There are presumably more Android phones and devices out there now than there are iPhones (and iPod Touches). However, it seems Android users keep holding their wallets much closer to their chests than iPhone users and iOS users in general.
Case in point, according to a new report from Distimo, the App Store for iPhone generates almost 4x as much revenue as Google’s Android Market in the US. This also includes revenues from in-app purchases. Even looking at just the App Store for iPad, it outclasses Android Market with 2x the revenue.
In other words, the combined app store revenue for iOS devices is almost 6x that of Android Market.
We think it’s pretty impressive – or sad, depending on your perspective – that even just the iPad alone seems to be generating more money for developers than the entire Android app ecosystem.
Wake up, Google!
If this isn’t a wake-up call to Google, we don’t know what would be. Google wants developers to rally to the Android platform, but those developers have to have effective ways of getting paid, putting food on the table.
True, Google’s Android Market doesn’t represent 100% of the revenues for Android apps, there are other Android app stores as well. However, we’d be highly surprised if Android Market didn’t account for the vast majority of the revenue considering it’s the “standard” app store for Android.
Until there’s a significant trend break here, most mobile app developers will keep focusing on iOS first, and Android second. The large number of Android devices out there clearly isn’t translating to actual money in developers’ pockets.
Data source: Distimo. They examined the revenue for the 200 highest grossing apps in each app store, including both one-off fees and in-app purchases.
