Share

App usage soars as smartphones take hold

San Francisco - Global app usage soared in 2015 as a growing base of smartphone users found new ways to use their devices, a study showed Tuesday.

The survey by Yahoo-owned analytics firm Flurry found app usage on mobile devices jumped 58% last year, cooling slightly from 76% growth in 2014.

A big factor was growth in "personalisation" which allow people to customize their devices or correspondence including lock-screens and emoji keyboards, including reality star Kim Kardashian's "Kimoji." These apps saw 344% growth last year.

News and magazine apps grew 141% meanwhile, signaling a shift in media consumption from television and PCs to smartphones and other mobile devices.

Productivity apps such as Google Docs and Slack were up 119%, Flurry found, while lifestyle and shopping apps grew 80% - another sign of e-commerce turning mobile.

Flurry vice president Simon Khalaf said one of the reasons for the growth was increased used of big-screen smartphones or "phablets," which offer a better view for video and other uses.

"Time spent on phablets grew 334% year-over-year (2.9 times more than the average), compared to 117% for all form factors," he said in a blog.

"With time spent on mobile surpassing that on television, and phablets posting astonishing growth in media consumption, it appears that the cable industry will find in the phablet and its apps its long awaited digital nemesis."

A separate report this week by the App Association found 3.97 million apps available at the end of 2015, generating revenues of $120bn.

We live in a world where facts and fiction get blurred
Who we choose to trust can have a profound impact on our lives. Join thousands of devoted South Africans who look to News24 to bring them news they can trust every day. As we celebrate 25 years, become a News24 subscriber as we strive to keep you informed, inspired and empowered.
Join News24 today
heading
description
username
Show Comments ()
Rand - Dollar
18.99
-0.5%
Rand - Pound
23.95
-0.2%
Rand - Euro
20.50
-0.1%
Rand - Aus dollar
12.35
+0.0%
Rand - Yen
0.13
-0.4%
Platinum
896.95
-1.0%
Palladium
1,000.11
-0.2%
Gold
2,192.73
-0.1%
Silver
24.45
-0.8%
Brent-ruolie
86.09
-0.2%
Top 40
67,991
+0.5%
All Share
74,199
+0.4%
Resource 10
56,296
+1.1%
Industrial 25
103,587
+0.3%
Financial 15
16,547
+0.1%
All JSE data delayed by at least 15 minutes Iress logo
Company Snapshot
Editorial feedback and complaints

Contact the public editor with feedback for our journalists, complaints, queries or suggestions about articles on News24.

LEARN MORE
Government tenders

Find public sector tender opportunities in South Africa here.

Government tenders
This portal provides access to information on all tenders made by all public sector organisations in all spheres of government.
Browse tenders