Report: iPad Apps Are More Expensive

If you believe iPad apps are more expensive than those for the iPhone/iPod touch, you’d be correct. But, did you know that prices charged for those apps have actually increased in the past six months? They have, according to a new survey from Distimo. According to Distimo:

The average price for an application in the Apple App Store for iPad increased from $4.34 in April 2010 to $4.97 in October 2010 (+14.5%). During the same period, the average price of an application in the Apple App Store for iPhone increased only slightly from $3.94 to $4.03 (+2.3%).

The average price of the top 100 paid applications in October 2010 is 171% higher in the Apple App Store for iPad than in the Apple App Store for iPhone; $5.80 compared with $2.14, respectively.

The survey also shows that developers are spending a great deal more time creating apps exclusively for the iPad, as opposed to universal apps (the apps that work on both the iPad and iPhone). iPhone users aren’t being slighted. According to Cult Of Mac:

What the iPhone lacks in margins, though, it makes up in sheer numbers: although iPhone apps cost less than their iPad counterparts, the iPad only accounts for 13% of the total 300,000 apps available in the App Store, and just 7 percent of all apps are universal. iPad apps might be more lucrative on a sale-by-sale basis, but the iPhone side of the app store still has exclusive control over the wallets of the vast majority of potential buyers.

iPad users are probably not surprised that their apps are more expensive than those for the iPhone. However, seeing that universal apps are not being produced as quickly as those for the iPad is distressing. After all, with universal apps comes the knowledge that you pay for the app once and get to install it across your Apple iDevices. Without these, developers can product two different versions of the same app and make more money. The net result is a higher total cost for the user who wants the app on both the iPad and iPhone/iPod touch.

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