Welcome again to This Week in Apps, the Extra Crunch collection that recaps the newest OS information, the purposes they help and the cash that flows by way of all of it. What are builders speaking about? What do app publishers and entrepreneurs have to know? How are politics impacting the App Store and app companies? And which apps are everybody utilizing?
This week we take a look at how the Black Friday weekend performed out on cell (together with which non-shopping class that noticed a lift in income!), in addition to just a few security-related tales, TikTok’s newest dangerous press, plus Apple and Google’s greatest and most downloaded apps of 2019, and extra.
Headlines
80% of Android apps are encrypting site visitors by default
Google gave an replace on Android safety this week, noting that 80% of Android purposes have been encrypting site visitors by default, and that share was increased for apps focusing on Android 9 or increased, with 90% of them encrypting site visitors by default. Android protects the site visitors getting into or leaving the gadgets with TLS (Transport Layer Security). Its new statistics are associated to Android 7’s introduction of the Network Security Configuration in 2016, which permits app builders to configure the community safety coverage for his or her app by way of a declarative configuration file. Apps focusing on Android 9 (API stage 28) or increased mechanically have a coverage set by default that stops unencrypted site visitors for each area. And since Nov. 1, 2019, all apps (together with app updates) should goal at the least Android 9, Google says. That means the chances will enhance as extra apps roll out their subsequent updates.
Black Friday boosted cell sport income to a file $70M
U.S. gross sales vacation Black Friday wasn’t simply good for web shoppers, who spent a file $7.four billion in gross sales, $2.9 billion from smartphones. It additionally boosted iOS and Android cell sport income to a single-day file of $69.7 million within the U.S., in accordance with Sensor Tower. This was essentially the most income ever generated in a single day for the class, and it represents a 25% improve over 2018. Marvel Contest of Champions from Kabam led the day with roughly $2.7 million in participant spending. Two titles from Playrix — Gardenscapes and Homescapes — additionally received large, with $1 million and $969,000 in income, respectively.
These will increase point out that buyers are on the lookout for every kind of offers on Black Friday, not simply these associated to vacation gift-giving. They’re additionally joyful to spend on themselves in video games. Mobile publishers caught on to this development and provided particular in-game offers on Black Friday which actually paid off.
Did Walmart beat Amazon’s app on Black Friday?
Sensor Tower and Apptopia stated it did. App Annie additionally stated it did, however then later took it again (see replace). In any occasion, it will need to have been a detailed race. According to Sensor Tower, Walmart’s app reached No.1 on the U.S. App Store on Black Friday with 113,000 new downloads, a year-over-year improve of 23%. Amazon had 102,000 downloads, making it No. 2.
Arguably, many Amazon customers have already got the app put in, so that is extra about Walmart’s e-commerce progress extra so than some ding on Amazon.
In reality, Apptopia stated that Amazon nonetheless had 162% extra cell classes over the complete vacation weekend — which means Amazon was extra shopped than Walmart.
More broadly, cell buying remains to be large on Black Friday. The prime 10 buying apps grew their new installs by 11% over final yr on Black Friday, to succeed in a mixed 527,000 installs.
Report: Android Advanced Protection Program might forestall sideloading
Google’s Advanced Protection Program protects the accounts of these at dangers of focused assaults — like journalists, activists, enterprise leaders, and political marketing campaign groups. This week, 9to5Google discovered this system might get a brand new safety characteristic with the power to dam sideloading of apps, in accordance with an APK breakdown. What’s not but clear is that if program members could have the choice to disable the safety, however…
