I think app sales a vastly overrated. In my last 15 years as a software developer, only once did a company pay me to make an application that was sold to people. As a customer, most of the software I use does not cost any money. There are only a few categories where app sales work: mostly consumable items like games or movies. Some tools are doing great as well. But most do not.
Most programs are written for business cases other than getting money from license sales to individuals.
Last year I wrote an Android app for a gambling company that now generates 4.5 million Euro in revenue every single month. And the app is not even in the Play store, you have to download it from a website that is embarrassingly hard to find. And the app can only be used in countries where gamling is legal.
We did not charge 99 cents for the app, and somehow there was money to pay my bills anyway.
Then there is the ebanking app I used today: free. And the hipmunk app I use to search for flights. Free. And the audible app. And the kindle app. And the facebook app. And the ebay app. And the Google Search app. And the wikipedia app. And an information app from my government. And the app that let's me see the TV program.
All free of charge. Still, there is a business model and good money behind almost all of these apps.
Again: there are definitely certain apps that you can sell for money, and statistics about how many people buy apps on each platform are of course interesting.
But app sales are not what makes a platform live or die. What makes a platform live or die is reach.
Android is currently in the hands of most people that own a smartohone. That includes rich people and poor people and those who buy apps and those who don't. If you want to reach people through their smartphones, then you want to make an app that runs on Android.
If this was a real money gambling app, then either (a) the odds were stacked against the player by 1-2%, or (b) there was rake (for non house games like poker), so there was no need to charge for the client.
If you think about it, that's how FTP or Poker Stars works. Download a free client, even play for free for play money, earn money on rake once they convert to 'real money' players.
To be fair to the GP this is typically viewed as an entrepreneur's forum and does not typically focus on finding freelance or contract work. Apps can therefore be sold directly to customer by the developer as a sole-proprietor using Apple or Google's distribution platform. Nevertheless, Android does appear to offer its users more in the way of free apps in the anything goes environment that is Google Play.
Do you have any more details about the gambling app? You've piqued my interest. Feel free to send me an email (it's in my profile) if you don't want to share publicly.
Most programs are written for business cases other than getting money from license sales to individuals.
Last year I wrote an Android app for a gambling company that now generates 4.5 million Euro in revenue every single month. And the app is not even in the Play store, you have to download it from a website that is embarrassingly hard to find. And the app can only be used in countries where gamling is legal.
We did not charge 99 cents for the app, and somehow there was money to pay my bills anyway.
Then there is the ebanking app I used today: free. And the hipmunk app I use to search for flights. Free. And the audible app. And the kindle app. And the facebook app. And the ebay app. And the Google Search app. And the wikipedia app. And an information app from my government. And the app that let's me see the TV program.
All free of charge. Still, there is a business model and good money behind almost all of these apps.
Again: there are definitely certain apps that you can sell for money, and statistics about how many people buy apps on each platform are of course interesting.
But app sales are not what makes a platform live or die. What makes a platform live or die is reach.
Android is currently in the hands of most people that own a smartohone. That includes rich people and poor people and those who buy apps and those who don't. If you want to reach people through their smartphones, then you want to make an app that runs on Android.