Welcome back to this week in apps, the weekly TechCrunch series that brings together the latest news on mobile operating systems, mobile applications, and the entire app economy.
The app industry continues to grow, with a record Number of downloads and consumer spend on both iOS and Google Play stores combined in 2021, according to the latest end of year Reports. According to App Annie, global iOS and Google Play spend up to $ 135 billion in 2021, and that number is likely to be higher when the annual report, including third-party app stores in China, releases next year will. Consumers also downloaded 10 billion more apps this year than they did in 2020, hitting nearly 140 billion new installs.
Apps aren’t just a way of bridging idle times – they’re big business too. In 2019, mobile-first companies had one combined Valued at $ 544 billion, 6.5 times higher than those with no mobile focus. In 2020 become investors poured $ 73 billion in capital in wireless companies – a number that is up 27% year over year.
This Week in Apps is a way to keep this fast-paced industry in one place to keep up with the latest in the world of apps, including news, updates, startup funding, mergers and acquisitions, and suggestions for new apps and games to try. also.
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This Week in Apps is vacationing over the holidays, so this week’s update is shorter than usual!
Over 900 app publishers will receive their first $ 1 million in 2021
Credit: Sensor tower
Sensor tower is Predictions that the number of publishers aiming to earn their first annual net income of $ 1 million (or more) in 2021 has almost doubled since 2016. This year more than 900 publishers will reach this milestone, almost 91% more than the 475 that reached this milestone in 2016. That 900+ collapses to 581 on iOS and 325 on Google Play, it is said.
Credit: Sensor Tower Broken down by category, mobile game publishers continued to make up the largest share of iOS apps, accounting for 32% of the total, hitting the $ 1 million mark in 2021. It was followed by social networking apps with a share of 11%, then entertainment, health and fitness apps and productivity apps with 7%, 7% and 6%, respectively. Games also led the way on Google Play, but made up even more of the apps that reached milestones with a share of 43%.
However, the number represents a decrease from last year when 1,003 publishers achieved their first net sales of $ 1 million – a change that Sensor Tower attributes to a normalization of consumer behavior after the pandemic drove installations oversized in 2020 has. Consumers experimented with fewer new apps in 2021 than during the height of the pandemic, the report said.
Credit: Sensor tower
China’s laws affect the number of apps available
the South china morning post reported this week on the impact of China’s crackdown on Chinese app stores. The results show that the number of mobile apps available has decreased by 40% over the past three years as new data laws and other cleanups came into effect. In terms of numbers, Chinese app stores had 4.52 million apps in December 2018, but in October 2021 the number was down to 2.78 million. It also found the biggest declines later this year as Beijing continued to crack down on big tech with its new privacy laws.
The Netherlands is hiring Apple to allow dating apps to offer alternative payments
The Netherlands is the latest country to want to regulate app stores with a new regulation, as reported by Reuters, which states that Apple has violated the country’s competition laws with its in-app purchase policy. However, the case in this market is unique in that it only applies to one segment of the app store – especially dating apps. (Match was, of course, a major Apple critic, pushing for new payment policies both in the US and abroad.) The Dutch Authority for Consumers and Markets (ACM) says Apple has until January 15 to close the App Store implement changes. Failure to do so could result in the company fined up to 50 million euros ($ 56.6 million), the report said. Apple has appealed the ruling.
Platforms: Apple
- An unconfirmed leak from a French side claims iOS 16 will not support iPhone 6s and 6s Plus and iPhone SE 2016.
- Apple have stopped signing iOS 15.1.1which means there are no longer any downgrade options available.
Platforms: Google
- Google announced The number of users interacting with Android apps on Chrome OS devices increased 50% year over year in 2021., while Chrome OS grew over 92% year over year.
- Amazon finally repaired his broken Amazon Appstore on Android 12 devices, that prevented users from using their app – or apps installed through their app – for over a month.
- The Google Play Store Filters added with which you can narrow down the search for deviceslike Android TV or Wear OS.
Social
Credit: Inside information
- ONE Comments on the forecast for 2022 TikTok is the third largest social network in the world and will reach 755 million monthly users next year. That estimate comes from Insider Intelligence (formerly eMarketer), which uses its own system of counting MAUs to be more consistent across companies while weeding out fake accounts.
- Tick tock will start a delivery restaurant in the US in March to promote some of the most viral food dishes on its app, posted by TikTok influencers and creators. The company said it is not getting into the grocery store itself but is partnering with Virtual Dining Concepts and Grubhub on the TikTok kitchen promotion.
Messages
Credit: Meta
- Facebook Messenger rolled out holiday featuresincluding new AR effects from beauty influencers like Bretman Rock and Ashley Strong; plus vacation-themed word effects; a New Years chat topic; Various seasonal sound mojis, backgrounds and “wrapping paper” in Messenger with Facebook Pay on Android. Messenger Kids brings a Santa chat experience and other games and AR effects to the market.
- WhatsApp is testing a new interface for voice calls and other functions on iOS and Android. The site WABetaInfo discovered the new interface under development that offers some UI tweaks and new indicators for end-to-end encryption.
Streaming & entertainment
- TikTok will accused of injury Open source licenses in its new Live Studio Windows app. The app allegedly uses code from the OBS Studio app of the Open Broadcaster Software project and other open source projects without complying with the license terms.
- The edge wants to know What happened to Spotify HiFi? The high-end version of the streaming service should hit the market later this year, but it never did. What gives?
Government policy
💰 Zepto, a 10-minute grocery delivery app in India, $ 100 million raised in Series C funding, led by Y Combinator’s Continuity Fund. As of the round, the app has now more than doubled its rating to $ 570 million, up from $ 225 million in less than two months.
🤝 Rocket Companies, makers of Rocket Mortgage, acquired Truebill, a personal finance app which helps consumers manage their bills, subscriptions and budgets. The deal was $ 1.275 billion, up from Truebill’s final private valuation of $ 530 million after his last round.
💰 Playtomic tennis and padel court booking app. based in Amsterdam 56 million euros collected in Series C funding led by GP Bullhound after its monthly bookings exceeded 1 million in November 2021, nearly three times more than a year ago. The app reaches more than 1 million users in 34 countries.
💰 Tap on Send Raised $ 65 million in Series B funding led by Spark Capital to further expand its cross-border remittance appwhich now includes 20 countries, including some in less developed markets.
💰 Lapse, a dispo-like app that allows users to take photos that “develop” 24 hours later, Raised $ 11 million in seed funding managed by Octopus Ventures and GV.
💰 Rec Room game company Raised $ 145 million in the Coatue Management-led funding for its cross-platform game that runs on mobile devices, PCs, game consoles and VR headsets. The company has increased its user base from 2 million in March to 37 million now and is valued at $ 3.5 billion.
🤝 Spotify acquired Podcast tech company Whooshkaa, which converts radio programs into on-demand podcasts. The technology will be integrated into the Spotify megaphone.
💰 MoMo based in Vietnam, a great app that offers money transfers, insurance, investments, donations and more, $ 200 million raised in series E funding run by Mizhuo Bank. The round valued the deal at more than $ 2 billion.
💰 Voi, based in Stockholm, an app that offers e-scooter and e-bike rental, $ 115 million raised in series D funding managed by Raine Group and VNV Global. Next, the company, which operates Scooters in 80 European cities, will begin preparations for an IPO.
📈 Triller, a former TikTok rival, became a live event app, announced merger plans with the adtech company SeaChange the two companies with a valuation of ~ $ 5 billion.
📈 Indian e-commerce startup Snapdeal applies for an IPO, trying to raise $ 165 million. The 11-year-old company, which offers its services online and via app, competes with Amazon and Flipkart in India and has shifted its focus to consumers in smaller cities in recent years.
Wombo dream
Credit: Wombo
Known for an AI-powered lip sync app, Wombo’s newest app, dream, uses AI to create art. (Read TechCrunch’s review by Natasha Lomas here). To use the app, enter what you want to create a picture of, then choose a style – e.g. better than others. You can repeat the process until it gives a desired result. The app has seen over 10 million user-created images and has been downloaded over 1 million times iOS and Android.
