Mac App Store Dominated by Paid Apps, Top Apps' Revenue at 50% of Top iPad Apps'
App Store analytics firm
Distimo today issued a new report comparing the performance of Apple's two-month old Mac App Store to the more mature iPad and iPhone App Store segments, revealing that the Mac App Store is dominated by paid apps that also carry a higher average price than paid iPad apps.
Looking at the 300 most popular apps in each of the iPhone, iPad, and Mac App Stores, Distimo found a clear pattern of popularity, with iPhone and iPod touch apps being downloaded more than five times as often as iPad apps, which themselves are downloaded more than five times as often as Mac apps. But the large disparities in downloads are partially offset by differences in average pricing that see a similar pattern in reverse, although to a lesser degree. Consequently, the differences between each platform are reduced from 5x to 2x when revenue is considered instead of downloads.
The top applications on iPhone generate 2.1 times the revenue of top applications on the iPad. The top paid applications on the iPad in turn generate 2.0 times the revenue of top paid applications in the Mac App Store.
The differences in the ratio of downloads and the ratio of revenue is captured in the average selling price of top 300 applications in the different stores: $1.57 on iPhone, $4.19 on iPad and $11.21 in the Mac App Store.
The Mac App Store also skews more toward paid apps in general than iOS apps, with only 12% of Mac App Store applications currently available for free. That compares to 29% of iPad apps and 35% of iPhone/iPod touch apps.
Based on Distimo's numbers, Apple's Mac App Store had about 2,225 applications available in the United States at the end of February when the survey was conducted. Our own sister site AppShopper currently shows that number approaching 3,000.
Popular Stories
Apple plans to announce new products "this week," according to Bloomberg's Mark Gurman.
Apple's "Mac Your Calendars" teaser last October
In his Power On newsletter today, Gurman said the products set to be updated this week include the iPad Pro, Vision Pro, and "likely" the base 14-inch MacBook Pro, with all three likely to receive a spec bump with Apple's next-generation M5 chip.
Gurman...
Apple's software engineers are internally testing iOS 26.0.2, according to MacRumors logs, which have been a reliable indicator of upcoming iOS versions.
iOS 26.0.2 will likely be a minor update that addresses bugs and/or security vulnerabilities, but we do not know any specific details yet.
The update will likely be released within the next few weeks.
Last month, Apple released iOS...
Update: the Naver account appears to be referencing a speculative post on X by Vadim Yuryev, dated October 6. The original article follows.
Apple will announce new products through a series of press releases beginning as soon as next week, according to a dubious claim posted on the Korean blog Naver.
The Naver blog account yeux1122, which aggregates rather than originates Apple...
While the iPhone 18 Pro and iPhone 18 Pro Max are still nearly a year away, a handful of new features and changes have already been rumored for the devices.
Below, we have recapped some of the early iPhone 18 Pro rumors so far.
Smaller Dynamic Island
The standard iPhone 18, iPhone 18 Pro, and iPhone 18 Pro Max will be equipped with a slightly smaller Dynamic Island, but the devices will...
Buried in its announcement about "F1: The Movie" making its streaming debut on December 12, Apple has also announced that Apple TV+ is being rebranded as simply Apple TV.
A single line near the end of the press release states "Apple TV+ is now simply Apple TV, with a vibrant new identity," though Apple's website has yet to be updated with any changes, so we're unsure on the details of the...
After releasing AirPods Pro 3 last month, Apple is already working on the next AirPods Pro, according to Bloomberg's Mark Gurman.
It is unclear if the new AirPods Pro would be branded as AirPods Pro 4, or if they would be considered an updated version of AirPods Pro 3. Gurman did not take a position, opting to describe them as a "new version" of the "high-end in-ear buds."
AirPods Pro 2...
Apple's hardware engineering chief John Ternus remains the "leading contender" to become the company's next CEO, according to Bloomberg's Mark Gurman.
Ternus is 50 years old, so he is still young enough to have a long run at the helm of Apple, after current CEO Tim Cook retires. He is already a key decision-maker at Apple, according to Gurman, and he appears to have a charismatic...
Apple is planning to release a base MacBook Pro with a standard M5 chip before higher-end models with M5 Pro and M5 Max chips, according to AppleInsider's sources with "knowledge of macOS Tahoe development and hardware testing."
The report said a MacBook Pro with an M5 chip is "nearing release," and Apple has apparently been testing this model with an unreleased macOS 26.0.2 version....
While it is unclear if Apple will host an October event this year, or stick to press releases, rumors suggest it will announce several new products this month.
The graphic for Apple's "Unleashed" event in October 2021
Below, we have recapped everything to know about a potential Apple event this October.
When
The table below outlines when Apple teased its October launches over the past...
