Recently, an analytics platform, App Annie published a report titled ‘Mobile App Evolution 2020’ and presented with some interesting insights about current trends in mobile usage all over the globe. The study was based on the firm’s large database of over 8 million apps.
This year, due to the unprecedented circumstances of the coronavirus pandemic, it is already a common knowledge that the usage of various mobile apps has increased exponentially if compared with the previous years. However, interestingly, the report suggests that the time expenditure is more or less in line with the established trends in the previous years, going as far back as in 2015.
The four-year Compound Annual Growth Rate (CAGR) for Worldwide total sessions is found to be around 15%, while the four-year CAGR for Worldwide Time Spent on various apps is found to be 25%.
Now, another aspect this report highlighted was the overall increase in downloads of various apps in the year 2020. It is not surprising due to the COVID-19 pandemic, but it shows that we, humans have become extremely dependent on various apps for our entertainment, information, and for other needs too. The worldwide downloads reached a record of 120 billion in 2019 only, and that was before the pandemic hit the world!
Some of the major developing countries that have shown the highest rates of downloads in 2019 include India with a 10% Year over Year Growth, Brazil with 9% overall downloads, Indonesia at 8%, and Russia at 7%.
Countries with mature economies that have shown the highest worldwide downloads trends include the USA with 12.3 billion, Japan with 2.5 billion, the UK with 2.1 billion, South Korea with 2.0 billion, Germany, and France with 1.9 billion.
Now, this insight reveals that while the growth in app downloads increases with the growth of the development of various countries, it also shows that those countries with less mature economies also continue to demand more apps as they are also quite heavily dependent on various phone apps. Where there is 'demand', there has to be 'supply' too. So, this trend gives a chance for more opportunities for developing and under-developed countries.
This report also points towards the evolving habits of the users, and it is evident from the report that users are inclined towards choosing and using multiple apps within, and across similar categories to address similar needs. This leads to a high degree of overlap amongst the top apps. For example, 89% of Snapchat users also use YouTube, 75% of Snapchaters also use Instagram. TikTok saw the highest percentage of Year over Year increase in cross-app usage. Previously, 17% of Snapchat users were using TikTok, but now, this percentage has increased by up to 40%.
This trend shows that competition in blended short and social video apps is fueling up and the demand for such apps is increasing too.
TikTok’s dramatic growth has been shown through a different chart while its future remains shrouded with the uncertainty of different challenges.
There are insights about regional app trends and their shifts in this report too, along with unique content graphed for Disney+ app. Whenever there is a new content introduction, the usage spikes. So, video streaming apps need to focus on maintaining their libraries and updating them frequently as per the demands of their consumers.
This report contains other details about game apps, incorporated usage trends, overall rankings, and a lot more.
Read next: Does the Rise of Facebook Gaming Threaten Twitch?
This year, due to the unprecedented circumstances of the coronavirus pandemic, it is already a common knowledge that the usage of various mobile apps has increased exponentially if compared with the previous years. However, interestingly, the report suggests that the time expenditure is more or less in line with the established trends in the previous years, going as far back as in 2015.
The four-year Compound Annual Growth Rate (CAGR) for Worldwide total sessions is found to be around 15%, while the four-year CAGR for Worldwide Time Spent on various apps is found to be 25%.
Now, another aspect this report highlighted was the overall increase in downloads of various apps in the year 2020. It is not surprising due to the COVID-19 pandemic, but it shows that we, humans have become extremely dependent on various apps for our entertainment, information, and for other needs too. The worldwide downloads reached a record of 120 billion in 2019 only, and that was before the pandemic hit the world!
Some of the major developing countries that have shown the highest rates of downloads in 2019 include India with a 10% Year over Year Growth, Brazil with 9% overall downloads, Indonesia at 8%, and Russia at 7%.
Countries with mature economies that have shown the highest worldwide downloads trends include the USA with 12.3 billion, Japan with 2.5 billion, the UK with 2.1 billion, South Korea with 2.0 billion, Germany, and France with 1.9 billion.
Now, this insight reveals that while the growth in app downloads increases with the growth of the development of various countries, it also shows that those countries with less mature economies also continue to demand more apps as they are also quite heavily dependent on various phone apps. Where there is 'demand', there has to be 'supply' too. So, this trend gives a chance for more opportunities for developing and under-developed countries.
This report also points towards the evolving habits of the users, and it is evident from the report that users are inclined towards choosing and using multiple apps within, and across similar categories to address similar needs. This leads to a high degree of overlap amongst the top apps. For example, 89% of Snapchat users also use YouTube, 75% of Snapchaters also use Instagram. TikTok saw the highest percentage of Year over Year increase in cross-app usage. Previously, 17% of Snapchat users were using TikTok, but now, this percentage has increased by up to 40%.
This trend shows that competition in blended short and social video apps is fueling up and the demand for such apps is increasing too.
TikTok’s dramatic growth has been shown through a different chart while its future remains shrouded with the uncertainty of different challenges.
There are insights about regional app trends and their shifts in this report too, along with unique content graphed for Disney+ app. Whenever there is a new content introduction, the usage spikes. So, video streaming apps need to focus on maintaining their libraries and updating them frequently as per the demands of their consumers.
This report contains other details about game apps, incorporated usage trends, overall rankings, and a lot more.
Read next: Does the Rise of Facebook Gaming Threaten Twitch?
