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iPhone Owners in US Spent $40 Each on Apps in 2016 (cnet.com)
Zoey Chong, writing for CNET: iPhone users in the US are spending more and more on apps and in-app purchases. Spending climbed to an average of $40 per person last year, according to research released Monday by Sensor Tower. This is up from $35 in 2015. Gaming continued to lead the way, accounting for more than 80 percent of Apple App Store revenue in the US. Spending in that category increased from $25 on average per person in 2015 to $27 last year. This may not be the biggest surprise, given that 2016 witnessed the rise of Pokemon Go, which crossed $1 billion in revenue worldwide last month.
$0 for me.
My grand total of app expenditures for all of 2016 was ZERO.
I haven't even spent a dime on Pokemon Go and I play it daily.
I'm guessing most of the purchases where probably in app purchases for virtual money in games.
I remember reading an article about how such a small number of iphone users purchase apps (5%)... now "every" iphone user is spending $40+ dollars? I'd like to know what qualifies as an app purchase, and where that data came from.
iDiots
I wonder what the Android market is looking like? I assume the sales are lower because there are so many cheaper/free alternative to apps that iOS users are stuck paying for... suckers.
A time to be glad to be below average.
I've spent $0 on apps for smartphones 3 years running now....
It would be nice to know.
with so many planets it seems as though each of us could have our own one of those too,, spiritual bankruptcy proceedings are ongoing... cease fire stand down,, sing along https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=H-kA3UtBj4M .. truth + mercy = justice.. everything made by man fails is a given..
Who the fuck spends $40 on apps?
Not to turn in Captain Killjoy Statistics Man, but this is a prime use-case for comparing mean vs median vs mode. What if the vast majority of folks spend $0, but there's a few Clash and Clans and Pokemon Go whales out there skewing everything? Recently, we saw how few people actually paid for Super Mario Run (something like 10%?) Seeing the median value as compared to the mean would go a long way to describing the actual spending habits of iPhone users, rather than this semi-meaningless statistic. (Except that it shows Apple makes a large amount of money)
I thought $40 on average seemed about right, given the explosion of in-app purchases for not just games, but apps like HBO... (don't forget the AppleTV is an IOS device). I myself probably spent more like $200 last year on iOS app store purchase (which include subscription to HBO for a few months).
However look at the other responses here, proclaiming how proud they are to have spent $0! Is there any wonder why Android continues to be a second tier when it comes to app development? It makes you question if there is any use at all in ever developing an app for Android if what you get out of it is to be anything but breadth of exposure.
I myself am proud to spend money on apps and help support a sustainable app ecosystem where I will see real improvements to apps because people are willing to spend money...
"There is more worth loving than we have strength to love." - Brian Jay Stanley
Don't believe this. Look around you, see who has an iPhone and ask them how much they spent on apps last year. Very likely $0.
what is the ad revenue per user?
Since "analysts" keep claiming that phone are replacing consoles and desktops for gaming, let's look at this from a business perspective. That is equivalent to a single video game purchase on another platform. That is virtually nothing at all in comparison to other platforms right now.
I've definitely gone entire years spending nothing on apps for my iPhone, but other times I've spent considerably more -- especially when said apps work on both my iPhone and my iPad Pro.
When I got the iPad Pro and Apple Pencil for it, it created a new need for apps that take advantage of the pencil's functionality. That was a good reason to buy 1 or 2 of the apps priced at around $10 each that are optimized for it. (For example, it opens up some new capabilities if you can easily fill out PDF forms with the pencil, including initialing or signing pages.)
I know a lot of of kids and teens use their iPhone as an alternative to the dedicated portable gaming consoles too, so obviously, they're going to sink some money into games for it. $40 a year is probably a lot less than they used to spend for games for a PSP, GameBoy or what-not.
Unless you're a developer. In which case, you'll soon be moving to the Apple App Store.
There are two types of people in the world: Those who crave closure
For years I couldn't figure out who these people were who were buying all these app since I have never purchased any apps unless you count subscriptions to things like Netflix an app purchase, but then I visited my sister in-law and met her 5 year old. This lady lets the kids buy whatever games he wants on her phone. I'm stunned he hasn't bankrupted her yet. When these kids become teenagers and have their own phones and maybe some actual money they will by buying this garbage like crazy since they got hooked as toddlers. Our generation sure as hell isn't spending $40 a year on phone apps.
You probably bought it through the web so they do not get any of that. But users can purchase a lot of sports app subscriptions through apps, which Apple does get part of.
I bought my HBO subscription through the app, since that way HBO never gets any payment info form me, and I have to deal with zero humans or terrible billing interfaces to cancel - I just stop the app subscription.
"There is more worth loving than we have strength to love." - Brian Jay Stanley
GDC conference sessions from 2016 recorded on youtube document rates of mobile game payments. They talk about less than 4% of game users spending over a thousand dollars each a year. While not all mobile games are on iphones, I could see this kind of subset really distorting the "per user" spend, and obscuring a secondary subset like how much is spent on non-game iphone apps.
The headline (and original report) seem open to misinterpretation.
50% of mobile game revenue comes from just 0.15% of users according to this 2014 report. http://www.recode.net/2014/2/2...
70% of mobile game revenue comes from just 10% of users according to this 2016 report. http://www.adweek.com/digital/...
So while I believe the article that the average amount spent per iPhone is $40/year (mean), it's probably equally true that the "average iPhone user" (median) spends less than $5/year. (That number is just a guess because I don't have the data.) Queue all the people who will reply to this story saying "I spent ZERO over the past year".
You aren't taking into consideration that Android OS covers the most cheap bare bones phones/tables/etc to the comparable galaxy/etc devices.
That is irrelevant - they are not the Android devices Slashdot readers would be using. What I am saying is a sampling of high-end Android users here shows DELIGHT in not paying for apps. And that plainly shows in continued low purchase rates for apps on Android compared to iOS.
"There is more worth loving than we have strength to love." - Brian Jay Stanley
$270. Project-Fi with 2 - 3GB of data used outside of WiFi.
There are Lies, damn lies and statistics you know.. I'm sure Apple isn't going to share the actual statistics here...
"File to fit, pound to insert, paint to match" - Aircraft Maintenance 101
The typical user doesn't spend $40 on in-app purchase annually.
Frankly, I wouldn't be surprised if the median was zero - that's what most people I know spend.
There might be a relatively small number of whales that push the mean that high, but that's a different thing.
Only if your application passes their arbitrary "suitability test" and doesn't set off the malware detector. (and the developer pays the fees and must buy Apple hardware to develop on)...
Some of us developers like not having to satisfy Apple's sensors or paying their fees...
Wait, do you not have to buy hardware to develop these other pieces of software on? Do they magically run without hardware?
There are two types of people in the world: Those who crave closure
That is about how much HBO on demand costs through the iOS store to watch all episodes of game of thrones as they were released.
Of the few posts I saw that showed DELIGHT at not paying for apps none of them identified what phone they are using.
Come on. Do you even READ Slashdot? We already know what phone they use.
"There is more worth loving than we have strength to love." - Brian Jay Stanley
There's very few people spending a whole lotta money on apps: Only 5% of users actually "pay" for apps.
Granted these statistics are a couple years old, but I've not spent a penny on apps - ever. and reading though these posts it sounds like everyone is a bit confused on who actually breaks out the pocket book for apps.
https://www.appboy.com/blog/in...
Millions of open source developers refrain from dealing with the Apple Store. If you were able to read, you would have known that F-Droid is an open source repository.
I haven't even spent a dime on Pokemon Go and I play it daily.
So since you are so fond of it, would you like to see MORE of it, or LESS?
Would you like to see it improved at all?
By not spending any money, you are in effect saying "This game I really love, I sure hope they never improve it or keep up with system updates! Maybe someday it will be so behind I'll have to stop playing!".
I also really liked PokemonGo. I was fine not paying for anything myself, I never felt the need to - but I still spent $5 or so on Pokecoins just to support the company, to say "Thanks for the enjoyment I've had playing this game".
My Philosophy is simple, if I see something I really like I try to support the creators by any means possible.
"There is more worth loving than we have strength to love." - Brian Jay Stanley
Modern app appers use appy app apps to buy other apps, NOT LUDDITE money!
Apps!
Perhaps I'm just not representative of a typical user. I don't use my phone for gaming and all the apps that I use on a regular basis are free. That includes things like google maps and Wayz for navigation, the stock mail client, the stock browser, the various apps to manage my frequent flier and other travel tools, etc.
I think there are a lot of folks that fit that description so I'm frankly rather surprised that this number is even that large.
Each implies that everyone spent something, at least $40. Average would be more accurate in that the total spent divided by the number of users is $40.
I think Steam users spend 5x that on average.
“Common sense is not so common.” — Voltaire
Does this take account of ad ridden free apps. Certainly those seem generate money too. I myself have spemy roughly 40 bucks on Android apps or the past 5 years. I tend not to pack my devices with apps I'll only use once. I've even bought Palm and Window Mobile apps.
Sure, if you want to sell that $2 fart app.
But if you want to develop a useful application, which others will continue to improve, you will stick to open source development for Android.
How much did you pay for your text editor? Web browser? PDF reader? And you want me to pay for your fart app I wouldn't use even for free?
You can develop for Android just fine on any Linux/Windows/Mac PC, which is what 99.9% of developers are using.
You can develop for iOS only if you are one of the ~10% or so with a Mac.
I didn't spend close to $40 on apps.
Given that it's the highest revenue source, seems like a smart idea.
Also, on a Mac, you can run Windows, Linux *and* MacOS all at the same time.
Seems liike the most versatile and most economically smart decision.
There are two types of people in the world: Those who crave closure
Trying to lure in more developers as they've been leaving the platform in droves.
I understand if you're a kid or teen and jobless and your parents are on a budget, but as an adult likely earning decent money working in the tech industry
Even if so, someone living in a developing country will still feel the effects of the country's currency being undervalued compared to the United States dollar or the euro.
[Buying a Mac instead of another computer] Seems liike the most versatile and most economically smart decision.
Unless you rely on sharing a computer with someone else in the household, such as a college student not living on campus. In this case, the computer you already have is $0, while the Mac is $599+.
How do developers of applications on F-Droid fund the food in their families' stomachs or the roof over their families' heads? Or do developers of applications on F-Droid tend strongly to be hobbyists instead of professionals?
How do developers of applications on F-Droid fund the food in their families' stomachs or the roof over their families' heads?
I expect most of them have lucrative part time gigs as musicians.
To have a right to do a thing is not at all the same as to be right in doing it
I get the free apps. However, some of them track you and have ads. :(
Ant(Dude) @ Quality Foraged Links (AQFL.net) & The Ant Farm (antfarm.ma.cx / antfarm.home.dhs.org).
Oh no, an edge case!
And you won't make any money on your app if it's not in Apple's store, so who cares?
There are two types of people in the world: Those who crave closure
Given that it's the highest revenue source, seems like a smart idea.
To begin with most developers don't develop mobile phone applications.
Then what you don't get is that most of these apps are free, therefore are not driven by potential sales.
The most popular and most useful applications, by a wide margin, are all free.
Also, on a Mac, you can run Windows, Linux *and* MacOS all at the same time.
Seems liike the most versatile and most economically smart decision.
Or you can just forget about iOS and loose only about 15% of the market while having one less platform to develop on. Even smarter.
Or you can just forget about iOS and loose only about 15% of the market
Is iOS 15 percent of the market by user count, or is it 15 percent of the market by revenue? There's a big difference. Assume for the moment that the mean iOS user spends $40 per year on apps, while the mean Android user spends $5 per year. Then 15 percent of the market by user count represents a 15 * 40 / (15 * 40 + 85 * 5) * 100 = 59 percent of the market by revenue.