Apple has revealed the top 25 paid and free apps, in terms of downloads, from its app store, with games being the most popular category. The 17 of the top 25 all time best selling paid apps on iPhone in the US are games, with Rovio’s record-selling Angry Birds taking the top spot.
Released to celebrate the App Store topping 25 billion downloads, the list is one of four countdowns covering the most popular apps across both iPhone and iPad, with typical chart toppers Fruit Ninja, Doodle Jump and Cut the Rope all in attendance.
UK figures
The UK chart tells a similar story, with Angry Birds once again coming out on top in the iPhone’s paid chart. Apple’s own Pages word-processing app is the top paid iPad app of all-time in the UK, while the BBC’s iPlayer is the most popular free iPad app.
There some notable differences between the two territories, however: the most downloaded free game of all time on iPhone on British shores, for instance, is Paper Toss, while in the US, that honour goes to Words with Friends Free.
There’s more symmetry on iPad, where Angry Birds once again comes out on top as the most downloaded game in the UK and US in both the paid and free charts.
Interestingly, games are more popular in the paid category on both formats than in the free app countdowns, where social networks – such as Facebook – and media releases crowd them out.
The news comes ahead of the unveiling of the latest iPad. Apple has added a new category to the iTunes Preview page in the App Store, offering full color interactive catalogs for shoppers.
All four lists are based on sales/downloads, rather than revenues. Apple has not published charts for the all-time top grossing apps.
The full lists are below:
iPhone – Top 25 All-Time Paid Apps
1. Angry Birds
2. WhatsApp Messenger
3. Doodle Jump
4. Fruit Ninja
5. Angry Birds Seasons
6. Cut the Rope
7. TuneIn Radio Pro
8. Monopoly
9. Angry Birds Rio
10. FatBooth
11. Flight Control
12. Scrabble
13. Tiny Wings
14. The Sims 3
15. Where’s Wally? in Hollywood
16. Sleep Cycle alarm clock
17. Moto X Mayhem
18. Color Splash
19. Camera+
20. Flick Kick Football
21. The Moron Test
22. Sonic the Hedgehog
23. Alarm Clock Pro
24. Sleep Talk Recorder
25. Pocket God
iPhone – Top 25 All-Time Free Apps
1. Facebook
2. Skype
3. eBay
4. Google Earth
5. Google Search
6. Twitter
7. Paper Toss
8. Bump
9. BBC News
10. Shazam
11. Talking Tom Cat
12. Pac-Man Lite
13. Sky Sports Live Football
14. Angry Birds Lite
15. Amazon Mobile
16. Waterslide Extreme
17. Touch Hockey: FS5
18. Sky News
19. iPint
20. Facebook Messenger
21. Met Office Weather
22. Movies by Flixster
23. Temple Run
24. Viber
25. Solitaire
iPad – Top 25 All-Time Paid Apps
1. Pages
2. Angry Birds HD
3. Scrabble for iPad
4. GarageBand
5. Monopoly for iPad
6. Numbers
7. Angry Birds Seasons HD
8. Keynote
9. Fruit Ninja HD
10. FIFA 12 for iPad
11. Angry Birds Rio HD
12. Star Walk for iPad
13. Cut the Rope HD
14. Real Racing 2 HD
15. GoodReader for iPad
16. Jenga HD
17. Tiger Woods PGA Tour 12 for iPad
18. Penultimate
19. Need for Speed Hot Pursuit for iPad
20. TuneIn Radio Pro
21. SimCity Deluxe for iPad
22. Tetris for iPad
23. Grand Theft Auto 3
24. MyPad+ for Facebook & Twitter
25. Plants vs. Zombies HD
iPad – Top 25 All-Time Free Apps
1. BBC iPlayer
2. ITV Player
3. Skype for iPad
4. 4oD Catch Up
5. eBay for iPad
6. Angry Birds HD Free
7. Calculator for iPad Free
8. Kindle
9. Sky Go
10. Sky News for iPad
11. BBC News
12. Google Earth
13. The Times
14. Watch TV Free Live with TVCatchup
15. Twitter
16. TV Guide for iPad
17. MyPad for Facebook and Twitter
18. TripAdvisor
19. Facebook
20. Fruit Ninja HD Lite
21. Talking Tom Cat 2 for iPad
22. Angry Birds Rio HD Free
23. Temple Run
24. The Sun for iPad
25. Crime City HD