What Unify 2026 taught us about Apple Ads and real app growth

Unify Mexico 2026, led by Singular, has become one of the most relevant events for the mobile growth community in the region.

At this year's edition, Jorge Rocha, Country Manager, and Pamela Preciado, Sales Manager at Rocket Lab, took the stage with a clear point: in mobile growth, not all growth is the same.

Mexico is an Android-first market. Over 67% of devices run Android, which pushes most strategies toward reach and volume. But that's exactly where the key question of their talk came in: is your strategy built to grow your user base, or to attract higher-quality users?

Look closer, and the gap is hard to ignore.
iOS users spend significantly more inside apps, up to 7.4x more per user per month. Globally, the App Store generates more than double the revenue of Google Play. And in LATAM, iOS acquisition investment keeps growing. 

Fewer users, yes. But much more value. 

That doesn't mean dropping Android. It means understanding what role each channel plays in your overall strategy.

This is where Apple Ads comes in, not as just another channel, but as a strategic one. It's not about creating demand. It's about capturing it right when the user is already searching and ready to act.

From Search Results, where intent is explicit, to Today Tab and Search Tab, Apple Ads lets you show up at different moments of the App Store journey. Add Custom Product Pages, which adapt the experience based on search context, and the impact on conversion can be real.

One of the sharpest points of the talk: if you're not showing up in your own branded searches, someone else is.
Organic presence alone isn't enough. Competitors are there too.The takeaway is simple, but uncomfortable for a lot of strategies. Growth isn't about reaching more users. It's about reaching the ones who actually drive business.

And in markets where volume dominates the conversation, betting on value might be the real competitive edge.