micah Adler, Fiksu CEO. “With a new iPhone just a few weeks away and the holiday season coming up, delivering quality app experiences has never been more critical for app marketers seeking to climb rank and meet monetization goals.”

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In the new Q2 2013 report, App Annie is offering insight into the “continued shift of consumer spending from gaming-optimized handhelds to mobile devices.”

Arguably, the biggest discovery presented in the report is that Google Play game spending surpassed that of gaming-optimized handhelds in Q2 of 2013.

App Annie reported that consumer spending on games for iOS App Store and Google Play combined rose to 4x that of gaming-optimized handhelds.

As it the past, Google Play game revenue still comes mostly from the Asia- Pacific, especially Japan & South Korea

To gain more insights into Q2 2013 trends for the global app marketplace and gaming-optimized handheld devices, download and view the full report here.

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Distimo App Trends offers up daily ranking data for every app worldwide in any category where it is ranked in an app store.

All data can be searched by individual country, the company says.

Supported app stores include the Apple App Store, Google Play and the Amazon Appstore, and the App Trends service is offered free of charge on the Distimo website.

“Our new App Trends service provides a new degree of transparency to the mobile app market that has not been easily accessible to users before, and offers true insight into an app’s uptake and success over time,” says said Vincent Hoogsteder, CEO and co-founder of Distimo.

“Services that provide free insight into the uptake of apps are in high demand, including our own Distimo Leaderboards, but all of these services have only shown ranking data – until now,” Hoogsteder adds. “We’re excited to bring the first global service to market where anyone that works in the mobile sector can have access to daily download and revenue trends at their fingertips.”

To learn more about what Distimo is up to, click here.

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