Mobile Apps Download and Usage Statistics (2020)

Do you know that the mobile app ecosystem reached its 10th anniversary in 2018? In past few years have seen an explosive surge in mobile app downloads, usage rates, and innovation.

Maybe, you are too busy swiping your smartphone screen to browse through apps and play games. However, have you ever taken a sneak peek at mobile app download statistics? Numerical figures and percentages may seem boring, but if you pay attention, you’ll uncover fascinating trends.

According to Data.ai’s State of Mobile 2024 report, consumers now spend over 5 hours per day on average using their smartphones — a significant jump from 3 hours and 40 minutes in 2020.

Still, mobile users’ behavior with apps remains somewhat mysterious. Users constantly check their phones — often without any specific intention — and casually click through apps or hit the download button. The statistics below demystify how smartphone users interact with mobile apps in today’s landscape.

Mobile Apps That Have Become a Part of Our Lives

In this digital age, it’s clear we can’t live without certain essential apps. These are the most commonly used ones:

Amazon – To buy essentials
Google Maps – For navigation
YouTube – To stream video content
Facebook & Instagram – For social networking
Gmail & Outlook – For everyday email communication
WhatsApp & Telegram – For instant messaging
Zomato & Swiggy – For food delivery
Google Pay & PhonePe – For digital payments

It’s hard to compete with these giants, but you can still build a custom mobile app for your business to achieve remarkable success. A professional mobile app development company can help craft user-friendly, performance-optimized solutions.

Mobile Apps Download and Usage Statistics

Millennials & Gen Z Are Driving App Culture

Millennials and Gen Z remain the most active app users. A large number of users have over 80–100 apps installed on their phones, though they use only 30–40 apps regularly.

Common reasons for app deletion include:

Lack of storage space
Infrequent use
Irrelevance or poor user experience

According to recent data, nearly 70% of users delete a newly downloaded app within the first week — proving how critical user experience is.

Fascinating Facts About Mobile Applications

On average, users interact with 10 apps daily and about 35 apps monthly.
According to latest Statista, the Google Play Store has over 3.9 million apps, while the Apple App Store has about 1.7 million.
The Amazon Appstore now hosts over 700K apps.

Why are Android apps downloaded more than iOS apps?

Android devices are more affordable and widely adopted, especially in emerging markets.
More brands and OEMs globally support Android, increasing its app footprint.

Moreover, every year, Apple hosts a developers’ conference to make some modifications to the app mechanism.

Mobile App Usage Trends

The number of smartphone users is expected to surpass 7.6 billion globally in 2025.
App downloads are projected to exceed 300 billion annually by the end of 2025.
In the U.S., many users now have over 100 apps on their phones.
91% of users check their smartphones within 10 minutes of waking up, and on average, users check their phones around 70 times a day.

Source: Statista, Data.ai, SensorTower

Forecast number of mobile users worldwide from 2019 to 2023

Forecast number of mobile users worldwide from 2019 to 2023 chart

Source: Statista

Most Downloaded Apps in 2024-25

According to SensorTower, the most downloaded apps globally include:

TikTok
Instagram
Facebook
WhatsApp
Telegram
CapCut
Spotify
Zoom

Performance and UI/UX Make a Big Difference

Today, app performance and intuitive UI/UX are more crucial than ever.

Over 78% of users prefer shopping via an app instead of a browser.
More than 60% uninstall apps that crash, lag, or slow down.
AI-powered personalization and predictive analytics are shaping the next-gen user experiences.

Explosive Growth in Mobile Commerce

Mobile commerce (mCommerce) is booming.

More than 73% of eCommerce traffic now comes from mobile.
Apps like Google Pay, PhonePe, and Apple Pay dominate as preferred payment methods.
The shift to one-click payments, AI-based recommendations, and AR shopping is changing how people buy.

App Store Competition: Who’s Leading today?

Google Play Store: ~3.9 million apps
Apple App Store: ~1.7 million apps
Amazon Appstore: ~700K apps
Microsoft Store: No longer a major player in mobile

Apple remains strict about app quality and privacy, which slows down approval but increases trust.

Combined Global App Downloads: Then vs. Now

In 2020, combined app downloads from Apple and Google stood around 70 billion. This figure is expected to exceed 160 billion annually.

Source: Statista

Combined global Apple App Store and Google Play app downloads from 1st quarter 2015 to 2nd quarter 2020

chart2

Source: Statista

Conclusion

As you can see, the mobile app ecosystem has matured dramatically, but there’s still tremendous room for innovation. When planning your app, consider: