Today, more than ever, there are endless opportunities to generate income in the mobile application market. This phenomenon has been experiencing substantial growth since its conception and shows no signs of slowing down.

The market may be somewhat saturated, but it is promising to see that revenue from app stores worldwide has already reached $ 19.5 billion during the first quarter of this year with huge opportunities in China, Brazil, and India.

The highest-grossing applications on the planet may not be the ones you imagine. If the innovation bug is already biting you and you want to create and maximize the income of your application (existing or coming soon) or if you want to know what is the process of designing and developing mobile app, the idea is that a cross platform hybrid app development like Cliffex Software Solutions LLP guides you and tells you what is best for implementation in your business.

But in the meantime, in this article, we will explain in broad strokes how apps make money and give you some ideas on how your project can become a source of income. Not great?

The growth of the mobile market has been substantial over the years and industry experts predict continued growth. In 2018, mobile traffic accounted for 52.2% of total website traffic in the United States alone, and the 3.6 hours that adults spent consuming digital media was on smartphones. With such impressive numbers, it is not surprising that both Fortune 500 companies and entrepreneurs are trying to get a piece of the cake.

If you have a company or startup and are new to the market, it is to be expected that you want to be part of it or you simply have a great idea for an application, it is likely that one of your first questions is related to earnings and requirements (Here we tell you more).

What platforms generate more money for apps?

First things, it's time to decide on which platform (s) you want to develop your application. This can affect (to a large extent) its revenue potential due to differences in market penetration and its popularity.

In the world of apps, Android is a well-considered platform due to its continuous market penetration. Apple's iOS platform is not far behind. It is worth noting that both Android and iOS are "very heavy" in terms of earnings.

There are niches within the platforms that can generate profits, they should only be considered once your app has proven to be profitable on a specific platform, especially considering the dominant Android / iOS duopoly. Once an application is considered a proven winner, exporting it to other platforms becomes more viable.

What kind of income do the applications generate?

Mobile applications are big business, and it's something we can't deny. The estimated projection is that the revenues of apps globally reach $ 188.9 billion by 2020, an increase of more than 200% compared to 2016.

The applications that dominate the highest collection list are games. As of April 2018, Fortnite of Epic Games gets around $ 1.9 million in daily revenue, with King's Candy Crush Saga in second place with $ 1.3 million per day through in-app purchases. Pokemon Go raised almost $ 800 million in 2018, an impressive 35% increase in revenue in 2017.

Subscription applications

With more than 50 million registered users (not impressive?), Match Group Tinder is a great example of an application that generates good money thanks to purchases within the application. The Tinder dating application can be downloaded for free but earns money by charging users for extra features such as unlimited swipes among others. In the first quarter of 2018, Match Group reported that it generated more than $ 407.4 million in revenue (Plop). Tinder charges $ 9.99 per month for a Plus subscription and $ 14.99 for a Tinder Gold update. This approach has made Tinder one of the highest-grossing applications on the entire planet.

Bumble is a close competitor with 50 million users and an impressive 135% growth rate. Unlike Tinder, Bumble allows only women to start a conversation about the application and has also grown to include associated applications to establish contacts and find friends. It was estimated that the application would earn $ 172 per minute in 2018 thanks to its monthly subscription option of $ 9.99 and premium features such as Bumble Boost and SuperSwipe.

On a smaller scale, privately owned applications are also generating a significant amount of revenue.

Apps Are No Longer Only for Smartphones

The diversification and versatility of the app, also covers Smart TVs, are now a staple in more than 70 million homes. Video streaming applications such as Hulu and Netflix also work with subscription-based methods, they already have a considerable user base.

Smart assistants like Alexa and Google Home have also dominated the app market. It is predicted that ownership of these devices will skyrocket to 125.65 million by 2020 with steady growth in purchases of third-party applications that exceed 1500%.

Depending on your business model, smart TVs and home devices are worth considering when developing your app. The expansion of this type of offer not only increases the exposure of your project but also puts it in front of new sources of income.

Another platform to pay attention is smartwatches. Since portable devices are becoming more and more every day. It is for this reason that smartwatches will reach 51% of portable devices sold in 2022. If so, it will be essential to optimize your app, so that it is compatible thus providing a competitive advantage.

Smartphones with flexible screens are not far behind, and we still have a long way to go in terms of new gadgets and their scalability. The development of complex applications and smart appliances (IoT and AI) in home automation shows us that the future is here and neither you nor your business can be left behind.

conclusion

The most important thing to consider for mobile application development, it is not easy to make an approximation of the final price at first sight and just contemplating an idea. It will depend on its design, architecture, scope, and complexity.

If what you want is to innovate and digitize products and services, an app will undoubtedly be vital for your business and with Cliffex you can always make your investment more flexible. Kubo is the ideal digital product and application development agency that can help you better understand the potential you can get with your project.

Are you ready to exploit the full potential of your Organization or Startup?

Contact us, let's talk business and start working. That easy!