Top seven percent of smartphone owners account for nearly half of all app downloads

Shawn Knight

Posts: 15,256   +192
Staff member

google apple microsoft smartphone comscore apps downloads

It's hard to imagine that just six years ago, mobile apps weren't even a thing. Now, mobile platforms from Apple, Google and Microsoft are literally overrun with millions of apps that have transformed how we go about our daily lives.

Earlier this year, Apple surpassed the 75 billion app download mark and according to comScore, apps now represent more than 50 percent of our time spent with digital media.

Given those stats and the popularity of mobile devices, it may surprise you to learn that most smartphone users in the US download zero apps in a typical month.

google apple microsoft smartphone comscore apps downloads

comScore's latest mobile app report reveals that more than 65 percent of smartphone users don't download a single app in any given month. And as you can see from the chart above, less than a quarter of respondents download between 1-3 apps per month.

Just under 11 percent of Americans fall into the category I call habitual app downloaders, those that download four or more apps during an average month. As such, the top seven percent of smartphone owners account for nearly half of all download activity in a given month.

So, why are so few people downloading apps each month? Well, it's not because apps aren't useful as comScore tells us that half of all smartphone users access apps every single day of the month. And pricing certainly isn't a concern as most apps are free.

The answer, then, is likely quite simple - people just don't need a lot of apps. The apps that users already have seem to be meeting their daily needs as evident by comScore's finding that 42 percent of all app time spent on smartphones occurs on the individual's single most used app.

Permalink to story.

 
As I see it, no app is free... They farm data and that's the cost.

However, as far as people doing apps constantly, what is the point? I get my phone, put the apps on it I need and own, then that's pretty much it. I do not do games on it cause of the permissions involved with them. (I do have plenty though should I need permission-free entertainment).

But users who just get every free everything are a gluten for punishment and data farming. Hopefully MOST users are too smart to be caught up in that.
 
So let me get this straight, the top 7 percent of the worlds richest account for nearly half of all app downloads?

I download atleast a minimum of 300k apps a month so I am guessing im the top 7 percent?

What you guys dont know is that there is 400% more downloads then comscore has accounted for but hey they just check 1000 people instead of the actual number of people...
 
So let me get this straight, the top 7 percent of the worlds richest account for nearly half of all app downloads?
To answer your question, no. Check the article again and you'll see that income levels of smartphone users are not a factor and were not mentioned.
 
To answer your question, no. Check the article again and you'll see that income levels of smartphone users are not a factor and were not mentioned.

"The top 7% of smartphone owners" the top 7% to anyone that sounds like the top 7% of people that have the most smartphones, "The top 7% of pc owners account for nearly half the game downloads" Tell me what does that sound like to you?
 
The top 7% of smartphone owners could mean the smartest 7% or the heaviest or anything you want it to be, not necessarily the richest. Upon reflection the standalone phrase "top 7% of smartphone owners" might not really mean anything to me. Too ambiguous. After reading the article, however, my take is that it is saying that 7% of smartphone owners account for nearly half of all app download activity. Using the word "top" just confused matters but probably was intended to mean the 7% most active app downloaders. You may disagree but, since you asked, that is what it sounds like to me.
 
The top 7% of smartphone owners could mean the smartest 7% or the heaviest or anything you want it to be, not necessarily the richest. Upon reflection the standalone phrase "top 7% of smartphone owners" might not really mean anything to me. Too ambiguous. After reading the article, however, my take is that it is saying that 7% of smartphone owners account for nearly half of all app download activity. Using the word "top" just confused matters but probably was intended to mean the 7% most active app downloaders. You may disagree but, since you asked, that is what it sounds like to me.
This probably would have been less ambiguous worded , "only a tiny 7% of smartphone owners download 50% of the total number of apps.

Or perhaps, ''7% of smartphone owners account for 50% of total application downloads".

The whole "top" qualification needs to go. What are, "top smartphone owners"? Are they the ones that also make the most phone calls?

Or God forbid, are they the ones that paid the most for their phones?
 
A lot of journalism is taking the real story, and crafting a clickable headline, and then filling the text of the article with something that isn't a complete plagiarism of the original. So in trying to avoid a direct copy and the problems that come with that, detail is lost, especially if the author doesn't fully understand the topic.

And we end up here.
 
...[ ]...And we end up here.
Did you mean here:
Hcybitpaowynaaa.jpg
 
I have about a dozen apps that did not come with my device. Other than when an app pops up that appears interesting, that I download, then delete, I'd fall into the doesn't download arena.
I'm not a gamer. My phone is 80% a business device.
 
Back