🧠 Food for thought

Implications, context, and why it matters.

Many newly launched apps still struggle to become real businesses

• App launches are rising, though the revenue impact stays small. Apps launched in 2025 or later bring in just 3% of total subscription revenue 1.
• Older products still dominate. Apps launched before 2020 account for 69% of all subscription revenue 1.
• Building a lasting app business remains hard. Only 4.6% of new apps reach US$10,000 in monthly revenue within two years 1.
• Most of this launch wave is happening on iOS. The platform now accounts for about 77% of new subscription app launches, up from about 67% in 2023 1.

AI apps turn downloads into revenue faster, but keep fewer users

• AI is shaping this wave. About 27% of subscription apps use AI. Consumers spent more than US$1.4 billion on AI apps in 2024, according to Appfigures, a market intelligence firm 2.
• AI apps convert downloads into paid subscriptions 20% better at the median than non-AI apps. After one year, they also produce 41% higher realized lifetime value per paying user 1.
• Retention is weaker. On annual plans, 21.1% of users stay after 12 months, versus 30.7% for non-AI apps 1.
• Refunds are higher too. The median rate is 4.2% for AI apps versus 3.5% for non-AI apps 1. That mix can make performance less steady and raise review and fraud-screening pressure for Apple and Google as app supply grows 1.