Google may finally have beaten Apple in one of the key areas of mobile operating systems, the app store. According to a report by analytics service appFigures, Google Play finally has more apps than Apple’s App Store. The service looked at three app stores – the Play Store, the Apple App Store and the Amazon Appstore. The report said that last year, the number of apps in Google Play grew by over 50%.
The report noted, “In 2014, the number of apps distributed through Google Play has doubled.” The company also posted a graph, showing Google’s number of apps at just over 1,250k, while Apple came in at just below the same number. That said, all three of the stores made a huge jump from around 750k in the year before.
The difference though is that in 2013, the graph was tipped in favour of Apple, with Google coming just behind it.
The respective app stores play a big role in Android and iOS’ popularity over its competitors. In fact, Microsoft’s Windows Phone OS has its biggest achilles heel in the fact that it doesn’t have enough 'big-name' apps in the Windows Store. Also, while the Google Play and iTunes Store are core apps in Android and iOS devices, Amazon's Appstore is preinstalled only on BlackBerry phones, while it is also available for Android devices.
To read the full report by appFigures, click here.