Apple, Facing Outcry, Says App Developers Are Thriving on iPhone

Apple is under scrutiny from the European Union, which is working on legislation that would force it to allow apps to be installed from outside the App Store.

Apple, Facing Outcry, Says App Developers Are Thriving on iPhone

The study found that Apple’s own apps are infrequently the dominant option

Highlights
  • Spotify is 1.6 times more popular than Apple Music
  • Google Maps is used 1.5 times more than Apple Maps
  • Netflix is 17 times more popular than Apple's service
Advertisement

Apple, looking to address criticism of its competitive practices by the European Union, developers and US lawmakers, pointed to a report showing that third-party apps are thriving on the iPhone and other devices.

In a study published by Analysis Group and touted by the iPhone maker, analysts said that Apple's own apps are infrequently the dominant option and only account for a small share of app usage.

“We found that Apple's own apps, while used by many, are rarely the most popular of a given type and are eclipsed in popularity by third-party apps for nearly every country and app type we considered,” the report said.

In the US, the report found that Spotify is 1.6 times more popular than Apple Music, that Google Maps is used 1.5 times more than Apple Maps, and that Netflix is 17 times more popular than Apple's service. The Amazon Kindle service, meanwhile, was 4.5 times more popular than Apple's Books app.

Apple is under scrutiny from the European Union, which is working on legislation that would force the company to allow apps to be installed from outside the App Store. Such a move would threaten Apple's grip on its platform and could limit its ability to collect a commission from developers.

US lawmakers also have pushed to allow the practice, known as sideloading. Apple has said that sideloading would bring privacy and security risks to consumers.

Thursday's move was an attempt to show that app developers are doing fine without a change. It also marked an unusual effort by Apple to downplay the success of its own services, which now generate more than $60 billion (roughly Rs. 4,54,980 crore) a year for the Cupertino, California-based company. The study found Apple's music, TV, books, and maps services are the dominant player in few major regions.

“In the US, iPhone users spend more than 50 percent more time on Spotify than on Apple Music,” the report said.

The researchers also found there was a variety of alternative apps across major categories. In Asia, for instance, third-party communication apps like LINE, WeChat, and KakaoTalk are dominant on the iPhone.

© 2022 Bloomberg LP


Why are they still making more Harry Potter? We discuss this on Orbital, the Gadgets 360 podcast. Orbital is available on Spotify, Gaana, JioSaavn, Google Podcasts, Apple Podcasts, Amazon Music and wherever you get your podcasts.
Affiliate links may be automatically generated - see our ethics statement for details.
Comments

For the latest tech news and reviews, follow Gadgets 360 on X, Facebook, WhatsApp, Threads and Google News. For the latest videos on gadgets and tech, subscribe to our YouTube channel. If you want to know everything about top influencers, follow our in-house Who'sThat360 on Instagram and YouTube.

Further reading: Apple, iPhone, European Union, App Store
Microsoft CEO Satya Nadella Warns of the Impact of All Those Late-Night Emails
Samsung Galaxy M53 5G With 108-Megapixel Quad Cameras, 5,000mAh Battery Launched: Specifications
Share on Facebook Gadgets360 Twitter Share Tweet Snapchat Share Reddit Comment google-newsGoogle News
 
 

Advertisement

Follow Us

Advertisement

© Copyright Red Pixels Ventures Limited 2024. All rights reserved.
Trending Products »
Latest Tech News »