Netflix dominates streaming on iPhone with 21 million U.S. users, study reveals

Apple TV+ logo
Apple TV+ logo (Image credit: Apple TV+)

What you need to know

  • Apple has published a new App Store survey.
  • It reveals figures showing that Netflix is by far the most popular streaming app on iPhone.
  • Apple TV by contrast has just 1.2 million daily users, compared to Netflix's 21 million.

A new study backed by Apple and carried out to investigate the popularity of third-party apps on iPhone and iOS has revealed Netflix is by far the most dominant streaming app on the platform with 21 million daily active users.

The report carried out by Analysis Group and shared by Apple was likely commissioned to show the success of third-party apps on Apple's App Store in order to try and answer questions about Apple's App Store business model and growing concerns about anticompetitive behavior. From the release:

The report finds that third-party apps experience broad regional and global success on the App Store, demonstrating the breadth of opportunity for developers and the wide range of choice available to consumers around the world.

Apple App Study Results Chart Tv Movie Streaming

Apple App Study Results Chart Tv Movie Streaming (Image credit: Apple TV+)

Figures detailed in the report from data.ai reveal that in the U.S., Netflix has 21 million daily active users, dwarfing its nearest rivals Hulu (4M), Amazon Prime Video (4M), and Disney+ (3M). To emphasize how "unpopular" Apple's own apps are, figures indicate that Apple TV (notably not TV+) has only 1.2 million daily active users. That figure, accounting for July 2020 through June 2021, likely includes people who use the Apple TV app to access other streaming content on other platforms. Netflix enjoys a similar margin of dominance in the UK, France, Germany, and Australia & New Zealand. Japan was the only country listed where Netflix was not the most popular streaming app. The figures solidify that Netflix is the best iPhone app for streaming, or certainly the most popular thanks to its vast array of content and longevity, launching in 2007, the same year the original iPhone was released.

Quite astonishingly, the survey indicates that Apple only has a 0.05% share of streaming apps in the UK, with the app not in the top eight for streaming in either the UK, Japan, or Germany. By contrast, Netflix reportedly has 3.6 million daily active users in the UK.

You can read the full report here.

Stephen Warwick
News Editor

Stephen Warwick has written about Apple for five years at iMore and previously elsewhere. He covers all of iMore's latest breaking news regarding all of Apple's products and services, both hardware and software. Stephen has interviewed industry experts in a range of fields including finance, litigation, security, and more. He also specializes in curating and reviewing audio hardware and has experience beyond journalism in sound engineering, production, and design. Before becoming a writer Stephen studied Ancient History at University and also worked at Apple for more than two years. Stephen is also a host on the iMore show, a weekly podcast recorded live that discusses the latest in breaking Apple news, as well as featuring fun trivia about all things Apple. Follow him on Twitter @stephenwarwick9