In July 2023, the App Store offered more than one million gaming apps. In contrast, the store had 3.83 million non-gaming apps available in the same period. During the third quarter of 2022, the number of mobile apps in the Apple App Store decreased by almost 25 percent compared to the previous quarter.

Apple App Store The Apple App Store opened on July 10, 2008 via an update to iTunes. This coincided with Apple’s launch of the second-generation iPhone 3G which supported mobile apps. Applications in the App Store are only available for iOS devices - the tech industry frequently refers to Apple's ecosystem of devices and operating systems as a "walled garden."

Leading iOS categories As of 2022, the most popular Apple App Store category was gaming with over 13.66 percent of apps being games. The second most popular app category was business, followed by education, and lifestyle apps. Mobile gaming apps usually generate the majority of their revenue through advertising and in-app purchases with only little more than a third of games being paid downloads. Popular gaming apps in the App Store include Clash Royale, Candy Crush Saga, casino games and Clash of Clans, the currently top grossing iOS game.

During the second quarter of 2024, around 1.54 million mobile apps were available in the Apple App Store. This represented a one percent decrease in available apps for iOS users compared to the previous quarter. Between 2015 and 2024, the number of mobile apps fluctuated, reaching the peak of 2.22 million iOS apps in the first quarter of 2021.

In December 2024, approximately 38 thousand mobile apps were released through the Apple App Store. During the measured period, this figure often fluctuated. The lowest number of app releases on the Apple App Store was recorded in July 2019, only around 9.6 thousand releases. Meanwhile, two months later, in September 2019, iOS app releases amounted to 99 thousand.

Apple App Store Key StatisticsApps & Games in the Apple App StoreApps in the Apple App StoreGames in the Apple App StoreMost Popular Apple App Store CategoriesPaid vs Free Apps in Apple App...

In the second quarter of 2024, the Apple App Store hosted and distributed approximately 183,000 gaming apps, making it the largest category of mobile apps on the platform. Business apps ranked second, with 156,335 iOS apps hosted and distributed in the Apple App Store. The developer tools category hosted the smallest number of iOS apps on the platform, with around 2,207 mobile titles distributed to global iOS users.

In the first quarter of 2024, users downloaded approximately 25.6 billion apps from Google Play. This represents a decrease compared to the first quarter of the previous year, when Android users downloaded approximately 27 billion apps from the Google Play Store. In contrast, mobile app only generated roughly 8.4 billion downloads in the Apple App Store. The Google Play platform has always made up the bulk of app downloads but the Apple App Store is stronger in terms of revenue generation.

As of August 2024, Android users were able to choose between 2.3 million apps, making Google Play the app store with the biggest number of available apps. The Apple App Store was the second-largest app store with roughly two million available apps for iOS. Whereas the exact number of apps may fluctuate as Apple and Google regularly remove low-quality content from their app stores, the number of apps has been increasing over the years. Average app price Applications generate revenue in several different ways, such as charging users a price for the download of an app, charging for access to premium features of an otherwise free app or simply selling ad space. As of January 2024, the average price of an app in the App Store amounts to 0.73 U.S. dollars per app.Google Play may have the bigger number of apps available for download, but the Apple App Store is doing a better job at monetizing its mobile content. In the third quarter of 2022, global consumer spending on mobile apps via the Apple App Store amounted to 21.2 billion U.S. dollars, absolutely crushing the still impressive 10.4 billion U.S. dollars of the Google Play platform. Other app stores Whereas Apple and Google dominate the conversation regarding downloads and spending, there as a few other players with various degrees of market success and relevance. The Amazon Appstore offers approximately 526,00 Android apps to worldwide audiences. The most popular app categories in the Amazon Appstore are gaming, education, and utilities apps. There are also several third-party Android app stores in China, including the Tencent Appstore with over 63,000 published mobile apps available to users in the market

As of the fourth quarter of 2024, approximately 183,000 mobile gaming apps were available in the Apple App Store, representing a 2.31 percent decrease compared to the previous quarter.

While the number of downloads kept increasing between 2016 to 2022. However, in 2023, the global app downloads stagnated, reaching 257 billion downloads and experienced only a one percent year-over-year increase.

The app market Mobile apps are projected to generate more than 613 billion U.S. dollars in revenues in 2025, with mobile games making up the biggest revenue share among all app categories. In 2020, gaming and video made up the largest shares of the mobile content market for the year. The ePublishing and education sectors still saw a limited market for their mobile content, despite the increase in apps usage brought by the COVID-19 pandemic disrupting regular school system settings.

App monetization: a changing landscape As an indispensable part of the smartphone experience, the largest number of apps in the major app stores are free to download. However, in recent years, the growth of global consumer spending on apps has shown users’ healthy appetite for premium services or paid app content. In the second quarter of 2021, Android consumers have spent an average of 5.31 U.S. dollars per handset, after peaking in the last quarter of 2020 reaching an average of 10.6 U.S. dollars per mobile device. As of September 2021, the number of paid apps has shrunk to make up only six percent and four percent of the total numbers in the Apple App Store and the Google Play Store, respectively. In comparison, apps offering subscription plans are becoming increasingly popular in the monetization landscape. In 2020, the leading subscription apps in the Apple App Store generated more than 10 million U.S. dollars in global revenues.

As of January 2025, nearly 97 percent of apps in the Google Play app store were freely available. The number of free apps on the Google Play Store and the Apple Store alike has been consistently higher than the number of paid apps. By comparison, free Android apps on Amazon Appstore were roughly 81 percent, while paid apps accounted for a share of 19 percent of the total apps available in the store. Mobile apps and consumer spending Mobile apps have become integral to our daily routine, offering convenience and entertainment. In the second quarter of 2024, the total value of the global consumer spending on mobile apps was almost 35 billion U.S. dollars, highlighting the significant role that mobile apps play in the digital economy. As of the third quarter of 2023, consumers spent an average of 5.05 U.S. dollars on mobile apps per smartphone, which underlines the high demand for these digital solutions. App stores commission rates under scrutiny As of August 2023, the standard commission rates on revenues generated from apps hosted on the Apple App Store and the Google Play Store were set at 30 percent. However, between the end of 2020 and mid-2021, both Apple and Google were forced to address the criticism of their app store policies. In 2020, the European Union drafted the Digital Market Act, with the purpose of ensuring a healthy degree of competition in the tech environment. In December 2022, Apple was reported to start planning to allow sideloading and the presence of alternative app stores on its devices. In August 2021, the United States Senate presented the Open Apps Market Act to reduce tech giants‘ control over the digital app market. As regulations are expected to promote competition in the tech and mobile environment, in March 2023, Microsoft was reported to preparing to launch a new mobile gaming store, which will compete with the Apple App Store and the Google Play Store.In 2026, mobile app spending is forecasted to reach 161 billion U.S. dollars and 72 billion U.S. dollars on the Apple App Store and the Google Play Store, respectively. While both Google and Apple started applying some changes in their app store policies in 2021, like lowering commission fees for small publishers generating less than 1 million U.S. dollars in yearly revenues, the two tech giants might face additional restrictions and limitations in all their major markets. In the case of Apple, in 2021, the company updated its App Store policies, allowing developers to offer alternative payment methods. In 2022, Apple updated its review guidelines, requiring developers to share more information about collecting and using data, including disclosing the types of collected data and how it's used.

Worldwide, during the first half of 2023, the United States was estimated to having the highest amount of shopping app downloads on iOS, with around 234.5 downloads. China followed after the Unites States, with only a bit more than half the amount of downloads, at about 131.3 million. Japan had the third highest number of downloads with less than half of the amount estimated in China.

In June 2023, search engine Google was the most-downloaded app for iPhone in the Apple App Store worldwide. The app generated around 6.36 million downloads from iPhone users. CapCut was the second-most popular app with approximately 6.16 million downloads from global users in the examined month.

During the most recently measured period, mobile app growth in the Apple App Store decreased by approximately one percent compared to the previous quarter. Between the 2021 and the end of 2022, the number of mobile iOS apps available on the Apple App Store has kept decreasing.

In November 2023, a total of 3,381 new games were submitted to the Apple App Store, while in the same period the new apps being submitted were 26.4 thousand. After reaching approximately 42.5 thousand new apps in September 2019, the number of monthly submitted mobile apps to the Apple App Store has experienced a steady decline.

As of the second quarter of 2024, gaming apps were the most popular category available in the Apple App Store, making up a share of approximately 12 percent of all iOS apps in hosted in the platform. Business apps were the second-most popular category in the Apple App Store with a share of 10.11 percent of active apps being apps in this category. Utilities apps were the third most popular iOS app category, accounting for a total of over 9.73 percent of active apps. iOS apps in the Apple App Store As nowadays it is inconceivable to imagine smartphones without the abundance of mobile applications, the number of available iOS mobile apps distributed via the Apple App Store has consistently grown, reaching the peak of 2.2 million available apps during the first quarter of 2021. As of the beginning of 2022, the highest-ranking mobile apps on the results page of the Apple App Store had an average of 31.7 thousand reviews, and received an average rating of 3.35 stars. Mobile gaming on the Apple App Store Gaming apps are the most popular apps based on availability and often rank as the most downloaded and highest-grossing apps. In 2024, The Honor of Kings was the top grossing gaming app, grossing more than nine million U.S. dollars worldwide. The average price for a gaming app is about 47 cents, while the average app price is just under one U.S. dollar. Common app revenue models include free apps with in-app purchases, paid apps without in-app purchases, and paid apps with in-app purchases. Gaming apps, which frequently generate revenue through in-game item purchases, were the top-grossing category on the Apple App Store, generating almost 52 billion U.S. dollars from global users in 2021.

In 2024, Threads was the most-downloaded app in the Apple App Store in Finland with almost 492,700 downloads. The Vinted app ranked second, with over 477,300 downloads. The Temu app followed, generating over 451,400 downloads onto iPhones and iPads across the country.

As of January 2022, money management apps for children had the highest number of data segments tracked, collecting an average of 10 different types of data from its users. Gaming apps ranked second, collecting 9.3 different types of data segments from users. Mobile apps focused on science, nature and animals, as well as coding, collected the least amount of data, collecting less than four data segments from users.

During the last measured period, there were 35,019 healthcare and medical apps available on the Apple App Store, down by 2.55 percent compared to the previous quarter. In 2020, the number of mHealth apps available to iOS users kept growing, and in the first quarter of 2021 reached its peak of almost 54,000 apps. Since then, the number of mobile health apps available in the Apple App Store fluctuated.

As of January 2025, 95.37 percent of all iOS apps were available for free. In comparison, in the Google Play Store, the share of freely available apps was 96.96 percent.

As of January 2022, the money app Greenlight had the highest number of data segments tracked, collecting 22 different types of data from its users. Launched in 2017, Greenlight is a fintech app for children that allows parents to manage and monitor allowances and spending. Mobile gaming app Pokémon GO was the second most invasive mobile app used by children, collecting 17 different data segments from its users. Only the Amazon Kids+ app and the Kinzoo Social app appeared to collect data over sensitive information from their users.