Who doesn’t use a smartphone today? With over 6.3 billion global smartphone users, it’s no surprise that smartphone app development companies are seeing all-time high mobile app downloads.
Since 2011, smartphone ownership in America has risen by 50%, with almost 295 million users across the United States. The best part is; it is nearly 89% of the US population. Surprisingly, 53% of American smartphone users use iPhones and iPads. Rest Americans use various Android brands such as Samsung, Lenovo, LG, and others.
Recent studies show that an adult mobile user checks his smartphone at least 58 times daily. People use their smartphones for various reasons almost everywhere, anytime, in any situation. Most spend nearly 88% of their mobile usage time hovering through apps.
Mobile app usability through smartphone penetration is expected to grow steadily in the foreseeable future. Likewise, Android and iOS development services are expected to be in high demand in the USA, India, Canada, etc.
Android or iOS; smartphone users will keep downloading and using apps.
It’s high time for small, medium, and large business owners to avail their customers of their services through fully responsive mobile apps. If you plan to develop a better understanding of app download and usability statistics, keep reading the research-oriented guide.
Yearly Mobile App Downloads in US
In 2011, 30% of Americans owned a smartphone. The figures rose 85% last year as the US now has almost 295 million smartphone users. An average American uses his smartphone at least 262 times daily, mainly using applications.
The US ranks second in the world with 35 billion Google PlayStore app downloads and 21 billion Apple Store app downloads last year. Here is a quick view of annual mobile app downloads in the US for the previous five years:
1) 2017: 16.8 billion Google Play apps and 7.1 billion Apple Store apps
2) 2018: 20.2 billion Google Play apps and 7.2 billion Apple Store apps
3) 2019: 21.4 billion Google Play apps and 8.4 billion Apple Store apps
4) 2020: 27.4 billion Google Play apps and 14.2 billion Apple Store apps
5) 2021: 35 billion Google Play apps and 21 billion Apple Store apps
The number of annual mobile app downloads in the US is expected to rise by 6.8% this year. Naturally, Full-stack Android Programmers and iOS Developers are expected to produce more high-functioning applications in 2023.
Industry Statistics On Global Mobile App Downloads
Every smartphone user downloads and installs mobile apps to use the most excellent features and functionalities. Last year, 255 billion app downloads happened worldwide. This year, it’s expected that global mobile app downloads will encounter a 25% increase.
Let’s take a quick view of global mobile app downloads for the past few years:
- 2016: 140.68 billion
- 2018: 192.45 billion
- 2019: 204 billion
- 2020: 218 billion
- 2021: 230 billion
- 2022: 255 billion
The total number of mobile app downloads has risen by 81.26% since 2016. Within just seven years, the number has seen an average growth of 10.07%. This trend will continue to increase seemingly in the coming years.
Global IT and iPhone development companies in India are fully exploiting the increasing mobile app downloads. Application developers are producing increasingly more device-compatible mobile apps, generating high business revenues. Now let’s discuss app-generated revenue trends worldwide.
Comparing Global App Revenue Statistics from 2014 to 2022
Android or iOS; mobile apps charge the users and service providers based on downloads, marketing adds, service usage, product sales, and online purchases. So how much revenue is mobile apps generating? An average smartphone user spends money in three main categories:
1) Travel apps generate an overall $29.42 within 180 days period
2) Shopping apps generate a general $13.88 within 90 days period
3) Gaming apps generate an overall $1.70 within 90 days period
4) Even though the number seems alarmingly tiny, don’t forget it’s the revenue generated by one organic mobile app user. The more users, the higher numbers of overall app revenue.
Business Analysts predict mobile apps will generate a whopping $935.2 billion in revenue worldwide by 2023. Check the last few years’ global mobile app revenue statistics:
a) 2014: $97.7 billion
b) 2015: $152 billion
c) 2016: $218.2 billion
d) 2017: $285.3 billion
e) 2018: $365.2 billion
f) 2019: $4617 billion
g) 2020: $581.9 billion
h) 2021: $693 billion
i) 2022: $808.7 billion
Clearly, the growth from 2014 to 2022 is almost 82.77%. It’s no surprise that global mobile app revenue Thell rise almost 15% from last year. The US generated more than $338 billion through mobile apps in 2022.
Free vs. Paid Downloads
To everyone surprise, free apps make more money than paid apps for both Android and iOS. So how come free apps make money?
According to the latest statistics, around 98% of mobile apps are free on Google Play Store and App store. But who wants to make money and develop free apps in the first place? Nobody!
When Full-stack Android developers and iOS developers build a mobile app, one of the first things the service provider does is figure out an application monetization strategy. Here is how the free apps make money:
1) Advertising allowed free apps to make $336 billion in 2022. It is expected to generate more than $412 billion in 2024.
2) Subscriptions allow app publishers to earn recurring fees through app users month-wise or year-wise.
3) Selling products and services through mobile apps is profiting eCommerce giants like Amazon, Flipkart, etc.
4) In-app purchases for virtual items generate the highest revenue. Especially gaming applications franchise virtual gaming items and make profits through online sales.
Now, let’s take a look at the statistics for free vs. paid app downloads last year:
1) Android has 96.5% free apps and only 3.5% paid apps.
2) Google has 92.3% free apps and 7.7% paid apps.
Even though free apps generate more significant revenue worldwide, paid apps on Android and iOS directly benefit the app publishers from the beginning. Here is how paid apps make money:
1) Charge for application downloads one time and make services accessible for a lifetime.
2) Offer a unique service experience unavailable from any other app publisher over the internet.
3) Tracking apps, such as health apps, feedback apps, etc., charge users based on usage.
The ultimate goal of free or paid app publishers is to cover their app development expenses and make profits through user downloads, service usage, and various other factors. ECommerce, service-providing, and gaming apps will make the most profits this year.
Google Play vs. Apple Store Download Statistics
Worldwide, Google Play Store and Apple App Store are the main places most smartphone users download mobile apps. Android smartphone users access the Google Play Store, while iOS users use the Apple App Store.
Based on the latest statistics, Google Play Store has far more downloads than the Apple App Store. Last year, Google app downloads increased by 31%, while Apple app downloads increased by only 2.5%. But both app stores are experiencing massive growth in downloads every year. The trend of increasing mobile app downloads will continue in 2023. Let’s break down the growth rates following the latest statistical data.
Google Play Store App Statistics
As per the 4th quarter reports of 2022, Google Play Store currently has 3,298,329 active apps, including free and paid apps developed by various android app developers in India. Check out how the numbers have grown from 2009 till 2022.
Google Play Store Active Apps Statistics
As per the statistics shown in the graph, Google Apps has grown from only 30,000 in 2009 to 3,298,329 in 2022. Still, Google Play Store encountered a sudden drop in the number of available apps during mid-2017. Since then, the number of active Google Apps has been steadily rising. Even this year, business analysts predict that the number of Google Play Store functional apps will increase by 31% in the foreseeable future.
Google Play Store App Downloads Statistics
The number of Google app downloads is directly proportional to the number of active apps. Based on the last five years’ data, here are the key findings:
a) The number of downloads in 2016 was 55 billion, which increased by 85.5% in 2021 with 11.3 billion downloads.
b) The average number of downloads per year is around 83.71 billion.
c) The expected number of google app downloads in 2023 is more than 150 billion.
Popular App Categories on Google Play Store
According to Statista, the most popular Android app categories are as follows:
1) Shopping and eCommerce apps
2) Business and service-providing apps
3) Education apps
4) Entertainment apps
5) Gaming apps
6) Social media apps
7) Lifestyle apps
Undoubtedly, apps from any of the above categories have the potential to generate high revenues. Hence, many enterprises hire android programmers who can develop top-grossing mobile apps for their businesses.
But aside from that, here are the top highlights based on popular Google app categories from last year:
1) The best Google app was “Dream by WOMBO,” and the game was “Apex Legends Mobile.”
2) The best user choice app was “BeReal,” and the game was “Apex Legends Mobile.”
3) Top-grossing mobile apps of 2022 were LineageM, Coin Master, Pokemon Go, Garena Free Fire: 3volution, Candy Crush Saga, and Roblox.
4) The top-used social media apps were Facebook, WhatsApp, Instagram, Snapchat, and Tinder.
5) The most-used entertainment apps were TikTok, Netflix, TikTok, and Spotify, with full downloads.
Even though these provide clear insights into what apps were successful on Google Play Store, many mobile users download the apps but don’t use them as much. We will discuss mobile app usage statistics later in this article. So keep reading!
Apple App Store Statistics
As per the 3rd quarter reports of 2022, Apple App Store has roughly 1.6 million free and paid apps available. The numbers are almost 55% lesser than the number of active Google Play Store apps. Still, Apple Apps numbers and download numbers have grown steadily from 2008 to 2022. Let’s start exploring the statistical data in detail.
Apple App Store Active Apps Statistics
The number of available apps in the Apple App Store has grown from only 49k in 2008 to 1.6 million in 2022. Are you thinking, how’s that possible? As per the analysis reports, the more mobile downloads happen, the higher the top ios development services in India produce high-functioning iOS apps. So, more Apple apps are becoming available for users to install.
Apple App Store Downloads Statistics
The number of Apple App downloads is directly proportional to the number of available App Store apps. Based on the last few years’ app download data, here are the key findings:
1) The number of downloads in 2015 was 15.3 billion, which increased by 54.9% in 2021, with 23.7 billion downloads.
2) The average number of downloads per year is around 20.34 billion.
3) The expected number of Apple/iOS app downloads in 2023 is more than 25 billion.
Popular Apple App Store Categories
According to Statista, the most popular Apple Store app categories are as follows:
1) Gaming apps
2) Business apps
3) Education apps
4) Lifestyle and utility apps
5) Shopping apps
6) Entertainment apps
7) Social media apps
8) Travel apps
Clear, the gaming category dominates all categories in the Apple App Store. It’s safe to say that dedicated ios developers are following unique development approaches to build modern iOS apps from scratch. Here are the most insightful details about popular Apple Store categories:
1) BeReal is the best iPhone app, and GoodNotes is the best business app for iPads in 2022.
2) Apex Legends Mobile is the best iOS game of 2022.
3) Among 23.7 billion app downloads, 8.6 billion were gaming apps.
4) Whatsapp, Facebook, WeChat, Telegram, and Instagram were the most popular social media apps.
5) Top-grossing mobile apps of 2022 were Roblox, YouTube, Tinder, Twitch, Candy Crush Saga, Pokemon Go, and Disney+.
6) The Top downloaded iPhone games were Among Us, Roof Rails, and Project Makeover.
Even with smaller app numbers than Android, Apple App Store raised $21.8 billion in revenue through in-app purchases, marketing ads, subscriptions, and premium service features in 2022. Let’s compare iOS and Android app usage in the following sections.
Android and iOS Apps Usage Comparison
As said early, an app’s success depends on its usability and retention after a user downloads it. Android and iOS, the leading mobile app industry players, gathered 37+ billion downloads in the last quarter of 2022. So what are the usage statistics of both Android and iOS? Let’s find out!
Android has 2.8 billion active users, whereas iOS has 1.65 billion active users worldwide. Still, iOS users use iOS applications for an average of 9 more hours than Android users. iOS users also tend to spend more on apps than Android app users. On the contrary, Android users tend to open apps through push notifications 10% more than iOS users. However, both Android & iOS apps have the potential to help app publishers garner good profits.
Before you decide to hire android app developers or iOS developers, you must understand how much revenue an Android/iOS can generate!
Android and Apple App Revenue Comparison
Now it’s clear that iOS and Android have visible differences in available apps, downloads, and usage statistics. Android has the most apps and downloads, while iOS has more user retention and usage rates. So let’s look at the latest data about how much consumers spend on Android and iOS apps:
1) Google Play Store made $12.1 billion in app revenue in 2022.
2) Apple App Store made $21.5 billion in app revenue in 2022.
3) Since 2018, Android and iOS app revenue has increased by almost 49%.
The statistics show that gaming apps were the highest revenue generators, with $103.5 billion in total for Android and iOS platforms. Other app categories, such as travel, entertainment, and social media, also generated significant amounts in 2022.
Android and iOS apps made money mainly through paid app downloads, paid ads, subscriptions, and in-app purchases. Still, iOS users spend nearly double the money compared to Android OS users.
While many other factors determine why to hire an iOS developer or an android developer, it’s essential to focus on improving app retention. The more usage the app will have, the higher the chances of making more profits.
Mobile App Usage by Age
As expected, young users aged 18 to 24 spend more time on iOS/Android apps than older adults of 65+ age. Young users from 18 to 24 spend an average of 3.2 hours daily on mobile apps. It is equivalent to an average time of 112.6 hours for app users every month.
Let’s take a quick look at the age-wise mobile app usage demographics:
1) 18 to 24: 3.2 hours daily and 112.6 hours monthly
2) 25 to 34: 2.6 hours daily and 102.4 hours monthly
3) 35 to 44: 2.3 hours daily and 93.6 hours monthly
4) 45 to 54: 2.0 hours daily and 75.6 hours monthly
5) 55 to 64: 1.8 hours daily and 69.3 hours monthly
6) 65+: 1.71 hours daily and 51.4 hours monthly
The older demographic showcases a steady decrease in mobile app usage. However, it’s estimated that 60% of 65+ adults worldwide own a smartphone and use mobile applications.
As per the app categories, younger people use gaming, social media, entertainment, and financial apps more. Older adults mostly use apps for video calling, healthy living, lifestyle, and entertainment.
Mobile App Usage by Device
People access applications through smartphones, tablets, iPads, laptops, desktops, and MacBooks. Depending on the type of device hardware and OS, mobile app usability changes among smartphone users. Let’s explore how mobile app usage changes based on the device type.
Smartphones vs. Tablets
Android or iOS, most smartphone users use their mobile on the go to access maps, instant messages, music, photos, weather reports, games, socials, shopping, etc.
But tablet and iPad users don’t use the above apps on the go. Instead, tablet users use apps for gaming, networking, reading, social sharing, and creative creations. So, it’s clear tablet users have lesser app usage time than smartphone users.
Smartphones vs. laptops/desktops
Thanks to the best android and iOS app developers creating apps for Windows laptops/desktops and iOS MacBooks. 58% of mobile and laptop/desktop users use their mobiles instead of laptops to use applications. Based on the traffic generation rates, mobile apps generate 60.66%, and desktop apps generate 37.08% of mobile traffic.
Mobile App Usage by Country
Business analysts report that mobile app usage changes based on the smartphone user’s location. Let’s analyze how people from different counties use mobile apps:
1) People from Brazil spend the maximum time on mobile apps, almost 5.26 hours daily.
2) Indonesians come second, spending around 5.23 hours daily on mobile apps.
3) South Korea comes third, with smartphone users spending more than 4.59 hours daily on mobile apps.
4) Other than the top three, Mexico, India, Japan, Turkey, Singapore, Canada, and the US has an average mobile app usage of 4.48 hours daily.
Looking at the average monthly hours spent on non-gaming mobile apps, it’s clear that India has seen 30% growth in the average spending time within the last three years. Following India are Brazil and the US, encountering 20% and 15% growth in the average spending time within the previous three years.
Country Wise App Downloads Statistics
Over the past three years, the number of app downloads statistics provides the following insights:
1) App downloads in China have grown by 80%, with 98.38 billion downloads last year.
2) India comes second with 26.69 billion app downloads in 2022.
3) Emerging countries like Indonesia, Russia, Mexico, Turkey, and Vietnam have seen high growth rates in terms of app downloads.
4) Based on past year statistics, India’s app downloads growth rate is over 190%.
As technology advances worldwide, emerging global economies like India have a high potential to encounter more app downs in the come years. You can use this information to explore better ideas for utilizing iPhone iOS developers India to target the right audience this year.
Global Monthly App Usage & Retention Rates
Global monthly app usage depends on the user’s age, location, device type, personal preferences, etc. Still, recent studies show an average mobile user spends at least 4.2 hours on various apps daily. With the rising global app spending, enterprises must study user data based on monthly downloads and retention rates.
Studying monthly reports of global app retention rates, here are the much-needed insights:
1) Statista said total app usage increased from 5.99% in 2019 to 7.27% in 2021.
2) The app retention rate among smartphone users for 30 days is 6.83% worldwide.
3) Global Android app retention rates are 22.6% on Day 1 and 2.6% on Day 30.
4) Argentina has the highest app retention rate of 28.8%, followed by Australia, Bangladesh, Brazil, Canada, and China.
Monthly App Usage of US & Retention Rate
The US now has over 250 million smartphone users, primarily iOS devices such as iPhones, iPads, etc. The numbers are estimated to cross over 270 million this year, as the monthly mobile app usage suggests:
1) Users of 18 to 24 years use an average of 28 iOS apps for an average of 37 hours monthly.
2) Monthly mobile app usage drops as the users’ age rises.
3) Older users over 55 use an average of 22 apps and spend around 21 hours monthly on mobile apps.
So what’s the retention rate of US users? Looking at the first 30 days’ monthly reports, an average mobile app has an almost 66% retention rate in the US. The numbers are seemingly high in other countries, as Americans are the most loyal to the brands they use!
With the growing number of smartphone users in the US, companies should hire android developers who can utilize the monthly app usage data and retention rates to improve app performance and quality.
Gen-Z Mobile App Usage
Gen-Z, or the current generation, is highly inclined toward using Android and iOS mobile apps. Almost 64% of Gen-Z mobile users are constantly online. Isn’t that surprisingly interesting?
1) Gen Z users spend an average of 4.2 hours on mobile apps daily.
2) 95% of Gen Z people owned a smartphone (Android/iOS).
3) The most popular app categories among Gen Z are social networking, messaging, video watching, searching, music, shopping, maps, etc.
4) 79% of Gen Z users prefer helpful, insightful, and ad-free apps.
It’s safe to say Gen Z mobile users spend an average of 11+ hours on their mobile per week. Most of the time, Gen Z streams or watches videos. The estimate of watching or streaming videos is roughly 23 hours each week.
Popular Apps According To Gen-Z
While 71% of Gen Z use apps to watch videos, almost 51% prefer hovering through various social media apps. So what are the most used apps by Gen-Z? Let’s find out!
1) The most popular app is Twitch for streaming.
2) Reddit is the most popular surfing app in the US among Gen-Z.
3) The US has almost 90% of Gen-Z Snapchat users.
4) The most used task management app is Unfold.
Exploring the popular apps among Gen-Z offers the enterprise the clarity they need to target Gen-Z mobile users. Enterprises can use the app demographics to hire an iOS app developer and utilize the statistical data to target app users between 18 and 24.
Millennials’ Mobile App Usage Statistics
Millennials were born between 1981 and 1996 who grew up experiencing rapid technology advancements. Here are the top findings from millennials’ mobile app usage statistics:
1) Nearly 70% of millennials prefer spending most time using social networking apps like TikTok, Facebook, Instagram, etc.
2) Besides social apps, millennials’ most used app categories are messaging, games, travel, and sports.
3) Almost 37% of millennials don’t prefer apps with high data usage.
4) More than 21% of millennials open mobile apps more than 50 times daily.
5) 73% of millennials prefer shopping over smartphones 1 to 4 times every week.
So it’s confirmed that millennials spend most of their app usage time hovering through exciting and engaging mobile apps.
Popular Apps According To Millennials
As mentioned earlier, most millennials use apps for social media, travel, lifestyle, health, messaging, sports, and games. Now, let’s look at the most popular millennial mobile apps of 2022:
1) Facebook: Almost 90% of millennials use the Facebook app and Facebook messager app for sharing photos, videos, messaging, and shopping.
2) Airbnb: As per the latest reports, 66% of Airbnb users are millennials who book accommodations such as hotel rooms and villas while traveling across the globe.
3) Kik Messenger: Most young millennials find Kik Messenger interesting as it provides both entertainment and social networking facilities.
4) Tinder: Tinder reports that around 70% of its users are millennials who use the app for social networking almost daily.
5) Mint: Almost 66% of Mint users are millennials who use this app to manage their finances.
6) Vemo: Most millennials prefer Vemo to make online payments. As a result, Venmo’s 80% of users are millennials.
7) Snapchat: Snapchat has reported having nearly 70% active Snapchat accounts for millennials in 2022.
Now it’s clear what type of mobile apps millennials like to use; enterprises targeting millennials should look for an iOS developer for hire that can deliver cross-device apps with engaging interfaces.
Mobile App Industry FAQs
1. How many mobile applications were installed worldwide last year?
In 2022, more than 218 billion Android and iOS apps were downloaded globally. It is almost a 6.86% increase from the last year. Business analysts predict that the app installation numbers will increase by 25% in 2023 globally, which is equivalent to 258 billion app downloads.
2. Android or iOS apps, which have higher in-app engagement and retention?
Apple users invest more time in applications as compared to Android users. One iOS user spends an average of 9 more app hours monthly than one Android user. Hence it’s clear that iOS offers higher app retention and creates better in-app engagement.
3. How many people prefer mobile games over other apps?
With a global population of 7.8 billion, there are 2.4 billion active mobile gamers worldwide. Of the 143.6 billion app downloads, 55 billion were for mobile games. So almost 30.7% of people across the globe play mobile games through applications.
4. How much money will the mobile industry make in 2023?
In 2022, the mobile app industry generated over $380 billion through in-app purchases, subscriptions, and other monetization strategies. The overall revenue of 2022 has crossed the $700 billion benchmark. With such continuous growth, it’s predicted that the revenue amount will be almost $935 billion by 2023. Also, 71% of the revenue will be generated through gaming apps on iOS and Android.
5. What can be expected from app developers in 2023?
The trend to hire android developers India for full-stack development will continue in 2023. Like Android, iOS application developers will stay in high demand to build 5G-compatible and cross-device applications. Developers might use AI and Machine Learning to introduce more awesome application features in 2023.
6. What are the most downloaded mobile app categories worldwide?
The top mobile app categories based on downloads are gaming, entertainment, utilities, shopping, socials, and lifestyle. The most popular apps of 2022 are Coin Master, Roblox, Candy Crush Saga, Among Us, Whatsapp, Instagram, TikTok, Telegram, Twitter, Facebook, Google Photos, YouTube, Netflix, Disney+, and more.
7. Name the leading countries based on mobile app downloads.
India ranks first with 7.8 billion Android and 0.12 billion iOS app downloads. The US ranks second with 3.5 billion Android and 2.1 iOS app downloads. The other countries rank-wise are Brazil, Indonesia, Russia, Mexico, Turkey, Vietnam, the Philippines, and Japan.
8. What’s the number of average app releases?
More than 30k new iOS apps are submitted monthly to the Apple App Store. Compared to iOS app releases, Android app release statistics are much higher. Every month 100k= new Android apps are released through the Google Play Store.
9. Why it’s important to consider app usage statistics?
App usage statistics offer in-depth insights about app downloads based on the user’s age, gender, location, and device type. The application usage information is crucial for app publishers to generate higher revenue through Android and iOS apps.
10. List the names of the leading app stores worldwide.
As per the reports of 2022, Google Play Store is the top-ranking app store with 314 million apps, followed by Apple App Store with 209 million apps. The other two popular global app stores are Windows Store and Amazon Appstore.
Final Thoughts
The primary reason behind the popularity of mobile apps among all smartphone users is the diversity, accessibility, and experience. With the growing number of Android and iOS apps released, modern enterprises are entering the mobile app industry to target potential audiences.
Mobile usage and penetration rates are now all-time high. Hence, every piece of data is required to analyze and predict the future dynamics of the app industry. It’s safe to say the demand to hire iPhone app developers or Android app publishers will keep growing as B2B and B2C companies will require more device-compatible apps.
So use this guide to analyze the latest app download trends and usage statistics. Try to understand the audience’s perspective. If you’re ready, contact the best application developers available to get started with your apps in 2023!
