The Rise of “Crapware” in the iPhone App Store
I started thinking today about where to price my app and I was reminded of a great article I came across in Apple Insider several weeks ago. The article is an interview with the developer behind Sound Grenade and it describes the rise of what he calls “crapware” in the app store. Developed in 20 minutes and containing “maybe 10 lines of code,” Sound Grenade has been in the top 100 free apps for weeks generating over $200/hour in ad revenue. Applications like iFart or Mood Phone fit in to this category as well, simple apps that leverage the platform to spread virally amongst what is probably mostly high school and college kids. And these gimmicky apps have done so well that it is hard not to take notice and tempt all of us to consider banging some out as well.
The question “crapware” apps raise for the app store are obvious, why would developers and businesses spend weeks and months and maybe tens of thousands of dollars to build an application that is competing with one trick apps that sell for free? Surely pricing pressure and excess supply will send the entire app store to the ad supported or near free pricing points. Well I disagree and am not too concerned that this will happen. There may be 75 versions of flatulence apps and I already found about 10 copying Sound Grenade but I don’t think that this will last for very long.
The main reason I don’t think “crapware” will make too much sense going forward is that these apps are just too easy to replicate and will eventually become commoditized. Let’s say you are the first to create a lighter effect on the iPhone and you are lucky enough to hit the viral level, odds are your revenue will be cannibalized by copycats (for a hilarious example of what can happen see iFart versus Pull My Finger lawsuit documents here). And because the application market is still young and inefficient there is plenty of room for “crapware.” I know there will always be gimmicky apps and maybe even an equivalent to user generated content on the app store but I don’t think it will become the rule. These simple apps will form the long tail of sales and will pose little threat to the more elaborate apps in the App store once there is enough quality app inventory. The rush to just put something out there and enter the iPhone lottery will disappear once more players enter the market and drive this quality standard higher. Then the cost of getting your “crapware” application over the noise will be so great that it won’t be cost efficient to do it for several apps as is the case today.
Just a theory, but would love to hear some thoughts on the topic…
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Surprising but I guess that's proof that good design and execution still can keep simpler apps differentiated. I have seen a few apps that execute a similar function to yours but they lack a good core theme or polished design. Also guess the 1st mover advantage really helps…
@admin
downloads have still been very similar, the one or two copycats haven’t really made any noticeable impact on downloads
You are right about that, one reason these apps do well is because the name is self explanatory, the mission is simple, and they are executed very well. Important attributes that any product should have but oftentimes don’t. The question really is, do you think that great execution is enough to keep you differentiated from the copycats that pop up almost instantly? Has it been enough for you or have you seen a drop in downloads?
Hi, Just read your article, I agree with you. As a developer, it’s certainly very hard to not try and ride the wave. I think the trick is working out a balance of doing projects that are short term/lowest common denomiator/commercial ideas, and working on ‘elaborate’, well crafted apps. I would like to point out though, that although Sound Grenade is crap, when you look at what something like iFart does, it does actually do what it’s intended to do well.