Interesting Report: Are iPhone or Android users spending more money?

Emir Bolat

September 8, 2023

Today, someone looking to buy a smartphone faces two options: Android and iPhone. On the Android side, there are hundreds of products from brands like Samsung, Xiaomi, and OPPO, while on the other side, there’s only Apple’s iPhone.

With fierce competition between the two sides, various comparisons of which one is better are never in short supply. The latest example of this comes from a recent report that answered the question, “Do iPhone users or Android users spend more money on mobile apps?”

App Store revenues far exceed those of the Play Store

According to a report prepared by Horace Dediu from the Finnish software company Asymco, iPhone users spend 7.4 times more money on mobile apps compared to Android users.

Dediu, the source of the research, said he gathered important insights about making money from app developers for both iOS and Android platforms a decade ago. Back then, while the number of Android users was twice that of iOS users, developers were making nearly twice as much revenue from the App Store compared to the Play Store.

Apple will struggle to sell USB-C accessories when you buy iPhone 15

Fast forward to today, Apple claims to have 650 million active users on the App Store, while Google says it has 2.5 billion on the Play Store. This means that in 2023, Android users outnumber Apple users by four times. However, when it comes to money, Android unfortunately falls short. According to the source, the revenue comparison between the Play Store and App Store has remained almost the same since 2016.

Apple’s newly introduced mixed reality headset, the Vision Pro, could boost App Store revenue. The company has provided a Software Development Kit (SDK) for app developers, which means we may see paid apps with various features in the future.

What are your thoughts on this topic? Why do you think iPhone users spend more money? Feel free to share your opinions with us in the comments section below.