iOS App Store: China hit an industry record in revenue quarter Q3 2016

According to App Annie China shattered iOS revenue records with the highest reported quarter to date for any country. In total, China is now not only spot #1 for Games but the number one largest market in the world for App Store revenue on Apple's iPhone and iPad devices, with a record-breaking $1.7 billion for Q3 2016.

Now leading the United States by over 15%, China’s growth is projected to climb further by 2020. App Annie reports that revenue from Games accounts for the majority of revenue generated in China. But other prominent categories like Entertainment and Social Networking are making strides and have more than tripled in the past year. Video streaming apps in China have had a major impact on the Entertainment category as a whole.

One app in particular was the most successful app launch to date: Pokémon Go. Pokémon Go brought the world of augmented reality (AR) to mobile and eclipsed previous revenue and engagement records. Pokémon Go was most notably able to capitalize on users' non-mobile time by integrating easily into their daily life. Spurring partnerships and movie deals, Niantic is keeping users engaged through new feature releases that will enhance the already immersive AR experience.

Outside the realm of Games, Entertainment apps as a whole saw the largest worldwide spike in revenue for the app stores this past year. More apps are adopting the subscription style of monetization, with video streaming apps in particular impacting an overall shift in how video content is consumed. Key international players like Netflix are dominating certain markets, with localized preferences making it big in Europe and Asia.

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