App Annie: Global Mobile App Index March 2016

This month's top apps

MSQRD released an Android version and was acquired by Facebook

The core of mobile experience is self-expression and communication. In March, in App Annie's global iOS App Store and Google Play combined download rankings, text, photo and video sharing apps took the top five spots.

Among the leading photo-sharing apps, Instagram and Snapchat are driving a lot of selfie traffic across the mobile web. However, one app that has seen a surge in usage in March since its Android release is MSQRD , which relies on its magical face-changing technology and the ability to share via other social apps. The app has jumped 29 spots since its publisher was acquired by Facebook in March, catching up with its peers Facebook Messenger and WhatsApp Messenger . Facebook recently noted that the two messaging apps transmit 60 billion messages per day, dwarfing the number of text messages sent each day even at peak times.

MSQRD's filters include many hilarious effects and can be shared as photos or video clips.

MSQRD is Facebook's answer to Snapchat 's popular selfie lenses, allowing users to use a range of face filters within the app (including the popular face swap) and share their creations with friends or through major social networks.

With Facebook already having a strong presence in messaging apps, the company plans to significantly expand its presence in the category. According to its announcement at the F8 developer conference, these messaging apps will include more video, virtual reality, and chatbots. The company has already opened up the Facebook Live broadcasting feature and is working with its virtual reality subsidiary Oculus to develop 360-degree video. The company has already started early chatbot experiments by integrating chatbot functionality into Facebook Messenger .

TIDAL revenue boom on iOS

Messaging and sharing apps dominate the download rankings, but apps from different categories are included in the top 10 revenue rankings. For online entertainment service providers, fierce competition and good opportunities coexist, and exclusive content has become an effective way to acquire new users and increase revenue.

Exclusive content has driven growth for TIDAL’s music streaming service. In February, the company’s celebrity investor Kanye West released his album The Life of Pablo on the app. After a 30-day free trial in February, TIDAL ’s revenue ranking improved significantly in March. According to App Annie Store Intelligence , TIDAL ’s downloads surged in February, and its revenue saw an even bigger increase in March. This hot situation also occurred in May last year, when HBO NOW benefited greatly from the premiere of the fifth season of the hit series Game of Thrones . We expect the company to see a similar revenue increase in May, driven by the release of Beyoncé ’s Lemonade album in April, which is exclusively available online on TIDAL.

Since April, The Life of Pablo has also been available on other services, such as Spotify and Apple Music, and can be purchased from Kanye's website. Although TIDAL's exclusivity was short-lived, the service will benefit from the users who stay.

College basketball leagues spark a "March Madness" app download frenzy

The annual NCAA March Madness college basketball tournament has led to a surge in iPhone app downloads of sports broadcasts.

For American sports fans, March is all about basketball. March Madness, the annual college basketball tournament, has put sports broadcasts and similar apps in the spotlight. As a result, some special event apps on the iPhone, such as Turner Broadcasting's NCAA March Madness Live and ESPN Tournament Challenge , have seen a sharp increase in active users in March.

Facebook is also involved in the tournament broadcast. Turner worked with CBS Sports and Facebook-owned Oculus to create an augmented reality app for Oculus Rift users and 2D 180-degree video for others. Such experiments may be done on smartphone-based systems such as Google Cardboard in the future.