Android's secret shame revealed as users generate 60% less revenue for developers than iOS users

Apple always had an advantage when it came to generating revenue from its app store and the company regularly crows about how much revenue they generate for developers.

Google has been less forthcoming with the numbers, but the suspicion has always been that the numbers are significantly lower.

Now, at Huawei Developers Day, we got a glimpse at the amount of revenue the games generate and Apple managed to top the chart by a significant margin, despite it’s much smaller user share. Francisco Jeronimo, Associate VP at IDC shared an image showing the revenue distribution among different platforms and Apple has generated 50% of the revenue.

• App Store [$33bn] (50%)
• Google Play [$18bn] (27%)
• China [$13bn] (20%)
• Other [$2bn] (3%)

Mobile Gaming distribution platforms:
1. App Store [$33bn] (50%)
2. Google Play [$18bn] (27%)
3. "China" [$13bn] (20%)
4. Other [$2bn] (3%)#HuaweiDeveloperDay pic.twitter.com/VAm0OOeeA7

— Francisco Jeronimo (@fjeronimo) January 16, 2020

As the slide notes, even though Google holds 80% of the market share when it comes to mobile platforms, it’s Apple that tops the chart, thanks to the better overall developer support and the quality of apps on the platform.

In terms of the installed base, Apple is believed to have around 1 billion users, while Google has said there are more than 2.5 billion Android users. Despite this numerical advantage, each iOS user generates $33 for developers and each Android user only $13.2.

If we focus on only apps and games aimed at a Western audience the numbers are even worse with developers fighting over only $18 billion in revenue.

It is, therefore, no surprise apps and games still come first to iOS, despite it’s much smaller user base.

We will likely know when this situation has turned around when Google starts publishing its own Google Play Store performance numbers.  I suspect that will be a while coming, however.