In terms of app revenue, Apple Inc (NASDAQ: AAPL) obtained 80% more revenue from apps than Google Inc (NASDAQ: GOOGL) (GOOG) did in the second quarter of the 2014 fiscal year.

Google owns the Android Play store, a direct competitor against Apple’s iOS App store. For most of the second quarter this year, Google’s Android Play store maintained a sizeable lead over Apple’s iOS App store. Reports stated that downloads from Google Play this quarter were higher than downloads from the App store by 60%. This figure is a 45% increase from the prior quarter. A major factor in the count of Play store downloads was the fast growing rate of adoption of low cost Android handsets in Brazil, Thailand, and India.

However, Google’s lead in number of downloads wasn’t enough to bring it to the top in terms of revenue dollars. The revenue brought in by Apple’s App store was an incredible 80% more than that of the Google Play store. The App store is getting is revenue mainly from countries like Japa, China, and more recently Taiwan, Turkey, and Kuwait. Just from these countries alone, their revenue contribution grew 30% quarter over quarter.

As for Google Play, the United States, Brazil, and India are its dominant supporters. In the second quarter of the 2013 fiscal year, downloads from Google Play were only 10% ahead of those from Apple’s App store.

India Is Google Play’s Major Source Of Downloads

The recent boost in downloads has been attributed to India, which is the market with the fastest growth rate in Asia Pacific. Android models that are low cost, including this Moto E, Moto G, and others, are pushing forward the rate of India’s adoption of Android smartphones.

Additionally, mobile internet is steadily increasing in popularity and availability, and local and regional messaging apps on the smartphone are increasing in popularity among users of smartphones. Many Indian consumers are also switching from phone to smartphone.

However, due to improper network structure, smartphone penetration still lags at 10%.

The EVP of Marketing at App Annie, Oliver Lo, expressed his confidence in future growth in India. He said that Google Play and the App store are supported increasingly by developing markets, namely China and India. So far, only 10% of the population in India are users of smartphones – that means there is much room for growth of the market in India.

Apple’s App Store Relies On China and Japan

As for the App store, it continues to gain most of its revenue from the United States, China, and Japan. These three countries make up over 50% of the App store’s total revenue. In China, iPhone sales have increased by 50% year over year since 2013. Then in January of 2014, Apple made a deal with China Mobile to sell iPhones through its network. The estimated number of units Apple would sell is 20 million.

The highly anticipated release of the iPhone 6 is also a key factor for Apple in China. If the bigger iPhone model does well in sales in China and Japan, Apple’s revenue from the App store could shoot straight up.

As Apple opens more and more stores in China and China Mobile launches more and more 4G networks, investors are waiting to see if China can top the United States in generating app revenue for the tech company.

 

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