App Annie employees have published the results of the latest App Annie Market Index report for the third quarter of 2013. The document compares in detail the revenues and the number of downloaded mobile programs in various countries, stores and categories.

The authors of the report also tried to identify the main trends that are currently unfolding in the market.

Judging by the figures, Google Play and the iOS App Store were almost at the same level in terms of the number of downloads (the Google store was ahead by only 10%) in the second quarter of 2013. But in the third quarter, Google Play managed to overtake its competitor by 25%. 

The worldwide growth of downloads in the iOS App Store was mainly caused by the huge demand in China and Russia (Russia is already in fifth place in terms of the number of downloads). Google Play, however, showed more positive dynamics, due to Brazil and Argentina, which came close in terms of the number of downloads in the United States, South Korea and India. 

iOS App Store: Top Countries in Q3 2013
Downloads Revenue
Rank Country Rank Change
vs. Q2 2013
1 United States
2 China
3 Japan
4 United Kingdom
5 Russia
Rank Country Rank Change
vs. Q2 2013
1 United States
2 Japan
3 China 2
4 United Kingdom 1
5 Australia 1

 

China has also demonstrated an interesting dynamic. The country has risen two steps in the overall ranking in terms of revenue from applications from the iOS App Store. Now the three most profitable countries in the world for developers are the USA, China and Japan. Moreover, the USA and China account for 40% of all global downloads from the iOS App Store in the third quarter of 2013.

Google Play: Top Countries in Q3 2013
Downloads Revenue
Rank Country Rank Change
vs. Q2 2013
1 United States
2 South Korea
3 India
4 Brazil 1
5 Russia 1
Rank Country Rank Change
vs. Q2 2013
1 Japan
2 South Korea
3 United States
4 Germany
5 Taiwan 3

App Annie proves once again that games remain the most popular category of applications for mobile devices. They are responsible for 40% of all downloads in the iOS App Store and Google Play. Other popular categories include educational programs, utilities, photo and video applications. Games also bring in the most money. In the case of Google Play, they earn about 80% of all revenue. For the iOS App Store, this figure is about 75%.

iOS App Store: Top Categories in Q3 2013
Downloads Revenue
Rank Category Rank Change
vs. Q2 2013
1 Games
2 Entertainment
3 Photo & Video
4 Utilities 1
5 Lifestyle 1
Rank Category Rank Change
vs. Q2 2013
1 Games
2 Social Networking
3 Music
4 Productivity
5 Music 1

 

Google Play: Top Categories in Q3 2013
Downloads Revenue
Rank Category Rank Change
vs. Q2 2013
1 Games
2 Communication
3 Tools
4 Entertainment
5 Social
Rank Category Rank Change
vs. Q2 2013
1 Games
2 Communication
3 Social
4 Travel & Local
5 Tools

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