IDC Estimates Nearly 156 Billion Mobile Apps Were Installed Globally in 2015

Mobile device users installed nearly 156 billion mobile apps worldwide in 2015, generating $34.2 billion in direct, non-advertising revenue for their developers and marketers, IDC said in a Monday report. The research firm predicts more than 210 billion apps will be installed in 2020, generating nearly $57 billion in direct revenue. Though IDC sees the apps market continuing to grow through the end of the decade, the rate of growth will slow in terms of total installations and the revenue they generate, it said. “This trend, which is largely driven by market maturation, will see annual install growth fall into the single digits over the second half of the forecast.” Mobile app installation volumes will still experience a five-year compound annual growth rate (CAGR) of 6.3 percent, it said. “Direct revenue from mobile applications will also experience slower growth by the end of the forecast period,” though the five-year CAGR will remain in the double digits at 10.6 percent, it said. Apple's App Store "ecosystem" captured nearly 58 percent of global direct app revenue in 2015, an increase of 36 percent year over year, it said. But Apple's share of global app installation volume was only 15 percent, down nearly 8 percent year over year, it said. “The sheer volume of Android-based devices in use ensures a greater overall number of installs through Google Play,” which captured about 60 percent of install volume and nearly 36 percent of direct revenue in 2015, it said: “Although Google Play enjoyed solid year-over-year growth in both downloads and direct revenues, the gains were somewhat lower than in previous years.”