Welcome again to This Week in Apps, the Extra Crunch collection that recaps the most recent OS information, the purposes they assist, and the cash that flows by way of all of it. What are builders speaking about? What do app publishers and entrepreneurs must know? How are politics impacting the App Store and app companies? And which apps are everybody utilizing?
As mid-November rolls round, we’re taking a look at just a few large tales, together with Apple’s resolution to ban a complete class of apps on account of well being considerations, the launch of Disney+ from an app perspective, what Black Friday will imply for e-commerce apps, and extra.

With Disney+’s large launch (10+ million customers!) on everybody’s minds, it’s time to consider what these streaming newcomers imply for the general panorama and the app shops. In this case, it appears that evidently Disney+’s person base was extremely cell. The firm itself introduced greater than 10 million customers, whereas information on the Disney+ app’s first few days signifies it now has over 10 million downloads. It looks like customers positively wish to take their new streaming service with them all over the place they go.
In 2020, App Annie forecasts customers will spend greater than 674 billion hours within the Entertainment and Video Player and Editor classes worldwide on Android telephones, up from an anticipated 558 billion hours in 2019. Thanks to Disney+, Apple TV+ and shortly, HBO Max, Peacock and Quibi, to creating the panorama each richer and extra sophisticated.
On its launch day, Disney+ hit #1 by iPhone Overall downloads at 8 AM within the U.S. and at 11 AM in Canada — a sign of the power that robust IP has can actually excite customers to return out in droves. (Unfortunately, that led to some launch day glitches, too.)
Apptopia estimated Disney+ was downloaded 3.2 million occasions in its first 24 hours. The agency additionally estimated customers collectively spent 1.3 million hours watching Disney+ on day one — forward of Amazon Prime Video, however properly behind Netflix.

Sensor Tower waited to gather a bit extra information as an alternative. It discovered that the Disney+ app was put in roughly 9.6 million occasions in all out there markets (the U.S., Canada, and the Netherlands), since its U.S. launch on Tuesday, Nov. 12. For comparability’s sake, HBO Now’s U.S. launch solely noticed 180,000 installs in its first three days — or 2% of the Disney+ complete. Combined with the take a look at interval installs within the Netherlands, the app has now been put in over 10 million occasions.
The hype round Disney+ has had a halo impact. Hulu and ESPN, which had been provided in a bundle with Disney+, additionally grew on account of the Disney+ launch. Sensor Tower discovered mixed customers of the apps within the U.S. and Canada had been up 30% previously week over the week prior.
Headlines
Apple eliminated all vaping apps from the App Store, citing CDC well being considerations
The CDC says 42 folks have died on account of vaping product use and hundreds extra circumstances of lung accidents have been reported from 49 states. Now, Apple has made the controversial resolution to take away all 181 vaping-related apps from its App Store — together with these with information and details about vaping and even vaping-related video games, Axios reported this week.
Some say Apple helps to guard children and teenagers by limiting their publicity to e-cigarette and vaping merchandise, that are getting used to addict a youthful era to nicotine and trigger severe illness. Others argue that Apple is over-reaching. After all, most of the lung sicknesses contain individuals who had been vaping illegally obtained THC, research indicated.
This isn’t the primary time Apple has banned a class of apps due to what seem like ethical considerations. The firm previously had booted apps that promoted weed or depicted gun violence, for instance. In the case of vaping apps, Apple cited the general public well being disaster and youth epidemic as contributing elements, telling Axios that:
We take nice care to curate the App Store as a trusted place for patrons, notably youth, to obtain apps. We’re always evaluating apps, and consulting the most recent proof, to find out dangers to customers’ well being and well-being. Recently, specialists starting from the CDC to the American Heart Association have attributed a wide range of lung accidents and fatalities to e-cigarette and vaping merchandise, going as far as to name the unfold of those gadgets a public well being disaster and a youth epidemic. We agree, and we’ve up to date our App Store Review Guidelines to mirror that apps encouraging or facilitating using these merchandise aren’t permitted. As of at this time, these apps are not out there to obtain.
Existing customers will nonetheless be capable to use their apps, however new customers won’t be able to obtain the banned apps going ahead.
Minecraft Earth arrives 
Minecraft Earth launched early final week throughout 9 nations on each Android and iOS and now it’s come to the U.S., Canada, the U.Okay., and a number of other different markets. Some anticipate the app will rival the success of the AR breakout hit, Pokémon Go, which was thought on the time to be the precursor to a brand new wave of huge AR gaming titles. But in actuality, that didn’t occur. The extremely anticipated follow-up from Niantic, Harry Potter: Wizards Unite didn’t come near competing with its predecessor, producing $12 million in its first month, in contrast with Pokémon Go’s first-month earnings of $300 million. With Minecraft Earth now sitting at No. 2 (c’mon, you may’t unseat Disney+) on the U.S. App Store, it appears there’s potential for an additional AR kingpin.
App Annie releases a person acquisition playbook
A high title in App Store intelligence, App Annie this week launched a brand new how-to handbook targeted on person acquisition methods on cell. Sure the free obtain is only a little bit of lead gen for App Annie, however the information guarantees to fill you in on all it’s essential know to achieve success in buying cell customers. The playbook’s arrival follows App Annie’s acquisition of adtech insights agency Libring this fall, because it expands to cowl extra features of operating an app enterprise. Just as necessary as rankings and downloads are the very actual prices related to operating an app enterprise — together with the price of buying customers.