Report: ARKit-only app downloads cross 13M in first six months, nearly half of them games; top apps include AR Dragon and measuring app CamToPlan Pro
iPhone and iPad users worldwide have installed more than 13 million augmented reality apps built expressly using Apple's ARKit framework since …
Context & Ripple Effects
The download picture completes an arc the coverage has been building since launch: first came the tech explainer on how ARKit differs from Google's Tango (how ARKit works), then early demos like a virtual measuring tape suggesting Apple could reach the masses where Tango hadn't (early ARKit demos). Supply-side counts followed — Apptopia found only 825 iOS apps had integrated ARKit by January, and Sensor Tower's October breakdown already showed games leading at 35% of the catalog.
Today's number flips to the demand side: 13 million installs of ARKit-only apps in six months, nearly half games, with AR Dragon and measuring app CamToPlan Pro at the top. That validates both halves of the earlier story — the small developer base is punching above its weight, and the game-heavy mix predicted in the October category breakdown is what consumers actually download.
First-order effects
- The developers behind AR Dragon and CamToPlan Pro get outsized visibility in a catalog of only ~825 ARKit apps, where topping a 13M-download pool is far easier than in the broader App Store.
Second-order effects
- Proven install volume gives fence-sitting iOS developers a reason to ship ARKit features, growing the supply side that Apptopia counted at just 825 apps — while Tango's hardware-dependent route looks even less competitive for mass reach.
Third-order effects
The trend: Mobile AR adoption is being decided at the framework level, with Apple's software-only ARKit pulling ahead of hardware-tethered platforms like Google's Tango.