US$ 26 billion mobile app revenue in 2013, up by 44%

It's not just the smart phones hot in the market, smartphone apps are also growing both by downloads and revenue. Gartner finds mobile app downloads reach 102 billion in 2013, up from 64 billion in 2012 and the total revenue in 2013 will reach $26 billion, up from $18 billion in 2012. Free apps will account for 91 percent of total downloads in 2013 (see Table 1). Gartner said that in-app purchases (IAPs) will account for 48 percent of app store revenue by 2017, up from 11 percent in 2012. "We expect strong growth in downloads through 2014, but growth is forecast to slow down a bit in later years," said Sandy Shen, research director at Gartner. "The average downloads per device should be high in early years as users get new devices and discover the apps they like. Over time they accumulate a portfolio of apps they like and stick to, so there will be moderate numbers of downloads in the later years." "Free apps currently account for about 60 percent and 80 percent of the total available apps in Apple's App Store and Google Play, respectively," said Brian Blau, research director at Gartner. "iOS and Android app stores combined are forecast to account for 90 percent of global downloads in 2017. These app stores are still increasingly active due to richer ecosystems and large and very active developer communities. However, we expect average monthly downloads per iOS device t...