For The First Time Android Generated More Revenue for Developers Than iOS, Says Two New Reports

By Kamal Nayan - 08 May '15 04:49AM

Google always had the edge in terms of number of devices running the operating system and it seems like that edge is paying off. According to a recent report, Android is leading iOS in terms of revenue as well.

A study by Opera Mediaworks found that in the first quarter Android generated 45.8 percent of ad revenue compared with 45.4 percent for iOS. It's the first time that Google outperformed Apple.

Another report by Digi-Capital said when China is included, Android stores generated more revenue overall than Apple's App Store last year.

"Accepted wisdom and research tells us that iOS makes more money than Google Play, despite Google Play having more downloads," Digi-Capital's Tim Merel said in a report. "Nobody would argue with that. But what about iOS vs Android at a global level? Include the massive Chinese Android app stores, and Android didn't just dominate download volumes, it made more money than iOS last year."

Whether it is this quarter or last year or even next year, it is clear that the Android universe is on a pace to dwarf the one around the iPhone due to sheer numbers. Apple remains ensconced at the high end of the market, while much of the global growth is in affordable smartphones - often ones selling for $150 or less without a subsidy, Recode noted.

"iOS is a Value market, generating far more revenue per download than other app stores. iOS apps with relatively lower numbers of downloads compared to Android generate significant revenue. Despite the dominance of free apps, even paid apps can make a decent living on iOS. Google Play is a hybrid Value-Volume market, with apps needing well over twice the download volumes on average compared to iOS to make the same revenue. Google Play is a great place to operate, but the long term trend of lower revenue value per download compared to iOS seems set to continue. If developers can hit high download numbers, there is good monetisation to be had on Google Play," Digi-Capital noted in a blog post.