Small Business Technology News
Tablet Apps On Track To Overtake Smartphone App Revenue By 2018
Written by Tim Morral
Published: 3/18/2013
ABI Research reports that tablets are rapidly gaining ground on smartphones and will generate 35 percent of app revenue in 2013.
The evolution of consumer technology is having a direct impact on entrepreneurs who market apps or use apps to market their goods and services. According to ABI Research, tablet devices are rapidly gaining ground on smartphones as consumers' preferred app devices.
ABI reports that tablet apps will generate $8.8 billion in revenue in 2013, capturing 35 percent of the $25 billion app marketplace. Based on current trends, tablet apps will overtake smartphone apps by 2018.
The transition to a tablet-dominated app environment will undoubtedly have an effect on the functions and features app developers leverage going forward. As tablet technology continues to evolve, the disparity between tablets and smartphones will grow even wider, giving small companies the ability to deliver advanced business-to-consumer or business-to-business marketing features to tech-hungry audiences.
"The dynamic is quite straightforward," said senior analyst Aapo Markkanen. "The larger screen makes apps and content look and feel better, so there are more lucrative opportunities. One might think that the bigger installed base of smartphones would compensate for the disparity, but that notion fails to take into account the arrival of low-cost tablets, which hasn't even started yet at its earnest. The smartphones paved the way for them, but in the end we believe that it's the tablets that will prove the more transformative device segment of the two."
In many instances, tablet apps have been able to reach market segments that are beyond the reach of smartphone apps. Larger screens make it easier for seniors and children to use tablets, creating opportunities for app-based marketers to utilize app technology to connect with previously untapped audiences.
When it comes to operating systems, approximately 65 percent of the combined $25 million app market will come from Apple iOS devices in 2013, followed by Google Android (27%) and other mobile platforms (8%).
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