Latest research shows iPhone is for games, Android is for tools

Written on 12:54 AM by Mujtaba

New research carried out by for the month of July has shown there is a very clear split between the type of paid-for and free apps being bought on the iPhone and Android handsets. The clear message right now is the iPhone is for games, while Android is for tools.

Above you can see the comparison between the top 15 paid-for apps on the two platforms. In the App Store 9 of the top 15 are games meaning they clearly dominate the marketplace at the moment for users. Google actually lists games separately from other apps, but tools and productivity apps still win out on the Android platform at the moment.

Free apps top 15 comparison (click to enlarge)

Looking at the top 15 free apps tables above you can see a similar trend with the App Store having 6 games in the Top 15 and Paper Toss featuring at number one. Android’s free apps are a bit more varied with lifestyle, reference, travel, shopping, and multimedia categories all featuring alongside tools.

Android does beat the App Store in one gaming category, however, and that’s in relation to classic games played through emulators. Distimo put that down to a clear difference between the App Store and Android, Apple regulate what goes on the App Store so emulators are not a feature like they are on the more open Android Market.

Other interesting findings in the report include:

• The price trend in the App Store is going down
• App Store and Android Market pricing is very similar except for the Reference category where Android apps are significantly more expensive
• Most popular games on Android are priced at $2.99 with the equivalent on App Store being just $0.99

You can download the full report for free from the .

Matthew’s Opinion

It’s tough to do a proper comparison between the two platforms due to the differences in compiling the top apps lists, but it is still clear that iPhone users are all gamers.

I think the big difference with regards to games is down to the user base of the different handsets. The iPhone is a very mainstream phone and is backed up by the consumer-friendly iPod touch. There are a lot more people with one of those two Apple devices that want to be entertained and therefore games are very popular.

Android on the other hand is still a relatively small and experimental market so attracts less consumer users. It is more of a business and developer platform still and therefore the popular apps suit those categories.

I’m sure things will start to even up as more Android phones hit the market and enter on to the consumer’s radar. Getting on equal terms with Apple is going to be very tough though, and I doubt we’ll see Android charts featuring more entertainment apps than tools for a long time.

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