China overtakes Japan for No. 2 in iOS app revenue

If this keeps up, China will soon dominate the mobile market.

Mobile analyst group App Annie released its market index for the first quarter of 2016 today, which notably showed that China has taken Japan’s No. 2 spot for iOS revenue. App Annie noted that China’s growth was by a factor of 2.2 when compared to Q1 2015. Games drew that growth, including Chinese hits like Fantasy Westward Journey, Hero MOBA, and The Legend of Mir 2. In fact, China also took Japan’s No. 2 spot for iOS revenue on the strength of games alone. It can be difficult to make apps available in the communist country (which heavily taxes outside properties), but many developers are desperate to tap into China and its population of 1.357 billion. The mobile industry was globally worth $34.8 billion in 2015, according to research firm Newzoo. China’s mobile market alone could be worth $11.1 billion by 2019.

The U.S. is No. 1 in iOS app and game revenue, but China will overtake it in a few quarters if its current rate of growth continues. The U.S. and Japan are still growing in these sectors, but they just can’t compete with the monster expansion of mobile in China.

However, Japan would still be at No. 2 if Android was a part of the equation. Apple dominates mobile in China, while Japan is more split between iOS and Android.