Is iphone/ipad market that saturated?


3

Ok I was thinking of hiring app developer (once i know what I want to develop) and sell apps for the ipad/iphone. But all im reading is about how the market is saturated and how no developers are making money. So I would like your advice on this,because I actually want to do this as a business and not just some side hobby. This also doesnt make sense because we also hear about how many apps are being downloaded a day, so if this is true how come there arnt more success stories I think I could find only 4 or 5 another than that everyone else is not surviving.

1-What does it take to succeed and make it on the Ipad/Iphone market ?
2-Would you guys advise against this?
3-Are there any blogs that I can go to get more advice on how to really succeed, and make a proper living?

Marketing Iphone

asked Jun 21 '11 at 00:54
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I Scotts
152 points
Top digital marketing agency for SEO, content marketing, and PR: Demand Roll

4 Answers


2

A Market cannot be saturated forever. If no one makes money, no one will write apps anymore (other than free "fireworks" apps). If that happens, the platform decays and dies -- and it won't happen, because as people leave and the market becomes de-saturated, there will be those who venture in to make money. I don't think iOs is at the end of its life. Quite the contrary.

There is always room for really good apps and games. Question is- can you produce such games and apps?

As to your questions:

  1. go to the app store, list the "top grossing", or "most downloaded" applications and games. What do you think makes them unique. Learn from that.
  2. No. iOS is not going anywhere. Serious businesses develop apps for both iOS and Android. cover the overwhelming majority of the mobile market.
  3. Sorry, don't know.
answered Jun 21 '11 at 01:08
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Ron M.
4,224 points

2

  1. You need a unique idea or to significantly improve upon an existing app. Visuals are also EXTREMELY important in the iOS market. You need top-notch graphics that "fit" with the Apple/iOS look. There are so many apps out there that have horrible visuals that look extremely out of place.
  2. In your case (and I may be wrong about this), it doesn't sound like the right thing for you. The market is saturated from developers throwing out tons of apps that are cheap knockoffs of successful apps, an app that nobody wants to use, or a very poorly-designed app, all because they want to get rich quickly. It sounds like you have little to no development experience and are approaching this from a mindset of "start a business, throw developers at it, sit back and count the money." Successful apps started as a great idea, not a business.
  3. http://www.paulgraham.com/start.html is a fantastic article on startups and whether or not it's the right thing for you. A very engaging and informative read.
answered Jun 21 '11 at 11:18
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M Harrison
63 points
  • Great advice. Sometimes it's not the market, it's you :-) – Alain Raynaud 13 years ago
  • +1 for point 2. – Edralph 12 years ago

0

  1. It takes determination to succeed in the market, and imagination. Not all money needs to be made from a the established business models of sales revenue/ad revenue/in app sales revenue. I am about to kick off a new mobile app project that uses completely different model
  2. If you have to ask if its a good idea then it's probably not the time to decide whether its for you or not. Starting up is always a risk.
  3. Blogs on mobile app development? I am just kicking off a podcast + blog + education on mobile app creation and marketing.
answered Jul 22 '11 at 10:55
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Allison Reynolds
394 points

0

There are four excellent ways I can see to make money on the app store.

First is to get hired to write an app. That market is burgeoning, for the simple reason that iOS is the first priority platform for brands that want a presence in your palm. Typical customers don't want to hire and manage an app developer, they want a full end-to-end service. Prices have been high, and the market is growing, so there's every chance that there's room for another player if you're great at sales and willing to work hard.

Second is to create a brilliant app and spend enough money to get it the eyeballs it will need. No-one has a perfect record, so you should be planning to push a number of apps out there to be reasonably sure of success. And you need to do the numbers carefully, because you're spending money ahead of making it, and while you can always arrange to spend more cash, you can't always just turn up the revenue tap. Bear in mind that some of your competitors are already spending amounts on promotion that are only justifiable on customer lifetime value, not on the purchase price, ad network income or freemium conversions.

Third is to push apps out fast and keep cranking the handle. Individual apps will make modest amounts of money, and whenever you find an app that does a little better, produce variations - the same idea targeting a different interest, or geography, or demographic etc. The lifetime income graph has a fairly well established shape, and this pattern supports a lot of solo developers and small teams.

Fourth is to get lucky. From time to time, somebody's getting lucky, and it may be you. The odds are better than a lottery ticket, and if you're working to make compelling user experiences then you're sitting on the tree lightning strikes most often. You and rather a lot of others.

answered Jun 21 '11 at 22:06
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Jeremy Parsons
5,197 points

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