How many apps for your smartphone in 2013?
**Where would the smartphone market be today if it weren’t for apps? These bite-sized little programs that bring your phone to life are the only reason that many people bother buying a smartphone in the first place. **The various app marketplaces available for different mobile operating systems are growing at an incredible rate. How many apps are available from each market and how will this change moving into 2013? Read on to find out more.
The App Store
Apple’s original App Store still has one of the largest catalogues of mobile apps in the world. Any device running iOS has access to it, which includes the iPhone, iPad and iPod Touch ranges.
In November 2012 it was revealed that a million apps have been submitted for consideration since 2008, which is of course not the same as the number that Apple has actually approved. That number was at 736,000 in the same month, although it is undoubtedly much higher by now.
How many apps in 2013 will be released? You can be confident that the App Store will surpass the approved app mark of one million before the year is out, with the arrival of new devices like the iPhone 5S helping to drive interest and app store downloads.
Google Play
The Android Market was re-branded as Google Play earlier in the year, although it still offers the same feature-packed app download service as before. Any changes ushered in with the change seem purely cosmetic.
In mid 2012 the 25 billionth Android app download was recorded and there are now more than 700,000 apps available from Google Play. While it was previously playing second fiddle to the dominant Apple, Android is fast becoming the king of app store downloads.
How many apps in 2013? The sky’s the limit for Android, which is adding tens of thousands of apps to Google Play each month. It should easily pass the million app mark in 2013, but more significantly will give Apple a bit of a drubbing and move into first place.
Windows Phone Marketplace
Microsoft’s Windows Phone platform has only been around for two years, but with plenty of developer backing it has generated a decent number of apps in its own marketplace.
Last year it had 40,000 on offer, but in 2012 that number has risen to 160,000 by the most recent count. That’s something Microsoft should be proud of, particularly now that the new Windows Phone 8 platform is here, with more powerful handsets such as the HTC Windows Phone 8X to boot.
How many apps in 2013? If Microsoft produces an own-brand smartphone, which seems likely, then it could help to boost the profile of Windows Phone further. If the current growth rate continues there could be upwards of 300,000 apps available at the end of 2013.
BlackBerry App World
The BlackBerry range is in suspended animation at the moment, because manufacturer RIM is waiting to launch its new BB 10 operating system and compatible handsets at the start of 2013.
This has meant that the App World service has stagnated somewhat, although it has managed to increase its app count from 40,000 in 2011 to 106,000 at the end of 2012.
So, how many apps in 2013? This will depend on how well the App World service is integrated with the new BB 10 software. If it is able to carry over all of the existing apps it should get off to a decent start and might hit 200,000 by the year’s end. However, if there is no cross-compatibility BlackBerry will start from scratch and have to build from just a few hundred available apps. Current speculation suggests that BlackBerry App world will evolve to cater music and film downloads as one of the many new BB10 features for 2013.
The third option is that RIM will make its platform compatible with Android apps, as it did for its PlayBook tablet. This would open up the floodgates to Google’s hundreds of thousands of mobile apps.
So there’s a review of the major players in the App Market for 2013. How many apps will you download in 2013? Let us know your thoughts in the comments box below.