Netflix dominates the App Store's non-gaming apps in 2018

December 17, 2018

Netflix emerged as the big winner, in terms of revenue, among non-gaming apps that maintained a presence in the App Store this year.

Specifically, the video streaming service earned $790.2 million from its use on iOS devices, according to data provided by Sensor Tower through November 30.

The other companies that followed Netflix in the relevant Top 10 for non-game apps are:

Tencent Video (a Chinese video streaming service): $490 million
Tinder: $462.2 million
iQiyi (another Chinese video streaming service): $420.5 million
Kwai (social video sharing application): $264.5 million
YouTube: $244.2 million
Pandora: $225.7 million
Youku (another Chinese video streaming service): $192.9 million
QQ (Chinese instant messaging service): $159.7 million
Hulu: $132.6 million

The breakdown is particularly interesting because it reveals the role that China now plays in the App Store. Half of the apps in the Top 10 are likely to be relatively unknown, in terms of their usage, to users in the United States. Meanwhile, while interest in the iPhone seems to have waned recently in China, that country seems poised to establish itself in the App Store.

In addition, the list of the top non-gaming apps shows how popular the subscription model is. Many of these apps have subscription options, which oblige users to pay regular income to their developers.

Should Apple be worried?

This app tactic could pose a threat to Apple in the near or distant future. This is because the time may come when the developers of major apps that maintain a presence in the App Store will ask themselves whether they are willing to continue (under the profit-sharing model) to pay a portion of their revenue to Apple.

For the record, and to give you a better understanding of what we mean, Netflix currently attributes 30% to Apple for revenue generated from... first-time subscribers who signed up through iTunes, with that figure decreasing to 15% for each additional year.With this data, the service is already looking for ways to get around these charges, with one of them being to sign up new users outside of the iOS app.

And, of course, should other developers attempt to follow Netflix's example, the losses for Apple, which is looking to boost revenue from Services (including the App Store) will be significant...