Welcome to This Week in Apps, the TechCrunch series providing the latest updates on mobile operating systems, mobile applications, and the app economy as a whole.

The mobile app landscape continues to thrive, achieving a remarkable 204 billion downloads and $120 billion in consumer expenditure during 2019. Currently, individuals dedicate an average of three hours and forty minutes daily to app usage, a figure comparable to time spent watching television. Apps have evolved beyond simple time-fillers, becoming substantial commercial ventures. In 2019, companies prioritizing mobile platforms collectively held a valuation of $544 billion, representing a 6.5-fold increase over those without a mobile strategy.

This week’s focus includes further analysis of the impact of App Store commission adjustments on developers, alongside other key developments such as Snapchat’s introduction of the Spotlight feed and India’s decision to prohibit additional Chinese applications, among other topics.

We also present a regular summary of news concerning platforms, services, privacy, emerging trends, and other significant headlines.

Top Stories

Further Insights on App Store Commissions

Last week, App Annie reported to TechCrunch that approximately 98% of all iOS developers in 2019 – defined as unique publisher accounts – were below the $1 million annual consumer spending limit that will now be subject to the standard 30% App Store commission, rather than the reduced 15%. The firm also determined that only 0.5% of developers generated between $800,000 and $1 million in revenue; 1% earned between $500,000 and $800,000; and a substantial 87.7% earned less than $100,000.

This week, Appfigures has compiled its own data to assess how Apple’s modifications to App Store commissions will affect the app developer community.

According to their analysis, out of the 2 million apps published on the App Store, 376,000 apps utilize paid downloads, in-app purchases, or subscription models for monetization. These 376,000 apps are managed by a smaller cohort of 124,500 developers. Of these developers, just under 2% surpassed $1 million in revenue during 2019, corroborating App Annie’s estimate that 98% of all developers remained under the $1 million threshold.

The firm also examined companies exceeding the $1 million revenue mark, discovering that around 53% were games, with King (creator of the Candy Crush series) leading the way. Following a considerable gap, the next most prominent categories in 2019 were Health & Fitness, Social Networking, Entertainment, and then Photo & Video.

 

Among developers earning over $1 million, the largest segment – 39% – generated between $1 million and $2.5 million in 2019.

The smallest group (1.5%) of developers earning more than $1 million represents those generating over $150 million. This group accounted for 29% of the total revenue for developers earning over $1 million. Those earning between $50 million and $150 million contributed 24% of that revenue.

AppFigures also noted that among those earning less than $1 million, the vast majority (over 97%) earned less than $250,000. Some developers expressed concerns regarding the immediate implementation of Apple’s commission change system upon reaching $1 million, with annual reassessments occurring thereafter. However, given the limited number of developers operating near the threshold, this does not appear to be a widespread issue. Read More.

Snapchat Challenges TikTok

Following its efforts to compete with TikTok through music-integrated features last month, Snapchat this week introduced a dedicated section within its app for users to view short, engaging videos in a vertically scrolling, TikTok-inspired feed. This new feature, named Spotlight, will showcase the community’s creative content, including videos enhanced with music, as well as other Snaps users may find appealing. Snapchat states that its algorithms will prioritize displaying the most captivating Snaps to each user in a personalized manner. Read More. 

India Imposes Further Bans on Chinese Apps

India, which has already prohibited at least 220 apps linked to China in recent months, announced on Tuesday that it was banning an additional 43 Chinese applications, again citing concerns about cybersecurity. The newly banned apps include short video platform Snack Video, e-commerce app AliExpress, delivery service Lalamove, shopping app Taobao Live, business card reader CamCard, and others. Consequently, no Chinese apps currently rank among the top 500 most-used apps in India. Read More.

Weekly News

Platforms

• Apple’s App Store Connect is updating its security protocols, mandating the use of an Apple ID protected by two-factor authentication.
• Apple has published its end-of-year schedule for App Store Connect, noting that submissions of new applications and app revisions will be paused from December 23rd through December 27th (Pacific Time).
• SKAdNetwork 2.0 introduces enhancements with the inclusion of Source App ID and Conversion Value. The Source App ID allows ad networks to determine the origin of an App Store download, while Conversion Value provides insight into user actions within the app following installation, such as trial subscriptions or completed transactions.
• Apple has compiled a collection of positive statements from developers regarding the recent changes to App Store commission rates. Developers expressing support include Little 10 Robot (Tots Letters and Numbers), Broadstreet (Brief), Foundermark (Friended), Shine, Lifesum, Med ART Studios (Sprout Fertility Tracker), RevenueCat, OK Play, SignEasy, Jump Rope, Wine Spectator, Apollo for Reddit, SwingVision Tennis, and Cinémoi.

Services

• Fortnite now features a subscription plan priced at $12 per month, which includes a complete season battle pass, a monthly allowance of 1,000 V-Bucks, and a Crew Pack offering a unique, exclusive outfit collection. This represents additional potential revenue that Apple will not be receiving.
• Fourteen states within the U.S., along with Washington D.C., have implemented COVID-19 contact tracing applications. Additional states, such as California, are anticipated to launch similar apps in the near future. Despite this rollout, app downloads have been limited across the country, impacting their overall effectiveness.
• Samsung’s TV Plus, a streaming television service, is now available on a wider range of Galaxy mobile phones.

Security & Privacy

• Apple’s top privacy executive, Jane Horvath, has communicated to the Ranking Digital Rights group that the App Tracking Transparency functionality is scheduled for release in 2021. This upcoming feature will empower individuals to prevent cross-app tracking of their activity. The communication also criticized Facebook for its practice of gathering extensive amounts of user data.
• Baidu’s applications have been removed from the Google Play Store following reports that Baidu Maps and the Baidu App were compromising user privacy by transmitting confidential information. These applications collectively served 6 million users within the United States, alongside a significantly larger global user base.

Apps in the News

• Robinhood’s co-founder, Baiju Bhatt, is relinquishing his role as co-CEO in anticipation of the company’s initial public offering.
• TikTok has received yet another extension regarding the required sale of its operations, with the new deadline set for December 4th.
• Google has released an augmented reality application centered around “The Mandalorian.”
• Google’s introduction of Task Mate in India provides compensation to individuals for completing tasks such as photographing local businesses or recording brief audio segments, potentially for the purpose of enhancing speech recognition technology.
• Nintendo’s Animal Crossing: Pocket Camp now incorporates augmented reality capabilities.
• The Microsoft Translator app, available for Android devices, is now capable of real-time speech translation during direct conversations.
• TikTok has implemented a new function enabling users to skip videos that may potentially induce epileptic seizures.
• Data suggests that Parler users have not demonstrably migrated away from Twitter.
• Google Docs, Sheets, and Slides on iOS now support the editing of Microsoft Office files, a functionality previously available on Android and through web browsers.
• Roblox is currently hosting a treasure hunt within its application inspired by “Ready Player Two.”
• Spotify continues to experiment with the implementation of Stories.

Trends

Installations of apps for traditional U.S. retailers increased by 27% during the first nine months of 2020. This growth nearly surpassed that of apps from online retailers, which experienced a 14% rise in new installs. Leading apps in this category include Walmart, Target, Sam’s Club, Nike, Walgreens, and The Home Depot.

App Annie’s projections indicate that consumers will dedicate more than 110 million hours to mobile shopping applications on Android devices throughout the current holiday season.

A recent report suggests that PayPal and Square’s Cash App have collectively acquired the entirety of the newly created bitcoin supply.

According to Axois, social media platforms are becoming increasingly similar in their features, pointing to examples like Twitter’s Fleets and Snap’s implementation of a TikTok-inspired feature.

Funding and M&A

• CoStar Group, a company specializing in commercial real estate information and analytics, has purchased Homesnap’s platform and application for $250 million, marking its entry into the residential real estate sector.
• Friday, a remote work application, has secured $2.1 million in seed funding, with Bessemer Venture Partners leading the investment round.
• F3, a question-and-answer app utilizing a stories format, has raised $3.9 million. The development team behind F3 previously created Ask.fm.
• Kahoot, an edtech company, has acquired Drops, a startup focused on language learning through gamified applications, for a sum of $50 million.
• Current, a mobile banking application, has completed a Series C funding round, raising $131 million led by Tiger Global Management.
• Square has acquired Credit Karma Tax, the tax preparation division of Credit Karma, for $50 million in cash.