App Store Increases Revenue Lead Over Google Play in Q1 2015

Apple's App Store increased its revenue lead by 10 percentage points over Google's Play Store in the first quarter of 2015, according to the latest numbers from App Annie obtained by The Wall Street Journal. The App Store's revenue was also almost 70% higher than the Play Store, despite Google Play receiving 70% more app downloads during the three-month period ending March.

Apple's increased App Store revenue helped it reverse a trend that saw Google Play slowly catch up in revenue over recent quarters, although the Play Store continued to widen its lead in overall downloads. Apple previously held about a 60% advantage in App Store revenues over Google Play during the third quarter of 2014, but that figure rose to about 70% in Q1 2015 on the strength of the United States and China.

"China was a bright spot for Apple – mirroring the strong market share gains that the iPhone made in the country. Apple’s larger-screen iPhone 6 and 6 Plus proved immensely popular in the Chinese market where consumers prefer bigger display smartphones.

In the first quarter of 2015, China passed the U.S. as the top country for iOS app downloads, App Annie said. China still trails the U.S. and Japan for App Store revenue. The Google Play store does not operate officially in mainland China."

The disparity between the App Store and Google Play in terms of overall revenue and downloads is a longstanding trend between the iOS and Android storefronts. A number of popular developers turn to the iPhone, iPad and iPod touch because Apple's ecosystem provides a more lucrative opportunity for earnings, while Google Play receives more downloads because there are significantly more Android users worldwide.