Mobile applications worldwide will generate nearly $57 billion in direct revenue in 2020, while app installs will reach more than 210 billion, according to IDC data.

The figures will easily beat last year’s tally, where applications generated $34.2 billion in revenue, with almost 156 billion applications installed worldwide.

However, IDC warns the market will slow, both in application install volumes and direct revenue over time, which will largely be driven by market maturation.

Over a five year period, mobile application install volume will fall to single digits, at a CAGR of 6.3 per cent, while direct revenue from mobile applications will experience a CAGR of 10.6 per cent.

Apple’s App Store continues to generate the most revenue, capturing 58 per cent of the market in 2015, an increase of 36 per cent year over year. Its global app install volume however dropped 8 per cent, to 15 per cent.

IDC said the sheer volume of Android based devices meant it achieved a greater number of installs through Google Play, with approximately 60 per cent of install volume and 36 per cent of revenue last year.

Notably, these gains were however slower than previous years, with Apple expected to continue to outperform Google Play in terms of revenue generation.

Notably, IDC did not include ad revenue in its forecast and figures, as John Jackson, research VP, mobile and connected platforms, said Google and Facebook will continue to dominate mobile ad spending “thanks to the scale and sophistication of their network effects”.

He added that Facebook’s strategy to include news and other interests into its platform “will likely pull traffic and install volumes away from discreet apps”.