Sensor Tower


'Sensor Tower' Articles

WhatsApp, Messenger, and Minecraft Among Most Popular Apps in App Store's 10 Year History

Tuesday July 10, 2018 5:45 am PDT by Mitchel Broussard
In celebration of the 10th anniversary of Apple's iOS App Store, Sensor Tower has shared a list of the apps and games that have spent the most time in the #1 spot of the store's various charts. Looking at the period of time from July 1, 2010 to July 5, 2018, Sensor Tower's researchers found that a total of 30,000 unique apps have achieved #1 status on the free, paid, or top grossing charts in at least one country. Image and charts via Sensor Tower Honing in the data a bit more, Sensor Tower found 422 apps that hit #1 on the top free iPhone apps chart in the United States during this period, and of those apps, Facebook Messenger spent the most days at #1 with a combined 317 days. Worldwide, WhatsApp earned the top spot with a combined 1,783 days at #1 for free iPhone apps. Popular apps in both the U.S. and worldwide for these charts included Snapchat and YouTube. Looking at the amount of days at #1 for paid iPhone apps, Minecraft had the most days both in the U.S. (847 days) and worldwide (1,645 days) App Stores. Games were popular in the U.S. on the paid iPhone apps chart, also including Angry Birds (311 days), Heads Up (225 days), and Where's My Water (47 days), but globally there was more of a mix with apps like Facetune (1,501 days), Afterlight (1,312 days), and 7 Min Workout (1,134 days) rounding out the top four spots under Minecraft. Clash of Clans spent 805 days at #1 on Apple's top grossing iPhone apps chart in the U.S., coming in far ahead of the second place app Candy Crush at 278 days. The only non-gaming apps on this chart were Pandora (202 days),
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Fortnite on iOS Has Earned $50M Since Launch

Friday May 4, 2018 4:41 pm PDT by Juli Clover
Popular battle royale game Fortnite has eared more than $50 million in revenue since its March 15 launch, according to new data shared this afternoon by app analytics firm Sensor Tower. Fortnite is free to download, but it encourages players to shell out cash within the app for "V-Bucks" that can be used to purchase customization items like emotes, outfits, gliders, and more. The minimum in-app purchase is $9.99 for 1,000 V-Bucks, but players can spend more if desired. Players are also able to earn V-Bucks in game, but at a slow rate. On iOS devices, Fortnite has proven to be incredibly popular. While it was still in beta, Fortnite had earned more than $1.5 million, and during its first month of availability on iPads and iPhones, the game brought in $25 million. It only took two weeks for that to double to $50 million. Fortnite continues to be the number two top free game on the iOS App Store, with Epic Games managing to keep players engaged through different seasons that introduce new challenges to complete and content to unlock. Players can also purchase Battle Passes for $10 worth of in-game currency to receive additional items for completing season content. Fortnite's fourth season content, which debuted earlier this week, is what pushed it over the $50 million mark. Player spending in the game jumped up 293 percent on May 1 when the content launched, a 4x increase compared to the preceding Tuesday. Sensor Tower says that Fortnite's strategy of selling limited-time skins and other items has resulted in players spending approximately $1 million per
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ARKit-Only Apps Exceed 13M Global Downloads Since Launch as Games Remain Most Popular Category

Thursday March 29, 2018 5:38 am PDT by Mitchel Broussard
Since ARKit debuted within iOS 11 on September 19 last year, iPhone and iPad owners worldwide have downloaded and installed more than 13 million ARKit-only apps. The data comes from Sensor Tower, which broke down the most popular categories of augmented reality apps fueled by ARKit, the top 10 free and paid apps, highest grossing apps, and more. Games remain the dominant category for ARKit-only apps -- or those apps built "expressly using" Apple's framework -- having grown from representing 35 percent of downloads one month after iOS 11's launch, to 47 percent today. The second place category, Utilities, decreased from 19 percent last October to 15 percent in March. Rounding out the top six were Entertainment, Lifestyle, Photo & Video, and Education. Charts via Sensor Tower Sensor Tower pointed out that for the games-specific charts, the top spots of all three sections (free, paid, grossing) were "still occupied by many of the same titles that found success several months ago," suggesting not much variation in ARKit-only gaming on the App Store. On the other hand, when the researchers looked at non-game apps they saw multiple newcomers rising on the charts, like LEGO AR Studio -- "a testament to the popularity of kid-focused AR content on the App Store thus far." From what we’ve seen in our latest analysis, ARKit-only apps only continue to grow in terms of installs and the number of experiences available to users. This isn’t including the numerous ARKit-compatible apps that have added some degree of AR functionality in the past six months and have pushed the
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Invite-Only Game Fortnite Has Earned an Estimated $1.5M Since Launch

Monday March 19, 2018 8:24 pm PDT by Juli Clover
Epic Games' popular Fortnite Battle Royale game for iOS devices has grossed an estimated $1.5 million worldwide since its release last Thursday, according to figures shared this afternoon by app analytics firm Sensor Tower. Fortnite has topped the iPhone download charts in more than 40 countries since it was released, despite the fact that it continues to be invite only. As of now, it is the number one free app in the Games section of the App Store. According to Sensor Tower, Fortnite earned $1 million during the first 72 hours after in-app purchases first became live in the game for beta testers. In Fortnite, players can buy outfits, tools, weapons, emotes, gliders, and more using the in-game currency, V-Bucks. Players can purchase 1,000 V-Bucks for $9.99, which is the minimum in-app purchase. Higher quantities of V-Bucks are available for more money. Fortnite earned far more than other survival-style games that were released at the same time. Knives Out, a competing game, earned $57k, while Rules of Survival earned $39k. Fortnite could have some competition now, however, as Tencent today released the official version of PUBG Mobile, which offers the same kind of gameplay available in Fortnite. Compared to other popular games, Fortnite hasn't brought in quite as much money, but it is still in a beta testing phase. Pokémon GO brought in $4.9 million just four days after release, and Clash Royale earned $4.6 million four days after it was released. The goal in Fortnite is to be the last person standing, with players tasked with killing opponents using
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Animal Crossing: Pocket Camp Tops Australian iOS App Store Faster Than Super Mario Run

Friday October 27, 2017 7:53 am PDT by Mitchel Broussard
Nintendo's newly-announced iOS game, Animal Crossing: Pocket Camp, has soft launched in the Australian iOS App Store, a launch rollout that Nintendo has begun to favor as a way to test its iOS apps prior to a worldwide debut. According to new data gathered by Sensor Tower, Animal Crossing: Pocket Camp climbed to the top of the Australian App Store much faster than either Super Mario Run or Fire Emblem Heroes. Animal Crossing: Pocket Camp debuted quite high among all iPhone apps on the Australian App Store, hitting around number 2 within the first hour of its soft launch on October 25. Afterwards, the new game reached the number 1 spot on the Australian App Store within 12 hours of its debut. Animal Crossing: Pocket Camp is Nintendo's fourth smartphone game made in partnership with developer DeNA, following Miitomo, Super Mario Run, and Fire Emblem Heroes. Chart via Sensor Tower Hourly App Store category rankings from Sensor Tower App Intelligence show Nintendo’s third mobile game, Animal Crossing: Pocket Camp, off to a strong start in its Australian soft launch on iOS. According to the data, the game reached No. 1 among all iPhone apps faster than Nintendo’s previous mobile releases, Super Mario Run and Fire Emblem Heroes, hitting the impressive milestone within 12 hours of its launch on October 25. Comparatively, Super Mario Run debuted just below the number 40 ranking. It then hit number 2 after 12 hours on the App Store in Australia, and finally obtained the number 1 spot 14 hours after its soft launch in the country last December. Fire Emblem Heroes was ranked
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iPhone Users in U.S. Predicted to Increase App Store Spending to $88/Year by 2020

Tuesday October 24, 2017 5:37 am PDT by Mitchel Broussard
The average iPhone user's spending on paid iOS applications and in-app purchases in free-to-play apps will increase by nearly 40 percent over the next three years, according to a new forecast based on data gathered by Sensor Tower. By the year 2020, iPhone users based in the United States will spend more than an average of $88 per year on both paid "premium" apps and in-app purchases in free apps. Sensor Tower used previous app-based spending reports to predict how much users will spend over the next three years. Most recently, in 2016 it was estimated that the average iPhone user in the U.S. spent about $47 on apps, while 2017 is on track to increase that number to about $63/year. Afterwards, in 2018 the average U.S.-based iPhone user is predicted to spend $77/year on apps, and in 2019 Sensor Tower thinks that number will finally reach $88/year. That represents a 40 percent increase from the average user spending estimated for 2017, and an 86 percent increase from 2016. U.S. iPhone users will spend an average of $88 per year on premium apps and in-app purchases (IAPs) by 2020 according to a new forecast based on Sensor Tower Store Intelligence data. Our projections place calendar year 2019 per-device revenue at approximately 86 percent higher than 2016 and about 40 percent higher than our forecasted average user spend in 2017. While gaming apps will still dominate the spending landscape in the iOS App Store -- accounting for "nearly 70 percent" of all per-device revenue -- some other categories are forecasted to increase in popularity as well. This includes
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Games Are Most Popular ARKit-Only Apps, Accounting for 62% of ARKit App Revenue

Thursday October 12, 2017 11:56 am PDT by Juli Clover
Apps that use the ARKit framework Apple introduced in iOS 11 have been installed 3 million times around the world since September 19, according to new data shared today by analytics firm Sensor Tower (via TechCrunch). Many of the ARKit-only apps that are available are games, accounting for 35 percent of ARKit apps worldwide. ARKit-only apps include those that are built entirely around the new ARKit technology, rather than apps that have added some ARKit features. Utilities are the second most popular ARKit category, accounting for 19 percent of apps, while 11 percent of ARKit apps are in the Entertainment category and 7 percent are in the Education category. Many of the top ARKit-only apps are games, with four games among the top five highest-grossing ARKit apps. Titles like AR Dragon, Zombie Gunship Revenant, The Machines, and Monster Park -- Dino World have proven to be the most popular AR games with consumers. Games have accounted for a total of 53 percent of all ARKit-only app downloads and 62 percent of ARKit app revenue since the launch of ARKit. With games taken out of the top app listings, apps that allow users to measure 3D spaces or demo furniture are some of the top performers. Among free apps, IKEA Place, the furniture app from IKEA that lets consumers see products in their homes before purchasing, is one of the more popular apps. Sensor Tower's data covers only apps that are primarily focused on the augmented reality experience and it did not take into account apps that offer limited ARKit content like photo modes or mini games. When
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The Average iPhone User in the U.S. Spent $40 on Apps in 2016

Tuesday February 21, 2017 12:17 pm PST by Juli Clover
iPhone owners in the United States spent an average of $40 on premium apps and in-app purchases on each of their devices in 2016, according to new data shared by analytics company Sensor Tower. That's up from an average of $35 in 2015. Unsurprisingly, most iPhone users are spending their money on games. 80 percent of U.S. App Store revenue in 2016 was generated by games, and on average, iPhone users spent $27 on game-related content. Spending on apps in the entertainment category - such as Netflix and Hulu - was at $2.30 on average, compared to $1.00 in 2015, perhaps due to Netflix starting to offer in-app subscription options at the end of 2015. According to Sensor Tower, Netflix contributed over $58 million in gross revenue to the entertainment category in 2016, up from $7.9 million in 2015. Average spending on music also rose slightly in 2016, from $3.40 to $3.60, and social networking went from $1.80 to $2.00. Spending on apps in the photo and video category jumped from $0.30 to $0.70 during 2016. While spending on apps is up across the board, Sensor Tower saw a decline in the average number of apps installed on each iPhone - 33, down from 35 in 2015. Games continues to be the most popular app category, with an average of 10 games installed on each iPhone. According to Sensor Tower, its estimates are based on data pulled from 132 million active iPhones in the United States during the 2016 calendar year (January 1 to December 31). The numbers use estimates from Consumer Intelligence Research Partners and the company's own Store Intelligence platform.
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Nintendo's 'Fire Emblem Heroes' Game Earned an Estimated $2.9 Million During First Day

Friday February 3, 2017 1:39 pm PST by Juli Clover
Nintendo's newly released game Fire Emblem Heroes earned an estimated $2.9 million in worldwide gross revenue during its first 24 hours of availability, according to data shared by app analytics firm Sensor Tower. Since being released yesterday morning for iOS and Android devices, Fire Emblem Heroes has been downloaded more than two million times from the iOS App Store and the Google Play store. Download numbers may have been affected by a late release in the United States - the game didn't become available on iOS devices until the afternoon. At $2.9 million in gross revenue, Fire Emblem Heroes is not quite the hit that Pokémon GO and Super Mario Run were. Pokémon Go earned an estimated $10.2 million during its first 24 hours of availability, while Super Mario Run brought in $8.4 million. It was also not downloaded quite as many times, likely due to the fact that the Fire Emblem series isn't as well known as the Mario or Pokémon franchises nor was it as heavily promoted. Pokémon GO was downloaded an estimated 4.2 million times on day one, while Super Mario Run, was downloaded an estimated 6 million times. Unsurprisingly, Fire Emblem Heroes has proven to be most popular in Japan, with the United States coming in second. Bringing classic titles to iOS devices has thus far proven to be a successful venture for Nintendo. Super Mario Run set an App Store record with 40 million downloads in just four days. Since its December release, Super Mario Run has brought in more than $53 million in revenue with more than 78 million downloads. Nintendo plans to
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