Global mobile consumer spending on the Apple App Store and Google Play – the two largest distribution channels for mobile apps in the world – increased 34.5 per cent year-on-year on Christmas Day, according to a new report. Total app revenue earned on December 25 was $407.6 million, nearly $104.6m more than the same day in 2019, San Francisco-based mobile app researcher Sensor Tower Store Intelligence said in the <a href="http://sensortower.com/blog/app-revenue-christmas-2020">report</a>. Although Google’s Play store has more subscribers as Samsung, Huawei and many other manufacturers use its Android platform, Apple’s App Store generated more revenue. “As in previous years, Apple’s App Store captured the bulk of the spending between the two platforms ... it saw 68.4 per cent of the spending, or $278.6m, up 35.2 per cent year-on-year,” the report said. Google Play saw $129m in revenue, an annual increase of 33 per cent. There are more than 2.5 billion active Android devices, with the platform supporting both premium and budget-conscious devices, according to Google. Apple said in January 2020 it has 1.5 billion active devices, a jump from 1.4 billion devices in 2019. Mobile spending on December 25 comprised 4.5 per cent of the month’s total spending, which reached approximately $9 billion globally from December 1 to December 27. In 2020, the majority of Christmas spending was on mobile games, which increased 27 per cent to $295.6m this year, Sensor Tower said. Consumers spent $112m on non-game apps at Christmas, up 59 per cent from $70.5m in 2019. Worldwide spending across the App Store and Google Play skyrocketed in 2020 due to the Covid-19-induced lockdowns and travel restrictions, with many customers turning to mobile games and video-on-demand apps for entertainment, and video conferencing for work and education. Annual consumer spending on mobile apps and games crossed the <a href="https://sensortower.com/blog/mobile-app-milestones-2020">$100bn</a> mark in 2020. Spending reached nearly $106bn globally between January 1 and December 17, 2020, up 30 per cent year-on-year.