Top Downloaded iOS Apps of 2014 Include Minecraft, YouTube, Heads Up and Facebook Messenger

Apple today shared cumulative lists of the best performing apps in the App Store across 2014 with various media sites, highlighting the iPad Top Paid, iPad Top Free, iPhone Top Paid, and iPhone Top Free apps that were most popular with consumers this year.







The number one free iPhone app in 2014 was Facebook Messenger , which continues to have a two and a half star rating in the App Store due to Facebook's unpopular decision to remove messaging capabilities from the main Facebook app in an effort to get users to download the standalone Facebook Messenger app. Other popular free iPhone apps included Snapchat, Instagram, and Google Maps, with the top 10 listed below.



1. Facebook Messenger

2. Snapchat

3. YouTube

4. Facebook

5. Instagram

6. Pandora Radio

7. Google Maps

8. Flipagram

9. Spotify Music

10. 2048



The number one paid iPhone app in 2014 was popular party game Heads Up! , which was skyrocketed to fame thanks to its multiple appearances on The Ellen Degeneres Show. First launched in 2013, Heads Up! asks players to guess a word based on clues given by friends. Other popular paid iPhone apps included workout app 7 Minute Workout Challenge and photo editing app Afterlight.



1. Heads Up!

2. Minecraft - Pocket Edition

3. Afterlight

4. Plague Inc.

5. Sleep Cycle alarm clock

6. Facetune

7. Cut the Rope 2

8. Bloons TD 5

9. A Dark Room

10. 7 Minute Workout Challenge



The most popular paid iPad app was, unsurprisingly, Minecraft - Pocket Edition, which also ranked as one of the top paid iPhone apps. Minecraft first debuted on iOS in 2011, but since that time, the app has been updated more than 20 times with new features, better graphics, bug fixes, and more. Its constant updates and pervasive popularity have kept it in the top list of apps for several years running. Other popular paid iPad apps were Terraria, Notability, and Minecraft-style apps Survivalcraft and Terraria.



1. Minecraft - Pocket Edition

2. Cut the Rope 2

3. Heads Up!

4. The Room Two

5. Survivalcraft

6. Notability

7. Terraria

8. Plants vs. Zombies HD

9. Hide N Seek : Mini Game With Worldwide Multiplayer

10. Card Wars - Adventure Time



The App Store's most popular free iPad app for 2014 was Google's YouTube app, which is a standalone app that lets users watch YouTube videos on their devices. Netflix was the second most downloaded free iPad app in 2014, followed by a calculator app, Skype, and Microsoft Word. Facebook and Facebook Messenger, two of the most popular free iPhone apps, were also popular on the iPad.



1. YouTube

2. Netflix

3. Calculator for iPad Free

4. Skype for iPad

5. Microsoft Word

6. Facebook Messenger

7. Facebook

8. Candy Crush Saga

9. Chrome

10. Clash of Clans



Earlier this month, Apple released its iTunes Store awards, highlighting some of the best apps, music, movies, and TV shows that were released in 2014. Those winning apps included Elevate - Brain Training , Threes! , Pixelmator , and Monument Valley. Of those apps, only two made Apple's top charts for 2014 -- Threes! was the 25th top paid iPhone app while Monument Valley was the 46th top paid iPhone app and 35th top paid iPad app.

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Posted in 2014 at 10:03PM, December 23

iPhone and iPad Remain Popular With Teens, Interest in Apple Watch Tepid Ahead of Unveiling

Apple's iPhone continues grow in popularity with U.S. teenagers, according to Piper Jaffray analyst Gene Munster's latest semiannual teen survey, which asked approximately 7,200 teens with an average age of 16 years about their device usage habits and future buying plans.



67 percent of surveyed teens owned an iPhone, compared to 61 percent in the Spring survey, and 73 percent of teens expect their next phone to be an iPhone. Much of Apple's gains in ownership came from Android, which lost five percentage points over the last several months. iPhone usage among teens may jump significantly in the next few months, as the survey was conducted just before the introduction of the larger-screened iPhone 6 and 6 Plus.





While iPad ownership remained high at 66 percent, there was no growth compared to the Spring survey. Android tablets also saw ownership numbers drop, and of customers planning to buy a tablet in the next six months, 60 percent plan to choose an iPad Air or iPad mini.



As for the upcoming Apple Watch, interest among teenagers remains relatively low. Only 16 percent of teens said they would be interested in purchasing an Apple Watch for $350, down slightly from the Spring survey where 17 percent expressed interest. Munster's survey was, however, conducted before the Apple Watch was announced, so interest numbers may shift in the next Spring survey.



Younger customers have always been important to Apple as it gives the company a chance to create lifelong customers. Apple's recent acquisition of Beats Electronics, for example, may have partially taken place as an effort to remain relevant among teenage users. In a survey of 10,000 students, a quarter believed the deal would make Apple more "cool," while 50 percent believed the acquisition would increase Apple's popularity among students.

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Posted in 2014 at 10:03PM, October 07

Ahead of iPhone 6 Launch, One-Third of Smartphones Sold Have Screens Larger Than 5"

With the next iPhone widely expected to be available in larger screen sizes, Canalys reports that a third of all smartphones sold worldwide in the first quarter had screen sizes larger than five inches, a full inch larger than Apple's 4" iPhone 5s screen. The size of the five-inch market -- some 90 million units in the quarter -- shows just the competitive disadvantage Apple is facing the longer it goes without a large screened smartphone.



Internal documents released during the Apple v. Samsung trial show how Apple has been aware of consumer interest in larger screened smartphones for quite some time, and the iPhone 6 is expected to have 4.7-inch and 5.5-inch options to compete in this market.

Smart phones with 5" and larger screens grew 369% - a substantially greater rate of growth than the overall market. Worldwide, they represented just over a third of shipments (34%), and in Greater China the figure hit 39%, and 43% in Asia Pacific.



"This is still a market segment led by Samsung, but the trend is unmistakably toward larger-screen handsets at the high end of the market. It held a 44% share of devices with displays of 5" and above, and 53% if the view is narrowed to look at 5.5"-plus displays," said Canalys Analyst Jessica Kwee.



[...]



Consumers now expect high-end devices to have large displays, and Apple’s absence in this market will clearly not last long. It is notable that 5" and above displays featured on almost half (47%) of smart phones with an unlocked retail price of US$500 or more. Of the remaining 53% of high-end smart phones, 87% were iPhones.

Only 12 percent of smartphones sold had screens of 5.5-inches or larger, with 22% between 5 and 5.4-inches and the rest smaller than 5-inches, including all iPhones.



The iPhone 6 is widely expected to be launched this fall with a a 4.7-inch option, perhaps at 1704x960 pixels, and a larger 5.5-inch version that may launch later due to supply constraints.

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Posted in 2014 at 10:03PM, May 14

iTunes Match Expands to Japan [iOS Blog]

Apple is expanding its iTunes Match service to Japan, according to a MacRumors tipster and the company's iTunes Match availability website. The service, which costs ¥3,980 per year, allows iTunes users to match their existing iTunes libraries with high quality versions of songs from Apple's iCloud. After matching, content is available in iCloud and can be accessed from any device. iTunes Match is $25 per year in the U.S and, at current exchange rates, the Japanese version costs roughly $39.



Japan was one of the few countries where Apple sold music but did not offer iTunes Match. Finland, Denmark, Norway and Sweden all gained iTunes Match last December, and Apple launched its iTunes Radio music streaming service in Australia in February.

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Posted in 2014 at 10:03PM, May 01

HTC to fork over undisclosed sum to settle Nokia patent suit

It's hard to believe, but one of the major patent disputes in the mobile industry has come to a close. Nokia published a press release on Friday informing the public that it had reached a settlement with HTC, and the two companies have signed a patent and technology agreement. Under the terms of this agreement, "HTC will make payments to Nokia and the collaboration will involve HTC's LTE patent portfolio, further strengthening Nokia's licensing offering." The companies say that they will look into future collaboration opportunities as well.



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Posted in 2014 at 10:03PM, February 07

Apple Reports First-Quarter Results

Apple has announced financial results for its fiscal 2014 first quarter ended December 28, 2013. The company posted record quarterly revenue of $57.6 billion and quarterly net profit of $13.1 billion, or $14.50 per diluted share. The company sold 51 million iPhones, an all-time quarterly record, compared to 47.8 million in the year-ago quarter. Apple also sold 26 million iPads during the quarter, also an all-time quarterly record, compared to 22.9 million in the year-ago quarter. The company sold 4.8 million Macs, compared to 4.1 million in the year-ago quarter. “We are really happy with our record iPhone and iPad sales, the strong performance of our Mac products and the continued growth of iTunes, software, and services,” said Tim Cook, Apple’s CEO. “We love having the most satisfied, loyal, and engaged customers, and are continuing to invest heavily in our future to make their experiences with our products and services even better.”

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Posted in 2014 at 10:03PM, January 27

Here’s how Netflix is thinking of changing subscription prices

For the past year, Netflix has been experimenting with different pricing schemes. Back in December, Netflix began offering a $6.99 plan that was standard-definition and only allowed streaming to one screen. This was $1 less than the more common $7.99 plan, which streams in high-definition to two screens. In addition, Netflix has had a family plan since last April at $11.99, which allows for streaming up to four screens.



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Posted in 2014 at 10:03PM, January 23