How to Become Apple’s App of the Day in 2019

Anatoly Sharifulin
Nov 1 · 3 min read

In summer 2018, we looked at which apps Apple’s editors like to feature. Back then, free apps and apps with in-app purchases were featured equally often, and apps with 4+ stars prevailed.

We’ve taken a look at what’s changed and also compared app categories, genres, and costs by region. This information will help you improve your chances of getting featured on the App Store’s Today page and take a more deliberate approach to setting prices and selecting countries for localization.

Our article displays data for January-September 2019. We’ve broken it up by regions: North America (NA), EU (the European Union), and Asia, and gave separate consideration to the United States (US) and Russia (RU).

1. App Monetization

Apple’s preferences have changed significantly. The share of free apps without in-app purchases dropped by more than half, from 34% to 16%. The share of paid apps also fell by 2% compared to last year.

At the same time, the share of free apps with in-app purchases grew by 20%, going from 40% to 60%. Apple is doing its best to push this model since each new purchase brings the company profit.

Game apps are dominated by free apps with in-app purchases (70%) and paid apps without in-app purchases (25%).

Non-game apps are topped by free apps with in-app purchases (49.5%), with free apps without in-app purchases trailing behind (33%). The share of free apps fell from 45% to 33% compared to last year.

App users in Europe are prepared to pay for apps more than in any other region. In North America, users pay just a bit less.

The comparison of average prices looks like this:

Apps can feature dozens of in-app purchases and subscriptions. We compared their minimum and maximum prices among featured apps.

2. Average Rating

Last year, apps with 4.2 stars and games with 4.4 stars were featured most often. This year, the most frequently featured apps had a rating of between 4.6 and 5.0 stars. There’s no difference between game ratings and app ratings. Users are equally demanding of both types.

Read the full story on AppFollow blog.

AppFollow

Review & Updates Monitor for App Store, Google Play & Windows Store. Tools for ASO (App Store Optimization, SEO for iOS & Android apps). Integrations with Slack, Zendesk, bots, etc. AppFollow is a service (saas, startup) for growth hackers, product & mobile marketing managers.

Anatoly Sharifulin

Written by

CEO at AppFollow (https://appfollow.io), ASO Expert

AppFollow

AppFollow

Review & Updates Monitor for App Store, Google Play & Windows Store. Tools for ASO (App Store Optimization, SEO for iOS & Android apps). Integrations with Slack, Zendesk, bots, etc. AppFollow is a service (saas, startup) for growth hackers, product & mobile marketing managers.

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