App Annie Index: Market Q3 2015

App Annie Index: Market Q3 2015

India’s Mobile Download Growth Surges

© App Annie 2015 | Do Not Distribute

App Annie Index: Market Q3 2015 - India’s Mobile Download Growth Surges

Table of Contents

1. The Technology Behind the Index

2. This Quarter’s Macro Trends

● Asia Fuels the iOS-Google Play Dichotomy

● China’s iOS Growth Driven by Social Video Apps and Games

● India’s First-Time Smartphone Users Propel Google Play Downloads

3. Top Charts for Countries & Categories

● Top Categories by Usage

● Top Countries by Downloads and Revenue

● Top Categories by Downloads and Revenue

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1. The Technology Behind the Index

The information contained in this report was compiled from App Annie Intelligence , the

leading market data solution for the app store economy. To see how our app store

download, revenue, demographic and usage estimates can help guide your critical

business decisions, take a tour or request a demo today .

2. This Quarter’s Macro Trends

Asia Fuels the iOS-Google Play Dichotomy



https://www.appannie.com/intelligence/




https://www.appannie.com/tours/enterprise-market-data/


iOS and Google Play continued to show diverging growth patterns in Q3 2015. Google

Play expanded its download lead over iOS thanks to first-time smartphone users in

emerging markets like India and Southeast Asia. Meanwhile, iOS extended its revenue

lead over Google Play thanks to its continued strength in another Asian market: China.

In Q3 2015, worldwide downloads on Google Play were about 90% higher than on the

iOS App Store, up from an 85% lead in Q2 2015. Emerging markets like India, Indonesia

and fast-rising Vietnam were primary growth drivers as the population of first-time

smartphone owners continued to grow. As sub-$50 smartphones gain prominence in

these regions, they are likely to attract users with very different needs compared to

those buying devices priced $200 or above. Targeting new user segments at the lower

end of the market may give local app developers an opportunity to stand out from the

crowd.

On the other end of the spectrum, worldwide revenue on the iOS App Store was about

80% higher than on Google Play in Q3 2015, up from 70% in Q2 2015. iOS download

growth has been rising in China ever since the iPhone 6 and 6 Plus went on sale last

year. As we predicted in our report China Surpasses United States by iOS Downloads, this has also translated into strong revenue growth in the country over the past few

quarters. Going forward, we are curious to see the impact of the recently launched

iPhone 6S and 6S Plus on this trend.

China’s iOS Growth Driven by Social Video Apps and Games

The move to large-screen iPhones has led to China becoming Apple’s most important

market. This also had a massive impact on the iOS App Store, as China has essentially

become a barometer for its global performance. Q3 2015 was no different, as China led

all countries in absolute growth over Q2 2015 for both iOS downloads and revenue.

Social video apps had a major impact on iOS downloads in Q3 2015 as iCast Show and

MiaoPai zoomed up the charts. As we mentioned in the Worldwide Apps Index for



http://blog.appannie.com/app-annie-index-market-q2-2015/

http://www.cnbc.com/2015/08/09/google-to-reboot-android-one-smartphone-project-in-india.html

http://blog.appannie.com/app-annie-index-market-q2-2015/

http://blog.appannie.com/china-surpasses-united-states-ios-downloads/

https://www.appannie.com/apps/all-stores/app/1000600000516138/


http://blog.appannie.com/worldwide-app-annie-index-apps-august-2015/



August 2015 , iCast Show is a Dubsmash-style lip-syncing app that was published by

Sina Weibo-backed company Xuan Yixia. MiaoPai, also published by the same

company, is a service akin to Vine. It allows users to take short ten-second videos, make

edits, and share them with their followers.

The popularity of apps that add shareable bits of content on top of existing social

networks suggests that China’s app ecosystem is maturing. Now that the first layer of

social networks and services has been established, the focal point of innovation

appears to be shifting to another layer on top. In addition to video apps, taxi booking

app Didi Dache also saw strong growth which bodes well for its battle against Uber for

local dominance.

On the other hand, iOS revenue growth in China is mostly a function of Games. As we

highlighted in the Worldwide Games Index for August 2015 , Tencent saw spectacular

revenue growth thanks to two new IP-based releases: The Legend of Mir 2 and The

King of Fighters' 98 Ultimate Match . NetEase’s title, Fantasy Westward Journey , also

saw stellar growth on top of an immensely successful release in early Q2 2015 . Despite

all the questions surrounding the Chinese economy, the mobile gaming industry still

appears to be going strong.

India’s First-Time Smartphone Users Propel Google Play Downloads

While iOS appears to be thriving in China, Google Play received a shot in the arm from

its performance in another major Asian economy – India. Smartphone shipments in

India have been soaring this year as e-commerce has increasingly removed distribution

bottlenecks for Android OEMs, especially those with high-quality yet cost-effective

devices. This has translated into broad-based growth in Google Play downloads across

app types and categories. Google Play’s download performance in India was one of the

primary drivers of its stellar worldwide growth.



http://blog.appannie.com/worldwide-app-annie-index-apps-august-2015/


https://www.appannie.com/apps/all-stores/app/uber/

http://blog.appannie.com/worldwide-app-annie-index-games-august-2015/





http://blog.appannie.com/worldwide-app-annie-index-games-april-2015/

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Security apps like 360 Mobile Security (as featured in our Worldwide Apps Index for

July 2015 ) and a cross-platform file sharing utility, SHAREit, saw spectacular download

growth in India. Social and communication behemoths Facebook and WhatsApp

Messenger were also among the leading download gainers, which suggests that

Google Play’s growth in India was a function of first-time smartphone users.

India’s growing scale is becoming increasingly clear as it was one of the three largest

markets by downloads for both WhatsApp Messenger and Facebook in Q3 2015.

India is also currently Google Play’s third largest market by downloads, in addition to

being the world’s third largest smartphone market. However, it is equally important to

note that smartphone penetration in the country remains in the 10-15% range with

tremendous room for growth. This combination of scale and the potential for

exponential growth is rare and presents an incredible opportunity for app developers.




http://blog.appannie.com/worldwide-app-annie-index-apps-july-2015/

http://blog.appannie.com/worldwide-app-annie-index-apps-july-2015/





http://www.slideshare.net/kleinerperkins/internet-trends-v1/195



3. Top Charts for Countries & Categories

Top Categories by Usage





Top Categories by Downloads and Revenue









Top Countries by Downloads and Revenue





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