It should come as no surprise that over the past year and a half the time we spend using smartphones has increased dramatically.
New data from AppAnnie’s Q2 Regional Market Index Report shows that the global app market is booming, breaking its all-time record for spending by reaching $34 billion. That Q2 2021 quarterly total was $7 billion higher than this time last year, and $2 billion higher than Q1 2021.
While the data suggests that the average time spent in apps is around the same as last year, it’s significantly higher than pre-pandemic levels in 2019. Since Q2 2019, there’s been a 20% increase in time spent in apps in the US. Users spend on average just under four hours a day on their mobile devices. However, none of the breakout apps in the US for Q2 2021 have any direct correlation to COVID-19. Instead, Picture This comes top, which lets the user take a photo of a plant in order to identify and find out more information about it. The other breakout apps for the US are streaming service HBO Max, mobile video editor Capcut, and Poparazzi, which describes itself as an anti-selfie selfie club.
It’s a different story outside of the US, though. The top breakout apps in the UK, France, and Germany for the last quarter all fall under the category of COVID-19 information. Each breakout app in much of the EMEA (Europe, the Middle East, Africa) focuses on information, immunization, and contact tracing for COVID-19. The top app in Germany, CovPass, is a first of it’s kind app for COVID vaccination passes (an idea the US is already drafting laws against despite not being mandated at all in the country).
It could be a completely different story a year from now when hopefully the pandemic is fast becoming a distant memory, we all go outside again, and keep our phones in a pocket or bag for longer while interacting with people in-person.
