We studied the top 10 games and apps (apps means non-games) in Apple’s App Store and Google Play for three months to help us gain insight into the turnover rate and staying power some apps have. We found it was tougher for apps than it was for games to break into the top 10 and stay there for longer. The top apps in each store really do have a strong hold on the ranks from their consistently high level of downloads.
*When referencing top 10 ranks, we are looking at two sets of top 10 ranks. One for games and one for apps. Previously this would not be the case but the stores have moved to split the two.
The amount of unique apps appearing in each store is remarkably similar, but games are where there is much more turnover for Apple. Many game publishers focus on pumping games out for iOS rather than Android, possibly due to the higher revenue and ARPU traditionally seen from iOS users. Fun fact - games make up about 20% of all apps across both stores combined.
It's interesting to note that while YouTube appeared in the top 10 ranks for the App Store every day, it did not appear even once on Google Play. Sarahah, an anaonymous chat app that had its 15 minutes of fame earlier this year, only made one appearance on Google Play, compared to 17 times in the App Store. While Pandora nestled into a top spot on Google Play the majority of the time, it only broke into the App Store's top 10 ranks once.
An average of 0.8 new apps per day entered into the top 10 ranks of Apple's App Store, about one a day. The maximum seen in one day was 3, six times.
An average of 0.8 new apps per day entered into the top 10 ranks of Google Play, about one a day. The maximum seen was 4, once.
An average of 1.3 new games per day entered into the top 10 ranks of Apple App Store, about one a day. The maximum seen was 4, four times.
An average of 0.9 new games per day entered into the top 10 ranks of Google Play, about one a day. The maximum seen was 3, twice.
Of iOS apps not listed in the top 10 most common, their average lifespan in top 10 was 2.3 days. The mode, or lifespan realized the most often, was one day. The high was 11 and happened once.
Of Android apps not listed in top 10 most common, their average lifespan in top 10 was 3.6 days. The mode, or lifespan realized the most often, was one day. The high was 10 and happened once.
Of all iOS games, their average lifespan in top 10 was 5.7 days. The mode, or lifespan realized the most often, was one day. The high was 48 and happened once.
Of all Android games, their average lifespan in top 10 was 6.8 days. The mode, or lifespan realized the most often, was one day. The high was 43 and happened once.
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