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China officially the largest revenue market for the iOS App Store

Kevin McSpadden
Apple China FINAL

App Annie’s Q3 2016 report also says China will have the largest growth in revenue between now and 2020

If anyone needed any further indicators about how important the Chinese market is to Apple, here is one more — In Q3 2016, China broke the iOS App Store record and surpassed the US as the world’s largest market by generating US$1.7 billion in revenue.

According to App Annie’s Market Index Report for Q3 2016, China generated 15 per cent more revenue for the iOS App Store than the US — which would put US-based revenue at US$1.45 billion.

Furthermore App Annie predicts China will also account for the largest growth in revenue between now and 2020.

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The majority of the revenue was generated by games, so naturally it also holds the top spot in the App Store gaming market. Gaming is an excellent market to dominate because 75 per cent of the apps are non-games, but games generate 75 per cent of the revenue.

“As an app publisher or marketer, if China wasn’t a key priority in your app strategy, it should be now. Understanding how to enter this market by learning the complexities of local infrastructure and unique cultural preferences is crucial to your app’s success,” the report reads.

Also Read: China’s virtual reality investment is moving its focus from hardware to content

That being said, Google Play does not allow for downloads from Chinese users, so companies will need to find alternative app stores to generate sales on Android (which is not a difficult barrier).

Entertainment and social networking more than tripled in the past year. App Annie pointed to iQIYI, Tencent Videos and Youku as key drivers for the growth.

Actually, generally App Annie is calling 2016 the ‘era of Entertainment apps’, noting that the popularisation of in-app subscriptions and companies figuring out how to monetise video streaming is driving a boost in revenue.

Video streaming services in China (such as Snap or Live.me) will represent a US$5 billion market by 2017. Furthermore, App Annie points out that the granular nature of mobile video streaming creates an opportunity for companies to enjoy immense improvements in viewer data to build a better product.

Also Read: Didi is far from winning the war in China

The final interesting point is, globally, Google Play more than doubled iOS App Store in total downloads (by 115 per cent). However, the App Store doubled (100 per cent) the revenue in Q3 2016. The downloads statistic makes sense because the sheer volume of Android devices outpaced the iPhone by a large margin, but the fact that the iOS App Store generates twice the amount of money is intriguing.

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Copyright: zhaojiankangphoto / 123RF Stock Photo

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