German mobile analytics firm Adeven says that nearly two-thirds of software in iOS App Store are ‘zombies’. According to a new tool the firm created, there could be 400,000 apps that get no downloads, are essentially invisible to users, and get no rankings.
“The reality is there are only a couple of thousand apps that really make some kind of downloads,” Christian Henschel, Adeven CEO, told. “This is based on Apple’s closed system — it’s tough to discover those kinds of apps. You don’t have proper search, so the only way to discover new apps is through the top listing.”
“If you’re not on those lists, it’s not sure that you’re being discovered by anyone else. The top 25 tend to be the same companies who spend millions of dollars to get to the top of those lists. If you’re an independent, small app publisher, then it’s really tough to be discovered.”
Apple announced in June that downloads on its iOS App Store had reached 30 billion total, while $5 billion had been paid out to developers. There are more than 650,000 applications available on the App Store, with 225,000 of those built specifically for the iPad.
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