The launch of the Apple App Store in 2008 represented a pivotal moment to shift users toward mobile usage. While the company had successfully launched the iTunes Store in 2003 to distribute music and digital media, its branded App Store was the first native application of its kind, and it was designed to deliver mobile apps to all iOS users, from iPhones to iPads. The Apple App Store works as a centralized platform for app promotion, distribution, and management: users get recommendations for apps they might be interested in, can access top rankings for app categories, as well as get reminders of apps’ latest updates.
The Apple App Store, which started with a limited pool of 500 applications, counted around 1.64 million mobile apps available exclusively to iOS users as of the third quarter of 2022. The platform is in continuous expansion, with an average of 31,500 apps released per month in February 2023. Gaming apps accounted for 12.68 percent of all the mobile iOS apps hosted in the Store, while business apps accounted for 10.35 percent of all active apps on the platform during the third quarter of 2022. As of the third quarter of 2022, iOS apps had a retention rate of 13.7 percent after three days from the first download, which tended to decrease to 4.3 percent after 30 days.
As of 2022, the Apple App Store presented several reduced commission rate plans for developers that meet certain criteria. Apps that retain subscribers see their commission fees reduced to 15 percent after the subscriber’s first year, while developers participating in Apple's Small Business Program – introduced in November 2020 - enjoy the same commission fees for both subscriptions and other in-app payments, while apps in the News Partner Program – introduced in August 2021 – see their commission fees cut down to 15 percent for subscriptions.
While app and mobile gaming publishers have been complaining about platform commissions, lack of direct interaction with users, and the impossibility to redirect users toward third-party payment systems, the 2020 Epic Games v. Apple dispute represented the incident igniting both institutional and public discussion over the app store commissions. In August 2020, Epic Games began promoting the option of using third-party payment systems for in-app sales on its popular game Fortnite. This resulted in Apple and Google removing Fortnite from their app stores and Epic Games hitting both tech giants with antitrust lawsuits. In September 2021 the Epic Games v. Apple ruling sided with Apple stating that the company was not acting as a monopolist, but it also kick-started a series of legal propositions from app developers in their domestic market and abroad to change the Apple App Store dynamics and allow third-party payments. In the European Union, following the complaints of several high-profile app publishers from Spotify to Match Group, have seen Apple being hit with fines and anti-trust charges for its alleged “anti-steering” practices.
For mobile app publishers, appearing among the first results in the Apple App Store search results represents a possibility to attract marketers. As of June 2022, the median number of daily downloads needed for apps rank in the top 10 apps in the U.S. Apple App Store was 52,000, while games required 26,000 daily downloads. More frequent updates, which optimize the apps and keep security standards updated, might also play a role in the titles’ positioning after a user propped search. The average number of days since the last released update for the apps ranking in the first 10 positions in the Apple App Store was 83 days, with shopping apps presenting a more frequent update interval of 45 days.
The Apple App Store, which started with a limited pool of 500 applications, counted around 1.64 million mobile apps available exclusively to iOS users as of the third quarter of 2022. The platform is in continuous expansion, with an average of 31,500 apps released per month in February 2023. Gaming apps accounted for 12.68 percent of all the mobile iOS apps hosted in the Store, while business apps accounted for 10.35 percent of all active apps on the platform during the third quarter of 2022. As of the third quarter of 2022, iOS apps had a retention rate of 13.7 percent after three days from the first download, which tended to decrease to 4.3 percent after 30 days.
Content removal
In January 2023, Apple agreed to publishers’ requests for more transparency and to provide more information on why some apps are removed from the app store distribution system. During the second half of 2021, approximately 97 percent of all removed mobile iOS apps were removed from the Apple App Store in China. In this period, 302 apps were removed from the platform due to legal violations, while only seven apps were removed from the Apple App store due to platform violations. Overall, 1.7 million mobile apps submitted for review to the Apple App Store were rejected in 2022, with 400 thousand of these being rejected due to privacy concerns.Apple and app publishers: what changed?
As of March 2023, approximately 94 percent of mobile iOS apps on the Apple App Store were free to download, meaning they operated on ads-based or freemium monetization models for which the 30 percent Apple App Store fee is still required. Standard publishers’ fees to monetize on the Apple App Store have been set at 30 percent commissions for all in-app purchases, subscriptions, or paid downloads, with free hosting for all apps since Steve Jobs’ initial introduction of the platform.As of 2022, the Apple App Store presented several reduced commission rate plans for developers that meet certain criteria. Apps that retain subscribers see their commission fees reduced to 15 percent after the subscriber’s first year, while developers participating in Apple's Small Business Program – introduced in November 2020 - enjoy the same commission fees for both subscriptions and other in-app payments, while apps in the News Partner Program – introduced in August 2021 – see their commission fees cut down to 15 percent for subscriptions.
While app and mobile gaming publishers have been complaining about platform commissions, lack of direct interaction with users, and the impossibility to redirect users toward third-party payment systems, the 2020 Epic Games v. Apple dispute represented the incident igniting both institutional and public discussion over the app store commissions. In August 2020, Epic Games began promoting the option of using third-party payment systems for in-app sales on its popular game Fortnite. This resulted in Apple and Google removing Fortnite from their app stores and Epic Games hitting both tech giants with antitrust lawsuits. In September 2021 the Epic Games v. Apple ruling sided with Apple stating that the company was not acting as a monopolist, but it also kick-started a series of legal propositions from app developers in their domestic market and abroad to change the Apple App Store dynamics and allow third-party payments. In the European Union, following the complaints of several high-profile app publishers from Spotify to Match Group, have seen Apple being hit with fines and anti-trust charges for its alleged “anti-steering” practices.
How to best optimize iOS apps in a privacy-focused environment
With the introduction of the App Tracking Transparency (ATT) system in April 2021, iOS users were given the possibility to decide whether they wanted to opt out of personalized ads, adding another building block to Apple’s privacy shield. While the system was designed to increase users’ control over their personal data, data still represents one of the main assets for advertisers to get to know their perspective customers and target. As of July 2022, 37 percent of app data linked to users collected by iOS apps were used by app publishers for product personalization, while 23 percent and 18 percent went to developers’ advertising and third-party advertising, respectively. While free apps were more likely to collect privacy data from global users, approximately 11 percent of paid iOS app publishers reported collecting privacy data from their users as of March 2023.For mobile app publishers, appearing among the first results in the Apple App Store search results represents a possibility to attract marketers. As of June 2022, the median number of daily downloads needed for apps rank in the top 10 apps in the U.S. Apple App Store was 52,000, while games required 26,000 daily downloads. More frequent updates, which optimize the apps and keep security standards updated, might also play a role in the titles’ positioning after a user propped search. The average number of days since the last released update for the apps ranking in the first 10 positions in the Apple App Store was 83 days, with shopping apps presenting a more frequent update interval of 45 days.
