Freemium apps are obviously working both for consumers and developers/publishers, and the trend will continue in 2012. Already of the top-ranked 250 iOS apps across all categories, an average of 88% are free to download, monetized with advertising and in-app purchases. In that sense, the research company says that at this time next year in certain categories all relevant iOS apps will be free.
However, the situation can differ substantially between different countries. In Germany, 17% of the top iOS apps are still paid, while in India and South Africa their share is as low as 5%. In comparison, 10% of the top apps are free in the United States.
What’s more, revenue models vary notably between different app categories. In both navigation and weather, one-fourth of the top apps are paid, whereas in segments like lifestyle (3%), entertainment (5%), and games (6%), their share is starting to be miniscule…
And you can get additional information about ABI’s report from their website.
[Image from freemium-games]