Apple rejects FB report that claims default apps dominate platforms

The study by US-based media measurement and analytics company Comscore and commissioned by Facebook showed that 75 per cent of the top 20 apps on iOS in the US were made by Apple

San Francisco: Apple has rejected a new Facebook-commissioned study that claimed that Apple and Google’s pre-installed apps dominate key categories, making it harder for third-party developers to compete.

The study by US-based media measurement and analytics company Comscore and commissioned by Facebook showed that 75 per cent of the top 20 apps on iOS in the US were made by Apple, while Google made 60 per cent of the top apps on Android.

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However, an Apple spokesperson called the report “narrowly tailored” and “seriously flawed”, reports The Verge.

“This Facebook-financed survey from December 2020 was narrowly tailored to give the false impression that there’s little competition on the App Store,” the spokesperson was quoted as saying in the report on Wednesday.

The spokesperson said the survey’s methodology was “seriously flawed in a number of ways” and that the results contradicted Comscore’s recent April 2021 rankings on app usage.

According to the report, which included 4,000 respondents, the top four apps on both platforms were made by their respective parent companies.

Pre-installed services dominate when it comes to basics like weather, photos and clocks, according to the report, suggesting these categories will be difficult for other apps to compete in.