Apple Still Dominates the App Economy

By Evan Niu, CFA – Jun 27, 2013 at 8:30PM

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Android may rule mobile in terms of unit market share, but iOS still grabs the vast majority of app sales. That has important implications for developers, who provide most of the content.

Even though the app economy is less than five years old, it is expected to grow to $27 billion in sales this year. Apple (AAPL 0.37%) should continue dominating the landscape by grabbing two-thirds of all sales, or $18 billion. That's despite the fact that Google (GOOGL 1.50%) Android leads in unit market share by a significant margin.

App monetization is strategically important as the driving force for the developers that provide complementary content. Google Play downloads have begun to grow, but Android users have shown less propensity to spend money. The gap between iOS and Android app revenue isn't shrinking anytime soon.

In the video below, Fool contributor Evan Niu, CFA, discusses how important app monetization is to the tech giants.

Fool contributor Evan Niu, CFA, owns shares of Apple. The Motley Fool recommends Apple and Google. The Motley Fool owns shares of Apple and Google. We Fools may not all hold the same opinions, but we all believe that considering a diverse range of insights makes us better investors. The Motley Fool has a disclosure policy.