In an age of instant gratification, smartphone apps have been a gift that keeps on giving. Whether you need to order your comfort food or you need a good night’s sleep, there’s an app for practically everything. It’s no surprise then that the mobile app market is set to reach US$614.40 billion by 2026.
With that thought, if businesses are looking to expand their digital footprint through mobile app development, it’s probably a good time to stay updated on the statistics and trends to deliver the best solutions to the customers.
This blog will highlight various relevant statistics and trends that will be incredibly useful going forward in 2023.
An insight into Smartphone Usage Statistics
If you look around carefully, you’ll rarely find an individual without a smartphone. A study by Statista highlighted that on an average, a normal individual devotes nearly 4 hours a day to check their phones in 2021. However, in 2023, the usage time is expected to increase owing to the rise in the number of mobile apps.
The sharp increase in mobile phone usage is attributed to various reasons. These reasons could be digitalisation of banking and finance, shopping, or easy availability of entertaining materials, and much more.
A Peek Into Smartphone User Base
According to Statista, the number of smartphone user base has been growing approximately by 0.3-0.6 billion every year. In 2016, the user count was 3.6 billion and in 2022 it stands at 6.6 billion. The user count is expected to reach 7.7 billion by 2027.
Mobile Device Users: Android vs iOS
- Global Marketplace Statistics
If we closely observe the competition between iOS and Android mobile phones, the Android users rule the market, recording approximately 72% of the global market share.
- UK Marketplace Statistics
There’s fierce competition among both iOS and Android markets in the UK. In a survey conducted during the Q3 of 2020, Android users were leading the market with 53% of the user base. On the contrary, in the Q3of 2021, iOS had captured 51.6% of the user base. So, it makes sense for businesses to develop mobile apps to reach the maximum number of potential consumers.
- US Marketplace Statistics
In the US, the iOS mobile market witnesses more growth as compared to Android. The US consists of 57% iOS mobile user base.
Mobile App Development and Download Statistics
When focusing on mobile app development and download stats, it’s imperative to delve into Android and iOS app concepts along with Google Play Store and Apple app store.
Apple App Store
The App Store of Apple is the second largest and the close competitor of Google App Store, maintaining a diverse user base across regions. Presently, there are 2.11 millions of iOS mobile apps available globally.
As of June 2022, 36,000 iOS mobile apps were released in the app store globally. With the growing user base and popularity across the world, App Store is estimated to garner around $96 billion by 2023 as revenue growth.
Google Play Store
Google is considered the most trustworthy platform by the global audience. In the 2022 Q1 survey, the Google play store recorded over 2.65 million android apps.
Even though Google Play Store is eliminating low-quality and spamming apps from its store, the number of apps on the platforms are increasing each day. These rising numbers have made Google Play Store the biggest mobile app store in the world.
With such a large number of apps, its app download rate was recorded to be 111.3 billion. This indicates a 50% increase from the app download rate in 2016.
Factors Affecting Mobile App Usage Growth
It’s hardly a secret that a majority of smartphone users spend time on one mobile app or the other. However, you would also want to have clarity on the factors motivating smartphone users to stick to their favourite mobile apps. On that note, we’ll discuss several factors that will impact the mobile app usage growth in 2023.
- Perfomance
The success of mobile apps depends on the faster performance and crash-free operations. In the fast-paced world of today, mobile consumers expect the apps that come up with regular upgrades and provide memorable user experience.
- Appealing User Interface (UI)/ User Experience (UX)
Mobile UI/UX design trends tend to be the most volatile. Ux/UI designs have a significant contribution in the overall success of mobile apps. As a result, market competition for the best mobile app UI/UX ensures higher mobile app usage.
- Platform-specific Dedicated Audience
You’re already familiar that the iOS and Android platforms boast of the highest audience count owing to their increasing user base. Hence, it’s essential to wisely select the specific type of apps to develop. It’s also vital to have clarity on mobile app development costs for Android and iOS apps. You also have the option to develop cross-platform or hybrid apps. Developing hybrid apps tends to be less expensive than native app development and allows you to earn revenue from the major app hosting platforms.
Most Popular Mobile App Categories that Drives Continuous Success
As discussed earlier in the blog, both Google and iOS app store consist of millions of apps, catering to diverse types of consumers. There are some broad categories in which these apps can be segregated into. These categories have been mentioned below.
Video Streaming Apps
Ask any millennial or gen-z and they’ll give a whole list of video streaming services that they frequently consume. YouTube, Netflix, Amazon Prime Video, AppleTV+, Disney+ all of these platforms enjoy immense popularity.
Chatting or Video Calling Apps
Online chat or messenger apps and video calling apps have simplified the process of communication. Most of these apps now come with HD video calling option which has resulted in further popularity.
Social Media Apps
It’s been a while since the social media revolution took place in the early 2000s with the launch of Facebook. Since then the popularity of social media apps show no sign of slowing down. With the introduction of bite-sized, short format videos , the time spent on social media has doubled over time.
Parting thoughts
Taking the mobile app development and usage statistics into account will help you, will help businesses maintain their visibility and accessibility to their target audience. As we step into 2023, the aforementioned statistics will help businesses foster brand awareness and reach potential customers.