Open, click, proceed and it’s done! It’s that simple, isn’t it? Yes, the power of convenience and accessibility to get all information becomes that easy with these handheld devices. You can access everything with just a click, from entertainment to the latest fashion. The best part is that everything can easily and hassle-free come to your doorstep. With the multiple benefits of mobile applications, every entrepreneur wants to start their business online by creating applications that cater to the customers’ needs and reach them on a large scale very quickly. Introducing business through the application ensures seamless scalability fleetingly.
In this article, we will share statistics on mobile application downloads and usage. We will help you understand why a few applications scale better than others.
Mobile App Usage:
| Country | Most Popular App (Category) | Estimated Users (MAU/DAU) |
| United States | TikTok (Social) | 120 million MAU (as of July 2024) |
| China | WeChat (Messaging & Social) | 2 billion MAU (as of January 2024) |
| India | WhatsApp (Messaging) | 680 million MAU (as of October 2023) |
| Brazil | WhatsApp (Messaging) | 140 million DAU (as of April 2024) |
| Japan | LINE (Messaging) | 84 million MAU (as of January 2024) |
| South Korea | KakaoTalk (Messaging) | 65 million MAU (as of July 2023) |
| United Kingdom | YouTube (Video Streaming) | Over 25 million DAU (as of January 2024) |
| Germany | WhatsApp (Messaging) | 72 million MAU (as of October 2023) |
| France | WhatsApp (Messaging) | 50 million MAU (as of October 2023) |
| Indonesia | WhatsApp (Messaging) | 157 million MAU (as of July 2023) |
We are well aware of the cold and terrifying days of the Covid-19 pandemic days. This was the time when everyone was forced to shut within confined walls. The only partner was their mobile devices. The consumer spending on mobile apps in 2022 was 176 billion. However, they decreased compared to 2021 but were back on track in 2023 generating 230 billion US dollars in the first quarter.
As the number of applications rose the time spent on them increased by 53% between 2020-2023. Regardless of the downloads, many apps were not being used. This means applications may be installed but they are not necessarily being used.
Also Read: Exploring 30+ Innovative Mobile App Development Concepts for Startups
App Downloads on the Rise Across All Categories:
As people hit the “download” button when they see their preferred app, it is observed that app installation will increase rapidly. There is no stopping in the download rates of applications in all categories.
The trend also observed the total value of the global consumer spent on mobile apps in the recent quarter 37.12 billion US dollars. This rise was about 6% from the last quarter of 2023.
All categories are expected to see significant growth in app downloads by 2027. This upward trend holds steady throughout the forecast period, meaning downloads will continuously increase across all segments. Interestingly, the gaming category is projected to be the leader, reaching 176.1 billion downloads in 2027.
Social Video Entertainment:
During the pandemic, when there were no means of entertainment other than social mobile applications, short video formats became more popular. Applications such as Instagram, YouTube, TikTok and similar, were engaging users by catering content to the user’s preferences.
TikTok observed approximately 700 million users download the application in 2022. It was declared winner during the three consecutive years – 2020, 2021,2022. The highest downloads TikTok received was in 2020, 900 million.
However, these applications are still among the most preferred apps for social video engagement and it is expected to occupy 64-68% of user’s time by 2025. TikTok and YouTube remain to be competitors since YouTube launched the in-app feature ‘Shorts’.
Several microblogging social platforms reached their peak in 2022. When Twitter was rebranded, one of the famous MPT reached popularity with 44 million daily active users. This number is expected to increase drastically by the end of the year.
The volatility of the digital market also impacts mobile app development companies who receive different queries for app development. However, social apps are among the most attractive and engaging apps, and even advertising companies spend their effort to invest.
Social Media Apps:
Social media applications also received similar attention during the pandemic days. 500 billion hours were reported to be spent on social media apps throughout Asia. This number grew tremendously from 2020. South America ranked second in spending hours on social media applications. Most American users were observed to spend 92.2 billion hours on social media applications till June’21. The number is increasing consequently as its popularity did not go down, however, it could never match the growth rate of the year 2021-22. Rankfirms closely observe all category app usage statistics to understand and share the trends with budding entrepreneurs to help plan their businesses accurately.
WhatsApp: The Evershining Social Messenger App
As the table shows, one of the most popular social apps is WhatsApp Messenger. Its users were and are continuing to increase. The number is expected to grow to around 89 million users between 2024 and 2029. If we continue to see this increase every year, then after the ninth year we can estimate the user base to reach 1000 million creating a record by 2029.
Moving ahead with other social applications, the Instagram social media app became the most popular in April & May 2024 consequently, with 60 million downloads. However, Facebook became popular in March’24 with 58 million users.
Instagram fetched the most marks from Android and iOS users globally, with approximately 173 million downloads across the App Store and Google Play Store. Followed by Instagram, the Facebook application stands second in the rank with 150 million downloads.
Compared to the SMSs in the yesteryears, instant messaging has been offering a real-time chat using the internet. Some of them are cheap or free alternatives and hence are preferred over operator-based text messaging.
Mobile Gaming Application Statistics
Just as with the emergence of instant messaging (such as WeChat, which also is among the top-ranking ones), Gaming applications are at boom.
Remember the time when PUBG topped everybody’s favourite list of games? Not just the teens, but adults couldn’t resist playing it.
However, the video game ecosystem is diverse. They range from consoles to PCs and mobile gaming. As the pandemic surged, games became one of the methods to stay calm and entertained. Hence in the past two to three years, a significant increase was seen in the downloads and usage of mobile games. This enhanced interest in the games led to an increase in mobile gaming revenue leveraging software development companies to develop intriguing and captivating games.
The most downloaded game on the Google Play Store worldwide was Ojol in March’24. This game scored 20 million downloads followed by Ludo King with approximately 17 million downloads.
If you look at the mobile gaming revenue globally this year, one of the popular games so far was Monopoly Go! This was popular among kids as well as adults. Monopoly GO grossed approximately 735 million U.S. dollars globally. If you look at the highest-grossing mobile gaming application worldwide – it is the Chinese game, MOBA (Honor of Kings). The games grossed more than 1000 million dollars spent by the players.
PUBG recorded to stand at the third position this year with a gross revenue of 665 million U.S. dollars. Candy Crush Saga dropped to 6th place among the top 10 most played mobile games with approximately 540 million U.S. dollars in players spending.
Now let’s talk about our two most powerful and used operating systems – Android and iOS.
Global Play & App Store Downloads 2024
Android Downloads
Android Mobile App Downloads are more in percentage due to more Android devices sold. The famous social media application Facebook became the most preferred choice of download. In April, Facebook scored around 56 million downloads.
Instagram and Meta-powered communication app WhatsApp secured second and third with 53 million and 40 million downloads respectively.
Also Read: Top 10 FAQs Before Hiring Android App Development Company
iOS Downloads
Talking about iOS, Chinese technology won the rankings here. The ByteDance technology company that introduced TikTok and CapCut in the market are still popular. These two novel video-sharing social networking applications stole around 20 million (TikTok) and 14 million (CapCut) downloads this year.
The third rank was acquired by Google’s most used Maps application. While Google Maps took 12 million users’ iPhone storage, Instagram too followed along with just a 1-point drop, i.e. 11 million downloads.
User Retention Statistics
To have a healthy and lucrative business, it is important to understand how many new users you are gaining. With new tools and techniques, IT services companies can expand their audience. CPI was one of the lucrative methods used for user acquisition among CPC & CPA. However, in-app purchases are also a remunerative option but it is a pricey one.
If you look at the market, not every app category is equally famous and can acquire user retention on day 30. Although, the news category was able to retain customers 10 per cent more. On the other hand, Educational applications were seen to capture only 3.5% of the retention rate and the entertainment apps category had a 4.8% retention rate.
Surprisingly, Shopping apps also lost to the news application with just a 5.2% retention rate after 30 days. The future of in-app purchases and subscriptions will continue to become the best monetisation practice for user retention. They would prefer monthly, quarterly or even yearly payments made for the services they want to enjoy.
Despite the pricey method of retention, video ads continue to rule including banner ads that demand half of the price of video ads. Companies must use different methods to understand which works best for their user retention to ensure continuous success.
Final Words
In conclusion, the app usage statistics in 2024 paint a picture of a dynamic and evolving mobile landscape. By understanding these trends, mobile app development companies USA and developers can make informed decisions to create successful apps that resonate with users and drive long-term engagement. The key lies in focusing on user needs, delivering exceptional experiences, and adapting to the ever-changing habits of mobile app users.
