Key App Trends In Focus: New Apps Are Decreasing In Popularity As Super Apps Dominate

It would not be wrong to mention that close to 98% of smartphone users (or 255.8 million to be exact) adore exploring new apps on a usual basis.

However, trends in the world of app evolution continue to change as we speak. And most of this change has to do with the fact that there are so many apps popping up from all nooks and corners of the world.

This year, things are different as per stats obtained from the recently published Insider Intelligence outlet which gave out its report for Mobile App Users. You can see how the change is rather interesting as more people are installing fewer apps than in the past. They rather stick to the usual ones that they adore, which arise from a long list of categories.

Keeping in mind how most app users aren’t too great of an expert when it comes down to technology, the reason has to do with how most are trying to grab a grip on smartphone usage.

Each year, close to 4 million new users are entering the smartphone app world. But such newcomers are not those who avoid apps. They just happen to be a part of the majority taking on smartphones. And that’s where it was seen how a lot prefer to go against the trend of finding new apps.

These people would much rather download fewer apps and each year, the trend shows how the figures are spiraling downwards. For this year, the average individual has close to 18.5 applications on his or her phone. And when you compare the figures with 2020, it’s around 2.5 times less.

So why is this shift arising in the first place? The answer is that the shift is linked to users on the search for preferred apps as they adhere to it in a steadfast manner.


Next comes the world and concept of super apps and how this trend is picking up at a faster pace now than before. This concept became super popular thanks to a large figure of giants working in the industry including WeChat and Grab.

For those who are yet to be familiar with the concept, we’re seeing a long list of super-apps emerging and putting out services that make people’s lives simple.

And yes, Elon Musk is also leading the pack and making efforts to transform his X platform into the Everything app. Moreover, experts prove how this would be an ideal choice in those nations that are faced with limited infrastructure.

But in regions like the Western world, we’ve got a plethora of app options, and that in turn results in a fall in the figure of apps that people have on their phones.

Meanwhile, let’s look at another very interesting scenario. out of 17 different kinds of apps, close to 15 are on the path to going above and beyond the rate of growth for those who are new users. And between the years 2023-2026, the figure for overall smartphone app users continues to grow by nearly 1.54 each year.

Most of the categories for applications are expected to increase by 1.54% each year. And that just goes to show that more people are interested in the likes of exploring a grand range of app domains.

So the landscape is clearly changing big time and while that comes through, we’re seeing more and more people move toward apps that they adore and resist finding and using newer ones.

Today, super apps have great potential as they make users' lives easier by setting out a huge range of services arising from a single place. But at the same time, the focus of creators on super apps is going to provide tough competition for the usual apps that are used for a single purpose.

So if we had to conclude with a summary of the findings from this report, we would say that super apps are shining brighter than ever, thanks to the fact that they make life simple. Secondly, this year saw app adoption rates falling to just 18.5 apps per user. And lastly, more app categories mean more exploration, even if users are unwilling to install them.

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