A new study conducted by Comscore, sponsored by Facebook, claims that Apple discourages third-party app install on iPhone. The report, published by The Verge, claims that Apple’s first-party apps are so popular that people don’t feel the need to install apps from the App Store. Apple calls the study “seriously flawed.”

Recently, with the launch of iOS 15 and iPadOS 15, Apple updated some of its core apps like FaceTime bringing the Zoom-like functionality to the pre-installed iOS app. Facebook, who’s been a long-time enemy of the Cupertino-based giant, has conducted a study to show the unfair advantage first-party apps have over the apps created by third-party developers.

According to the study, almost 75% of the top 20 most used apps on iPhone are created by Apple. The study was also conducted to see how the Android world works, and yes, the results are almost the same over there also.

“Comscore used data it regularly gathers from apps and websites alongside a survey of roughly 4,000 people asking about the default apps they used during the month of November. The results show that 75 percent of the top 20 apps on iOS in the US were made by Apple, while Google made 60 percent of the top apps on Android. The top four apps on both platforms were made by their respective parent company.”

The five third-party apps that made the list were YouTube (9th), Facebook (12th), Amazon (16th), Instagram (19th), and Gmail (20th). Google, on iOS, was the only third-party developer to see two of its apps — Gmail and YouTube — in the top 20. Facebook’s popular messaging app, Messenger, didn’t make the list.

Apple Calls The Study “Seriously Flawed”

Facebook says that it only conducted the study to see the “impact of preinstalled apps on the competitive app ecosystem.” Though it might not be the case. Facebook has long been taking a dig at Apple’s iMessage app, and even Mark Zuckerberg has publicly said that Apple uses its “dominant platform position to interfere with how our (Facebook’s) apps and other apps work.”

Apple rejected the findings of the study. An Apple spokesperson said to The Verge that “Facebook-financed survey from December 2020 was narrowly tailored to give the false impression that there’s little competition on the App Store.”

“In truth, third-party apps compete with Apple’s apps across every category and enjoy large scale success,” the spokesperson added.

What are your thoughts on the study? Do you feel the need to install third-party apps from the App Store? Or Apple’s first party apps suffice your requirements? Let us know in the comments section down below!