Google to eat into Apple app share by 2014?
updated 12:15 pm EST, Mon December 21, 2009
Android's multi-platform nature an advantage
Apple will soon face tough competition from Google when it comes to cellphone apps, argues ABI Research analyst Bhavya Khanna. Total industry app downloads are expected to grow to 5 billion in 2014, as compared to the 2.3 billion estimated for 2009. Apple will likely remain on top of the industry, says Khanna, but the company is forecast to lose some of its 2010 share to apps from Google's Android platform.
"The big beneficiary will be Android, which will see its market share of total application downloads increase from 11 percent of the market in 2009 to 23 percent in 2014," the analyst proposes.
Google's major advantage is said to be the hardware-independent nature of Android, which means there are already 14 phones with the OS, and more expected to launch in 2010 alone. The Motorola Droid, already available, is frequently cited as a chief iPhone competitor. As the number of Android phones grows, it may attract an increasing number of developers wanting to reach as many devices as possible.
Apple is also expected to be hurt by the launch of more stores from other phone makers and cellphone carriers, as well as a shift towards lower prices driven by existence of free or ad-supported software. Google, for example, may undercut turn-by-turn app sales through its introduction of a free Maps-based option.
Ad supported GPS?
12/21, 01:02pm reply
Yeah, that's just what I want my GPS to do. Give me directions based on which sponsor paid the most. ha!
bjojade
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Joined: Jun 2007
2014?
12/21, 01:21pm (1 reply) reply
Why does anyone pay attention to what someone predicts for 2014? How many new versions of the iPhone OS, iPhone hardware and Android HW/SW will happen before then? What is the next "killer app"? I would be more convinced if the analyst told us how much of their own money they were investing based on their "proposals" about what the world will be like 4 years from now. Just a bunch of noise.
tfantz
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Joined: Nov 2007
App store competition
12/21, 01:37pm reply
Can someone enlighten me on why anyone would think app store market share is in any way a usable metric? I mean the iPhone App Store does not compete with the Android App Store; they are exclusive for their own devices. So it seems to me working up any kind of "market share" numbers is specious at best.
cmoney
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Joined: Sep 2000
I'm with tfantz - 2014?
12/21, 04:47pm reply
What a ridiculous article. Even if we give the author the benefit of the doubt on this and give him from 1/1/10 to 12/31/13 - that's three full years of development and product cycles to go through. What are thinking Apple is going to do? Lay down where they are at and stop all development? There will always be some ebb and flow of market share, but less than 3 years ago there was NO App market for any phones other than what, Palm? Windows CE? How big of players are there in that market now?
Brian
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Kool-aid.
12/22, 12:17am reply
Spiked with LSD?
- A
Fast iBook
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Joined: Mar 2003
@ cmoney
01/05, 11:08am reply
"So it seems to me working up any kind of "market share" numbers is specious at best." Absolutely. 10 versions of Android and none talk to each other or share apps. Yet somehow lumping them together means something???????
As of now, almost all iPhone apps work with all models. Yes if you do not have gps hardware then gps apps do not work for you. This will increase even in Apple hardware. But so far 80-90% of the apps work for all versions of iPhone and iPod touch. And how many millions of units is that???
Just a thought.
en
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