Cheaper Android apps

[MacBH928]

A friend of mine switched from iphone 4s(after saying its the best phone ever) and turned to S3 and he says he is not looking back. When I asked why you love the S3 one of the things he said was that "Everything that you pay for on iOS is free on here"

I said "You might be pirating" , he said "No I am using Google Play"

I didn't test this but the other day friends said Bad Piggies was out, so through a friend's phone we downloaded the game and there were SD and HD versions. Both games were FREE.

I just checked the iTunes store and both games are for $0.99 and $2.99 .

How is this possible? If developers are really doing this, how can they make money? If they do it by using ads, well iOS has ads too I see no one using it to make free apps?

Can any one explain?

 

[BoxerGT2.5]

My opinion,

1. More android phones out there which means greater market to see those ads and generate revenue.

2. I think developers feel if people buy and iPhone they're more apt to pay for apps.


But yes, there may be more apps in the app store, but in Google play you'll find just about anything you want at no cost.

 

[MRU]

, but in Google play you'll find just about anything you want at no cost.

I do not find that to be the case. Most items I've found in google play are same price or at times little more expensive, as there isn't the amount of sales that there are on iOS.

Everything free? That's just utter BS.

There may be free software, but its usually trial software where you eed to purchase full version to unlock most of the features. Or often laden with popup advertisements that require payment to remove them.


Bad Piggies is an exception to the rule, rather than indicative of Android pricing model.



Look at the top selling games on android google play and compare to iTunes App Store and pricing is pretty much the same with some cases the Android App being fraction more expensive than its iOS counterpart.

Just about anything at no cost...... Sorry no dice....

 

[Jessica Lares]

Rovio still sells Premium versions. It's the same thing on iOS. They offer both paid and free versions of their games.

 

[LIVEFRMNYC]

Your friend might be exaggerating a bit or simply finding free alternatives.

I've noticed that if a certain app in the Play Store cost money, then it cost money in iOS too. If an app cost money on iOS, sometimes it's free in the Play Store. Overall it's not a huge difference, but the Play Store does have way more sales than iOS App Store.

 

[MRU]

Rovio still sells Premium versions. It's the same thing on iOS. They offer both paid and free versions of their games.

Not in the case of Bad Piggies though strangely. Have it installed HD version on my One X and my new iPad. They are pretty much identical content wise and not had pop ups that are normally the case with the free version.

Awkwardly enough on iPhone 5 can only install the non HD version, and its still not optimised for the iPhone 5 screen.

Bad Piggies is an exception to the case, and certainly not indicative of Android marketplace in general.

the Play Store does have way more sales than iOS App Store.

Do you find? I perceive it the other way round,that iOS has more sale pricing, especially for bigger name games.

 

[Jessica Lares]

Not in the case of Bad Piggies though strangely. Have it installed HD version on my One X and my new iPad. They are pretty much identical content wise and not had pop ups that are normally the case with the free version.

Awkwardly enough on iPhone 5 can only install the non HD version, and its still not optimised for the iPhone 5 screen.

Bad Piggies is an exception to the case, and certainly not indicative of Android marketplace in general.





Do you find? I perceive it the other way round,that iOS has more sale pricing, especially for bigger name games.

It probably has SOMETHING though. The permissions are different, comparing them both on the Play Store and Amazon App Store.

 

[MRU]

It probably has SOMETHING though. The permissions are different, comparing them both on the Play Store and Amazon App Store.

Strange indeed..

Maybe they just haven't started pushing out advertising to it yet. Get people hooked , then bombard them with advertising they have to remove via in app purchase...

 

[Diiiiips]

What I've noticed since having th S3 for a week is that these free apps are riddled with ads. You can have an in app purchase and get rid of them or root and use AdAway or something to get rid of them for free.

I have noticed that there are some quite expensive apps though mike Titanium Backupmwas £5! Tasker is about £3. These are apps way more expensive than anything I ever purchased on iOS. You can't find pirated copies of them either.

 

[MacBH928]

. Overall it's not a huge difference, but the Play Store does have way more sales than iOS App Store.

How does this make sense , when iphones have been breaking record sales since 2007 , even if Android phones sell more, then you have the touch ipod , and even along with that you have iPad which is selling like crazy.

You can add the fact that its probably much easier to pirate in Android , So given all this I am not sure how Google Play has more sales than iOS.

None the less I did visit the Play store and it seems that apps on it has many more reviews than iOS. It not unusual to see Android app with 10k reviews, while iOS usually is around the 700->4k .

I think I have seen some Android apps with 100k reviews

 

[LIVEFRMNYC]

How does this make sense , when iphones have been breaking record sales since 2007 , even if Android phones sell more, then you have the touch ipod , and even along with that you have iPad which is selling like crazy.

You can add the fact that its probably much easier to pirate in Android , So given all this I am not sure how Google Play has more sales than iOS.

None the less I did visit the Play store and it seems that apps on it has many more reviews than iOS. It not unusual to see Android app with 10k reviews, while iOS usually is around the 700->4k .

I think I have seen some Android apps with 100k reviews

You have misunderstood my post. I meant "sales" as in discounts, not as in number of apps sold.

 

[VFC]

You have misunderstood my post. I meant "sales" as in discounts, not as in number of apps sold.

I just purchased about 20 apps for $.25 last weekend at the Google Play Store. Many of them were Editor's Choice apps.

I also agree with the statement that the same apps are more expensive on the Apple Store.

For example, I just downloaded Dictionary.com free version on both my Nexus 7 and iPad. The ads are barely noticeable on the N7 version; However, the iPad version has in-your-face ads. To upgrade to the ad free version, it's $2.99 for Google and $4.99 for Apple.

Bridge Constructor cost $2 more on the Apple store. The game is identical except for the bug in the Apple version in level 4 (first bridge) where the support beam passes through a solid stone wall.

 

[MRU]

I just purchased about 20 apps for $.25 last weekend at the Google Play Store. Many of them were Editor's Choice apps.

I also agree with the statement that the same apps are more expensive on the Apple Store.

Guess it depends on territory.

Here say

NOVA 3 is €5.49 on ipad / iOS
NOVA 3 on play store €6.48

So swings & roundabouts really. Give or take it ends up working out about the same over-all. Cheaper here, more expensive there etc...

 

[VFC]

Guess it depends on territory.

Here say

NOVA 3 is €5.49 on ipad / iOS
NOVA 3 on play store €6.48

So swings & roundabouts really. Give or take it ends up working out about the same over-all. Cheaper here, more expensive there etc...

I purchased Nova 3 on Sept. 3 for $.99 on the Google Play Store.

 

[MRU]

I purchased Nova 3 on Sept. 3 for $.99 on the Google Play Store.

Clearly then pricing & sales / reductions are different in various territories too so....

 

[VFC]

Clearly then pricing & sales / reductions are different in various territories too so....

In my experience and territory; almost every app I purchased from the Google Play Store was cheaper than the Apple Store.

Even the Google sales are better than Apple. I purchased Asphalt 7 on sale for $1.99 on the Apple Store and $.25 on Google Play Store.

 

[MRU]

In my experience and territory; almost every app I purchased from the Google Play Store was cheaper than the Apple Store.

Even the Google sales are better than Apple. I purchased Asphalt 7 on sale for $1.99 on the Apple Store and $.25 on Google Play Store.

Asphalt 7 has been €0.79c here on both iOS and Google Play Store since release.

I assume the .25c was the 25billion sale the other day ?

 

[VFC]

Asphalt 7 has been €0.79c here on both iOS and Google Play Store since release.

I assume the .25c was the 25billion sale the other day ?

Yep. My best deal was getting OfficeSuite Pro 6+ for $.25. I was considering buying it for $15.

 

[MRU]

Yep. My best deal was getting OfficeSuite Pro 6+ for $.25. I was considering buying it for $15.

I bought it too. Never gonna use it but at .25c you couldn't resist. lol.

My One X came with an polaris office application and I've never even launched it

 

[cynics]

I find apps go on sale quite frequently in the play store vs the App Store. I got gta3, dead trigger (before it was free), dead space and mass effect for 99 cents each on some sale weekend.

 

[3bs]

Asphalt 7 has been €0.79c here on both iOS and Google Play Store since release.

I assume the .25c was the 25billion sale the other day ?

Are you sure it was €0.79 from release? I could have sworn I bought it for €3.99. Maybe I'm thinking of Asphalt 6.

 

[Stuntman06]

Yep. My best deal was getting OfficeSuite Pro 6+ for $.25. I was considering buying it for $15.

OfficeSuite and the Nova Launcher were the ones I felt were most useful. I wanted a spreadsheet app for my tablet that was better than Polaris or Docs. It was marginally better and was worth the $0.25. Nova Launcher is the one I felt was the most value.

One reason for the differences in price (other than sales) is that I saw an article that said Apple users are willing to pay more for apps than Android users.

I also find that there tends to be a lot of free apps for Android. If I find 5 apps that are free and 5 that I have to pay, I'm going to try the free ones first. If any of them suit my needs, I'm not likely to bother looking at the paid ones. If I keep finding free apps that suit my needs most of the time, then I find it a bit of a turn off if I encounter an app that I have to pay for. You get used to free versions.

 

[MRU]

Are you sure it was €0.79 from release? I could have sworn I bought it for €3.99. Maybe I'm thinking of Asphalt 6.

Yep Asphalt 7 was always that cheap here anyway. Actually it's pretty crap, and a downgrade over Asphalt 6. But was always cheap because of the premium in app purchase crap....

Asphalt 6 is €3.99 still

 

[MacBH928]

I got an S3 from my friend to play with for few days...

its true, most apps are trials or ad supported otherwise equally priced with iOS. Maybe they are little bit more expensive or have more Discounts on the Play store.

The thing that I noticed well was that most apps are much much smaller in size than iOS apps. Seems like most iOS apps are 10-16mb those are the smaller ones. On android most apps here are 3-4mb , this makes a difference over time and when updating.

I am downloading a free Duke Nukem 3d, it says 53mb but the downloader says only 27mb.

 

[MRU]

I got an S3 from my friend to play with for few days...

its true, most apps are trials or ad supported otherwise equally priced with iOS. Maybe they are little bit more expensive or have more Discounts on the Play store.

The thing that I noticed well was that most apps are much much smaller in size than iOS apps. Seems like most iOS apps are 10-16mb those are the smaller ones. On android most apps here are 3-4mb , this makes a difference over time and when updating.

I am downloading a free Duke Nukem 3d, it says 53mb but the downloader says only 27mb.

A lot of bigger Android apps have a two step install process. Often the initial setup is just the front end, what usually happens then is if launched they download the additional content and this is stored on the other storage.