Launching a New App? Do it on Sundays According to Mobilewalla

According to a recent survey of iOS and Android app developers by Mobilewalla, Sunday is the most favorable day to launch an app. Wednesday, however, is the most likely day a new app will be released.

The survey covered the 17 weeks between May 16th and September 8th, 2011. It’s a busy time to be a developer. According to the survey data developers released 91,754 iOS apps and 122,220 Android apps during this time.

Mobilewalla reports that when iOS, Android, Windows, and Blackberry apps are considered together that apps are growing at an astonishing rate of 2,000 apps per day. During 2011 the number of available iOS apps increased from 338,000 to 589,148, while Android apps numbers also more than doubled, from 115,000 to 319,774.

The survey discovered that there may be a relationship between the day of the week that an app is launched and its subsequent performance. Of all the days of the week, Apps launched on Sunday were most likely to chart in the top 240 of the available apps for sale.

Mobilewalla defined the Top 240 as “those apps that achieve the highest ranking in their perspective stores.” Of all the iOS apps released on Sunday 42 percent made it into Mobilewalla’s Top 240, while 11 percent of the Android apps released on Sunday charted.

The Sunday effect is even more interesting in light of two other facts. First, Wednesday was the most common day for app release, so the effect is probably driven by the consumer, rather than the developer. Secondly, only Android app developers can choose the day they want to release an app. Developers of iOS apps must adhere to Apple’s schedule.

Only 10 percent of iOS apps released on a Friday reached the Top 240, which may relate to Apple’s habit of updating its “New & Notable” section in iTunes each Thursday.

The study also found that iOS apps are four times more likely to be discovered than their Android counterparts in the Android App Market, a fact that developers are sure to consider when choosing a platform for app development.

In an attempt to explain both effects, Mobilewalla’s founder and chairman Anindya Datta, Ph.D., suggests  “Apple users discover apps more conveniently than Android users. And while it is impossible to identify exact causes for this pattern, users may find it easier to browse items in the relatively low number of apps launched over the weekend.”

[via TechCrunch]