A rise in downloads and purchases of apps on mobile devices during the first quarter of 2013 has driven growth for the world’s leading app stores.
This is according to Canalys’ App Interrogator research, which looked at the performance of Apple’s App Store, Google Play, BlackBerry World and the Windows Phone Store in more than 50 countries.
It was discovered app downloads across the four platforms climbed 11 per cent during the three-month period, while direct revenue from paid-for apps, in-app purchases and subscriptions increased by nine per cent.
Collectively, the stores experienced more than 13.4 billion downloads from their sites and revenue hit $2.2 billion (£1.4 billion).
Canalys’ chief analyst Adam Daum said apps have a huge impact on the way people use mobile devices and what they expect from their handsets. “They are now central to how consumers engage with content and connected services and how they personalise their devices around the app-enabled features that are important to them,” he remarked.
BlackBerry 10 is one platform to have seen the most improvement, growing from 70,000 apps to 100,000 since its launch at the beginning of 2013.
