Google Play widens lead in App downloads

LONDON, UK: App Annie, the leading provider of app analytics and market data, today reveals Google Play downloads continue to soar, exceeding iOS App Store by around 60 percent last quarter, up from 10 percent over the same period in 2013.

According to App Annie's Q2 2014 Market Index, published today, this explosive growth is being driven by emerging markets, as Brazil continues its rise, and Thailand and India see significant increases in Google Play downloads. Helped by a large number of consumers switching to smartphones, India, which climbed two spots to number three in Google Play downloads last quarter, boosted Google's performance. Mobile powerhouses China and Japan were the primary drivers of iOS revenue for Q2 2014, which despite lower download numbers still brought in 80 percent more revenue than Google Play.

Oliver Lo, EVP Marketing at App Annie said of the Q2 Market Index: "The notion that ‘West is Best' is holding less sway as Google Play and iOS App Store are being increasingly supported by emerging smartphone markets such as India and China. The fact that only 10pc of the Indian population is smartphone-enabled is an exciting prospect for app publishers looking for new markets to explore. We expect strong Google Play downloads combined with future smartphone adoption could help set the stage for rapid growth in India's mobile app-related revenue by 2017."