The mobile app market is a vast and ever-growing space, with two major players in the form of Apple's iOS App Store and Google's Google Play store. However, thanks to the open approach to the Android ecosystem, app creators and consumers are no longer limited to these two stores. There are many other options and alternative app stores, which can be great for finding apps that may be hidden in search results on the two big ones. Let's take a look at some of the main mobile app stores available today. The two big ones are Google Play and Apple App Store.
According to Lifewire, Apple's App Store contains 2.1 million apps, although that number includes apps developed specifically for Apple TV and Apple Watch, among other products. Many device manufacturers have found that they can better integrate their customers into their brands by offering their own mobile app stores. The Samsung Galaxy Apps store is just one example. Like several of its competitors, the Sony app market is designed for people with Sony mobile devices who want to search natively on their phones or tablets without having to resort to Google Play. It is mainly aimed at entertainment, but you can also find many branded applications that also offer other functions.
It's no surprise that e-commerce giant Amazon has diversified into the app space. The Amazon app store hosts Android apps and comes pre-installed on devices such as the Fire Phone and Kindle Fire, rather than the Play Store. Remember that consumers take the path of least resistance to get what they want. If they already have the Amazon Appstore on their device, they will first search for the application they want there, before downloading another platform. In addition, consumers with any Android device can download the Amazon app store.
As we've seen in other areas of commerce, Amazon tends to dominate the spaces in which it infiltrates, so expect downloads to increase. SlideMe is one of the most popular alternatives to the Google Play Store and hosts free and premium apps in its listings. When it was first released, users complained that the download and installation processes were poor, but those disputes declined dramatically. App creators can make their apps available to hundreds of thousands of users who prefer SlideMe to the Google Play Store. Cydia is different from the other mobile app stores on this list. It is specifically designed for iOS devices that have been unlocked.
Those devices can't access Apple's App Store apps, so consumers who buy jailbroken phones or jailbreak their own phones often use Cydia. Google Playstore is home to more than 3.5 million apps right now. Since Android is the preferred operating system on 72.2% of all smartphones in the world, putting your application on this is pretty much the first thing you should do once it's ready. The Apple App Store also has a large presence with almost 30% of all smartphones in the world running iOS as their operating system and its official App Store hosting 2.2 million apps. CodenGo is a mass shipment of Android applications in which you can distribute your application to more than 30 different app stores by filling out a form, not only on Android but on all other operating systems, including Amazon, Samsung, Opera and more. CodenGo also offers an extensive list of major Chinese app stores, where Android apps can be distributed to one of the world's fastest-growing app markets. AppBrain is a browser-based app store that helps developers distribute, promote and monetize their applications.
Created by former Google employees Mathijs Vogelzang and Uwe Maurer, AppBrain has millions of users who flock to download the best applications for Android. Aptoide is an alternative app store for Android apps that allows users to download apps that may not be available on Google Playstore in their country or that only offer a paid version. It offers developers a relatively easy entry in terms of the review and approval process. Amazon Appstore is one of the main alternatives to Google Play that offers cross-platform services. Available on all Amazon devices such as Kindle Fire and Fire Stick, Amazon Appstore offers Android apps on these devices. With a little work, you can even install Apple's App Store on Amazon devices. This opens up a wide market for application developers as Amazon devices have experienced an enormous market proliferation in recent years.
As you can see there are plenty of options when it comes to mobile app stores for both Android and iOS users.
