Android devices tend to cost much less that Apple’s iOS devices. Not only that, the accessories of iOS devices as well as the upgrade options are much costlier than those of Android devices. However, the aspect in which Apple does beat Android devices is that the ecosystem Apple provides is more affordable, and diverse, than that offered by Android vendors. According to a study, on average, the Android apps cost much more than iOS apps.
The study has been carried out by a research firm Canalys. According to the findings of the study, the Android apps tend to cost 2.5 times more as compared to iOS apps. This is manifest in this example: if you are an Android user and you buy the top 100 paid-for Android apps, you will be short of a cool $374.37. On the other hand, if an Apple user decides to buy the top 100 paid-for iOS apps, he will have to pay a mere $147. This shows a significant difference in the price margins of the apps of these two platforms.
Canalys further revealed in its study that iPhone users may expect to pay $0.99 per app on average for the top ten apps whereas the Android users may have to pay $3.47 per app on average for the top ten apps. According to a senior analyst of Canalys, “Apple’s App Store and the Android Market are very different retail environments. The former is now a mature but still very closely controlled retail environment, while the latter remains more open but also less secure and consumer friendly.”
He further stated that, “As such, developers and publishers use the stores in different ways. Electronic Arts, for example, regularly offers discounts across its portfolio of games in the App Store to ensure they remain visible to customers by featuring in the top app lists.” This data can be easily validated from the fact that out of the top 100 apps for iOS devices, 82 cost $0.99. On the other hand, only 22 Android apps out of the top 100 Android apps cost $0.99.
However, it isn’t clear whether or not the comparison of the research firm also gauge the nature of the apps that were being compared. That may have made the results even more accurate. For instance, comparing a similar app from both platforms and then comparing their respective prices would be a fair measure of comparison.
Image courtesy liewcf.
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Very weak analysis, and anyone with an android device who ever sat with an iOS guy/gal would clearly pdf most of the neat, useful, popular apps are free on android and cost money on iOS. Taking some group of apps and making that pitiful calculation is fine, but posting it on ur page is very apple fanboy. Android devices are almost always cheaper, most amazing apps are free = cheaper ecosystem.