In Q1 2018, Apple App Store generated 22.4 billion yuan (US$3.49 bn) from China, up 29% over Q1 2017. Mobile gaming apps took the largest share of 79% in revenues, but only saw an 18% increase year-on-year, well off that of entertainment apps (138%). The total number of downloads reached 2.5 billion in Q1 2018, representing 32% of the global downloads.
Apple’s App Store derived 32% of its global revenue from China according to Sensor Tower. China had surpassed the US and Japan as the largest iOS App Store market in Q3 2016 and remained its leading position for over a year and a half.
In Q1 2018, the revenue growth was attributed primarily from mobile game apps. Entertainment apps saw an explosive growth in revenues in this period. Social networking apps accounted for 4% of the total with a revenue of 0.8 billion yuan while photo and video apps only accounted for 3% of the total with 0.7 billion yuan in revenues.
The total number of downloads on Apple’s App Store reached 2.5 billion in Q1 2018, up 14% over Q1 2017, representing 32% of the global downloads. Of which, mobile game apps generated near 0.7 billion downloads with a share of 29% while entertainment apps ranked second with 0.22 billion downloads, accounting for only 9% of the total.
Mobile apps belonging to non-mobile game and non-entertainment categories took a 64% share in total downloads, up 14% year-on-year. Of which, downloads of tool apps and photo and video apps were 0.2 billion and 0.17 billion respectively, both had a share of 7% in total.
Check out the top mobile apps in China in Q1 2018 here.