Liftoff's annual report on mobile games.
Liftoff's annual report on mobile games.
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Liftoff: Android is making gains on iOS in gaming

  • Posted byby Dean Takahashi
  • Updated
  • 2 min

Games played on Apple devices saw a steep decline in engagement compared to Android during the year ended May 31, according to a report by mobile app marketer Liftoff and mobile attribution firm AppsFlyer.

The report said players are spending tons of money on both iOS and Android, but marketers who focus only on one face tradeoffs. Android has a huge reach, with a presence in about 85% of the global smartphone market, according to market researcher IDC. But Apple’s iOS generates the most revenue. Still, iOS is losing some steam and market share in Europe, Japan, and China. It only costs $3.21 to acquire an Android user, compared to $4.85 for iOS.

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Written by

Dean Takahashi

Dean Takahashi is editorial director for GamesBeat. He has been a tech journalist since 1988, and he has covered games as a beat since 1996. He was lead writer for GamesBeat at VentureBeat from 2008 to April 2025. Prior to that, he wrote for the San Jose Mercury News, the Red Herring, the Wall Street Journal, the Los Angeles Times, and the Dallas Times-Herald. He is the author of two books, "Opening the Xbox" and "The Xbox 360 Uncloaked." He organizes the annual GamesBeat Next, GamesBeat Summit and GamesBeat Insider Series: Hollywood and Games conferences and is a frequent speaker at gaming and tech events. He lives in the San Francisco Bay Area.