Source: Flurry via Bloomberg
Recently released mobile gaming market data from app analytics firm Flurry shows that the battle between Apple’s (NASDAQ:AAPL) iOS and Google’s (NASDAQ:GOOG) Android is far from over, reports Bloomberg. Although Google’s Android still has a greater number of overall mobile gamers than Apple’s iOS, the California-based company also leads Android in three out of the five top mobile gaming markets.
Flurry Analytics released the mobile gaming market data at the ongoing Game Developers Conference in San Francisco. As seen in the graph above provided by Bloomberg, Android-powered mobile devices used for gaming outnumber Apple’s iOS devices in both China and South Korea. In China, nearly 60 percent of the 251 million total number of devices used for gaming are powered by Google’s Android. A little over 40 percent of those devices are iOS-powered Apple devices.
Not surprisingly, Android’s lead over iOS in South Korea is even more significant. South Korea is home to Samsung (SSNLF.PK), Apple’s primary smartphone rival and the biggest Android-based smartphone vendor in the world. According to IDC data, Samsung held a 31.3 percent share of the worldwide smartphone market last year. Approximately 85 percent of the mobile devices used for gaming in South Korea are powered by Google’s open source operating system according to Flurry Analytics’ data. However, Apple’s iOS devices still account for about 15 percent of the market in its biggest rival’s home country.
Although Android’s significant lead in South Korea is likely due to the popularity of Samsung’s products, its dominance in that country may also be related to Apple’s lack of a large-screen smartphone. According to Flurry, many South Koreans prefer the large-screen phone-tablet hybrids popularly known as “phablets.”
Although Apple is rumored to be developing a large-screen iPhone, the California-based company’s latest iPhone models only feature a screen size of four inches. Phablets typically feature screen sizes of at least five inches, such as Samsung’s Galaxy S4. Phablets have proven especially popular in Asian markets and South Korea is no exception. “South Koreans love their phablets,” Flurry senior director of games business development Torrey Lincoln told the GDC audience according to Bloomberg.
Although Apple is lagging behind Android in China and South Korea, the iPhone maker has also established significant leads in the three other major mobile gaming markets. According to Flurry’s data, over 60 percent of mobile devices used for gaming in the U.S. and Japan are Apple’s iOS devices. Approximately 65 percent of the mobile gaming market in the U.K. comes from iOS-powered devices.
It should also be noted that Android’s lead in overall numbers doesn’t necessarily translate into higher profits. According to Flurry, Android’s average app price is only six cents. On the other hand, the average price for an iPhone app is nineteen cents and the average iPad app price is fifty cents.
Follow Nathanael on Twitter (@ArnoldEtan_WSCS)
More From Wall St. Cheat Sheet:
- 7 Philosophies That Have Made Apple Designer Jony Ive a Legend
- Cook: New Book on Apple and Steve Jobs Is ‘Nonsense’
- Munster: Apple’s 8GB iPhone 5C May Only Have ‘Slight Impact’