ARKit apps have been downloaded 13 million times so far

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Sensor Tower
Things certainly seem to be heading in the right direction.
Photo: Sensor Tower

iOS users have installed upwards of 13 million augmented reality apps since Apple debuted ARKit back in September, a new report from Sensor Tower Store Intelligence suggests.

That’s up from 3 million worldwide one month after iOS 11 was launched. Apps which established themselves early on, including Ikea Place, Giphy World, The Machines, and My Very Hungry Caterpillar AR, continue to be top-performers in terms of downloads.

Sensor Tower
A look at how ARKit downloads break down.
Photo: Sensor Tower

What’s most interesting about the report, however, is what it suggests about the type of AR apps which are gaining popularity. While games still make up the majority of downloads, with 47 percent of downloads, lifestyle apps have doubled in their share of downloads. When Sensor Tower Store Intelligence first ran the numbers at the end of last year, lifestyle AR apps made up just 5 percent of downloads, compared with 11 percent today. Utilities are also performing well, although slightly down from the percentage they represented early on.

As with regular apps in the App Store, the longer that ARKit is around, the broader the ecosystem will become and the more we’ll start seeing “killer apps” in all kinds of different areas and app categories.

According to Sensor Tower, right now AR Dragon is the world’s top ARKit-only free app, while CamToPlan Pro is at the top of the paid charts.

In total, the firm says that the total number of apps to include some degree of ARKit functionality is “well beyond 2,000 to date.” True, that’s a tiny fraction of the estimated 2.2 million apps found in the App Store right now, but it still suggests that Tim Cook’s AR optimism isn’t misplaced.

Are there any ARKit apps you’ve been particularly impressed by so far? Let us know your thoughts in the comments below.

Source: Sensor Tower

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