App Store race sees Google leading downloads while Apple wins revenues

New data from tech analysts Canalys (via TechCrunch) shows Google leading downloads, with Google Play accounting for 51 percent of the market against Apple’s 40 percent, but Apple well ahead in monetisation, taking 74 percent against “close to 20 percent” for Google.

Q1 2013 app store downloads across the four main players (Apple’s App Store, Google Play, Windows Phone Store and Blackberry World) grew 11% over on the previous quarter to hit 13.3 billion, while sales revenues grew 9% to reach $2.2 billion.

‘Apple’s App Store and Google Play remain the heavyweights in the app store world. In comparison, BlackBerry World and the Windows Phone Store remain distant challengers today, though they still should not be ignored,’ said Tim Shepherd, Canalys Senior Analyst.