In brief
Mobile app usage grew by 58% in 2015, but mobile gaming usage fell by 1%. Personalization apps led with 332% growth, followed by news and magazines at 135%, productivity at 125%, and lifestyle and shopping at 81%.
Across the mobile market, “Mobile First”、“Mobile Only” have become rallying cries, and online services are actively using apps as gateways to mobile users. So how did the app market perform over the past year?
The gaming app market is approaching saturation, with app usage declining
Currently, more than 200,000 developers worldwide use it across 720,000 apps. The statistics show that mobile app usage grew by 58%, an impressive rate compared with other mature industries. Previously popular mobile gaming apps have seen growth stall, with usage declining for two consecutive years. Usage fell by 1% last year, indicating that the gaming app market is reaching saturation.
By comparison, in 2015, four major app categories delivered strong results, all with growth rates exceeding 100%!
Personalization apps
Personalization app usage grew by more than threefold (332%)! This category includes Android lock-screen apps and Emoji keyboards. Among these, Emoji apps commonly used in messaging apps—specifically Emoji apps—were a key driver of the sharp rise in personalization app usage.
News and magazine apps
The rise of large-screen smartphones accelerated users’ shift from traditional television and computers to mobile devices for reading and viewing content. This drove annual usage growth of 135% for this category, placing it second.
Productivity apps
Productivity apps grew by 125%, driven by increasing numbers of young people and students using mobile devices to send and receive emails and use other utility apps。
Lifestyle and shopping apps
After strong growth of 174% in 2014, lifestyle and shopping apps saw their growth rate fall to 81% last year. However, this still reflected the arrival of the mobile shopping era, placing the category fourth. Currently, more than 33% of online shopping in the United States comes from mobile phones, while the global average for mobile shopping reaches 40%.
A Review of the Global App Market in 2015: Emoji Boom, Mobile Gaming Cools, and the Four Hottest App Categories