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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.
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
Who the fuck spends $40 on apps?
Yeah. That's really stupid paying that much money for Apps.
Now how much was my phone contract for the year again????
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Is that really something to be proud of, though? You spent $500+ on an iPhone, and then rejoice in not paying anything for the software you use daily?
This current environment of ad-supported nonsense is why smartphone games are such poor games (and such good Skinner boxes). And I fear studies like this just further adds to the stereotype that smartphone owners are cheap bastards.
My grand total of app expenditures for all of 2016 was ZERO.
If I find a free app useful, or if it's something I find myself playing again and again, I will usually make an in-app purchase of some sort - just to support the developer.
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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.
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Yeah! Fuck developers! I deserve all the useful apps I can get for free because nobody else deserves food or convenience!
NOW WHERE'S MY UPDATES, YOU LAZY JERKS? I PAID NOTHING AND I EXPECT THIS APP TO BE REFRESHED DAILY
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".
There are plenty of free apps, but I often avoid them for a couple reasons: They have ads (I refuse to use an app that shows ads) and I like to support the developer.
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OmniFocus is $40 alone (and to me worth every penny). Evernote is $5 a month if you pay for it monthly through IAP. If you use your phone for business stuff, it's pretty easy to drop $40 a year.
Dewey, what part of this looks like authorities should be involved?
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
Is that really something to be proud of, though? You spent $500+ on an iPhone, and then rejoice in not paying anything for the software you use daily?
Most of the software you use daily is included in that initial outlay for the phone (phone app, camera app, etc). As far as software like Pokemon Go what do you want him/her to do? It's free.
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