Support for this study was provided by Apple.
The conclusions and opinions expressed are exclusively those of the authors.
The Success of Third-Party Apps on the
App Store
Juliee Caminade, Ph.D.
Markus von Wartburg, Ph.D.
April 2022
The Success of Third-Party Apps on the App Store
1
In recent years, the role of “big tech” in shaping options for developers, content
creators, and users in digital spaces has become a hotly debated topic. In this
study, we focus on Apple’s App Store, examining the following questions: How
have the options for developers and content creators to reach consumers
changed over time? How have the App Store and its ecosystem grown, and
what does this growth reflect? What role do third-party apps play on the App
Store?
To answer these questions, we conduct research on digital markets, analyze
the App Store ecosystem, review the areas in which Apple offers its own apps,
and investigate the availability of third-party alternatives to Apple apps for
iPhone users. Our findings are summarized below.
Chapter 1: Platform choices and the growth of digital industries
˿ Our research shows there are more ways for developers to reach
consumers than ever before. The availability of many types of connected
devices has provided a growing range of options for consumers,
developers, and content creators worldwide, fueling large and sustained
growth in digital consumption across a variety of services. For
smartphones specifically, consumers can choose among many different
manufacturers. Many digital marketplaces for distributing apps and
content allow consumers to download and/or purchase apps and content
in a variety of ways.
Chapter 2: The dynamism of the App Store ecosystem
˿ Publicly available data and our earlier research show that the App Store
has grown substantially throughout the years, sustaining an expanding
community of developers and content creators and fueling a massive and
growing ecosystem. This growth reflects the dynamism of the App Store,
its community, and its ecosystem, which benefits developers, users, and
Apple.
˿ By providing numerous ways for users to expand and complement their
iPhone experiences, the App Store has benefited users and been central
to the continued success of the iPhone. The App Store is home to about
2 million apps with only about 60 from Apple, meaning that more than
99.99% of apps are third-party apps.
The Success of Third-Party Apps on the App Store
2
Chapter 3: The popularity and range of third-party apps on the
App Store
˿ Third-party apps are the only options for consumers for entire types of
apps, such as social networks, dating services, travel planning, and food
and drink. For the types of apps for which Apple apps are available, iOS
users can choose from many alternatives.
˿ Our research shows that alternatives to Apple apps have proliferated,
offering more choice and more features to iOS users. Many popular
apps launched around the time or aer Apple started its own services.
˿ Our quantitative analyses of engagement with apps (not merely app
downloads) demonstrates that, across many app types, Apple’s own
apps are eclipsed in popularity and account for a relatively small share
of usage.
˿ In many countries, local players are the most popular across multiple
app types. Many large and successful technology companies such as
Google, Amazon, Microso, Tencent and Baidu (China), and NAVER and
Kakao (Korea), offer popular alternatives to Apple apps.
˿ iPhone users oen have multiple apps of similar types on their phones
that they use regularly, reflecting how easily they can switch between
apps.
The Success of Third-Party Apps on the App Store
3
Contents
Chapter 1: Platform choices available to consumers, developers,
and content creators, and the growth of digital industries ..............................4
Chapter 2: The dynamism of the App Store ecosystem .................................8
The dynamism of the App Store and its ecosystem...................................8
Consumers can choose from millions of apps on the App Store,
expanding and complementing their iPhone experiences ...........................10
Chapter 3: The popularity and range of third-party apps on the App Store
compared to Apple apps ............................................................. 11
Third-party apps are the only options within some types of apps..................... 11
Third-party apps have proliferated, providing numerous and varied
alternatives to Apple apps ........................................................ 11
Across many app types, Apple’s own apps are rarely the most popular
app of a particular type, and account for a small share of app usage .................12
Appendix A: Methodology: Measuring the success of third-party apps on
the App Store........................................................................18
Appendix B: App choice and popularity across selected app types .....................20
Communication ..................................................................20
Music streaming ..................................................................24
Mapping .........................................................................28
TV and movie streaming ...........................................................30
Reading...........................................................................33
News .............................................................................36
Health and fitness.................................................................38
Games............................................................................42
Appendix C: Apps by major developers................................................43
Appendix D: About the authors.......................................................44
Appendix E: Sources and notes .......................................................45
The Success of Third-Party Apps on the App Store
4
Chapter 1: Platform choices available to
consumers, developers, and content creators, and
the growth of digital industries
̥ Digital devices have created new ways for people to listen to music, watch movies
and TV, read news and books, exercise, and play video games, spurring large and
sustained growth in digital consumption of those services.
̥ Developers and content producers can reach billions of users on digital
marketplaces such as the App Store and others.
In the last decade, technological progress has driven not only an increase in the number
of mobile and connected devices available to consumers, but also a marked improvement
in their performance. Smartphones and tablets have become ubiquitous, with more than
1.8 billion active Apple devices and more than 3 billion active Android devices worldwide –
together representing nearly half of the global population.
1
Other connected devices such
as e-readers, connected consoles, smart speakers, connected watches, and smart and
connected TVs are also widely used.
The proliferation of connected devices and the growth of app stores (such as the App
Store and Google Play) and other digital marketplaces and platforms (such as game
distribution platforms and self-publishing book platforms) have provided an ever-growing
range of options, both for consumers and for developers and content creators worldwide.
Consumers are now able to stream, play, and download content on several devices,
increasing the number of outlets for which developers can produce and distribute
soware and content to consumers. In addition, developers can use several strategies
to monetize their apps, including selling and distributing goods and services through
the app in the form of paid app downloads and in-app purchases, selling physical goods
and services through apps, selling in-app advertising, and selling companion physical
products.
The availability of sophisticated connected devices
and digital marketplaces has provided an ever-
growing range of options for consumers and
developers worldwide.
The continual improvement of connected devices through hardware and soware
innovation has provided developers and content creators with additional opportunities to
create new and innovative apps and services. For instance, the tremendous improvement
in smartphone photo-taking capabilities, including the introduction of front-facing
A more detailed
discussion of
monetization strategies
used by developers and
content creators on the
App Store is available
in our 2020 study “How
Large is the Apple App
Store Ecosystem?”
The Success of Third-Party Apps on the App Store
5
cameras, has driven a rapid expansion of video-communication apps such as FaceTime
and Snapchat, as well as photo-based and video-based social media apps such as
Instagram.
2
The combination of larger and more vibrant mobile device screens with longer
phone baery life has paved the way for mobile video streaming. Similarly, the integration
of accelerometers with various other device sensors has enabled the development of
health and fitness tracking.
Our research shows that these trends have affected consumers, developers, and content
creators across a variety of industries:
˿ Music: Consumers stream and listen to music on a wide array of devices. (See Figure
1.) Radio and traditional stereos, while still popular among older demographics,
3
are
declining in usage, and more than half of all music worldwide is now being listened
to on digital devices. Music streaming services have grown tremendously and are
expected to continue doing so. In addition to those using free services, in 2021,
more than 600 million people were paid subscribers to music streaming services
worldwide,
4
accounting for more than $23 billion in revenue in 2021, a figure that is
expected to grow to more than $36 billion in 2026.
5
Figure 1: Share of music listening time by device worldwide
Smartphones
27%
Computers
19%
Connected
speakers
7%
Radios
29%
Traditional
stereos
8%
Other
10%
Source: IFPI, Music Listening 2019.
˿ Books: eBooks and audiobooks are providing a steadily growing alternative to
physical books. The global eBook market was valued at around $18 billion in 2020, and
the global audiobook market at nearly $3 billion in 2019.
6
Many consumers have read
eBooks on smartphones (54%), followed by tablets (41%) and dedicated e-readers like
the Kindle (32%).
7
In 2019, 20% of adults in the US listened to at least one audiobook.
8
The growth in digital distribution options and their lower costs have resulted in an
increase in the prevalence of independently published and self-published books,
such that books from independent authors accounted for about 30% of all eBook
sales in English-speaking markets in 2020.
9
Comic books and manga can also be
produced and distributed digitally, reducing costs and making it easier to reach
readers.
10
Worldwide revenue from ePublishing has grown substantially in recent
years, with a 24% increase between 2017 and 2021.
11
˿ Video: Streaming services have expanded outlets available for content producers,
connecting them to owners of billions of smartphones, tablets, connected and smart
TVs, computers, and consoles worldwide. (See Figure 2.) While many viewers still
subscribe to cable TV, more than 60% of households in the US and UK subscribe to
The Success of Third-Party Apps on the App Store
6
streaming services, with 38% of US households subscribing to both cable TV and
at least one streaming service.
12
Streaming video is more popular among younger
generations in the US.
13
Video streaming services have grown dramatically: Worldwide
revenue in 2021 was more than $129 billion, more than 20 times greater than in 2010
($6 billion).
14
Figure 2: Share of video streaming viewing time by device worldwide
Connected TVs
49%
Smart TVs
17%
Smartphones
and tablets
15%
Computers
10%
Consoles
9%
Source: Conviva, State of Streaming Q4 2020.
˿ News: Although news has traditionally been distributed through print media such
as newspapers, magazines, and TV networks, today it is distributed largely through
websites, apps, podcasts, and online video.
15
For consumers who use online sources,
most now access news on their smartphones, primarily from news media and
newspaper apps directly, and through social media and search.
16
˿ Fitness: Until recently, fitness classes and content were mostly provided in person
(for example, in gyms or yoga studios). That has changed in recent years: Worldwide
revenue from fitness apps has grown substantially, increasing by 20% on average
each year between 2015 and 2020.
17
The coronavirus pandemic further accelerated
the growth in popularity of fitness websites, apps, videos, and livestreams, and
the revenue from fitness apps grew 49% between 2019 and 2020.
18
For instance,
the coronavirus pandemic drove significant growth in global health and fitness
content engagement on YouTube in 2020, with daily views of home workout videos
quadrupling in Korea, Germany, the UK, and Mexico.
19
In addition to app use, fitness
trackers and smartwatches are popular devices to track activity and health metrics.
Between 2016 and 2020, worldwide shipments of fitness trackers increased by 50%
and shipments of smartwatches grew by 211%.
20
˿ Video games: Video games were originally distributed to users via physical media
(such as cartridges and discs) for dedicated game consoles and desktop computers.
Today, they are largely distributed digitally to consoles and computers, as well as
smartphones and tablets. Improvements in smartphone technology have enabled
an increase in the reach of video games, as well as new genres such as casual and
hyper-casual games, which are quick and easy to play.
21
Smartphone gaming is a
The Success of Third-Party Apps on the App Store
7
global phenomenon, with 2.8 billion mobile users worldwide.
22
In the US, for example,
two-thirds of the entire population play video games on mobile devices. More than
half of all users play games on more than one device,
23
with developers creating
games across multiple devices. (See Figure 3.) Worldwide revenue from digital games
has grown substantially in recent years, increasing by more than 50% from 2016 to
2020, with mobile games accounting for most of the growth.
24
Figure 3: Share of video game developers currently developing for particular platforms
PC
iOS
Android
PlayStation 5
Xbox Series X/S
Mac
Nintendo
Web
VR
58%
32%
31%
27%
24%
18%
17%
11%
10%
Desktop
Console
Mobile
Web
VR
Source: GDC, 2021 State of the Game Industry Report.
For smartphones specifically, consumers have the choice among many different
manufacturers. iPhone, which runs on iOS, accounted for 16% of all worldwide
smartphone shipments in 2020, while nearly all of the remaining 84% were Android
devices. Popular Android smartphone manufacturers include Samsung, Huawei, Xiaomi,
vivo, Oppo, Lenovo, and LG. (See Figure 4.)
Figure 4: Share of smartphone shipments by device worldwide in 2020
Apple Samsung Huawei Xiaomi vivo Other
16% 15% 12% 9% 29%20%
Source: IDC.
To create smartphone apps, developers and content creators can rely on native apps, as
well as web apps, which work through a device’s internet browser.
25
The Success of Third-Party Apps on the App Store
8
Chapter 2: The dynamism of the App Store
ecosystem
̥ The continued growth of the App Store reflects the dynamism of the App Store, its
community, and its ecosystem, which benefits developers, users, and Apple.
̥ By providing various ways for users to expand and complement their iPhone
experiences, the App Store has benefited users and been central to the continued
success of the iPhone.
The dynamism of the App Store and its ecosystem
The App Store has grown substantially throughout the years. It is now the home of an
estimated 2 million apps from third-party developers, and it quadrupled in size between
2015 and 2021, as measured by estimates of total billings of third-party developers. (See
Figure 5.) Such growth is all the more notable given that during the same period, iPhone
sales were relatively flat, with the exception of an uptick in 2021.
26
From an economic perspective, however, App Store billings are only a small piece of the
App Store ecosystem as a whole. Third-party apps on the App Store are at the center of a
massive, and growing, ecosystem. In an earlier white paper, we estimated that in 2020, the
App Store facilitated $643 billion in third-party billings and sales, 24% more than in 2019.
27
As shown in Figure 5 below, estimated App Store billings constitute less than 10% of
estimated total billings and sales facilitated by the App Store in both 2019 and 2020.
Such continued and substantial growth reflects the dynamism of the App Store and its
ecosystem. It also reflects how developers have been able to create and distribute new
products on a global scale and find new channels for their existing products. Additionally,
it reflects how users have benefied from new apps of many types. Apple benefits as well,
when the ecosystem it established expands and grows, either directly through App Store
commissions or indirectly as the value users get from their iPhones increases. (See Figure
5.)
The Success of Third-Party Apps on the App Store
9
Figure 5: Estimated App Store billings and App Store ecosystem size ($ billion)
7.0% 10.0%
6.7% 9.6%
$0.6
2009
$1.4
2010
$3.1
2011
$5.3
2012
$11
2013
$14
2014
$21
2015
$29
2016
$37
2017
$49
2020 App Store ecosystem
total billings and sales
$643 billion
2019 App Store ecosystem
total billings and sales
$519 billion
2018
$50
2019
$64
2020
$86
2021
Estimated developer App Store earnings
Estimated App Store commissions
(based on 30% commission rate assumption)
Notes: The numbers in this exhibit are estimates only. Total App Store billings before 2013 are based on Evercore estimates, and we estimate
Apple commissions by assuming a commission rate of 30%. Billings starting in 2013 are estimated based on approximate cumulative developer
earnings announcements from Apple press releases between 2012 and 2021, which we use to estimate approximate yearly developer earnings.
We estimate an upper bound on Apple commissions by assuming an average commission rate of 30%. We calculate the estimated App Store
billings as the sum of developer earnings and the upper bound on Apple commission. While we expect the actual App Store billings to be lower
by some amount, any trend will be comparable.
Sources: Apple press releases on cumulative approximate developer earnings (2012-2021); Evercore, “Monetizing the Thin-Client Candy Store:
Opportunities to Leverage Apple Apps & Google Play,” December 2013 (for App Store billings before 2013); Borck, et al., “A Global Perspective
on the Apple App Store Ecosystem: An Exploration of Small Businesses within the App Store Ecosystem,” June 2021 (for estimated App Store
ecosystem size).
Apple supports a dynamic App Store by providing developers with tools and technologies
The App Store aims to facilitate interactions between hundreds of thousands of developers of all
sizes and the users of more than 1.8 billion active Apple devices. Like other two-sided platforms
that connect two groups of users, the App Store ecosystem becomes more valuable when
developers create new, diverse, and innovative apps that iPhone users want to use.
In a previous study, we evaluated the ways in which the App Store supports the growth of
developers. We found that Apple encourages the development of new and innovative third-party
apps and continuously invests in providing developers and content creators with many tools and
technologies, all of which contributes to the dynamism of the App Store. The App Store itself offers
developers a platform to distribute their apps to more than 1 billion iPhones worldwide. Apple also
offers developers a large set of technical tools and resources, as well as educational programs and
support, to help them develop and market new apps.
For more information on tools and technologies that Apple provides to help developers create and
market apps, see part 3 of our report, “A Global Perspective on the Apple App Store Ecosystem."
The Success of Third-Party Apps on the App Store
10
Consumers can choose from millions of apps on the App Store, expanding
and complementing their iPhone experiences
As early as 2009, a year aer the App Store’s launch, it became clear to many that its
ecosystem and the apps developed by third-party developers offered a way for iPhone
users to expand the functionality of their devices in novel and unanticipated ways. For
instance, the slogan “There’s an app for that” reflected the belief that apps offered new
functionality to iPhone users in many areas.
28
Since then, by providing many ways for
iPhone users to expand and complement their iPhone experience, the App Store has been
central to the continued success of the iPhone.
29
As of 2021, iOS users could choose from about 2 million apps developed both by Apple
and third parties:
˿ A small number of apps (approximately 60, less than 0.01% of iOS apps) have been
developed and are available from Apple. Apple apps support many smartphone
features, including communication (Messages, Phone, and FaceTime), photos
(Camera and Photos), and mapping (Apple Maps). Some Apple apps also support
additional services from Apple, such as eBook purchases with the Apple Books app,
and music and video streaming services with Apple Music and Apple TV+. For the
Apple Watch, Apple offers specific apps, including the heart-monitoring apps Heart
Rate and ECG and the sleep-tracking app Sleep.
˿ More than 99.99% of apps on the App Store have been developed by third parties.
These apps provide consumers with many types of services and content across
areas of interest and genres. Over the years, third-party apps have been downloaded
hundreds of billions of times by users and have become central to how iPhone users
use and rely on their devices.
By providing many ways for users to expand their
iPhone experience, the App Store has been central to
the continued success of the iPhone.
Research shows that apps have become a huge part of consumers’ lives. Worldwide,
smartphone users spend between 50 and 110 hours per month using apps on their
devices, with younger demographics using apps the most.
30
Numerous users rely on
apps for many, if not most, aspects of their daily experiences. The role of apps and the
App Store grew further when the coronavirus pandemic upended the world in early 2020.
iPhone users turned to the App Store to download apps to work, aend school, make
purchases, and stay connected, entertained, fit, and healthy.
31
The Success of Third-Party Apps on the App Store
11
Chapter 3: The popularity and range of third-party
apps on the App Store compared to Apple apps
̥ The available choices for many apps have proliferated in recent years, providing
numerous and varied alternatives to Apple Apps.
̥ Successful developers on the App Store include large technology companies
with worldwide popularity, as well as smaller developers with local and regional
footprints.
̥ Our quantitative analyses show that, across many app types, Apple’s own apps are
rarely the most popular of a particular type, and account for a small share of app
usage.
Third-party apps are the only options within some types of apps
For some types of apps, third-party apps are the only options available to users, as no
Apple app exists. For example, social media apps — such as TikTok, Twier, and NAVER
Café (Korea) — are only available from third-party developers. Similarly, there is no Apple
app that offers dating services (Bumble, Tantan), travel planning (Kayak, Google Flights), or
food and drink content (NYT Cooking, BBC Good Food Magazine).
Third-party apps have proliferated, providing numerous and varied
alternatives to Apple apps
For the types of apps for which Apple does offer apps, our research finds that users
can choose among many alternatives, some popular worldwide and others regionally,
some appealing to a broad audience and others offering niche content. We found that
the available choices for many apps and app features have proliferated in recent years,
especially for music streaming, video streaming, communication, health and fitness, news,
and games. (See Appendix B.)
Third-party apps have proliferated, offering more
choice and more features to consumers.
For example, we found that users have many alternatives to Apple Music, ranging from
globally popular apps like Spotify, Pandora, and Amazon Music to successful regional
players like Deezer in France, BBC Sounds in the UK, and Melon and Genie in Korea.
Similarly, we found that iPhone users can choose from many alternatives to Apple’s
The Success of Third-Party Apps on the App Store
12
Phone, Messages, and FaceTime apps, including global apps like WhatsApp and Facebook
Messenger, as well as regional apps like WeChat in China, LINE in Japan, and KakaoTalk in
Korea, or more specialized options like the encrypted message app Telegram.
Across many app types, Apple’s own apps are rarely the most popular app of
a particular type, and account for a small share of app usage
The findings presented below are based on a quantitative analysis of the extent to
which iPhone users engage with apps. The methodology we use is described in detail in
Appendix A. We measure engagement based on time spent in the app or by the number of
daily active users, depending on the app’s purpose and functionality and data availability.
A
We do not measure engagement using app downloads, because most Apple apps are
pre-installed and therefore do not need to be downloaded, and because an app can
be downloaded or already preinstalled but rarely (or never) used. We believe that using
measures of time spent in app and/or daily active users allows for more reliable estimates
of app popularity and engagement. The detailed results of those quantitative analyses are
presented in Appendix B.
Apple apps are oen eclipsed by third-party apps for many app types
We found that Apple’s own apps, while used by many, are rarely the most popular of a
given type and are eclipsed in popularity by third-party apps for nearly every country and
app type we considered.
Using this methodology, Figure 6 shows the two third-party apps most popular among
iPhone users in each of five types of apps (Communication, Music, Maps, TV, and Reading)
in eight geographic regions (US, UK, France, Germany, Australia and New Zealand, China,
Japan, and Korea), comparing their popularity with that of the Apple app. Several notable
paerns emerge emerge from our research and quantitative analyses:
˿ For the five types of apps considered, the Apple app is rarely the most popular app
in the regions considered. Our analyses show that third-party apps are frequently
several times more popular. This is the case even though the Apple apps are pre-
installed and do not require the user to download them.
˿ Highly popular apps include some developed by large and successful technology
companies that offer multiple types of apps. These apps include Google’s Google
Maps, Tencent’s WeChat, Amazon’s Amazon Prime Video and Kindle, and NAVER’s
LINE and Wapad.
˿ In some cases, we found that users prefer local alternatives to Apple’s app. For
example, KakaoTalk and WeChat are the most popular communication apps in Korea
and China, respectively. Deezer is as popular as Apple Music in France, and Piccoma
is many times more popular than Apple Books in Japan.
A We use daily active iPhone users for Communication, Maps, and TV and movie streaming; and average time spent
per day in the iOS app for Music streaming and Reading, except where noted in specific figures.
The Success of Third-Party Apps on the App Store
13
˿ Our analyses show that, in the US, UK, France, Germany, and Australia and New
Zealand, third-party apps are many times more popular than Apple apps for most app
types. Spotify is the most popular music streaming app in all of these regions, with
some local alternatives, such as Pandora Music, BBC Sounds, and Deezer. Netflix
and Amazon Prime Video are many times more popular than Apple TV+, and NAVER’s
Wapad and Amazon’s Kindle are many times more popular than Apple Books.
The exception is for communication apps, as Apple’s Messages and Phone are the
most popular communication apps in many countries, followed by Facebook’s apps
WhatsApp and Messenger. In Germany and the UK, WhatsApp is more or as popular
as Apple’s apps.
˿ We found that in China, Japan, and Korea, regional apps – in particular, those from
large developers Tencent, NAVER, and Kakao – tend to be the most popular. For
instance, local apps WeChat (Tencent), LINE (NAVER), and KakaoTalk are all more
popular than Apple’s Messages and Phone apps. In Japan, Piccoma and NAVER’s
LINE Manga is many times more popular than Apple Books. And in China and Korea,
regional mapping apps are the most popular.
The Success of Third-Party Apps on the App Store
14
Figure 6: Top apps across types of apps
Communication Music streaming Maps TV & movie streaming Reading
United
States
Snapchat
0.4x >
Apple
Spotify
1.6x >
Apple
Google Maps
1.5x >
Apple
Netflix
17x >
Apple
Wapad
(NAVER)
5.5x >
Apple
Messenger
(Facebook)
0.3x
Pandora Music*
0.7x
Waze
(Google)
0.3x
Hulu
3.2x
Kindle
(Amazon)
4.5x
United
Kingdom
WhatsApp
1.0x >
Apple
Spotify
2.3x >
Apple
Google Maps
2.2x >
Apple
Netflix
1291x >
Apple
Wapad
(NAVER)
3.6x >
Apple
Messenger
(Facebook)
0.4x
BBC Sounds*
0.3x
Waze
(Google)
0.3x
Amazon Prime
Video
325x
Kindle
(Amazon)
1.9x
France
WhatsApp
0.6x >
Apple
Spotify
1.6x >
Apple
Google Maps
1.9x >
Apple
Netflix
35x >
Apple
Wapad
(NAVER)
3.5x >
Apple
Messenger
(Facebook)
0.5x
Deezer*
1.0x
Waze
(Google)
1.1x
Amazon Prime
Video
5.0x
NAVER Webtoon
1.2x
Germany
WhatsApp
1.5x >
Apple
Spotify
1.9x >
Apple
Google Maps
2.1x >
Apple
Netflix
835x >
Apple
Wapad
(NAVER)
1.4x >
Apple
Instagram
0.6x
Amazon Music
0.2x
Komoot*
0.1x
Amazon Prime
Video
274x
Kindle
(Amazon)
0.8x
Australia
and New
Zealand
Messenger
(Facebook)
0.6x >
Apple
Spotify
3.6x >
Apple
Google Maps
2.6x >
Apple
Netflix
16x >
Apple
Wapad
(NAVER)
1.7x >
Apple
Instagram
0.5x
SoundCloud
0.2x
Waze
(Google)
0.2x
Amazon Prime
Video
2.0x
Kindle
(Amazon)
1.2x
China
WeChat*
(Tencent)
1.1x >
Apple
[Data unavailable, but
Apple Music is small]
Amap*
1.0x >
Apple
[Apple TV+
not available]
[Apple Books
not available]
QQ
(Tencent)
0.1x
Kugou
(Tencent)
QQ Music
(Tencent)
Baidu Maps*
0.4x
Japan
LINE* (NAVER)
2.2x >
Apple
Spotify
0.4x >
Apple
Google Maps
4.7x >
Apple
Amazon Prime
Video
407x >
Apple
Piccoma
15x >
Apple
Instagram
0.8x
LINE Music*
(NAVER)
0.2x
Yahoo! MAP*
0.3x
Netflix
256x
LINE Manga
(NAVER)
10x
Korea
KakaoTalk*
1.1x >
Apple
Melon*
6.0x >
Apple
NAVER Map*
7.7x >
Apple
[Apple TV+ only launched
in November 2021]
[Apple Books only
public domain books]
Instagram
0.4x
Genie*
1.9x
KakaoMap*
5.0x
Notes: “#x” indicates relative popularity of a local app compared to an Apple app in terms of daily active users or time spent in the app (for Music
streaming and Reading). Minutes for Music streaming not available in China. In Korea, these services are either relatively new (Apple TV+) or offer
only limited choices (Apple Books), while in China they are not available. * indicates regionally popular apps.
The Success of Third-Party Apps on the App Store
15
Apple’s own apps account for a relatively small share of app usage
Because users can choose among many different types of apps, and because many third-
party apps are popular with users, Apple’s own apps account for a relatively small share of
total app usage, despite the fact that most are preinstalled. Our comparisons are shown in
Figure 7.
B
(Appendix A provides further methodological details.) We find that:
˿ For some app types, the usage share of the Apple app is negligible. For example,
Apple’s usage share among TV and movie streaming apps is never more than 4% in
the countries considered.
˿ For many countries and app types, the Apple app accounts for 20 to 30% of total app
usage. This reflects that while the Apple apps are widely used, third-party apps are
used more frequently.
˿ There is only one country and one type of app considered for which the Apple app
accounts for more than half of app usage: Music streaming in Japan (55%).
Across many app types, Apple’s own apps are eclipsed
in popularity by third-party apps in nearly every
country and account for a small share of app usage.
Users can easily switch between Apple and third-party apps
In some cases, iPhone users consistently rely on multiple apps in the same category, reflecting
how easy it is to download and try an app before deciding whether to use it regularly. The ease of
downloading is particularly salient for new apps, which can grow quickly when released.
Not only do users have multiple choices among apps, they also switch between them regularly. For
instance, users oen consume news from both social media apps and dedicated newspaper apps.
Or they may use multiple communication apps, fitness apps, and TV streaming apps. Moreover,
iPhone gamers typically play on more than one gaming app.
B We computed the app usage share of the Apple app of a given type in a country based on daily active users (for
Communications, Maps, and TV and movie streaming) or average time spent per day (for Music streaming and
Reading). For communication apps, Apple offers two complementary apps, Messages and Phone, while third-party
apps integrate calling and messaging in the same app. To avoid double counting Apple apps users, we therefore
used the maximum number of users across Messages and Phone.
The Success of Third-Party Apps on the App Store
16
Figure 7: Apple apps’ share among top apps, across countries and types of apps
Communication Music streaming Maps TV & movie streaming Reading
United
States
United
Kingdom
France
Germany
Australia
and New
Zealand
China
[Data unavailable, but
share is small]
[Apple TV+ not
available]
[Apple Books not
available]
Japan
Korea
[Apple TV+
only launched in
November 2021]
[Apple Books
only public domain
books]
Notes: The top apps were identified by researching the most popular apps within each app type and country. Data is for iPhone users between
July 2020 and June 2021 for Communications, Music streaming, Maps, and TV and movie streaming apps, and for iPhone and iPad users between
July 2020 and June 2021, or over shorter periods depending on data availability, for Reading apps.
Source: data.ai data for iPhone and iPad users.
The Success of Third-Party Apps on the App Store
17
Large and successful technology companies offer many popular app options
While many successful third-party apps that provide alternatives to Apple apps are developed by
specialized developers, such as music streaming app Spotify or video streaming app Netflix, some
of the largest and most successful technology companies in the world – including Google, Amazon,
Microso, Tencent, Baidu, Kakao, and NAVER – have used their resources to develop apps across
many genres. Many of the apps developed by those companies overlap with multiple Apple apps
and services and provide options to customers. (See Appendix C.) For example, all companies offer
cloud services apps; all but Microso offer music streaming, video streaming, and eBooks apps;
and all but Baidu offer communication apps. In some cases, these companies offer more than one
alternative to Apple’s app. For example, Tencent operates three popular music apps and NAVER
operates four communication apps.
In some cases, these large technology companies launched their apps before Apple’s. Examples
include Tencent’s music streaming apps Kuwo and QQ, and Amazon’s Prime Video, Kindle, and
Audible apps. Other examples launched at the same time or aer Apple’s, such as NAVER’s music
streaming services, LINE Music and VIBE.
Additionally, some of these companies provide complete suites of apps for customers, which may
entice iPhone users to consider other devices. For instance, Google – the developer of the mobile
operating system Android, which is used on more than 80% of mobile devices shipped in 2020
(see Figure 4) – provides many alternative app options popular with iOS users. As those users
become familiar with the Google ecosystem, they may more oen consider switching to an Android
ecosystem.
In sum, large technology companies besides Apple offer consumers popular and well-regarded
options in many app categories and have done so for a long time. As shown in Appendix A, these
apps, as well as those offered by more specialized companies, are oen many times more popular
than Apple’s apps of the same type. In our estimation, it is likely that these large companies’ apps
will continue to remain popular options for users in the future.
The Success of Third-Party Apps on the App Store
18
Appendix A: Methodology: Measuring the success
of third-party apps on the App Store
We rely on outcome-based engagement metrics to analyze the success of third-party apps
on the App Store. Engagement with apps can be measured in different ways:
˿ The number of downloads can be useful for measuring how oen users try out an
app. However, this measure cannot be directly used to compare the success of third-
party and pre-installed Apple apps.
˿ Usage measures can be helpful for measuring how oen and how much users engage
with apps. Usage can be measured based on time spent in the app or by the number
of active users, which can be calculated across different intervals of time (typically a
day or a month). However, a monthly active users metric tends to be too aggregated
for apps that are used frequently. Therefore, we typically rely on an app’s daily active
users rather than monthly active users.
- The appropriate engagement measure depends on the app’s purpose
and functionality. For example, time spent in app is a particularly relevant
engagement metric for reading apps, music and video streaming apps, and ad-
based businesses.
- In some cases, different usage measures can present very different pictures. For
example, the ranking of most popular reading apps on iPhone in the US differs
substantially depending on whether one uses the number of daily active users
or the time spent on an app as the relevant metric. (See Figure 8.) Wapad,
Audible, and Apple Books have similar numbers of daily active iPhone users, and
approximately 60% more daily active users than Kindle. By time spent in the app,
however, Wapad is used by far the most, and the Kindle app is the second-most
used reading app.
˿ To avoid capturing seasonal or transitory effects, we measure engagement over a full
year or more – between July 2020 and June 2021 for time spent and daily active users,
and between July 2019 and June 2021 for the number of downloads.
˿ For privacy reasons, Apple has limited visibility into usage data. We therefore
obtained data on downloads, daily active users, and time spent in app from data.ai
(formerly App Annie), a third-party provider of mobile device app use data. We also
use other publicly available information, including industry reports, news articles, and
developer websites.
The Success of Third-Party Apps on the App Store
19
Figure 8: Comparison of usage measures of iPhone reading apps in the US
Daily active users
(Millions)
Wapad
Audible
Apple Books
Kindle
Libby
Tapas
Hoopla
Readict
Dreame
2.7
2.6
2.6
1.6
0.8
0.2
0.2
0.1
0.1
Total time in app per month
(Millions of minutes)
Wapad
Kindle
Audible
Apple Books
Libby
Readict
Dreame
Tapas
Hoopla
194
92
23
20
13
9
8
4
4
Note: Average number of daily active iPhone users (in millions) and average daily minutes spent in app (in millions) between July 2020 and June
2021.
Source: data.ai data for iPhone users.
App comparisons are more meaningful when done within app type. For instance, ranking
the most used apps in the entire App Store ignores app purpose and functionality;
comparing engagement between a calculator app, such as Apple’s Calculator, and a video
streaming app, such as YouTube, is not meaningful. In addition, as explained above, the
most relevant metric to measure engagement may differ across app types, and comparing
across all app types will therefore lead to results that are difficult to interpret.
Nuance is needed to interpret any comparison between apps when users “multi-app.”
Since many apps are entirely free to use, users oen use multiple apps in the same app
type. For instance, a user may rely on a combination of Messages, WhatsApp, Snapchat,
and Telegram for communication. Multi-app use is also relevant for apps that are not free
to use. For example, a user may subscribe to Netflix and Apple TV+, and also have access
to Amazon Prime Video through an Amazon Prime membership. To measure multi-app
use, we rely on the proportion of users in a country who are monthly active users for
multiple apps in the same type of apps.
App comparisons may be more meaningful within a country or a region. Some apps
are popular across multiple regions or worldwide – such as Facebook’s WhatsApp and
Messenger, Snapchat, and Apple’s Messages – while others are popular in certain regions,
such as LINE in Japan or KakaoTalk in Korea. A global comparison of communication
apps would understate the importance of regional apps. Similarly, an analysis of popular
apps within the US (or any other single region) would ignore apps that that are popular in
other areas. We therefore identify apps that are popular within many different countries or
regions, including the US, Europe, China, Japan, Korea, and Australia and New Zealand.
The Success of Third-Party Apps on the App Store
20
Appendix B: App choice and popularity across
selected app types
This section provides an in-depth analysis of app choice and popularity for eight app
types, as summarized in Chapter 3. Our findings are based on research, as well as
quantitative analyses relying on the methodology described in Appendix A.
Communication
Over the last decade, communication apps have proliferated and offered an
increasing number of features. Our analyses show that consumers use both globally
and locally popular apps, and oen use multiple apps together, reflecting how easily
they can switch between apps.
Apple Popular third-party apps
Messages WhatsApp
(Facebook)
Messenger
(Facebook)
Instagram
(Facebook)
Telegram
Discord Signal
Slack
WeChat
Kik (UK, US)
Teamspeak
Phone
Microso
Teams
Element
Messenger
Wickr Me GroupMe Google
Hangouts
Wire
Zoom KakaoTalk
(Korea)
LINE
(Japan)
Messenger
for Kids
Facetime
Skype
Viber Snapchat Jitsi Meet
Libon
Olvid Plus
Message
QQ (China)
WhatsApp
Business
Skype for
Business
Consumers rely on a combination of phone calls (with or without VoIP), messages (SMS,
MMS, or over internet), audio messages, and video calls to suit their professional and
social needs and preferences. Popular communication apps offer most of these features
and provide users with alternatives to Apple’s built-in communication apps.
Since the iPhone was released in 2007, communication options available to consumers
have proliferated. During this time period, we found that apps have added new features
and capabilities, including internet-enabled messaging, Wi-Fi voice calls, and video calls.
New apps, including Telegram, Signal, or Google Meet, launched. (See Figure 8.) Many
capabilities have followed improvements in smartphone technology, such as when Apple
added a front-facing camera on the iPhone 4, supporting mobile video calls.
Increased demand for specific features can heighten the popularity of certain apps. For
example, the coronavirus pandemic accelerated the need for group video calls to facilitate
remote work and socially distanced gatherings, making Zoom the most downloaded free
iPhone app in 2020, as well as accelerating the number of users of workplace-focused
communication apps, such as Microso Teams and Slack.
32
Recently, growing concerns
about privacy have led to surges in downloads of encrypted messaging apps like Signal
The Success of Third-Party Apps on the App Store
21
and Telegram.
33
Many of these apps, such as Snapchat and WhatsApp, have appeared on
multiple App Store storefront features such as “Get Started” and “The Basics.”
34
Figure 9: Launch of selected communication apps and features since 2007
Messenger Google
Hangouts
Snapchat + Instagram
DM
Zoom top
downloaded
free iPhone
app
GroupMe
WeChat
Telegram Slack
Discord
Microso
Teams
Privacy
concerns drive
global uptick
in encrypted
messaging apps
Skype
KakaoTalk LINE
+ Audio Calls
& Messaging
Signal
+ Video
Calls
Google
Chat
WhatsApp
Business
+ Video Calls
WhatsApp Viber
+ Video
Calls
+ Audio,
Video Calls
+ Audio
Messages
+ Messaging + Audio
Calls
+ Video
Calls
Google
Meet
+ Group Calls
(4 ppl)
+ Group Calls
(8 ppl)
2007 2008 2009 2010 2011 2012 2013 2014 2015 2016 2017 2018 2020 2021
Phone
App Store
launches in
2008
Messages
+MMS
FaceTime iMessage + FaceTime
Audio
+ Audio
Messages
+ Group Calls
Text
Front camera
on iPhone 4
in 2010
Our quantitative analyses show that three of the most popular third-party communication
apps are Facebook-owned WhatsApp, Instagram,
C,35
and Messenger, which have some of
the highest numbers of daily active iPhone users globally, according to data.ai. Apple’s
Messages or Phone app is the most popular communication app among iPhone users
in the US, UK, France, and Australia and New Zealand, but Facebook’s WhatsApp leads
in Germany, and regional players WeChat, LINE (from NAVER), and KakaoTalk are the top
communication apps in China, Japan, and Korea, respectively. Facebook Messenger and
Instagram are among the top five iPhone communication apps across all these regions
except China, where they are not available. Among the top communications apps for
iPhone users across these countries, Apple apps’ shares range from 23% in Japan to 45%
in China.
D
(See Figures 7 and 10.)
C We included Instagram in communication apps due to the popularity of its direct messaging feature. As of 2017, its
messaging feature was used by more than half of its 700 million monthly active users.
D For communication apps, Apple offers two complementary apps, Messages and Phone, while third-party apps
integrate calling and messaging in the same app. To avoid double counting Apple apps users, we therefore used the
maximum number of users across Messages and Phone to calculate Apple’s share.
The Success of Third-Party Apps on the App Store
22
Figure 10: Top communication apps on iPhone in selected regions
US
Messages
Snapchat
Phone
FB Messenger
Instagram
WhatsApp
121
94
45
41
37
18
WeChat*
Phone
Messages
QQ*
China
158
148
111
19
UK
Phone
Messages
WhatsApp
FB Messenger
Snapchat
Instagram
20 20
17
8.1
7.8
7.7
LINE*
Messages
Phone
Instagram
FB Messenger
Japan
48
22
20
17
3.9
Messages
WhatsApp
Phone
FB Messenger
Instagram
Snapchat
France
13
11
8.1
6.0
5.9
5.7
WhatsApp
Messages
Phone
Instagram
Snapchat
FB Messenger
Germany
20
14
10
7.8
3.8
2.8
Messages
FB Messenger
Phone
Instagram
WhatsApp
Snapchat
Australia & New Zealand
7.8
6.4
4.5
3.6
2.8
2.6
KakaoTalk*
Phone
Messages
Instagram
FB Messenger
Korea
9.8
8.7
8.4
3.5
0.6
Notes: Number of daily active iPhone users (in millions) between July 2020 and June 2021. * indicates regionally popular apps.
Source: data.ai data for iPhone users.
We also found that consumers oen “multi-app,” meaning that they rely on multiple
communications apps at the same time. Looking at cross-app usage in the US, more than
40% of Snapchat users and around 50% of WhatsApp app users also use the Facebook
Messenger app. Similar (or higher) levels of cross-app usage across these three apps
can also be seen in the UK and Australia.
36
Preferred communication apps also vary by
demographic groups. For example, nearly 60% of Snapchat’s global users are age 13 to 24,
compared to less than 30% of Facebook Messenger’s.
37
The Success of Third-Party Apps on the App Store
23
LINE (Japan, 2011) – LINE was created by a Japanese unit of NHN Corp (now NAVER)
aer the 2011 earthquake, tsunami, and nuclear crisis disrupted phone lines, making it
apparent that there was a need for internet-based communication tools. LINE reached
50 million users in just over a year and now has more than 165 million monthly active
users across Japan and Southeast Asia, where it is most popular. LINE offers users free
messaging and voice and video calls, and is known for its tens of thousands of free and
paid stickers. The app also integrates other features, including themes, games, and
sending or receiving money via LINE Pay.
38
Kakao Talk (Korea, 2010) – KakaoTalk is the leading messaging app in Korea, with 47
million monthly active users in Korea (around 90% of Korea’s population). The app offers
users free messaging, voice and video calls, paid items like emoticons and themes, and
features such as an integrated calendar, KakaoTalk Channel to receive updates from
your favorite celebrities, and in-app shopping.
39
WeChat (China, 2011) – Launched by Tencent in 2011, WeChat is the most popular app in
China, with approximately 1.2 billion monthly active users. Although WeChat originally
launched as a messaging app, it has grown to become an all-in-one app that users can
turn to for everything from hailing a ride and ordering food delivery to paying utility bills
and purchasing items at a physical store.
40
The Success of Third-Party Apps on the App Store
24
Music streaming
Consumers listen to music from large global services, but also from regionally
popular ones. In many regions, Spotify is listened to the most, and in recent years
Amazon Music Unlimited and YouTube Music have grown significantly.
Apple Popular third-party apps
Music Spotify
Pandora
Musi SiriusXM Deezer KuGou
(China)
QQMusic
(China)
Amazon
Music
YouTube
Music
TuneIn
Radio
MusicaXM
Melon
SoundCloud AWA
(Japan)
Audiomack iHeartRadio eSound
Genie
(Korea)
LINE Music
(Japan)
FLO
(Korea)
Kuwo Music
(China)
Qian Qian
(China)
NetEase
Music
(China)
NAVER VIBE
(Korea)
IDAGIO Tidal BBC Sounds
(UK)
In 2021, music streaming generated more than $23 billion in global revenue.
41
Users can
choose from a wide variety of options, from general audience streaming services such
as Spotify, Pandora, YouTube Music, and Apple Music to specialized services that cater
to more specific tastes, such as classical music service Idagio. Additionally, a large and
increasing number of users stream music and discover new artists through the regular
YouTube platform: Google estimates that in 2020, more than 2 billion people used it to
listen to music each month, a number twice as high as in 2018.
42
We found that since Apple launched the iTunes music store in 2003, many music
streaming services have emerged, including Spotify in 2008 and Amazon Music Prime
and Tidal in 2014. Spotify launched its iOS app in 2009 in Europe and in 2011 in the US. In
2015, Apple Music launched, the same year as YouTube Music and LINE MUSIC (Japan).
Other popular services launched shortly thereaer, including Amazon Music Unlimited
(Amazon’s premium on-demand music streaming service) and FLO (Korea) in 2016, and
BBC Sounds (UK) and VIBE (Korea) in 2018.
E
(See Figure 11.)
Music streaming services typically generate revenue through ad-supported free versions
or subscriptions. While Apple Music is subscription-based only, many popular services,
such as Spotify, provide both free and subscription options.
Despite the large number of free options, the number of paid on-demand music
subscriptions has grown substantially. Research indicates that there were more than half
a billion music subscribers worldwide in mid-2021, an increase of more than 25% in one
year.
43
In the US, the number of paid subscribers grew by more than 230% between 2016
and 2020, with the largest increase occurring between 2019 and 2020 (15 million additional
E Amazon Music offers two options, Amazon Music Prime, included in Prime memberships, with 2 million songs, and
standalone Amazon Music Unlimited, with 75 million songs.
The Success of Third-Party Apps on the App Store
25
subscriptions).
44
Globally, Spotify’s share has also grown, and is popular among younger
demographics.
45
YouTube Music and Amazon Music Unlimited – two services whose apps
were heavily featured on the US App Store storefront
F,46
– have grown significantly in
recent years: In 2020, their subscriber bases both increased by more than 50%,
47
and they
have a substantial presence worldwide.
48
Figure 11: Launch of selected global and regional music streaming services since 2002
iHeartRadio Idagio
Kuwo
Music*
SiriusXM* LINE
Music*
KuGou*
QQ Music*
Spotify Qian
Qian*
Genie*
NetEase
Music*
Amazon
Music
Prime
AWA* Amazon
Music
Unlimited
NAVER
VIBE*
TuneIn
Radio
Melon*
Pandora
Music*
Deezer* SoundCloud +US
launch
Audiomack* Musi TIDAL*
YouTube
Music
FLO* eSound BBC
Sounds*
Musica
XM*
2002 2003 2004 2005 2007 2008 2011 2012 2013 2014 2015 2016 2017 2018 2020
iTunes
Music Store
launch
App Store
launch
Apple
Music
launch
* indicates regionally popular apps.
Our quantitative analyses reflect that many streaming services are popular with iPhone
users. (See Figure 12.) Some of these, such as Spotify, Apple Music, Amazon Music, and
YouTube Music, have millions of listeners worldwide. Focusing on dedicated streaming
services (i.e., not including YouTube), Spotify is by far the most popular music streaming
service for iPhone users in the US, UK, France, Germany, and Australia and New Zealand,
based on listening time.
G
In the US, iPhone users spend more than 50% more time on
Spotify than on Apple Music, and more than double the time on Spotify than on Pandora,
followed by Musi, YouTube Music, and SoundCloud. In the UK, Germany, and Australia and
New Zealand, the gap between the largest player (Spotify) and other streaming services is
larger. Across these countries, Apple Music’s share out of the top music streaming apps
among iPhone users ranges from 19% in Australia and New Zealand to 29% in Germany.
In Japan, Apple Music is the most popular, followed by Spotify and regional player LINE
MUSIC.
F Apps are considered featured when included in any feature type (e.g., App of the Day, Our Favorites, The Basics) on
the Today page of an App Store storefront. Amazon Music Unlimited and YouTube Music were featured in the US
storefront more than 80 times in between April and September 2021.
G Spotify’s app allows users to listen to both music and podcasts. Therefore, not all users and time spent using the
Spotify app may correspond to music streaming use. The Apple Music app allows users to listen to both music from
Apple Music and locally downloaded or streamed music from the iTunes store. Therefore, not all daily active users
and not all time spent in the Apple Music app may correspond to Apple Music streaming.
The Success of Third-Party Apps on the App Store
26
We also found that many local apps are highly successful. In France, local streaming
service Deezer is one of the most popular choices among iPhone users, who spent nearly
as much time on this local option as on Apple Music. In the US, Pandora is also popular,
as is BBC Sounds in the UK, which launched three years ago and is already the third-most
popular option in the UK. In Asia, both Korean and Chinese streaming users strongly
prefer local apps. Korean users spend the most time on Melon and Genie, and regional
newcomers FLO and VIBE are also popular. In Korea, Apple Music’s share out of the top
music streaming apps among iPhone users is less than 10%. In China, the most popular
music streaming options (among all users) are KuGou, QQ Music, Kuwo (all owned by
Tencent), and NetEase, while Apple Music is not a significant player.
49
Deezer (France, 2007) – Founded by a 23-year-old in a Paris apartment who wanted to
make it easier for his friends to listen to music, Deezer has grown into a global music
streaming service, available in more than 180 countries, with 16 million active users. It is
among the top three most popular music streaming services in France. Deezer’s
catalogue has more than 90 million songs and 40,000 podcasts, as well as audiobooks
and radio channels. It offers listeners features such as curated content picked by Deezer
editors and AI-powered, personalized recommendations. In 2019, Deezer was valued at
€1 billion, acquiring French Unicorn status.
50
Pandora (US, 2005) – Pandora is a leading music and podcast discovery platform in the
US, known for helping consumers discover new music through a highly personalized
listening experience powered by its proprietary Music Genome Project technology – in
which its team of musicologists have analyzed every song on Pandora for nearly 500
musical traits – and its thumbs-up/thumbs-down feature. Pandora is the third-most
popular music streaming app in the US, with approximately 70 million monthly active
users, and was acquired by Sirius XM for $3.5 billion in 2019.
51
KuGou (China, 2004) – KuGou is one of China’s most popular and comprehensive music
streaming apps, and is part of Tencent’s family of music streaming services, alongside
QQ Music and Kuwo. These are the top three most popular music streaming apps in
China. Combined, Tencent’s music platforms have more than 620 million monthly active
users in China, with KuGou having approximately 300 million users per month. In
addition to music streaming services, KuGou also offers users interactive social features
such as livestreaming of musical performances and concerts, and in-app karaoke.
52
FLO (Korea, 2018) – FLO was launched by South Korean Telecom in 2018 with partners
such as SM Entertainment, Big Hit Entertainment, and JYP Entertainment. In only a few
years, it became the fourth largest music streaming service in Korea. One of FLO’s
popular features is its “FLO Chart,” which ranks songs based on their popularity
according to FLO’s last 24 hours of streaming data, helping listeners discover new music
and listen to what others are listening to.
53
The Success of Third-Party Apps on the App Store
27
Figure 12: Top music streaming services on iPhone in selected countries
Spotify
Deezer*
Apple Music
YouTube Music
eSound
Musica XM*
SoundCloud
Amazon Music
TuneIn Radio
TIDAL*
21
13
13
3.4
2.2
1.8
1.3
1.2
0.8
0.6
France
Spotify
Pandora Music*
Apple Music
Musi
YouTube Music
SoundCloud
SiriusXM*
Amazon Music
TuneIn Radio
iHeartRadio
Audiomack
289
184
133
82
53 53
27
22
20
18
6.6
US
Spotify
Amazon Music
Apple Music
SoundCloud
YouTube Music
Musica XM*
TuneIn Radio
eSound
Deezer*
TIDAL*
37
19
3.4
1.7
1.4
1.3
1.0
1.0 0.8
0.3
Germany
Spotify
BBC Sounds*
Apple Music
Musi
SoundCloud
Amazon Music
YouTube Music
TuneIn Radio
Deezer*
56
24
8.0
6.0
5.9
4.1
3.5
1.9 1.2
UK
Melon*
Apple Music
Genie*
YouTube Music
FLO*
NAVER VIBE*
SoundCloud
eSound
36
11
5.9
4.7
4.1
3.3
2.4
0.6
Korea
Apple Music
LINE MUSIC*
Spotify
Amazon Music
YouTube Music
AWA*
SoundCloud
69
26
14
6.6
5.9
1.2
0.2
Japan
Kugou (Tencent)
Kuwo Music (Tencent)
QQ Music (Tencent)
NetEase Music (NetEase)
Qian Qian (Baidu)
322
252
141
84
4.9
China
+
Spotify
SoundCloud
Apple Music
YouTube Music
TuneIn Radio
Musi
iHeartRadio
33
9.2
1.6
1.4
1.1
0.7 0.4
Australia & New Zealand
Notes: Average time per day by iPhone users (in millions of minutes) between July 2020 and June 2021 for all countries but China; + Monthly
active users (in millions) across all devices for the leading music streaming apps in China, as of September 2021. (iPhone-specific monthly active
user data for China and time spent data not available). * indicates regionally popular apps.
Source: data.ai data for iPhone users for all countries but China; iiMedia Research for China.
The Success of Third-Party Apps on the App Store
28
Mapping
Smartphone users regularly use mapping apps, including both globally and locally
popular turn-by-turn navigation apps, and specialized transit, cycling, and hiking
mapping apps.
Apple Popular third-party apps
Maps
Google
Maps
Waze NAVER
Map
(Korea)
KakaoMap
(Korea)
Amap
(China)
Baidu Maps
(China)
Tencent
Maps
(China)
TMAP
(Korea)
Bikemap
Komoot
Moovit
Today, approximately two-thirds of smartphone users regularly rely on mapping apps.
54
These apps are used to get turn-by-turn directions for various modes of transportation,
as well as to check opening hours of businesses and local transportation options, among
other features.
Globally, we found that Google leads the way with more than 100 million daily active
iPhone users across its two apps: Google Maps (88 million) and the driving-centric Waze
(13 million). By contrast, Apple Maps – the relaunched Maps app using Apple’s own
mapping service in 2012,
H
the same year as the Google Maps app – has 34 million daily
active iPhone users.
55
Together, we found that these apps are the most popular mapping
apps among iPhone users in regions such as the US, France, Germany, the UK, Japan,
and Australia and New Zealand. Across these countries, Apple Maps’ share out of the top
mapping apps among iPhone users ranges between 16% in Japan and 36% in the US.
In other countries, we also found that local apps have many iPhone users: In Korea,
NAVER Map, KakaoMap, and TMAP (featured twice as App of the Day in the second and
third quarters of 2021 in the Korean storefront)
56
are the three most popular iOS mapping
apps, ahead of both Google Maps and Apple Maps. In China, Amap is the most popular
iOS mapping app, followed by Apple Maps. While smaller, Baidu Maps and Tencent Maps
are also popular. In Korea and China, Apple Maps’ share out of the top mapping apps
among iPhone users is 5% and 39%, respectively. (See Figure 13.)
Users can also choose from many specialized mapping apps. For instance,
outdoor enthusiasts can use AllTrails and Gaia GPS to plan their hikes, while
cyclists, particularly in Europe, can rely on the capabilities of Komoot and
Bikemap for routing and navigation apps with a focus on terrain type and
elevation profile. Another popular category is public transit maps. Moovit and
CityMapper provide transit estimates and directions for various modes of
transportation (including bike sharing programs) in many cities worldwide. Both
of these apps rely on Apple’s MapKit – a tool available to app developers to
easily add maps to iOS apps – which operates on the Apple Maps API and data.
H Until iOS 6, the Maps app on iPhone was developed by Apple but used Google Maps data.
The Success of Third-Party Apps on the App Store
29
Figure 13: Top mapping apps on iPhone in selected countries
NAVER Map*
KakaoMap*
TMAP*
Google Maps
Apple Maps
1.1
0.7 0.7
0.4
0.1
Korea
Amap*
Apple Maps
Baidu Maps*
Tencent Maps*
5.2
5.0
2.0
0.6
China
Google Maps
Apple Maps
Yahoo! MAP*
NAVITIME Transit*
10
2.2
0.6
0.2
Japan
Google Maps
Apple Maps
Waze (Google)
24
16
5.1
US
Google Maps
Apple Maps
Komoot*
3.7
1.8
0.1
Germany
Google Maps
Waze (Google)
Apple Maps
2.2
1.3
1.2
France
Google Maps
Apple Maps
Waze (Google)
2.7
1.0
0.2
Australia & New Zealand
Google Maps
Apple Maps
Waze (Google)
4.6
2.1
0.6
UK
Note: Number of daily active iPhone users (in millions) between July 2020 and June 2021. * indicates regionally popular apps.
Source: data.ai data for iPhone users.
Amap (China, 2002) – Amap is one of China’s most popular navigation apps and is fully
integrated into Alibaba’s e-commerce ecosystem. It provides users with access to
multiple services beyond navigation, including booking taxis or ridesharing services,
finding carpooling services or bicycle rentals, and providing information on tourist
aractions nearby.
57
KakaoMap (Korea, 2008) – KakaoMap, one of Korea’s most popular mapping services,
was first launched as Daum Map in 2009 and relaunched as KakaoMap following the
merger of Daum and Kakao in 2014. In addition to driving directions, KakaoMap also
provides schedules and real-time tracking for public transportation, as well as user-
generated reviews and photos of local aractions. KakaoMap is one of several Kakao
transportation apps, which also include Kakao T (a taxi-hailing app), KakaoBus, and
Kakao metro.
58
The Success of Third-Party Apps on the App Store
30
TV and movie streaming
Consumers have seen a proliferation of TV and movie streaming options, but Netflix
is dominant in almost every region.
Apple Popular third-party apps
Apple TV Amazon
Prime Video
Disney+ Netflix HBO Max Curiosity
Stream
Paramount+ Discovery+ Hulu
(US)
Sky Go
(UK)
Paravi
(Japan)
TVer
(Japan)
MYTF1
(France)
Joyn
(Germany)
Peacock
(US)
Crunchyroll
(US)
4oD
(UK)
Now TV
(UK)
6play
(France)
ITV Hub
(UK)
DAZN
Abema TV
(Japan)
U-Next
(Japan)
MyCanal
(France)
Foxtel Go
(AUS)
BritBox
(UK)
ESPN+
(US)
Stan
(AUS)
Molotov
(France)
BBC iPlayer
(UK)
Tubi TV
(US)
While some providers began offering streaming services in the mid-2000s, the number of
streaming options available to consumers worldwide has taken off over the last 10 years.
Revenue has also grown: In 2021, revenue in the video streaming market reached $129
billion, more than 20 times revenue in 2010.
59
Some of the earliest streaming services, such as Netflix, Hulu, Amazon Prime Video, and
BBC iPlayer, initially offered web-based streaming, but began launching iOS apps between
2010 to 2012. Apple launched Apple TV+ in 2019, the same year as Disney+ and a few
months before HBO Max, NBCUniversal’s Peacock, and Foxtel Go (Australia). Paramount+
and Discovery+ followed, launching in 2021. (See Figure 14.) Many services have expansion
plans, including Amazon (with its recent MGM purchase), Stan, and BBC iPlayer.
60
Streaming providers typically monetize their services through subscriptions and/
or advertisements, sometimes offering different tiers of service. For example, popular
services in the US rely on a range of different monetization strategies. Both Netflix and
Apple TV+ are entirely subscription-based (although Apple TV+ provides a free trial
option). Hulu and Peacock offer various premium options and a basic ad-supported plan at
a lower per-month cost, and Tubi TV, a Fox owned service, is purely ad-supported. Amazon
Prime Video is included with the Amazon Prime subscription that more than 55% of US
households have, but it can also be purchased as a standalone subscription.
61
The Success of Third-Party Apps on the App Store
31
Figure 14: Launch of selected TV and movie streaming services since 2006
Sky Go*
6play*
HÖRZU TV
Programm*
RTL+*
myCanal* HBO Max* DAZN Kayo Sports*
Netflix ITV Hub*
Joyn*
TVer*
9Now*
Paravi*
Crunchyroll* U-Next*
Hulu
MYTF1*
Foxtel Go* Tubi TV* Stan* Molotov* 7Plus* BritBox
4oD* BBC
iPlayer*
Amazon
Prime Video
TV
SPIELFILM*
Now TV*
Paramount+ Curiosity
Stream
Abema TV* Xfinity
Stream*
ESPN+*
Disney+ Peacock* Discovery+
2006 2007 2008 2009 2012 2014 2015 2016 2017 2018 2019 2020 2021
App Store
launch
Apple TV+
launch
Notes: Services are identified by their current branding (e.g., ITV Player launched in 2008 and rebranded to ITV Hub in 2015, CBS All Access
launched in 2014 and rebranded to Paramount+ in 2021). * indicates regionally popular apps.
As with music streaming apps, our quantitative analyses reflect that some of these
streaming services are popular globally, and others regionally. In many countries, Netflix
is by far the most popular streaming app among iPhone users. In the US, the Netflix app
has more than five times more daily active iPhone users than the second- and third-most
popular apps, Hulu and Amazon Prime Video (which was featured nearly 100 times in
the US storefront), and is seven times more popular than the next competitor, Disney+
(featured more than 100 times).
62
In Australia and New Zealand, France, the UK, and
Germany, Netflix is seven, six, four, and three times more popular than Amazon Prime
Video, respectively. In Japan, however, Amazon Prime Video is the most popular, with
about 60% more users than Netflix.
63
In the UK, Japan, and Germany, Apple TV is not
among the top eight streaming apps by average daily active users. In fact, Apple TV’s share
of the top TV and movie streaming apps among iPhone users is small across all countries
analyzed, from just 0.05% in the UK to only 4% in Australia and New Zealand. (See Figure
15.)
Other streaming services are popular locally, oen offering regionally targeted content.
These streaming services include BBC iPlayer and Sky Go in the UK, myCANAL in France,
Stan in Australia, TV SPIELFILM and Joyn in Germany, and AbemaTV and TVer in Japan.
The Success of Third-Party Apps on the App Store
32
Figure 15: Top TV and movie streaming services on iPhone in selected countries
64
Netflix
Disney+
Amazon Prime Video
Stan*
Apple TV
Kayo Sports*
Foxtel Go*
9Now*
1.4
0.2
0.14
0.11
0.09
0.07
0.06 0.06
Australia & New Zealand
Netflix
Amazon Prime Video
Hulu
Disney+
Apple TV
HBO Max*
Crunchyroll*
Tubi TV*
21
4
4
3
1.2
1.1
0.8
0.7
US
Netflix
myCANAL*
Amazon Prime Video
Disney+
MYTF1*
Molotov*
6play*
Apple TV
2.4
0.4
0.3
0.17
0.14
0.14
0.12
0.07
France
Amazon Prime Video
AbemaTV*
Netflix
TVer*
Hulu
U-NEXT*
DAZN
Disney+
2.2
1.4
1.1
0.8
0.4
0.3
0.13
0.08
Japan
Netflix
TV SPIELFILM*
Amazon Prime Video
Disney+
HÖRZU TV Programm*
Joyn*
DAZN
RTL+*
1.7
0.6
0.2
0.1
0.1
0.1
0.06
0.06
Germany
Netflix
BBC iPlayer*
Amazon Prime Video
Sky Go*
Disney+
4oD*
ITV Hub*
NOW TV*
3.6
0.9
0.4
0.3 0.3
0.2
0.1
0.1
UK
Notes: Number of daily active iPhone users (in millions) between July 2020 and June 2021. Time use data is not available for Apple TV. * indicates
regionally popular apps.
Source: data.ai data for iPhone users.
Disney+ (US, 2019) – Disney+ is a leading subscription streaming service, with content
from Disney, Pixar, Marvel, Star Wars, and National Geographic. Since launching, it
quickly became one of the top five most popular streaming platforms across many
regions, including the US and Europe. Disney+ provides access to more than 500 films,
15,000 episodes, and 80 Disney+ originals to 118 million subscribers.
65
Peacock (US, 2020) – Peacock, a streaming service by NBCUniversal, is one of the most
recent entrants in the video streaming space, offers users different plans: Free (ad-
supported), Premium (ad-supported, extra content), and Plus (ad-free, extra content, and
offline viewing). Peacock features over 20,000 hours of content, including NBC and
Universal originals.
66
Foxtel Go (AUS, 2012) – Foxtel Go is a popular local service in Australia, among the top
10 most popular apps in the country. It allows users to watch live TV and catch up on
previously aired content from a mobile device or web browser. Streaming with Foxtel GO
requires a subscription with Australian TV provider Foxtel. Users have a wide range of
plans to choose from, including sports, movies, and children’s channels.
67
The Success of Third-Party Apps on the App Store
33
Reading
Smartphones have enabled new ways for consumers to read and fueled growth in
apps catering to shorter, self-published stories.
Apple Popular third-party apps
Books Wapad Kindle Audible Kobo Dreame
Google Play
Books
Readict Libby
Piccoma
NAVER
Webtoon
Manga
BANG!
Manga
Mee
Epic! Books
for Kids
Marvel
Unlimited
Dark Horse
Comics
IDW
Smartphones and tablets provide readers convenient access to read or listen to a wide
range of books and reading materials through a variety of apps. Some reading apps
specialize in providing certain types of content, such as eBooks (e.g., Amazon Kindle),
audiobooks (e.g., Audible, owned by Amazon), manga (e.g., Piccoma by Kakao), or comics
(e.g., Marvel Unlimited), while other apps offer multiple types of content on a single
platform (e.g., Apple Books in many regions).
I
Several services – including Webtoon, Wapad, Audible, and Libby (formerly Overdrive)
– initially launched on the web prior to becoming available as iOS apps, while Apple
Books, initially branded as iBooks, launched in 2010. Large developers have also expanded
through acquisitions, for example with Amazon’s integration of Audible in 2008, and
NAVER’s recent acquisition of Wapad. In recent years, Dreame and Galatea launched
with a focus on romantic stories, allowing users to read a limited number of chapters every
day for free and paying to unlock more content. (See Figure 16.)
Figure 16: Launch of selected reading apps since 2006
Libby*
+ App
Launch
Audible
(Amazon)
+ App
Launch
+ App
Launch
NAVER
Webtoon
Wapad
(NAVER)
Kindle
(Amazon)
Google Play
Books
+ App
Launch
LINE Manga
(NAVER)
Manga
BANG!*
Piccoma
(Kakao)
Dreame* Galatea*
Pre-2006 2006 2008 2009 2010 2011 2013 2014 2016 2018 2019
App Store
launch
Apple Books
launch
Notes: Timeline displays the first year in which a service became available on smartphones. Services are identified by their current branding (e.g.,
Overdrive launched before 2006, and rebranded to Libby in 2017, although both coexisted for a period of time). * indicates regionally popular apps.
I Apple Books’ offerings vary by region. In some regions, users can only access eBooks (no audiobooks), or eBooks in
the public domain. There are no such restrictions for countries such as the US, UK, and Japan.
The Success of Third-Party Apps on the App Store
34
Our quantiative research of user engagement shows that many third-party reading apps
are popular with iPhone and iPad users. In the US, UK, France, Germany, and Australia
and New Zealand, iPhone users spend the most time on the popular serialized story app
Wapad. For iPhone and iPad users in the US, UK, and Australia and New Zealand, the
Amazon Kindle app is the second-most used app, followed by Apple Books. Apps such
as Libby in the US have expanded eBook availability by providing access to local libraries’
collections. In Japan, manga’s popularity is reflected in the success of specialized manga
apps such as Kakao’s Piccoma and NAVER’s LINE Manga, which dominate among reading
apps and have both been featured multiple times in the Japanese storefront.
68
NAVER’s
LINE Manga is named NAVER Webtoon outside of Japan and is the second-most popular
reading app in France. Apple Books’ share out of the top reading apps on iPhones and
iPads varies across these countries, from 3% in Japan to 25% in Germany. (See Figures 7
and 17.)
Figure 17: Top reading apps on iPhone and iPad in selected countries
Wapad
Audible (Amazon)
Kindle (Amazon)
Libby*
Apple Books
209
173
38
28
25
US
Wapad
Kindle (Amazon)
NAVER Webtoon
Galatea*
Apple Books
17
5.9
4.9
3.3
0.4
France
Wapad
Audible (Amazon)
Kindle (Amazon)
Dreame*
Apple Books
UK
34
18
9.3
6.8
0.8
Wapad
Audible (Amazon)
Apple Books
Galatea*
Kindle (Amazon)
Germany
7.0
5.0
4.1
3.9
0.3
Piccoma
Kindle (Amazon)
LINE Manga
Apple Books
Manga BANG!*
Japan
93
61
19
10
6.3
Wapad
NAVER Webtoon
Kindle (Amazon)
Piccoma
Apple Books
Australia & New Zealand
9.0
6.6
5.3
1.4 1.3
iPad
iPhone
Notes: Average time spent per day by iPhone and iPad users in aggregate in the featured country (in millions of minutes). Daily averages
calculated as the aggregate of iPhone or iPad time divided by the number of days for which there is data for each device, respectively, between
July 2020 and June 2021. iPad data unavailable for Dreame in the UK, Galatea in Germany, and Piccoma in Australia and New Zealand. * indicates
regionally popular apps.
Source: data.ai data for iPhone and iPad users.
The Success of Third-Party Apps on the App Store
35
The increase in mobile device readership has led to the emergence of new types of stories.
For example, Wapad and Amazon’s recently launched Kindle Vella provide platforms
for amateur and professional writers to self-publish serialized stories directly to readers,
chapter by chapter. These apps encourage authors to write chapters shorter than those
in traditional books, making it easier for readers to read them on their smartphones while
on the go.
69
Serialized storytelling is particularly popular with younger audiences, as
illustrated by the fact that a large majority of Wapad’s users are teens or young adults.
70
By contrast, traditional books are read more oen on iPad using apps such as Amazon
Kindle and Apple Books.
Wapad (Canada, 2006) – Wapad is a social storytelling platform popular with teens
and young adults, with more than 90 million monthly users – including 5 million writers
– worldwide, who use the app for more than four hours per month on average. Wapad
provides a platform for users to self-publish original stories or fanfiction and establish a
global fan base with whom they can interact. It offers writing resources and has its own
in-house publishing and production companies, Wapad Books and Wapad Studios,
which identify promising stories and help get them published or adapted into films or TV
series. It was acquired by NAVER for $600 million in May 2021.
71
The Success of Third-Party Apps on the App Store
36
News
Most connected consumers access news through social media, news media and
newspaper apps, and search, while news aggregators are a less popular option.
Today, a large share of the world population accesses news on smartphones, and relies on
many different online channels to do so.
72
(See Figure 18.) In the US and UK, it is estimated
that the share of people who access news via a smartphone has more than doubled since
2013.
73
On social media apps, one of the largest sources of online news, users come across links
to articles either shared by their networks or posted by news outlets themselves. For
instance, Facebook reported that in 2020, its news feed sent move than 180 billion clicks
to news publishers.
74
Globally, more than 25% of people get their news primarily from
social media platforms, a figure that is even higher in countries such as the US and UK,
and for younger audiences.
75
Other users prefer to access news directly from news media websites or newspaper apps,
many of which cater to local audiences, or by searching for news on browser apps.
Another, less popular option available to consumers is news aggregator apps like Google
News, Apple News, or Kakao’s Daum, which curate news content from a wide array of news
outlets.
Figure 18: Primary source of online news, worldwide
Social media
26%
Direct
25%
Search
25%
Mobile
alerts
9%
Email
5%
Aggregators
8%
Source: Reuters Institute for the Study of Journalism, Digital News Report 2021.
Apple News is a free, personalized news aggregator. Apple News+ is a
subscription service accessible in the News app that provides online and
offline access to more than 300 subscription-only magazines and newspapers,
local news sources, and Apple News+ audio stories, for a flat monthly fee.
Apple News and Apple News+ are only available in the US, UK, Canada, and
Australia.
Within each of these channels, iPhone users can choose from many different popular
apps, and oen use several of them. For instance, around two-thirds of connected
consumers across 12 selected countries report that they use more than one social
network or messaging app for consuming, sharing, or discussing the news.
76
News media
and newspaper apps are also plentiful and tend to cater to local audiences. Popular
apps with iPhone users include Fox News, CNN, and The New York Times in the US; BBC
The Success of Third-Party Apps on the App Store
37
News, Daily Mail Online, Sky News, The Guardian, and The Times of London in the UK; and
9News, The Sydney Morning Herald, and ABC News in Australia.
Many consumers use multiple apps to access the news. In the US, for instance, around
70% of CNN and The New York Times app users also use the Apple News app; in the
UK, more than 55% of BBC News and The Guardian app users also use the Apple News
app; and, in Australia, over 50% of 9News and ABC News app users also use the Apple
News app.
77
Moreover, in the US, a growing number of consumers subscribe to multiple
news sources, mixing international and national news brands with local or regional
newspapers.
78
News app usage oen coincides with significant events. For example, many news apps –
including ABC News, CBS News, Fox News, and CNN – were featured in the US storefront
and saw an increase in downloads on key dates leading up to the 2020 US presidential
election.
79
Social media apps News media and newspaper apps News aggregator
apps
Facebook Twier CNN
(US)
NY Times
(US)
Fox News
(US)
BBC News
(UK)
Google
News
Yahoo!
News
Reddit
(US)
LinkedIn 9News
(AUS)
The Sydney
Morning
Herald
(AUS)
ABC
(AUS)
Sky News
(UK)
SmartNews NewsBreak
(US)
The Success of Third-Party Apps on the App Store
38
Health and fitness
The coronavirus pandemic has fueled the popularity of health and fitness apps, and
users have a wide range of fitness app options across multiple app subcategories.
Health and fitness apps provide users with a variety of content and features – including
nutrition tracking, workouts, yoga classes, and mindfulness exercises – with many
consumers using multiple apps.
80
Substantial growth and innovation have occurred in this
area during the ongoing coronavirus pandemic due to the increased demand for platforms
capable of hosting content and fitness instructors’ virtual classes (e.g., ClassPass), and for
mindfulness and telehealth apps. Health and fitness apps vary by monetization strategy,
including free ad-supported (e.g., MyFitnessPal), subscription-based (e.g., Peloton and
Headspace), companion (e.g., Fitbit), and branded (e.g., Nike Training Club).
In this space, Apple offers two iPhone apps: Apple Health and Fitness. iPhone users
can use the Apple Health app to organize important health information – oen synced
from other health and fitness apps – in a centralized, secure location. It also provides
features such as step and weight tracking. The Fitness app provides detailed insights
when paired with an Apple Watch, such as enhanced activity tracking. With Fitness+, a
recently launched subscription feature, users can also access fitness classes and guided
meditations. Apple also offers several health and fitness apps for the Apple Watch,
including Activity, Mindfulness, Cycle Tracking, Workout, Sleep, Heart Rate, Noise, Blood
Oxygen, and ECG (to identify irregular heart rhythms).
iPhone and Apple Watch users can also choose from a wide range of third-party health
and fitness apps, including at least 20 apps that have more than 1 million monthly active
iPhone users worldwide.
81
These apps offer a wide array of content and features, across
multiple subcategories, described below.
iPhone
Health
Fitness
Apple Watch
Heart Rate Mindfulness
Cycle
Tracking
Workout
ECG Sleep
Activity
Blood
Oxygen
Noise
The Success of Third-Party Apps on the App Store
39
Guided workouts apps
Guided workout apps (e.g., Nike Training Club and Sweat, which both received Editors’
Choice awards) offer users access to on-demand and live workout videos taught by
fitness instructors. This provides users with a convenient alternative to aending a gym
and allows them to exercise at their homes. Our research and quantitative analyses show
that these types of apps are popular among users, with many having more than 1 million
monthly active iPhone users. (See Figure 20.) While many of these apps are popular
globally, some have a more local following, such as Keep in China.
82
Figure 19: Launch of selected guided workout apps since 2009
Fitbod
Asana Rebel
Keep
30 Day Fitness
Daily Yoga
Beachbody On
Demand
BeerMe Yoga-Go Fitness Coach
Nike Training
Club
Planet
Fitness
Codoon
Peloton
+ App Launch
Sweat
30 Day Fitness
+ App Launch
FitOn
Centr
Headspace +
Workouts
2009 2010 2011 2012 2014 2015 2016 2017 2018 2019 2020
Fitness+
Figure 20: Monthly active iPhone users for select popular guided workout apps
Keep
30 Day Fitness BeerMe:
Workouts
Nike Training
Club
Fitness Coach
Planet Fitness Yoga-Go FitOn Peloton
5.4M 4.7M 4.0M 3.1M 2.2M 2.1M 1.5M 1.2M 1.1M
Source: data.ai data for iPhone users.
Sweat (2015, AUS) – Launched by Australian fitness instructor Kayla Itsines, Sweat offers
users access to thousands of guided workouts. The app quickly grew in popularity, and
now generates around $100M in annual revenue.
83
The Success of Third-Party Apps on the App Store
40
Mindfulness apps
Mindfulness apps, which focus on users’ mental health, providing guided meditation and
mindfulness exercises, have become very popular. Calm and Headspace, two of the most
popular mindfulness apps, have more than 7 million and 3 million monthly active iPhone
users respectively. Calm was featured more than 150 times across multiple storefronts in
the second and third quarters of 2021.
84
(See Figure 22.)
Figure 21: Launch of selected mindfulness and meditation apps since 2009
+ App Launch
Meditopia
Smiling Mind
Ten Percent
Happier
The Breathing
App
Insight
Timer
Headspace
Relax Now
Calm
Petit BamBou
Breethe
Simple
Habit
Inscape
Waking Up
Exhale
2009 2010 2011 2012 2014 2015 2016 2017 2018 2020 2021
Fitness+
Meditation
Workouts
Figure 22: Monthly active iPhone users for select popular mindfulness apps
Calm
Headspace
Meditopia
Insight
Timer
Breethe
Ten Percent
Happier
7.1 M 3.3M 2.0M 1.3M 0.9M 0.2M
Source: data.ai data for iPhone users.
Headspace (UK/US, 2010) – Founded as a meditation events company in 2010,
Headspace launched its app in 2012, and quickly became a global leader in meditation
and mindfulness, and the second-most popular mindfulness app. Headspace has more
than 70 million members and 2 million paying subscribers across 190 countries, and is
available in English, German, French, Spanish, and Portuguese. The app’s offerings
include hundreds of guided meditations, sleep sounds, focus music, and, as of recently,
yoga and other physical exercise classes. More than 2,500 companies – including
Starbucks, Adobe, and Unilever – offer Headspace access to their employees as a health
benefit.
85
The Success of Third-Party Apps on the App Store
41
Others: Running, tracking, nutrition, and medical apps
Other popular apps help with nutrition tracking (e.g., MyFitnessPal, as well as Lifesum,
another Editors’ Choice award winner), health and activity logging and tracking (e.g.,
Flo and Fitbit), and running (e.g., Strava and Nike Run Club, also Editors’ Choice award
winners). There is also a wide range of medical apps, including MySugr, which help users
manage diabetes.
While some of these apps are specialized, others have expanded to include more content
and features. For instance, both Fitbit and Headspace recently expanded to offer guided
workouts.
86
Similarly, Peloton, which started by selling connected spinning bikes, bringing
spin classes into people’s homes, has since expanded to offer a stand-alone app with
spinning, strength training, boxing, yoga, and meditation classes.
87
Additionally, many innovative health and fitness apps, such as diabetes management app
BlueStar and cycle tracking app Flo, rely on Apple-developed HealthKit SDKs to provide
advanced features.
88
The Success of Third-Party Apps on the App Store
42
Games
Gaming on iOS devices is extremely popular, and users have the choice among
thousands of popular apps.
Gaming on iOS devices has become increasingly popular, generating $60 billion in revenue
worldwide in 2021 through in-app purchases, subscriptions, and advertising revenue.
89
iOS users can enjoy advanced graphics and gaming functionalities in apps supported by
innovations in hardware and advanced developer tools developed by Apple, such as the
Metal API and SceneKit SDK, which simplify the production of games.
(Built into
App Store)
Apple’s gaming subscription, Apple Arcade, is available in the App Store. Apple
Arcade provides users with access to a catalogue of individual game apps for
a monthly flat fee. Each app needs to be downloaded individually and has no
ads or in-app purchases. Games available through Apple Arcade are developed
by independent developers with backing from Apple. Apple Arcade is not yet
available in China.
When it launched in September 2019, Apple Arcade included approximately 70 games; it
now includes more than 200.
90
Despite this growth in its catalogue, Apple Arcade does
not account for a substantial share of the overall gaming space. For example, the number
of games on Apple Arcade is a tiny fraction of the number of games in the broader Games
category on the App Store, which includes thousands of popular games. While a large
number of iOS users play mobile games on their iPhone, research estimates that only
a small share of them are paid subscribers of Apple Arcade.
91
As a result, Apple Arcade
revenue is estimated to account for only a small portion of gaming revenues generated on
iOS devices.
J,92
In the growing category of subscription gaming services, GameClub started in
late 2019, and Netflix Games launched in late 2021. These services allow users
to download mobile games from the App Store.
Additionally, game titles that were traditionally played only on consoles and computers
have become more widely available to smartphone and tablet users thanks to cloud
gaming, which allows users to play games through mobile browsers on iOS.
Users can choose from thousands of games in over a dozen genres on the App Store, with
many popular games – such as Candy Crush Saga and Subway Surfers – featured more
than 100 times on the Today page.
93
More than 1,000 games have an average of more than
100,000 daily average iPhone users.
94
Gaming has become a significant part of the mobile
experience – worldwide, users play between two and five mobile games every month,
taking up 10% of their mobile screen time.
95
J Research estimates that Apple Arcade’s 2021 revenue was approximately $1.3 billion, compared to total revenues
generated by iOS games of more than $60 billion.
The Success of Third-Party Apps on the App Store
43
Appendix C: Apps by major developers
Figure 23: Apps by major developers, selected apps
Music
streaming
TV & movie streaming Reading Podcasts Cloud storage Mapping
Email and
calendar services
Communication
Apple
Music TV Books Podcasts*
iCloud Drive
(Built-in feature)
Maps* Mail*
Calendar*
Phone
FaceTime*
Messages
Google
YouTube
Music
YouTube
Google Play
Movies & TV
YouTube TV
YouTube
Kids
Google Play Books Google
Podcasts
Google Drive Google Maps
Waze
Gmail
Google
Calendar
Google Duo
Google Voice
Google Chat
Google Meet
Amazon
Amazon
Music
Amazon Prime
Video
Amazon Kids+
Amazon
Fire TV
IMDb TV
Kindle
Amazon Kids+
Audible Amazon Music Amazon Drive
Amazon
WorkDocs
Amazon
Chime
Amazon
Glow
Microso
OneDrive Outlook Microso
Teams
Skype
Microso
Kaizala
GroupMe
Tencent
QQ Music
Kugou Music
Kuwo Music
Tencent
Video
Tencent
Sports
Tencent
Animation
WeChat Read
QQ
Reader
QQ Music
Lazyaudio
Qi'e FM
Tencent Weiyun Tencent Maps QQ Mail WeChat
Tencent QQ
Baidu
Qian Qian iQiyi Baidu Read
Baidu Wangpan
Baidu Maps
Kakao
KakaoMusic
Melon
Kakaopage KakaoTV Kakaopage
KAKAO
WEBTOON
Piccoma
Radish
Fiction
Talk Drive
KakaoBus
KakaoMetro
Kakao Navi
KakaoMap
Kakao Mail
Talk Calendar
Daum Mail
KakaoTalk
Kakao Work
NAVER
NAVER VIBE
NAVER CLOVA
LINE Music
SERIES ON
Juniver TV
NAVER TV
Wapad
SERIES
NAVER
Webtoon
LINE
Manga
Audioclip
NAVER MYBOX
NAVER Map NAVER Mail
NAVER Calendar
BAND
LINE
Messenger
BAND for Kids
NAVER
Tok Tok
Note: This figure shows a subset of popular apps by major developers.
The Success of Third-Party Apps on the App Store
44
Appendix D: About the authors
Juliee Caminade, Ph.D., is a vice president at Analysis Group. Dr. Caminade specializes
in the economic analysis of various antitrust issues and complex business disputes in
multiple industries, including health care, pharmaceuticals, and consumer and industrial
goods. Dr. Caminade’s articles have appeared in publications such as the Journal of
Competition Law & Economics and The Antitrust Source. Dr. Caminade has taught an
undergraduate course on competition economics in the economics department of
Dartmouth College.
Markus von Wartburg, Ph.D., is a vice president at Analysis Group. Dr. von Wartburg
specializes in the application of econometric methods and microeconomic theory
to complex problems in antitrust and competition, commercial litigation, media and
telecommunications, finance, and intellectual property.
Analysis Group is one of the largest international economics consulting firms, with
more than 1,000 professionals across 14 offices in North America, Europe, and Asia.
Since 1981, Analysis Group has provided expertise in economics, finance, health care
analytics, and strategy to top law firms, Fortune Global 500 companies, and government.
The Success of Third-Party Apps on the App Store
45
Appendix E: Sources and notes
1 InMobi, “Google I/O Keynote,” May 18, 2021.
2 TechTheLead, “2007–2018: How Far Has the iPhone Camera Come in a Decade?” November 1, 2018.
3 Apple 3.0, “Morgan Stanley: Spotify is huge in key demo. Apple Music is an also ran,” December 21, 2021.
4 Statista, “Digital Market Outlook.”
5 Statista, “Digital Market Outlook.”
6 Business Wire, “Global E-Book Market Report 2021: Growth, Trends, COVID-19 Impact, and Forecasts 2020–2026
– ResearchAndMarkets.com,” February 26, 2021; GlobeNewswire, “Global Audiobooks Market Outlook to 2027 –
Impact of COVID-19,” October 14, 2020.
7 The Wall Street Journal, “The Rise of Phone Reading,” August 14, 2015.
8 Pew Research Center, “One-in-Five Americans Now Listen to Audiobooks,” September 25, 2019.
9 Alliance of Independent Authors, “Facts and Figures About Self Publishing: The Impact and Influence of Indie
Authors,” June 22, 2020.
10 See, e.g., CNBC, “Pow! Bang! Slam! Indie Comics Go Digital,” March 11, 2014.
11 Statista, "ePublishing," 2021.
12 Ofcom, “Media Nations: UK 2021,” August 5, 2021; PiplSay Survey, “Pay TV vs. Streaming vs. Cinema: Who is Winning
the War?” February 25, 2020.
13 PiplSay Survey, “Pay TV vs. Streaming vs. Cinema: Who is Winning the War?”
14 Statista, "Over-the-top (OTT) TV and video revenue worldwide from 2010 to 2026," May 27, 2021.
15 Across 46 countries representing over half the world’s population, around 70% of people access news via
smartphone. Reuters Institute for the Study of Journalism, “Digital News Report 2021,” p. 25.
16 Reuters Institute for the Study of Journalism, “Digital News Report 2021,” p. 25.
17 IMARC Group, “Fitness App Market: Global Industry Trends, Share, Size, Growth, Opportunity and Forecast
2021–2026.”
18 Grand View Research, “Fitness App Market Size, Share & Trends Analysis Report By Type (Exercise & Weight Loss,
Diet & Nutrition, Activity Tracking), By Platform (Android, iOS), By Device, By Region, And Segment Forecasts,
2022–2030,” January 2022.
19 YouTube, “Watching The Pandemic.”
20 CCS Insight, “Good Times for the Smart Wearables Market,” September 2, 2021.
21 Visartech, “Seven Hyper Casual Games to Build a Bridge to the Video Games Industry.”
22 Newzoo, “Newzoo Global Games Market Report 2021,” July 1, 2021.
23 NPD Group, “2020 Gamer Segmentation Report.”
24 SuperData, “2016 Year In Review,” December 2016, p. 5; SuperData, “2020 Year In Review,” December 2020, p. 6;
Newzoo, “Global Games Market to Generate $175.8 Billion in 2021; Despite a Slight Decline, the Market Is on Track
to Surpass $200 Billion in 2023,” May 6, 2021; data.ai, “2021 Gaming Spotlight: The Trends You Need to Know Across
Mobile, Console, Handheld and PC/Mac Gaming,” June 15, 2021.
25 Forbes, “The Decline of the Native App and the Rise of the Web App,” April 5, 2019.
26 Apple Inc., 10-K filings.
27 Borck, Jonathan, Juliette Caminade, and Markus von Wartburg, “A Global Perspective on the Apple App Store
Ecosystem: An Exploration of Small Businesses within the App Store Ecosystem,” June 2021.
28 Wired, “Apple Registers Trademark for ‘There's an App for That’,” October 11, 2010.
29 CNET, “Here are 5 ways Apple's App Store changed how we use smartphones,” July 10, 2018; Innospective, “The
Smartphone Revolution: Why the App Store Was More Important Than the iPhone,” June 21, 2018; Platform
Revolution, “How Apple Drank Its Own Kool-Aid And Created A Thriving Developer Ecosystem.”
30 Simform, “App Usage Statistics 2021 that’ll Surprise You (Updated),” January 5, 2021.
31 Borck, Jonathan, Juliette Caminade, and Markus von Wartburg, “A Global Perspective on the Apple App Store
Ecosystem: An Exploration of Small Businesses within the App Store Ecosystem,” June 2021, pp. 4–5.
32 Apple, “Best of 2020: Get the Top Apps of 2020”; The Verge, “Microsoft Teams usage jumps to 145 million daily active
users,” April 27, 2021; Statista, “Slack’s Customer Growth Accelerates During the Pandemic,” December 2, 2020.
33 According to data.ai, Signal and Telegram’s global average daily downloads jumped from 17,000 and 148,000 in
December 2020 to 235,000 and 326,000 in January 2021, respectively. See also Nikkei Asia, “Asians Dump WhatsApp
for Signal and Telegram On Privacy Concerns,” January 14, 2021; The Guardian, “Is It time to Leave WhatsApp—
And Is Signal the Answer?” January 24, 2021; The Wall Street Journal, “WhatsApp, Signal, Telegram and iMessage:
Choosing a Private Encrypted Chat App,” January 15, 2021.
34 data.ai.
35 TechCrunch, “Instagram’s Growth Speeds Up as It Hits 700 Million Users,” April 26, 2017.
36 data.ai.
37 We Are Social, Hootsuite, “Digital 2021 Global Overview Report,” January 27, 2021, pp. 150, 161.
38 Reuters, “Born from Japan disasters, Line app sets sights on U.S., China,” August 16, 2012; LINE, “Messenger App”;
LINE, “LINE’s Philosophy”; LINE, “Services”; Naver Annual Report 2020, p. 22; The Korea Herald, “NHN renamed Naver
after split,” August 1, 2013.
39 Kakao, “KakaoTalk, where people and the world come to get connected”; Wired Korea, “How Kakao Talk Won the
Throne in South Korea”; Kakao Investor Relations, “Q4 2021 and Annual Earnings Results,” February 11, 2022, p. 3;
Kakao, “KakaoTalk Customer Service.”
The Success of Third-Party Apps on the App Store
46
40 TechInAsia, “7 years of WeChat,” January 20, 2018; Tencent, “Tencent Announces 2021 Third Quarter Results,”
November 10, 2021, p. 3; Business Insider, “This Chinese super-app is Apple’s biggest threat in China and could be
a blueprint for Facebook’s future. Here’s what it’s like to use WeChat, which helps a billion users order food and hail
rides,” December 21, 2019; PYMNTS.com, “Now Available Through WeChat: Utility Bill Pay” August 26, 2014.
41 Statista, “Digital Market Outlook.”
42 Think with Google, “Why marketers should care about the music industry’s latest transformation,” November 2020;
YouTube Official Blog, “YouTube Music, a new music streaming service, is coming soon,” May 16, 2018.
43 MIDiA, "Music Subscriber Market Shares Q2 2021," January 18, 2022.
44 Recording Industry Association of America, “Year-End 2020 RIAA Revenue Statistics,” 2021.
45 Apple 3.0, “Morgan Stanley: Spotify is huge in key demo. Apple Music is an also ran,” December 21, 2021.
46 data.ai.
47 Seeking Alpha, “Amazon Music Will Be A Game Changer,” March 12, 2021; Music Ally, “Report claims YouTube Music
is fastest growing music DSP,” July 12, 2021.
48 MIDiA, “Music Subscriber Market Shares Q2 2021,” January 18, 2022; 9 to 5 Mac, “Apple Music is the second most
used music streaming service—but still far behind Spotify,” January 19, 2022.
49 iiMedia Research, “Number of monthly active users (MAU) of the leading music streaming apps in China as of
September 2021 (in millions),” December 2021; Billboard, “Tencent Music Partners With Apple Music on Global
Streaming,” November 2021.
50 Deezer, “About Deezer”; Deezer, “Press.”
51 Pandora, “About Pandora”; Pandora, “Music and Podcasts, Free and On-Demand”; Variety, “Sirius XM Completes
Acquisition of Pandora,” February 1, 2019.
52 KuGou, “Company Profile”; Tencent Music Entertainment, “Our Business”; TechCrunch, “Tencent Music now has
joint labels with all ‘big three’ record labels,” March 22, 2021; iiMedia Research, “Number of monthly active users
(MAU) of the leading music streaming apps in China as of September 2021 (in millions),” December 2021.
53 The Korea Times, “YouTube Music emerges as leading streaming platform in Korea,” January 17, 2022; KpopStarz,
“Korean Streaming Platform FLO Under Fire after Songs by Artists Including BTS and IU were Excluded from the
Chart,” July 2, 2021. See also Music Ally, “Music’s global evolution: K-Pop, China, and Eastern Europe,” January 20,
2020.
54 eMarketer, “People Continue to Rely on Maps and Navigational Apps,” July 18, 2019.
55 data.ai.
56 data.ai.
57 Alibaba Cloud, “Amap”; TNW, “Alibaba acquires Chinese mapping giant AutoNavi in $1.5bn deal,” April 11, 2014; After
Market News, “Amap selects here for global map and traffic data,” January 9, 2020.
58 Go! Go! Hanguk, “All the Apps You Need While in Korea!” May 27, 2020; ZDNet, “Kakao launches map service with 3D
sky view,” September 18, 2016.
59 Statista, "Over-the-top (OTT) TV and video revenue worldwide from 2010 to 2026," May 27, 2021.
60 The Washington Post, "Amazon merger with MGM bolsters its Prime ambitions," May 27, 2021; Business Insider,
"Stan is beefing up its original content to more than 30 productions a year for the next five years," August 24, 2020;
The Jakarta Post, "BBC plans expanded iPlayer to compete with streaming giants," April 27, 2019.
61 eMarketer, "Amazon’s Move to One-Day Shipping Propels Sales," March 1, 2020.
62 data.ai.
63 Rankings based on time in app are similar to rankings based on daily active iPhone users. data.ai.
64 ESPN+ is a popular sports streaming service, but the ESPN app also includes written news and analysis, as well as
score checking, so we exclude it from this analysis. The ESPN app ranks much lower for time use than daily active
users, suggesting that its other features are used more than streaming.
65 Disney+, “Getting started with Disney+”; Business Insider, “Disney Plus: All your questions answered about Disney's
ad-free streaming service,” December 27, 2021.
66 Peacock TV, “Choose a Plan”; PC Mag, “Peacock Review,” 2021.
67 Foxtel, “Watch anywhere, anytime with the Foxtel Go app”; Foxtel, “Choose from popular Bundles”; Canstar Blue,
“Foxtel Go Review & Guide,” October 1, 2022.
68 data.ai.
69 Wattpad, “Write Better: Tips and Tricks—Chapter Length.”
70 Wattpad, “Hi. We’re Wattpad.”
71 Wattpad, “Hi, we’re Wattpad. The world’s most-loved social storytelling platform”; The Verge, “Next Gen Favorites:
Wattpad,” July 26, 2021; The Verge, “From Fanfiction to Netflix Hits,” January 14, 2021; Wattpad Company, “Naver
Completes Wattpad Acquisition,” May 10, 2021.
72 Reuters Institute for the Study of Journalism, “Digital News Report 2021,” p. 26.
73 Reuters Institute for the Study of Journalism, “Digital News Report 2021,” pp. 62, 112.
74 In 2021, Facebook reached agreements in France and Australia to begin paying newspaper publishers for resharing
their content on its platform. Facebook, “Facebook France et l’Alliance de la presse de l’information s’associent
pour renforcer l’expérience de l’actualité pour les utilisateurs et les éditeurs en France,” October 21, 2021;
TechCrunch, “Facebook agrees to pay French publishers for news reuse,” October 21, 2021.
75 As of 2021, the Reuters Institute for the Study of Journalism estimates that more than 40% of people in the US and
UK get their news from social media, and that one-third of global users under 35 list social media as their primary
source of online news. A 2020 survey by the Pew Research Center found that 53% of US adults get their news from
social media “sometimes” or “often.” A 2021 report by Ofcom found that 49% of adults people in the UK follow the
news using social media. Reuters Institute for the Study of Journalism, “Digital News Report 2021,” pp. 25, 62, 112;
Ofcom, “News Consumption in the UK: 2021,” July 27, 2021, p. 2; Pew Research Center, “News Use Across Social
Media Platforms in 2020,” January 12, 2021.
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47
76 Based on a sample of twelve countries: the US, UK, Germany, France, Spain, Italy, Ireland, Denmark, Finland, Japan,
Australia, and Brazil. Reuters Institute for the Study of Journalism, “Digital News Report 2021,” p. 22.
77 data.ai.
78 Reuters Institute for the Study of Journalism, “Digital News Report 2021,” pp. 10, 15.
79 data.ai.
80 Journal of Medical Internet Research, “Determinants of Fitness App Usage and Moderating Impacts of Education-,
Motivation-, and Gamification-Related App Features on Physical Activity Intentions: Cross-sectional Survey Study,”
July 13, 2021.
81 data.ai.
82 data.ai.
83 Startupdaily, “Fitness app founder Kayla Itsines sells Sweat for $400 million,” July 15, 2021.
84 data.ai.
85 Headspace, “About Headspace”; TechCrunch, “Headspace raises $93 million in equity and debt as it pursues clinical
validation for mindfulness,” February 12, 2020.
86 Business Wire, “Fitbit Launches Fitbit Premium, New Health and Fitness Subscription Service,” August 28, 2019;
Metro UK, “This mindful cardio workout could help strengthen both your body and your mind,” February 29, 2020.
87 The New York Times, “Peloton is a Phenomenon. Can It Last?” August 28, 2019; Bicycling, “Peloton Expands Its App
To Include More Workouts,” June 21, 2018.
88 Apple App Store, “BlueStar Diabetes”; Apple App Store, “Flo.”
89 Omdia estimates $19 billion in iOS advertising sales from iOS games, and Newzoo estimates $41 billion in iOS app
and in-app revenue. Newzoo, “2021’s Mobile Market: Almost Four Billion Smartphone Users, $90.7 Billion in Game
Revenues & Huge Changes to Come,” September 23, 2021; Omdia, “App Ecosystems Forecast 2020–2025,” February
11, 2021.
90 The Sydney Morning Herald, “Apple Arcade reviewed: our thoughts after two weeks,” October 4, 2019; Apple, “Apple
Arcade.”
91 Evercore estimated that Apple Arcade revenue was $1.3 billion in 2021 and would be $2.2 billion in 2022, equivalent
to 26–44 million annual subscribers at a $49.99 annual subscription rate; Evercore, “EVR Monthly App Store Update:
Services Upside Ahead?” December 1, 2020. In January 2021, Apple announced that there were over 1 billion active
iPhones; Reuters, “Apple sees revenue growth accelerating after setting record for iPhone sales, China strength,”
January 27, 2020. Statista estimates that worldwide mobile game penetration was 23.9% in 2021; Statista, “Digital
Market Outlook.”
92 Evercore, “EVR Monthly App Store Update: Services Upside Ahead?” December 1, 2020; Newzoo, “2021’s Mobile
Market: Almost Four Billion Smartphone Users, $90.7 Billion in Game Revenues & Huge Changes to Come,”
September 23, 2021; Omdia, “App Ecosystems Forecast 2020–2025,” February 11, 2021.
93 data.ai.
94 data.ai.
95 data.ai, “State of Mobile Games: Robust Growth in 2019 & Beyond.”
