Report: iPhone 6 pushed app downloads to record levels in October

The launch of the iPhone 6 and 6 Plus at the end of September pushed App Store downloads to record levels in October, says new research from mobile marketing analysts Fiksu.

Fiksu's methodology is to measure the download numbers of the top 200 iOS apps and extrapolate from there. Non-gaming apps are included in the figures.

During October, those methods calculated an all-time high of 7.8 million downloads of the top 200 apps per day on average, a jump of 42 per cent from the 5.5 million in September. However, that volume also drives competition. Cost per install for iOS went up to $1.46 - jumping 21 per cent month by month and 59 per cent year on year. For Android, the CPI sits at $1.01, up just 1 per cent from September and 2 per cent since 2013.

"An important lesson this month for marketers is the value of nurturing user loyalty prior to device launches and gift-giving seasons," reads the report. "Despite the marked rise in advertising costs particularly on iOS, the Cost Per Loyal User Index (CPLU) indicated a slight decline in October to $2.16 from September's $2.25. This decrease is a result of the tendency of app users to quickly re-download their most-used 'vital' apps during upgrades. The first set of apps users download on their new iPhone 6s are likely to be those they can't live without, which makes them much more likely to become loyal users of those apps.

"In the coming months, marketers should also look to capitalize on untapped Android opportunities. While the Cost per Launch (CPL) Index, which tracks the costs of driving engagement from mobile users, showed increases across the board on iOS, October saw a 26 percent year-over-year drop in Android CPL. Combined with the slighter increases on Android's October CPI numbers, this may be a good place for marketers to spend advertising dollars as iOS costs only continue to rise."