It is no surprise that the mobile app industry is growing at an unstoppable rate, given that there are more than 6.3 billion smartphone users worldwide. Even though app usage and smartphone penetration continue to increase, the growth rate of the app industry continues to grow.
In addition to the 36% growth in the number of tablet users worldwide over the past six years, consider the 1.14 billion tablet users.
Everyone else is also looking at their mobile device if you look up from your phone for a second during the day.
The average American checks their cell phone 262 times a day, or once every 5.5 minutes, according to research.
We use our phones at work, at home, on the go, while eating, in bed, and even in our cars. Even if you're reading this from a mobile device right now, you might be doing it.
What do people do on their mobile devices? According to a study by Localytics, 88% of mobile time is spent on apps.
This is great news for app developers, app publishers, and anyone else interested in building apps. However, to be successful in this field, two things need to happen.
The following information inspired me to write this guide. We know that people are using apps more than ever before. However, this information only scratches the surface in terms of the data available about this usage. You cannot develop an app based on this information alone.
People like to eat, so opening a restaurant is like saying, “That's nonsense.”
Having a better understanding of how people download and use mobile apps can help you compete and claim your share of this multi-billion dollar industry.
This guide can help you develop or improve your mobile app using the research I identified.
The following are key mobile app statistics for 2022. More than 800 million mobile apps were downloaded in 2013.
Downloads are essential to the success of the application.
As simple as it sounds, many app owners don’t understand this concept. You may have the best app in the world, but if no one downloads it, you won’t make a cent. Before you can get people to install your app, you need to do proper research. Here are the most pertinent mobile app download statistics for 2022.
Global downloads are available.
People are using mobile devices in every corner of the world.
The proliferation of mobile applications is also accompanied by an increase in application downloads.
There is an increasing trend in app downloads every year. This trend will continue in the future as well.
Last year, nearly 220 billion apps were downloaded, an increase of 71% from the previous year.
The line chart illustrates the increase in traffic between 2016 and 2020. Even though the year-over-year growth rate is not as pronounced, it is still increasing.
Whether to download for free or pay for a service is a decision you have to make for yourself.
When developing a mobile app, you need to determine your monetization method from the beginning.
You are creating an app because that is why you want to make money.
Have you ever considered charging for app downloads? However, would people download your app if you made it paid?
It's time to examine the ratio of free to paid app downloads. The majority of global downloads are paid.
Even though free apps generate 98% of app revenue worldwide, only a small percentage of people are willing to pay for downloads.
I'm not saying you should completely rule out the idea of launching a paid app. There are benefits to both approaches if you have the right kind of app.
If you charge for downloads initially, fewer mobile users will download the app. People are used to being offered free downloads, so most will not download the app if you charge for downloads initially.
Are you one of the few people who pay to download apps on their mobile device? Take a look around and see for yourself.
People who download paid apps are more likely to be engaged. They won't spend money on something and then never use it.
You can still make money from your app by charging for downloads.
Those of you who have an app as an extension of an existing business to improve customer experience should definitely provide free downloads.
Most apps in the Apple App Store and Google Play Store are available for free and users do not expect to pay for downloads.
The given bar chart illustrates the results of research on the popularity of different social media platforms in India as of December 2018.
Even if you are launching a new app as a business, you can still make money by offering the app for free. In-app purchases, among other monetization strategies, are available.
Be sure to check out the latest mobile eCommerce revenue and usage statistics if you're using your app to sell products or services.
Google Play Store vs. App Store in terms of downloads.
The vast majority of mobile users download apps in two places.
Users with an iOS device can download apps from the Apple App Store, while Android users download apps from the Google Play Store.
Compare the global app downloads of these two platforms.
Even though Google Play Store downloads increased worldwide, both stores also experienced an increase in downloads between 2019 and 2020, as you can see.
There was a 31% increase in downloads on the Google Play Store, while the Apple App Store saw a 2.5% increase.
More than Apple Store, Google Play Store offers more downloads and is growing faster.
These trends will continue into 2022 as I expect.
King of App allows you to build an Android and iOS app simultaneously, so you don't have to decide which platform to build for first. You can launch on both stores and get as many downloads as possible.
The pie chart provided provides information on the percentage of revenue generated by the Apple App Store in 2017.
We've already looked at how the two app stores compare, but now it's time to dig deeper into these numbers and examine each platform in greater detail.
Let's look at the download numbers for Apple's App Store.
The most popular categories in the App Store.
Knowing what consumers want is crucial for your app to be successful. Particularly if you are creating a new app, you need to understand what consumers want and what they want to achieve with your app.
There may not be anything revolutionary about the software or the concept behind your app, but if there is no demand for its use, you will have a hard time getting people to install it.
The Apple App Store provides information on the most downloaded apps. These are the most popular app categories based on availability.
The App Store is dominated by the games category.
Unless you are planning to develop a new game from scratch, you won’t have one. For example, let’s say you have an e-commerce business. It wouldn’t make sense to develop a gaming app for your company just to put it in a more popular category.
Categories for business or lifestyle apps should be relevant to the app's purpose and functionality. You shouldn't categorize your app as a game just to get more downloads, for example.
Choosing a category for an app's primary purpose is against the App Store review guidelines.
Your app may be removed from the App Store if it violates these terms. Obviously, no one will be able to download your app if this happens.
Don't try to cheat the system. Even if your app isn't in a leading category, you can still be successful. Those categories have more competitors. If your strategy involves targeting a less popular category that has fewer competitors and tapping into a larger share of a smaller market, you may be able to be successful.
Is the Apple App Store available in your country?
It is very competitive to develop mobile applications.
How many apps are they competing with? Look at the number of apps available in the Apple App Store.
The number of available applications increases every year.
All things considered, the trend we've examined so far makes sense. People have mobile devices like never before, and app downloads are at an all-time high. So, submitting apps to the marketplace is becoming more popular.
Are there more apps because there are more apps to download? Or are there more apps to download because there are so many apps?
It's difficult to determine, and you can argue both sides on this matter. We'll get a better understanding of this line of reasoning after examining the Google Play Store.
Statistics on Google Play Store downloads are shown below.
Let's look at the download data from Android devices.
I've put together a more detailed analysis of the Google Play Store.
Please check Google Play store availability.
Let me show you right away how many apps are available for download on the Google Play Store. We just finished looking at the availability of the Apple App Store.
The line graph illustrates app availability over time. It is clear that the line does not follow the same pattern as Apple's line for the same category. In fact, we observed a decline in app availability after mid-2017, although the number of apps has been continuously increasing since then.
Why do you ask?
There are many apps on Google Play Store and some of them couldn't survive.
Data from the past two years suggests that the trend line should continue to rise for the foreseeable future. I do not expect to see another downward trajectory.
Even though the number of apps available for download has decreased slightly on the Google Play Store, downloads are still increasing.
Apple's App Store is seeing more apps each year, but the download rate is slower than the Google Play Store. Based on this information, it can be inferred that the number of apps available in each store is not related to the increase in app downloads overall.
The most popular Google Play Store app categories are listed below.
According to Statista, these are the app categories with the highest penetration rate among Android users.
- Tools — 99.81%
- Communication — 99,93%
- Business — 99.33%
- Video Players and Editing— 96.63%
- Travel & Local — 95.7%
- Social — 95.02%
- Productivity — 91,67%
- Music and audio: 88.38 %
- Entertainment — 83,85%
- News and magazines: 81.11 %
- Photography — 75,77%
- Books and references: 70.74 %
- Lifestyle — 65,67%
- Personalization — 61,62%
- Games (Casual) — 58,86%
- Games (puzzles) — 56.5 %
- Games (Arcade) — 55.08%
- Shopping: 35.79 %
- Games (Action) — 34,19%
- Weather — 32.46%
According to Statista, these are the app categories with the highest penetration rate among Android users.
Be careful when looking at the main groups in the list. For example, communication apps (such as WhatsApp) are likely to be pre-installed on all Android devices.
This list gives you an idea of the types of apps that Android users have downloaded (apps like WhatsApp, Snapchat, Netflix, TikTok, Spotify, and Tinder, among others). We'll look at mobile app usage statistics in more depth to see that just because an app is installed doesn't mean it's being used.
People are using more mobile apps than ever before.
It's time to look at how people use mobile apps, now that you've seen how users around the world get apps.
On average, smartphone users spend 3 hours and 10 minutes using their device. Apps account for approximately 90% of all smartphone usage, with over 2 hours and 51 minutes of time spent on them (app usage accounts for approximately 90% of all smartphone usage).
It's true that the average smartphone has more than 80 apps installed, but people don't use all of them.
The average person uses 30 apps per month and 9 apps per day.
More than 60% of apps on the average smartphone go unused every month.
Less than a quarter of apps are used more than once after downloading and then never used again.
We will continue to explore app usage statistics as we progress through this guide.
The percentage of users who return to an app after 30 days is known as the mobile app retention rate. Similarly, the percentage of users who stop using an app after 30 days is known as the mobile app churn rate.
You just learned that the use of an app is not guaranteed after a download. Some of you may be familiar with this situation if your app has already been released.
The initial surge in downloads might have caught the attention of app owners, but they still struggle to make money because people aren't using the app. It's a problem I frequently encounter when working with app owners.
How can you tell if this is happening to you? The best way to measure this is with retention and turnover.
71% of app users lose interest and stop using an app within the first 90 days of downloading it.
How does this affect you and your app?
Tracking these metrics is crucial. Give users a reason to keep using your app in the future by tracking these metrics now.
That being said, you should still strive to attract new users, even if you can't retain all of your current ones.
It's your job to identify issues with your app's performance or user experience, even if the app isn't perfect. Even the most popular apps occasionally have bugs. If your app doesn't work well or has glitches, people are more likely to stop using it. Create improvements and new editions of your app to increase its performance and user experience.
The most important applications are listed below.
We previously discussed app popularity in terms of what is available for download, as well as the percentage of apps in each category.
People are downloading apps, but that doesn't mean they're using them. That fact is corroborated by the data we've already examined.
These are the apps that users say they can't live without.
Looking at this list, you can see why the best apps are so popular. They all serve different purposes and can be used on a daily basis.
It's not that I recommend developing a mobile app to compete with one of these major apps, but I don't recommend it.
Setting your sights on the moon is fine. You can still build a mobile commerce app for your business and be very successful. However, if you wanted your app to become the next Amazon, it would be a formidable challenge, to say the least.
Sure, you can build an app with GPS mapping services, but will it outperform Google Maps?
Global spending on Apple and Android devices is forecast to grow 22% Q4Q in 2017 to $295 billion, according to Strategy Analytics.
There are obviously some differences in downloading and usage between Apple and Android devices. Why is that?
It is true that users behave differently, even if they belong to the same platform. If you compare Apple and Android users, you will see that they behave differently.
Here is the latest data on how consumers spend money using their devices, from Q3 2021:
These figures reveal the amount spent on paid app downloads, subscriptions and in-app purchases.
Despite having a smaller share of the mobile app market, Apple users still spend more money. Apple users dominate app spending, which is almost double the rate of Android users.
Your app should appeal to all users, but you'll have a better chance of persuading iOS app users to purchase premium upgrades and other in-app items if you tailor your content to their needs and preferences.
Which age groups use mobile apps the most?
It is true that young people use mobile applications more than older people.
However, you can still target other age groups. In the chart, you can see that people between 45 and 54 years old spend about 1 hour and 15 minutes per day using mobile apps, just 27 minutes less than people in the 25 to 34 age range.
Older mobile users spend almost 60 minutes on mobile apps every day.
The percentage of people using mobile devices and apps in the United States from April 2016 to April 2017.
People use mobile devices in different ways, and not all mobile usage is created equal. In addition to variations in operating systems, usage will also differ depending on the type of mobile device people use.
Apps are getting smarter and people are spending more time on their smartphones.
There are so many devices to consume digital content.
People can access content and applications from smart TVs, smart home devices, smart watches and smart cars, in addition to having smartphones, tablets, desktop computers and laptops.
Certain categories are dominated by smartphone app usage, and these are the top categories for which people turn to their smartphones.
96% of digital map weather was consumed via smartphone apps in the United States. 86% of digital weather content was consumed via smartphone apps.
Smartphones are obviously the best option for accessing maps and GPS services on the go, because it logically makes sense.
However, if you scroll down a bit, you will see other categories that are not as noticeable.
People continue to opt for smartphones at a high rate, even though there are so many ways to shop online. 47% of retail consumption, for example, comes from smartphone apps.
It is still quite common to use smartphones for news and information, even though smartphone usage is only 40% of the population.
Which is better, smartphones or tablets?
Devices like smartphones and tablets differ in some ways.
The number of smartphones worldwide is twice that of tablets (2.7 billion versus 1.35 billion, as we saw above). However, tablet usage is starting to catch up with smartphone usage.
More apps are downloaded on smartphones and more smartphone apps are used on a monthly basis, as you can see in the image. But tablets are not far behind.
It makes sense that smartphones are being used more frequently, as they are always within reach.
It's a tough call, but tablets still prevail over smartphones when it comes to paid apps or subscription purchases through an app. This category is likely to remain dominated by tablets for years to come.
The percentage of people using tablets has increased in recent years.
Although tablets are not as popular as smartphones, they are used for specific purposes.
Let’s take a look at the preferred types of applications used on tablets.
The bar chart below illustrates the proportion of mobile devices used for gaming. You can see that mobile device usage for gaming is higher than for other purposes.
Because tablet screens are larger, the gameplay and user experience will be improved. This is probably why tablet users are willing to pay more for downloads and subscriptions.
The statistic shows the percentage of mobile app usage in different countries as of August 2017.
Anything other than location-based behavior changes applies the same concept to app usage.
We'll look at how mobile apps are used in different parts of the world. You can use this information to learn about your target audience or see if there are new markets you can enter.
The following chart illustrates the number of app downloads in different countries over the past year.
Let's take a look at the most popular app store downloads by country.
Between 2012 and 2016, app downloads in China have increased by 80% %.
Even though India, Indonesia, and Brazil all have high growth rates, app download growth in India is particularly impressive. According to the chart, app downloads in India increased by an incredible 190 ppg over the same period, while in the US they increased by only 5 ppg.
Developing economies around the world are increasingly connected, which can make reaching international consumers with an app an attractive prospect for certain businesses.
How much time people spend on apps each month (in hours).
Let's look at how much time people spend on mobile apps in certain global markets.
The chart reflects what we saw earlier. It makes sense that as Indian download rates increase, users will spend more time on apps.
Overall, there is one thing that remains the same for these countries. The amount of time people spend on mobile apps is increasing every year across the board. For example, in Italy, which has a much smaller population than India, the amount of time people spend using apps increased by 30% in 2019-2020.
How do Apple's App Store and Google Play compare?
It's no surprise to see that Google Play Store accounts for the vast majority of app downloads worldwide, as Android dominates the global market share.
The global split is 39.% for the Google Play Store and 61.% for the Apple App Store, as you can see in the chart. However, things are different in Japan, where Apple's App Store dominates with a 52.% share.
Finally, I would like to thank you for taking the time to read my article.
Apps are an integral part of our lives. The mobile app market will continue to thrive in 2022.
All the data we examined suggests that mobile usage and adoption is at an all-time high. This is good news for anyone who has a mobile app or wants to build one. However, you can't simply design and manage an app without being familiar with the latest research and developments.
This guide can help you better understand the mobile app market from the perspective of acceptance and usage.
King of App allows you to create an iOS and Android app simultaneously, without writing a single line of code, if you are ready to develop an app in 2022.
What metrics are you monitoring to see how well your mobile app is performing?
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