Over 540,000 apps wiped from Apple App Store in Q3 reaching lowest number in 7 years

The Apple (NASDAQ: AAPL) App Store has recorded a sharp drop in the number of apps to historical lows affecting other elements like revenue. Notably, the declining application count has mainly been driven by the company’s internal policies.

In particular, according to data acquired by Finbold, the number of apps in the Apple App Store hit a seven-year low during 2022 Q3 to stand at 1,642,759. The value represents a drop of 541,697 or 24.79% from the 2,184,456 registered during Q2 2022. The last time the number of apps was this low was during Q3 2015 at 1,672,271, whereas the highest app count was recorded during Q1 2021 at 2,226,823.

Elsewhere, regarding the number of apps on leading app stores globally as of Q3 2022, Google Play Store ranks top at 3,553,050 while the App Store ranks second at 1,642,759. Amazon’s (NASDAQ: AMZN) Appstore has the third-highest number of applications at 483,328.

Policies affecting App Store app count

In particular, the analysis highlighted the main driver behind the drop in app count on the App Store. According to the research report:

“It is worth noting that removing apps from the App Store is a perennial practice initiated by Apple as part of maintaining quality on the platform. However, the recent spike in removed apps can be attributed to several decisions by the company to improve user experience.”

Notably, with Apple’s building a reputation for changing policies, the number of apps on the App Store will likely drop further as the company mainly focuses on hosting quality software. At the same time, the regulatory approach will potentially influence the outlook of the App Store further down the road.