App happy: 33 billion mobile apps downloaded this summer

Users have never downloaded as many mobile apps as in the summer of 2020. Image: Unsplash/NordWood Themes via AFP Relaxnews.

Some 33 billion mobile applications were downloaded worldwide in the third quarter of 2020, according to the app analytics and market data platform App Annie. This volume was driven by a 10% increase in downloads from Google Play (Android) and a 20% increase from the App Store (iOS). This is largely explained by new user needs resulting from the COVID-19 pandemic (such isolation and working from home, among others).

Between the countries still under lockdown and those fearing a second wave, users the world over are downloading and using an increasing number of mobile applications. According to App Annie, applications relating to communication, as well as those favoring telecommuting (work, education and shopping) are proving particularly popular.

As a direct result, in-app spending from July to September 2020 rose to $28 billion (P1.3 trillion), a figure up 20% compared to the same period in 2019.

What’s more, cellphone users have never passed so much time using their applications, with an average of 180 billion hours of use each month during the summer,  a spectacular 25% increase year-on-year. Usage even outstrips the second quarter, when the figure was already close to 150 billion hours. CC

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