App marketing specialist Fiksu said that demand for the iPhone 5 led to a decrease in app download volumes and marketing costs during August 2012 – the month before the launch of the Apple device.

According to the company, the average aggregate download volume for the top 200 free US iPhone apps was 4.05 million, down7.3 percent from 4.37 million in July. The cost to acquire loyal users (defined as those launching an app three or more times) fell by 13 percent month-on-month to US$1.34.

Micah Adler, CEO of Fiksu, said: "Similar to the period preceeding the iPhone 4S launch in 2011, we saw users once again holding off on downloading apps in the weeks before the much-anticipated iPhone 5 launch. App marketers also took the gas off their advertising spending during August, awaiting the availability of iOS 6 in September and the chance to promote updated apps”.

The year is expected to end with a “busy Q4”.