Winni
macrumors 68040
That might be one of the reasons why everybody jailbreaks their iOS devices. And in several cases you have to jailbreak your iOS device in order to even make it useful: iBlacklist comes to mind, just as an example. That app allows a jailbroken iOS device to do things that Android devices can do out of the box...
I think it comes down to a few simple facts why the AppStore still creates more revenue than Google Play:
- Android devices come pre-installed with most of the software that most people only need; when I look at my Galaxy Note, there's only a fistful of additional apps on it that I had to download - and except for a few games, all of those were actually FREE
- The Android market works differently and has a different audience; people tend to accept adware and prefer free apps over pay-for apps;
- Android is not a "premium" market like the iOS market, although premium products exist in the Android ecosystem as well; people with thick wallets who also like to show their money are not necessarily the target audience - but let's face it, those are definitely Apple's preferred customers
It's only a question of time until Google Play will also generate more revenue than the AppStore. It's a simple question of numbers - more Android devices are sold than iOS devices, and the sheer product variety attracts more customers to the Android market than to Apple's two or three different products; the "fragmentation" of the Android market actually is a great thing for customers, it gives them choice. Apple will also never enter the market for 40 to 80 dollars devices - in the Android ecosystem, such products are already being sold in second and third world countries. In those regions, smartphones will soon take over the tasks for which people previously had to use computers.
Apple might sell higher quality products than most of its competitors, but in most parts of the world that simply doesn't matter because nobody can - or wants to - afford them. For many people, a smartphone is not a lifestyle product or a status symbol, it's just a tool.
Basically, if you want to use a car analogy, Apple is like BMW: They only build upper middle class products and a few upper class models. Android is like the Volkswagen-Audi Group: Most of the cars they sell are in the Golf or Beetle class, but they also have upper class models like the Phaeton or the R8.
