Do you know that the mobile app ecosystem reached its 10th anniversary in 2018? Now, it is 2020, and obviously, the past two years had seen a significant jump in the number of downloads and usage rates of mobile apps.
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 make you feel bored. But, with close attention to details, you will learn a lot. According to The State of Mobile 2020 report, consumers spend 3 hours and 40 minutes on average to use their mobiles every day.
Still, mobile users’ behavior with apps is something mysterious. These users like to have their gadgets in their pockets and check them frequently. But, it is interesting that most of them unlock the mobile screen without any particular purpose. They casually open the mobile and click on apps or download buttons. Our statistical information will demystify the smartphone users’ app usage.
Mobile apps that have become a part of our lives
In this digital age, it seems that we cannot live without apps. But, what are those apps, which have gained a place in the app market?
- Amazon- To buy essentials
- Maps- For the navigational purpose
- YouTube- To watch video content
- Facebook- To enjoy social networking
- Gmail- To have regular email communication
It is not easy to compete with these apps. However, you can design a custom mobile app for your business to gain success. A mobile app development company knows the right tricks for developing quality.

The attitude of millennials to mobile apps
One notable fact is that millennials are highly interested in downloading new apps. Some of them have over 60 apps installed on the phone. However, the number of daily used apps, maybe only 25. Conversely, there is a decrease in mobile app installations in users with a higher age group.
Millennials also have a trend of deleting apps from their mobiles. There may be different reasons behind this activity-
- Lack of space
- Lack of use
- Not relevant to the users’ purpose
Most of these millennials delete apps within a week of downloading them in the device.
Some enticing facts about mobile applications
Generally, tech-savvy users use mobiles to enjoy digital media, and they spend 69% of the mobile usage time with these media. Although there are millions of smartphone apps, most users deal with 9 apps every day and almost 30 apps every month.
From Statista, we have gained some insights into the usage of apps. The number of Play Store apps has reached more than 8 million, while it is 2.2 million for the App Store. In the Amazon Appstore, the present number of apps is about 600K. Now, you may pose a question-
Why is the number of Android app downloads higher than that of Apple’s store?
There are two reasons for it-
- Android gadgets are within the budget of most of the users.
- Lots of manufacturers and brands have an interest in releasing Android apps.
Moreover, every year, Apple hosts a developers’ conference to make some modifications to the app mechanism.
Mobile app usage stats 2020
Regarding the app usage and downloads, we have found some other interesting facts.
- By 2021, the number of smartphone users will reach 7 billion all over the world, and in 2022, the number of downloads may hit 258 billion
- In the USA, lots of mobile app users have installed more than 100 apps on the device.
- 87% of mobile users check smartphones an hour before going to bed.
- Interestingly, smartphone users open and check their mobiles 63 times daily.
Forecast number of mobile users worldwide from 2019 to 2023
Source: Statista
The tech market is growing at a breathtaking pace, and it is also true for the mobile sector. According to Statista, global mobile data traffic can increase three times in three years (2018- 2021). Furthermore, average Americans deal with audio apps for 50 minutes and social media apps for 40 minutes.
Social media apps have seen the number of downloads. According to a report SensorTower, WhatsApp has grabbed the top position in the list, as 223 million users have installed it, and it is followed by Facebook’s Messenger app. According to the latest statistics, the coronavirus pandemic has given a push to the number of downloads of Instagram, Facebook, Zoom, and other similar apps. Especially, TikTok has reached that combine both Android and iOS users. This is the scenario of the first quarter of 2020.
Performance and designs make a difference to the app download rate
Mobile app development professionals focus on AI technologies and analytics to create futuristic apps with better UI. 78% of smartphone users prefer accessing their favorite online store using an app instead of visiting a website.
Moreover, performance is more valuable to app users, and you can retain these users while they have found it to be functional. More than 50% of customers uninstall apps that have slow performance.
An increasing rate of mobile commerce development
Mobile-friendly eCommerce app development are growing their popularity at a high rate. As lots of smartphone users love online shopping, they love downloading these apps. Besides, Google Pay and Apple Pay have backed up the eCommerce trends, as they are the most commonly chosen payment gateways.
App stores with the toughest competition
Apple App Store and Google Play Store share the highest profit margin in the competition (with more than 2 million apps in each of these stores).
However, Windows Store is another rival with 669,000), and Amazon Appstore has 450,000 apps.
Moreover, the App Store has offloaded some apps for quality and privacy issues. Still, the App Store for iOS users has made a consistent growth in the past few years. Besides, the process of having approval from the App Store is becoming increasingly challenging. It is one of the reasons for a comparatively lower number of iOS apps.
Combined global Apple App Store and Google Play app downloads from 1st quarter 2015 to 2nd quarter 2020
Source: Statista
So, we have shared lots of statistical details about smartphone apps. While deciding on the app’s functionality, design, and features, you may go through these stats. Apps are of diverse categories and sizes. Thus, success for your custom app for the business depends on a range of factors.