Google Play saw more app downloads than Apple’s App Store during the second quarter of the year, according to app analytics company App Annie, although Apple’s App Store continues to lead way in terms of revenue.

App Annie’s second quarter 2013 Market Index found that the amount of app downloads on Google Play were 10 per cent higher than the App Store, although Apple’s storefront still generated 2.3 times the amount of revenue.

Downloads on Google Play were largely driven by emerging markets with Brazil climbing two sports to join India and Russia in the top five markets for the official Android store. The US led the way in terms of Google Play downloads, followed by South Korea.

In the App Store, Russia has climbed six spots on the App Store download rankings over the past year, breaking into the top five in the second quarter, joining the US, China, Japan and the UK. This made Russia the only country other than the US to be in the top five for downloads for both Google Play and the App Store.

However, VimpelCom’s recent decision to stop selling the iPhone in Russia means none of ‘big three’ operators in the market offer the Apple smartphone, something that is likely to limit further growth in the market.

Communications apps moved to second place in terms of the most downloaded categories on Google Play, with Travel & Local rising to fifth spot in terms of revenue. The Music and Social Network categories showed strong revenue growth in the App Store.

Games still dominated in terms of revenue share for both app stores, accounting for more than 80 per cent in Google Play and around 75 per cent in the App Store.