Apple's iOS App Store continues to rake in money for both itself and the company's army of iOS developers, out-grossing Google's Play by more than four times. App Annie issued a report (PDF) on Friday for October that found that Google Play downloads and revenue continue to lag behind Apple's App Store, but that the company is gradually closing the gap.
"The gap between monthly global revenues on iOS and Google Play is significant, but it’s gradually closing," the metrics firm wrote in its November report. "Although iOS monthly revenues are four times larger than its counterpart, Google Play October revenues are 17.9% greater than those of September while iOS October revenues are 0.7% lower than its September revenues."
In the chart below, App Annie shows revenues from January 2012 through October 2012 for Apple's App Store and Google Play. The chart shows Google Play narrowing the gap between the two platforms, and Google Play's growth accelerating since July.
The next chart shows total downloads, with iOS still leading, but Google Play narrowing the gap considerably. Both charts combine to emphasize that Android owners do not like to pay for their apps, as the gap between total downloads is much narrower than revenue.
The report included the news that Google Play revenue in Japan has recently surpassed revenue from the U.S. Google Play earned 29 percent of its revenue from Japan in October, and 26 percent in the U.S. In comparison, Apple earned 33 percent of App Store revenues from the U.S. and 14 percent in Japan.
The company also said that game developers were experiencing the most growth across both platforms.
App Annie is a metrics firm that developers subscribe to. The company said that more than 80 of the Top 100 iOS developers use the service, and that more than 150,000 apps track downloads, revenues, rankings and reviews through App Annie.