Are Most iOS Apps ‘Zombies’?

A report from tracking service Adeven claims that most of the apps in the App Store are “zombies” that get little or no downloads because they don’t appear on Apple’s top lists. However, others say that characterization isn’t fair.

Dave Lee with BBC News reported, “Figures seen by the BBC from tracking service Adeven indicate over two-thirds of apps in the store are barely ever installed by consumers. However Apple has said that 90% of all apps in the marketplace – which is marking its five-year anniversary – are downloaded at least once a month.”

CNBC quoted Adeven’s press release, which explained, “What makes it a zombie is that it’s not found on the top lists that Apple publishes every day.”

But PCMag’s Sascha Segan called the study “hideously bogus,” adding, “There’s the surface App Store, with all of the big hits and wannabe hits competing against each other. But there’s also a huge number of line-of-business, hobby, event and specialty apps whose success isn’t measured in whether they make the top-seller list, but in whether they’re serving their defined community…. The App Store’s success requires both halves of the equation: the relatively small cadre of best-selling apps and the long tail that satisfies every niche.”

ITProPortal’s Tomas Jivanda noted, “The Apple App Store is celebrating its fifth birthday this week. The company says the marketplace currently receives over 800 downloads per second.”