Key Mobile App Statistics 2022

Today, almost everyone has a smartphone, and its usage is also increasing. 

Have you ever thought about what the users have in their mind while unlocking their smartphone, what they explore, click on, browse, download, etc.? 

You are not required to fret much, as in this post, we have emerged with all the answers to your queries relevant to app usage and other statistics. 

Let’s start!

Mobile App Growth Statistics

Smartphone Users

• Worldwide, there are about 3.8 billion smartphone users.
• China is ruling with about 911.92 Million smartphone users, and the US holds about 270 Million smartphone users. 
• In 2021, about 15% of US adults own smartphones. 
• Moreover, approximately 28% of US adults within the age group of 18-29, 11% of US adults within the age group of 30-49, and 13% of US adults within the age group of 50-64 use smartphones for online access. 
• Worldwide, in 2021, the smartphone users will be 6.378 billion and are likely to reach 7.5 billion in 2026. 

Mobile App Usage

According to research, the average mobile user in America spends about 3 hours 54 minutes on mobile devices per day, as recorded in 2021.

Number of Apps Across Platforms

Apps Downloads Statistics

In 2020, mobile app downloads were recorded at 218 billion, both for Android Apps and iPhone Apps. 

Apps With Top Downloads For August 2021 Are:

• The non-gaming app TikTok was downloaded with 66 million and more installs. 
• The second-most non-gaming app worldwide, Instagram, was downloaded with 59 million and more installs. 
• Others among the top five most installed non-gaming apps worldwide were WhatsApp, Messenger, and Facebook. 

Active Users on Social Media Sites & Apps

As recorded in 2021, we will check out active users on various social media sites and apps.

App Usage Statistics

Now, we will check app usage stats for 2021.

• About 69.4% of internet users use mobile shopping apps on their mobile devices. 
• Approximately 54.8% of worldwide web traffic comes from mobile devices. 

Mobile App Usage Statistics by Age 

As we expect, younger adults spend more time on mobile apps as compared to older adults. 

As with the decreased usage of older demographics, people with 65+ years of age spend about 51.4 hours per month on apps, or approximately 1 hour, 43 minutes per day. 

Mobile App Usage Statistics by Gender

Females with 18+ age spend about 49% of their time on smartphones, whereas males with 18+ of age spend approximately 39% of their time on smartphones. 

Favorite App Category Statistics by Gender

• About 32% of app users check their mobile apps 1-10 times per day. 
• People usually spend about 85% of their time using just five non-native iOS apps. 

All over the world, the expected app downloads from 2021-2025 would be:

Time of App Usage Statistics

Usually, people spend the most time on social media apps. Let’s check out the average time spent in-app weekly.

How do They Use Apps Statistics

Mobile phones are handy; obviously, we can take them anywhere while using them at work, at home, watching TV, even in washrooms, and beyond. 

The way and purpose of using the phone by people may vary and can use it while:

• Walking down the street
• Workout
• Shopping
• Cab booking, etc.

Mobile App Usage by Device Statistics

As mobile apps are developed for different operating systems, the usage varies by the type of device people use. 

We can explore digital content from various devices. People have smartphones, desktops, tablets, and laptops. One can access apps and content from watches, smart TVs, smart vehicles, and smart home devices. 

Smartphone App Usage

Chiefly, average Americans give their 50 minutes approximately to audio apps and about 40 minutes to social media apps. The rest of their favorites are gaming apps, video apps, and messaging ones. 

There are specific categories that are used primarily on smartphones. 

In 2021, the time spent as per the record was: 

Tablet Usage

Tablets may not be as popular as smartphones, but they are used for specific purposes. 

Let’s have a look at the top app categories used on tablets. 

• Games
• Social Networks
• TV/Videos/Movies
• e-books, News, Magazines
• Music
• Retail/Shopping
• Social sharing communities
• kids/family/educational
• Instant messages/video messages
• Health

Mobile App Usage by Country

You need to look at and analyze how people in various parts of the world use apps. You can use that information to know your target audience and catch up with new opportunities in new markets. 

DAU and MAU Statistics 

You need to keep track of  Monthly Active Users (MAU) and Daily Active Users (DAU). 

• As recorded in April 2021, Microsoft Teams holds 145 million DAUs.
• As per the latest data, the Facebook DAU has reached 1.8+ billion. 
• As per the stats recorded in the first quarter of 2021, Roblox has about 42.1 million DAU.

Mobile App Revenue Statistics

• In 2023, the apps will likely generate $935+ billion in revenue via in-app advertising and paid downloads. 
• As per the record of March 2021, Roblox generated over $3.09 million of daily revenues.
• Gaming apps account for about 80% of every app revenue.
• Moreover, in January 2021, Coin Master, a Google Play Store’s top-grossing gaming app, generated $104.15 million in revenue.
• The Gross app revenue of the Apple App Store as recorded in 2020 was $72.3 billion. 
• The Gross app revenue of the Google Play Store in 2020 was $38.6 billion.
• In 2020, the global mobile gaming industry generated $75.4 billion in revenue.
• About 98% of app revenue globally comes from free apps.
• Since the past, app revenue has increased tremendously. This growth is likely to continue with expected revenue of $1 trillion by the end of 2023. 
• As per Sensor Tower reports, iOS apps bring in more revenue as compared to Android apps. 

Mobile App Retention and Churn Statistics

After download, you can’t be sure that the app will come into use. Your app downloads may increase initially, but you may struggle afterward to generate revenue as there’s no app usage. 

So, how can you know if something like this is happening with your app also? To measure that, you can consider retention and churn. 

App Retention Benchmarks 2021 (for iOS and Android combined)

Within the first ninety days of app download, about 71% of app users churn. 

You can’t have 100% retention ever. If you want to get new downloads, you need to emerge in some ways. But, along with that, you should take care of the existing users also. 

App Categories Statistics

• As recorded in March 2021, game apps are the top app store category. 
• Worldwide, Roblox, Roof Rails, and more gaming apps are ruling the charts. 
• On the contrary, business and education are given the second and third positions among the most popular app categories. 

Business & Marketing App Statistics

• The average session duration of banking and the Fintech app is 3.1 minutes.
• Apps that send push notifications from their initial days achieve about 18% higher day-one retention. Additionally, by day 14, retention may reach nearly 62%. 
• Mobile shopping increased approximately 70% in the US as compared to the past two years. As per the reports, shopping and retail apps took an average session of about 4.6 to 5 minutes. 
• In 2020, business apps took a rise, and global downloads of business apps increased by approximately 90%. 

Games App Statistics

• In 2020, it was estimated that the global gaming audience would reach 2.2 billion. 
• Worldwide, games, business, and education app categories are the most popular in Google Play and the App Store. 
• About 65% of smartphones commonly have at least one gaming app. 
• On the contrary, 90% of smartphones have a communication or social app, web browser, entertainment app, utilities/tools, and shopping apps. 
• Candy Crush Saga is expected to have 64% of the gaming population and is mainly dominated by females. 
• As recorded in September 2020, ‘Among Us’ is the widely known mobile gaming app on Google Play Store, with over 43.53 million downloads. 

Social Media App Statistics

• Report of 2020 says the global average daily usage of social media apps is 2 hours, 16 minutes. 
• As per about 39% of smartphone owners, social media apps are used most frequently. Gaming and communication apps get the second position, whereas retail apps get the third position. 
• Among non-gaming apps, Facebook software products stay ahead in the number of installations. 

Android App Statistics 

• In 2020, there were about 2.95 million apps available for download on Google Play Store. 
• As of August 2021, as per Statista, 96.9% of Android apps are available for free on the Google Play Store.
• Android has 2.8+ billion active users. 
• Android holds a global market share of 75%.
• About 49% of the app users visit the Google Play Store about 11 times more a day. 

iPhone Statistics

• Android has approximately 38% of the market share in the US, as recorded in the first quarter of 2021. 
• About 90% of apps are free on the App Store. 
• About 1.96 million apps are available for download on the Apple app store, as recorded in the third quarter of 2020. 
• Per week, approximately 500+ million users visit the App Store. 
• Also, in the App Store, the average time spent is 33 minutes per month. 
• Every month, about 30,000+ new iOS apps are released on the Apple App Store. 
• According to Sensor Tower, iOS apps constantly bring more revenue than Android apps. 

eCommerce App Statistics

• In 2020, eCommerce app downloads witnessed a rise at an enormous rate, resulting in a considerable increase in eCommerce sales. 
• Amazon, an eCommerce giant, generated about $386.06 billion in new sales in 2020, about $280.52 billion in 2019. 
• As per Statista, it was predicted that by 2021, the entire US retail eCommerce would be mCommerce. 
• By 2023, the mobile wallet industry will reach about $3.5 trillion in value. 

Online Video Platform Statistics

• As per Youtube stats, as of 2021, it has approximately 2.3 billion users. 
• Moreover, as recorded in quarter one of 2021, Youtube ranks as the #1 app in consumer spending. 
• Every day, people watch about 1 billion hours of videos on Youtube. 
• As of March 2021, the Android version of the Youtube app has experienced about 5+ billion downloads. 
• About 70% of Youtube watch time comes from mobile devices. 
• Youtube generated over 1.46 million downloads from iOS users. 

Fintech Apps Statistics

• During the pandemic, the finance app downloads increased by about 15%. 
• A fintech leader, CashApp has approximately 36 million active users and 100+ million downloads. 
• In 2020, US consumers increased by 58%. 

Types of App Used Most Often

There are about 800,000+ gaming apps in app stores. However, game apps are not used much nowadays, but still, they are the top money-making apps in the app market. 

Most Downloaded Apps – By Category

Games: Clash of Clans, Candy Crush Saga, Monster Strike, Puzzles & Dragons, and Honor of Kings.

Social: Facebook, Facebook Messenger, YouTube, Instagram, and WhatsApp.

Grossing Apps: Netflix, Spotify, Pandora, Tencent Video, and Tinder.

Conclusion

Smartphones are becoming more innovative, and apps are also following the same path. The app statistics we have mentioned above will surely assist the app developers in emerging with some new features and functionalities of apps that may make the routine life of app users convenient. 

As everything experiences an update in a specific duration, the app industry also experiences various updates. So, here, the app statistics play an essential role in keeping everyone up-to-date. 

Emizentech is an app development company that has been building mobile apps for clients globally. If you have an app idea that you want to convert to reality then get in touch with us.