When will Android apps outnumber iPhone apps? Mid-2012

February 16, 2011 6:00 AM
Dean Takahashi
Add a Comment

Apple has had a long head start in mobile apps over new archrival Google.

But new data shows that the number of Android apps has grown 127 percent since August and offerings in Google’s Android Market should outnumber the total for iPhone apps by mid-2012. Apple’s App Store wares grew 44 percent in the same time.

The data comes from the App Genome Project, a research project undertaken by Lookout Mobile Security, a mobile app security company. Lookout is examining every single app on both the Android Market and the App Store; it doesn’t count updates or apps you can no longer download.

Apple has 348,894 apps available now, compared to 243,037 in August. The Android market has 87,785 apps, compared to 38,729 in August.

Part of Google’s success may lay in its developers’ prolificity. Android Market developers typically release more apps than Apple App Store developers, said Kevin Mahaffey, cofounder of Lookout, in an interview. On average, the Android Market has 6.2 apps per developer, while the App Store has 4.8.

Google’s Android Market also has looser approval policies than Apple, which has drawn criticism for its strict review process.

Mobile App SpotlightCalling all developers: We want to write up your app for VentureBeat’s Mobile App Spotlight! If you have an innovative mobile app that hasn’t been featured on VentureBeat yet, submit it for consideration right away. The Mobile App Spotlight is sponsored by The Intel AppUp developer program.

  • http://graydroid.wordpress.com Lezz

    Does it really matter. All it matters is the quality apps which are used day in day out. Am an android user and truth be told, today android lacks some of the good apps that are there on iOS. But most of the ones which I used on my iPhone is now on Android so I dont miss anything. If there is anything that upsets me about Android is the free ad supported good apps for which I am more than keen to pay up. I would pay any day for an Angry Bird and not play with ad occupying 15% of my screen space.

  • http://twitter.com/NoodlesNinja Jérôme Carujo

    Except in the timeframe given, 100 000 iOS apps were added compared to just 50 000 android apps.So, in fact, the divide widened.Because math 101 tells you that's it's easy to get a big percentage growth when you start (comparatively) low, but it's absolute growth you want to look at if you want to make any kind of forecast.

  • honjk

    i don't know if you are a statistical apologist? or statistical idiot? but there is no way anyone with any intelligence would look at those numbers and conclude that Android apps would out number Apple apps in 2012 or anytime using those numbers?the number of Apple apps added in the last few months alone is fully 1/2 of ALL ANDROID APPS total…worse the momentum is quickly leaving Android apps behind…

  • http://twitter.com/eonlinedata e-onlinedata

    Android's looser approval policies are helping to push the growth of the marketplace.

  • http://www.biznessapps.com Bizness Apps

    Sounds good to me!We're going to be headed towards Android very soon ;)

  • jbelkin

    This will only be important to those who don't understand the mobile market. As you point out, Apple has standards that Google does not. Any random hacker can launch a storefront and load up 1,000 apps to steathly pull your info, Google barely cares (email us, we;ll get back to you) while Apple does the work upfront culling thousands of apps into the actual apps. It's like saying there are more flea market stalls than the Mall of America, sure, if your standards of 'measuremets' are one guy selling oranges is the same as a COACH STORE, sure … that is the difference between the random bazaar atmosphere of Google and a professional OS, ecosystem and storefront. But it's great to have both – some people prefer to buy fruit at a flea market, others at Whole Foods so it's all good but let's not think one means as much as another.

  • wired-4058

    Blah, blah, blah….yea…..yawn

  • mrrtmrrt

    Half of the 250,000 “apps” registered by Androlib are ringtones, wallpapers, themes and the like whereas only apps are counted in the iOS App Store.Androlib also counts apps that are not now available on the Store.-Mart-Mart

  • mrrtmrrt

    The main problem with the Android Marketplace is that because anybody can post anything, there is an enormous amount of spamware clogging up the store – 45,000 spam apps according to AppBrain. Likewise, because Google is not filtering out the crap, “hello world” apps, buggy broken apps and the like are far too much in evidence, not to mention malware.In addition the is a far lower amount of high quality software in the Android world. A prime example of how many more quality apps are available for iOS is the category of top tier games – 306 for iOS versus 20 or so from the big games publishers like Gameloft, ID, EA, PopCap, ngmoco, Pangea.As such the actual total number of Android apps is really quite meaningless.-Mart

  • http://venturebeat.com/2011/10/21/android-apps-half-million/ The Android Market now has half a million genuine, bona fide, non-malware apps | VentureBeat

    [...] to data published earlier this year, the Android Market is actually set to contain more apps than the App Store by mid-2012. Between August 2010 and February 2011, the Android Market grew 127 percent (in number [...]

  • http://onlinemagazine.pcriot.com/2011/10/the-android-market-now-has-half-a-million-genuine-bona-fide-non-malware-apps/ OnlineMagazine » Blog Archive » The Android Market now has half a million genuine, bona fide, non-malware apps

    [...] to data published earlier this year, the Android Market is actually set to contain more apps than the App Store by mid-2012. Between August 2010 and February 2011, the Android Market grew 127 percent (in number [...]

  • http://sari3.net/index.php/android/the-android-market-has-published-half-a-million-apps The Android Market has published half a million apps | Sari3 Wireless USB Modem

    [...] to data published earlier this year, the Android Market is actually set to contain more apps than the App Store by mid-2012. Between August 2010 and February 2011, the Android Market grew 127 percent (in number [...]

  • http://prosglobal.tv/blog/2011/10/the-android-market-has-published-half-a-million-apps/ The Android Market has published half a million apps

    [...] to data published earlier this year, the Android Market is actually set to contain more apps than the App Store by mid-2012. Between August 2010 and February 2011, the Android Market grew 127 percent (in number [...]

  • http://www.worldphone.tk/new/latest-phones/the-android-market-has-published-half-a-million-apps The Android Market has published half a million apps – LATEST MOBILE PHONES PRICES – LATEST MOBILE PHONES PRICES

    [...] to information published progressing this year, a Android Market is indeed set to enclose some-more apps than a App Store by mid-2012. Between Aug 2010 and Feb 2011, a Android Market grew 127 percent (in series of apps [...]

  • http://iwantandroidapps.com/the-android-market-has-published-half-a-million-apps-2064 The Android Market has published half a million apps | I want android apps

    [...] to data published earlier this year, the Android Market is actually set to contain more apps than the App Store by mid-2012. Between August 2010 and February 2011, the Android Market grew 127 percent (in number [...]

  • http://androidupgrades.info/the-android-market-has-published-half-a-million-apps.html The Android Market has published half a million apps | Android Upgrade

    [...] to information published progressing this year, a Android Market is indeed set to enclose some-more apps than a App Store by mid-2012. Between Aug 2010 and Feb 2011, a Android Market grew 127 percent (in series of apps [...]

  • http://www.androidemulator.net/the-android-market-has-published-half-a-million-apps/   The Android Market has published half a million apps|Android Emulator

    [...] to information published progressing this year, a Android Market is indeed set to enclose some-more apps than a App Store by mid-2012. Between Aug 2010 and Feb 2011, a Android Market grew 127 percent (in series of apps [...]

  • http://www.googleplus-applications.info/googleplus/google-plus-application/the-android-market-has-published-half-a-million-apps The Android Market has published half a million apps | GOOGLEPLUS APPLICATIONS

    [...] to information published progressing this year, a Android Market is indeed set to enclose some-more apps than a App Store by mid-2012. Between Aug 2010 and Feb 2011, a Android Market grew 127 percent (in series of apps [...]

  • http://www.jompom.com/the-android-market-has-published-half-a-million-apps JOMPOM.COM – Web Design Development Services The Android Market has published half a million apps

    [...] to data published earlier this year, the Android Market is actually set to contain more apps than the App Store by mid-2012. Between August 2010 and February 2011, the Android Market grew 127 percent (in number [...]

  • http://dirk.h-info.co.in/?p=156 The Android Market has published half a million apps | My Blog

    [...] to data published earlier this year, the Android Market is actually set to contain more apps than the App Store by mid-2012. Between August 2010 and February 2011, the Android Market grew 127 percent (in number [...]

blog comments powered by Disqus