Posted on July 20th, 2017
With the close of Q2, we’re looking back to the beginning of the year to see how revenue and downloads changed thus far for giants of the mobile industry. The numbers are in, and companies like Google and Apple reported positive net revenue, in addition to overall growth of the App Store and the Google Play Store. Google announced back in May of 2017 that the company saw 82 billion downloads from the Google Play Store in 2016, causing surge of revenue for the tech company and app developers. Apple echoed this number by stating at WWDC 2017, the App Store attracts over 500 million weekly visitors and has achieved 180 billion app downloads. On top of this information, it has been reported that across both stores, there as $15 billion in downloads at the end of Q1 2017. Across iOS and Android, downloads also grew 15 percent year-over-year. As the number of downloads and revenue continues to grow, it begs the question what is in store for the app market? Which Company Had More Growth? Despite Google being labeled as the clear winner of global app downloads, Apple is closing the gap in revenue growth. The App store saw 45 percent increase in consumer spending compared to Google’s 40 percent year-over-year growth. Apple now leads in consumer spending by 100 percent, up from their 90 percent lead in Q1 2016. Regardless of Apple being the leader in consumer spending, the company still has catching up to do on the global scale. Globally, most of the phones that shipped in Q4 2016 were Android. This is not surprising considering that Android software is used across multiple devices and the price of Android phones is relatively lower than that of an iPhone. Along with the large number of Android phones shipped last year, third-party Android app stores are also on the rise, especially in China, one of the leaders in the app market. Some of the marketplaces include Tencent, Baidu, and more. Other than China, Google Play is exceptionally recognized in India, as indicated by several of Google’s presentations at I/O 2017. Google has essentially cornered the market in India, making it a key factor in the tech company’s year-over-year growth of 40 percent. Even though Apple has catching up to do in the global app market, the numbers both companies have reported for Q1 2017 are astounding. This immediate progression only meant that the demand of mobile apps will continue to increase.
Posted on July 14th, 2017
Developers are currently scrambling to make sure their metadata will be completely ready for iOS 11’s launch this coming fall. Apple announced big changes to the App Store such as the revamped navigation bar, which now features three new tabs, Today, Games and Apps. This redesign means that Apple has finally separated games from other apps, essentially creating two App Stores with their own separate top charts and featured content. Making games its own tab concretely separates games from other apps, and allows for all games genres to be better categorized on the App Store. The games tab will have its own top charts, but will also have separate top categories section. 
Posted on July 8th, 2017
Apple recently announced a complete redesign of its App Store, shifting their focus toward editorialized content such as interviews, tips and tricks and stories on apps and developers. While the App Store’s redesign won’t debut until the launch of iOS 11, Google has already announced its own plans to expand their editorial content with a new program called Android Excellence. Similar to Apple’s new Today tab, Android Excellence will highlight the highest-quality apps and games on a rotating basis. The apps and games will be handpicked by Google Play’s editors based on their ability to “deliver incredible user experiences on Android,” apps and games that use Google’s
Posted on July 1st, 2017
Coming up with the next great app can be exciting, but when looking at the current mobile app market, entrepreneurs realize that the nearly 3 million apps completely saturate every app category. It’s tough to get noticed in any category, but how do the top apps do it? They start by monitoring the current app market, researching user trends, defining user behaviors, creating a targeted demographic user base and carefully distinguishing which category fits their app best. By monitoring competitors and current app market trends, developers can make crucial changes using ASO best practices before wasting their time and resources launching an app prematurely.
Posted on June 23rd, 2017
At WWDC Apple announced that the App Store will be completely redesigned in the Fall of 2017. It seems that from the changes that are being made, Apple’s goal is to help improve the overall discoverability of content by breaking Games out from apps as well as highlighting more unique editorial handpicked content. This change is a very strong indicator that Apple feels that Games as a category is becoming more dominant and needs its own spotlight. Games account for 81 percent of the App Store’s revenue, meaning the separation of games from apps will help level the playing field.
Posted on June 21st, 2017
On June 5th, Apple announced that the App Store will also feature editorialized content focusing on apps, games and developers handpicked by Apple. This editorialized content will feature all pieces of metadata including multiple App Preview Videos. Preview Videos are a crucial piece of metadata that many developers have been experimenting with for years. With the release of iOS 11, developers will then be able to submit up to three Preview Videos. Having more Preview Videos is a fantastic way to see the app or game in action, next to directly downloading it for yourself. Creatives are important for conversion because it helps showcase what is unique about the app or game that words in the app name or description cannot convey. Preview Videos give users an in-depth look at the UI and gameplay, two critical points in conversion. Developers looking to add additional Preview Videos to their App Store product page need to ensure that the content showcases their app’s core features and functionality while being visually compelling. Preview Video Changes While developers scramble to put together content for two additional Preview Videos, it worthwhile noting the other significant changes such as auto play capability and where additional Preview Videos will be displayed on the product page. That’s right, Apple is allowing developers to set up their Preview Videos for auto play with muted audio. Developers that select auto play for their Preview Videos need to note that the poster frame will not be displayed. If developers set up their Preview Videos without auto play, the poster frame will be present and continue to be considerably useful for conversion. Any additional Preview Videos will also be moved below the description, in turn pushing screenshots significantly down the product page. While these changes are incredibly important for conversion, developers need to keep in mind that only users running iOS 11 and later will be able to see any additional Preview Videos added to their product page.
Posted on June 13th, 2017
In case you missed any details from the WWDC 2017 keynote on June 5th, Gummicube has everything to keep you up-to-date. Apple announced spectacular improvements to their hardware, SDKS and developer tools. The jaw-dropping moment happened during the iOS 11 announcement, where Apple divulged the App Store will be completely redesigned in the fall, making this the biggest update to the App Store since its launch 9 years ago.
Posted on June 7th, 2017
Competition in the Google Play Store is fierce and the opportunity size is huge with more than 2 billion monthly active Android users.
Posted on June 1st, 2017
Mobile app development cannot be ignored as developers are trying to meet high user demands and keep up with current trends, which will later be reflected in their apps. So far in 2017, we have seen developers realizing how important ASO is to help their app become more discoverable in the app stores. Many have said that 2017 could be the benchmark for mobile as more and more developers gravitate toward the same mobile trends. Developers need to stay ahead of their competition as the app stores continue to grow. Here is a list of the top app development trends currently happening in 2017 to help developers stay ahead of the curve.
Posted on May 25th, 2017
At the Google I/O Developer Conference , the tech company announced the new updates coming to the Google Play Console to help developers create more apps and improve their current app’s performance. Last year for the Play Store alone, users downloaded 82 billion apps, and now there are 2 billion active Android devices around the world. These stats reinforce the importance for more data regarding where users are coming from details if the app struggling to get visibility. This data would help developers understand what channels their app gets the highest traffic from along with information regarding their app’s performance in the Play Store. Google has continually tried adding more tools and features that help developers publish apps, but now developers will have specific data regarding app crashes, a dashboard to track and monitor metrics after a release and more.
Posted on May 20th, 2017
Google’s I/O conference kicked off with major announcements that will help users and developers. CEO Sundar Pichai made a stunning announcement that there are now 2 billion monthly active Android users, and there were 82 billion app installs in 2016. Google showed off its technology by starting its keynote on Wednesday addressing its advances in artificial intelligence that will be coming to Google Assistant soon. The tech company is also making big changes to Firebase, Google Photos, Android Instant Apps and Gmail along with unveiling Google Lens, Android O and Android Studio 3.0. Here is a list of Google’s announcements and how they will help users and developers alike: 1. Google Assistant Updates – Now for iOS Google discussed its Software Development Kit for Google Assistant and how it will now let third-party device makers inject the conversational technology into home appliances. Order-taking, payments and receipts will also be integrated into TV allowing you to make orders and payments while watching your favorite shows. Users will now be able to type requests and questions rather than speaking. During the keynote address, Pichai stated that Google Assistant is coming to iOS devices. This makes Google Assistant available to hundreds of millions more users that do not have an Android device. Unlike Siri for iOS devices, Google Assistant cannot be used with the home button but must be opened by tapping the app icon. Part of Google Assistant is the newly launched Lens, a service that uses AI technology to quickly recognize objects, locations, businesses and other things in the world all through your camera lens.
Posted on May 18th, 2017
Apple’s App Analytics update is now giving developers access to specific data on App Store Sources and Referral Data, making it easier to find where their app’s current customers come from. Now, developers can view attribution and conversion metrics with a clearer picture tied to organic versus non-organic installs in iTunes Connect. The updated App Analytics tools will provide key insights to pertinent data regarding how many users find the app via browse and search in App Store, along with data on how many users are directed to an app from another app or the web. Data on where organic users view the app is pertinent to developers looking to improve visibility, conversion and installs. As Apple has stated in the past, up to 65 percent of all downloads comes from search. The data that the new analytics tools provides only proves how important search and organic traffic are to an app’s conversion rate.
