Sales of applications for iPhones, iPads and other mobile devices are forecast to exceed $15bn (£9.4bn) this year.
Downloads of popular games, such as Angry Birds and Doodle Jump, are expected to lead to a near-tripling of global app sales, according to research firm Gartner.
Stephanie Baghdassarian, research director at Gartner, said the big rise in expected sales from $5.2bn in 2010 was due to the popularity of the iPad and other tablet computers.
"Something massive has happened," she said. "It's called the iPad, and all of its little brothers and sisters and cousins that are copying Apple."
Ms Baghdassarian said apps are "by far" the fastest-growing sector of the telecoms and technology industry.
Apple, which launched the first app store in the summer of 2008, still dominates the industry, controlling an estimated nine out of 10 of all app sales
