App Annie: Top App Predictions for 2016

199IT original compilation

2015 Review

The entire application ecosystem continues to break through the pace of innovation. In 2015, there were some expected and unexpected developments:

Platform stability. Last year we saw huge growth in app download and revenue share for the two leading platforms, iOS and Google Play. However, in 2015 both platforms stabilized, with Google Play leading in downloads and iOS leading in revenue.

Monetization evolution. In-app virtual goods sales still dominate monetization, and subscription revenue is a rising star and will continue to rise in the future. With the release of video streaming applications, music streaming applications continue to grow. The demand for dating applications such as Tinder is also leading this trend. Finally, after the release of iOS 9, Safari also supports ad blocking, which brings challenges to the monetization of mobile websites. It is expected that in the future, it will be more inclined to applications and add more in-app advertisements.

New devices increase competition for resources among developers and publishers. In 2015, the platform continued to expand into different categories, especially wearable devices and TVs. Development resources have covered mobile systems, and competition among developers is expected to become more intense in 2016.

Apps are eating into websites. Apps are increasingly taking up users’ time and spending. Apps have become an important mechanism for improving user experience, and they have penetrated into every aspect of our lives. Mobile websites are still important to publishers, but the reality is that apps provide a superior user experience than websites.

Top 10 Application Trends Predicted in 2016

Google’s Now on Tap: Discover new things through deep connections;

E-sports: an emerging revenue source for game publishers;

Communication applications: Cultural factors lead to the existence of information gap;

O2O services: Asia leads the wave of mergers and acquisitions;

Efficiency application: New input methods promote application innovation;

Financial services: Retail banks face crisis;

TV system: free up the second screen;

YouTube: catalyzing independent long-form video production;

Wearables: Focus on vertical industries and enterprise users;

Augmented Reality and Virtual Reality (AR/VR): Becoming a major content delivery platform for early adopters, there will be more hype in 2016.

199IT.com Originally compiled from: App Annie. Please do not reprint without authorization