Despite Android's considerably larger install base, on average, users spend more money on the iOS App Store than they do Google Play. According to a report from app market data analysis firm App Annie, though, the gap has narrowed. Consumer spending on apps from Google Play grew by 25 percent year over year in the first quarter of 2018, compared to a year-over-year growth of 20 percent on the iOS App Store during the same period.
Read MoreThe Play Store hit 19 billion downloads in Q4 2017, increasing its lead over Apple's App Store to 145%
People are downloading more apps than ever. According to App Annie, the Google Play Store saw over 19 billion downloads in Q4 2017, with year-over-year growth at 10%. That's around 145% more than the Apple App Store, which garnered around 7.7 billion downloads. That being said, the App Store still blew the Play Store away in terms of revenue.
Read MoreAndroid is expected to pass iOS in app store revenue this year
Historically, iOS has always topped Android in terms of app revenue. There are several reasons for this - the vast majority of Android devices are cheap phones (owners of low-end phones aren't as likely to pay a premium for apps), piracy is much easier, etc. But according to a report from App Annie, that could finally change this year.
Read MoreThere are more 'Education' apps than any other category on the Play Store, and other weird stats from 42matters
42matters is an analysis firm that monitors broad trends on mobile data, specifically on the Play Store and the App Store. The company is mostly B2B, that is, most of their products are only helpful if you're working on some other aspect of the mobile market. But they've made a sliver of the data they've collected through their API free to the public, and it's fascinating. While the 42matters data isn't official, it does give us an interesting look into the Play Store as a whole.
Read MoreBarnes & Noble To Shut Down Its Nook App And Video Stores, But Will Continue Selling eBooks In The US
Well you can't say they didn't give it a good try. After years of attempting to break into the lucrative tablet market with its own semi-exclusive platform, US bookseller Barnes & Noble plans to halt digital sales on its app and video stores. Diginomica reports that the company will stop sales on March 15th (Tuesday), and that customers who've bought content from either location have until then to download their apps and videos one last time. Connecting Nook Video content to accounts for either Disney Movies Anywhere or CinemaNow will allow customers to retain streaming and download rights on other platforms.
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Automatic Opens Up An App Store For Automobiles, Brings A New Developer SDK And 2nd Gen Adapter Along For The Ride
Automatic wants to make your drive smarter. Or it wants to make you a smarter driver. Or it's only for smart drivers. Moving on, the company that makes its own proprietary Bluetooth dongle to offer real-time feedback and log your trips has announced a new phase for its car-centric project—it's opening an app store.
The Automatic App Gallery is a place for developers to drop apps that integrate with the Automatic adapter. Right now there are over twenty apps available, including software from the likes of Expensify, IFTTT, Jawbone UP, Nest, and Pebble.
To put content in an app store, developers need tools.
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Apple Is Rejecting Some Apps From The App Store For Declaring Pebble Watch Support - Things Don't Look Good For Android Wear On iOS
Remember that report that claimed Google was preparing to make the Android Wear platform compatible with iOS? Yeah, that might not go down as smoothly as you had hoped. There's still no official word on Wear for iOS, but the latest news out of the Apple camp has disturbing implications. According to one developer over on the official Pebble Watch forum, Apple is rejecting apps from its App Store simply for mentioning Pebble wearable support.
Apple's developer agreement forbids the mention of "any other mobile platform" in both the iOS App Store description and the metadata of the app itself.
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[Oh Snap] The Electronic Frontier Foundation's Alert App Snubs iOS For Android Thanks To Apple's Developer Terms
If you haven't heard of the Electronic Frontier Foundation, usually shortened to EFF, it's sort of like the American Civil Liberties Union for the Internet and other digital issues. The non-profit organization's mission statement says that it "champions user privacy, free expression, and innovation through impact litigation, policy analysis, grassroots activism, and technology development." You'll rarely see a headline-grabbing story where tech intersects public policy that the EFF hasn't at least commented on, if not actively campaigned for or against.
So when these people say they decided to develop an app for Android and specifically not for iOS, there's probably a good reason why.
Read MoreThe Best Of AP
Amazon Updates Its App To 5.0 With Instant Video Streaming App, Access To Entire Digital Catalog, Including The Appstore [APK Download]
Amazon has finally (finally!) brought its Prime Instant Video service to Android devices with an Instant Video app available through its own app store.
The news comes as part of an update to version 5.0 of Amazon's own app in the Play Store, which sees a broader content shift - the new Amazon app allows users to access Amazon's entire digital catalog, meaning that - besides instant video content - users can shop for (and install) apps from Amazon's app store. This ostensibly makes the Amazon App Store app obsolete, though the old app will still need to hang around on your device to verify apps that use Amazon's optional DRM system.
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Amazon's Free App Of The Day Is Servers Ultimate Pro, Normally $8.99
Regardless of whether you use Amazon's app store for Android, there's no denying that a free app every day is a good deal. Of course, sometimes the deals are better than usual. Today's free app of the day is Servers Ultimate Pro, which is normally $8.99.
For those not acquainted with the app, it allows users to run servers from their mobile device, with over 70 protocols supported (see the full list in the app's description), and a heaping handful of network tools. The app does require root for a few protocols (like VNC and VPN), but otherwise Servers Ultimate Pro doesn't have very many limitations.
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