Apple may have created the market for apps, but Google’s Android now dominates. According to a new report from ABI Research, the iPhone accounted for 29 percent of all app downloads in the second quarter, while Android devices accounted for 47 percent.
“The iPhone’s download share tends to see a lot of seasonal fluctuation, but over the past year or so it has stayed surprisingly resiliently between 30% and 37% of the total,” stated ABI analyst Aapo Markkanen. “In our estimates the second quarter represented the first time the iPhone dipped below 30%. The iPhone 5 will most likely cause a second-half hike to the download count, but that may be of a rather temporary nature.”
However, the story is much different when it comes to the tablet side of the mobile development industry. “We estimate in the first half of this year the iPad saw over five times more app downloads than all Android tablets combined,” Markkanen said.