Android app downloads to overtake Apple – but piracy is a problem

By
published

Research suggests Android will reach 8.1bn app downloads by the end of the year despite the problem of software piracy

Android Market apps

Android app downloads will overtake Apple apps downloaded by the end of 2011, according to the latest research.

The number of apps downloaded on the Android platform will hit 8.1 billion by the end of the year, with Apple's iOS app downloads peaking at 6 billion.

The figures mark not only a change in position between the competing platforms compared to 2010 but also a leap in the number of downloads.

Last year 1.4 billion Android apps were downloaded, compared to Apple's 2.7 billion, while Apple's App Store passed 15 billion app downloads back in July.

Ovum, the company behind the research, said that iOS would however continue to dominate the market for paid apps, with revenue expected to reach $2.86 billion in 2016, compared to $1.5 billion for Android.

And piracy is being blamed for this discrepancy. A survey of Android developers by Skyhook found more than 50% of those surveyed saw piracy as a problem, with a similar number saying Google was too lax in its policing of Android Market.

Follow whathifi.com on Twitter.
Join us on Facebook.

Joe Cox
Joe Cox
Content Director

Joe is the Content Director for What Hi-Fi? and Future’s Product Testing, having previously been the Global Editor-in-Chief of What Hi-Fi?. He has worked on What Hi-Fi? across the print magazine and website for almost 20 years, writing news, reviews and features on everything from turntables to TVs, headphones to hi-fi separates. He has covered product launch events across the world, from Apple to Technics, Sony and Samsung; reported from CES, the Bristol Show, and Munich High End for many years; and written for sites such as the BBC, Stuff, and the Guardian. In his spare time, he enjoys expanding his vinyl collection and cycling (not at the same time).