Smartphone users in over a dozen worldwide markets spend four to five hours per day browsing apps. This may be one of the factors contributing to the global mobile app market size reaching $1,103.48 billion by 2034. From features to functionality and so on, mobile apps play a significant role in how people spend their time on phones. 

Be it the App Store or the Play Store, these platforms are flooded with hundreds and thousands of apps; however, 99% of apps fail. 90% of those apps are abandoned within 30 days, and 95% of them don’t even make $1,000/month. So, what could be the reason for that? Simply the lack of awareness of the marketplace, and that’s where this mobile app statistics guide comes in. 

This is important because: 

• Businesses without a strong mobile strategy risk losing relevance and customer mindshare.
• Success depends less on “having an app” and more on market awareness, differentiation, retention strategy, and execution quality.
• Platform choice should be driven by target audience, geography, and monetization goals, not assumptions.
• Entrepreneurs and startups should align app ideas with proven high-demand categories.
• For businesses planning to invest in mobile app development, understanding market statistics before seeking mobile app development services is the difference between failure and scalable success.

This blog consists of the latest mobile app usage statistics, based on different aspects, like the market growth, which type of app is dominating the market, app development market stats, and more. This article helps you know the current market state and make the right decision before you hire mobile app developers to ensure success.

Global Mobile App Statistics: How Big Is Mobile Usage in 2025-26? 

• The global mobile app market size is expected to reach $1,103.48 billion by 2034 from $289.17 billion in 2024 at a CAGR of 21.55% during the forecasted period. 
• There are 6.3 billion smartphone users worldwide in 2025, meaning 78% of the global population uses apps regularly.
• Around 3.3 to 3.5 million active Android apps are available in the Google Play Store, and 2.3 million apps and games are available in the Apple App Store.
• In 2024, over 137.8 billion apps and games were downloaded globally on the Google Play Store and Apple App Store.   
• Of all these downloads, 91.3 billion were for apps, whereas 46.9 billion were for games, showcasing the growing popularity of game development services in the marketplace. 
• While the Google Play Store experienced 102.4 billion app downloads, the App Store had 35.4 billion downloads, exhibiting the global dominance of Android. 

• The mobile application market in the USA is projected to grow at a CAGR of 14.1% from 2024 to 2030.
• On average, people spend around 4 hours and 39 minutes a day checking their smartphones.
• Global users are projected to spend 5.5 trillion hours in apps by the end of 2026.

Mobile App Uses Statistics

Be it 49% users opening the app 11+ times a day, 21% of millennials opening apps more than 50 times a day, or else, there are various statistics to look at for a clear view on the state and the users of mobile apps. Here’s all you need to know:

• Users interact with around 30 different apps each month.
• 49% of users open an app more than 11 times per day.
• 21% of Millennials open an app 50 or more times daily.
• 70% of all US digital media time comes from mobile apps.
• On average, smartphone owners use 10 apps per day and 30 apps each month.
• Around 6 out of 10 people prefer to use online finance apps to manage their finances.
• On average, a person spends around 4 hours and 39 minutes a day checking smartphones.
• Around 6 out of 10 people prefer to use online finance apps to manage their finances.
• Global users are projected to spend 5.5 trillion hours in apps by the end of 2026.

One study predicts that the number of smartphone users is expected to increase to 6.4 billion by 2029, with a +30.6% increase (by 1.5 billion users) overall.

The U.S Mobile Application Market Size from 2025 to 2030

The mobile application market in the United States is expected to reach $128,530.3 million by 2030, from just $58,356.7 in 2024. This expected growth of the mobile application market will be at a compound annual growth rate of 14.5% from 2025 to 2030.

Mobile App Development Statistics

When discussing mobile app development and growth statistics, it is necessary to bring up the Android and iOS app concepts along with the Google Play Store and App Store.

Google Play Store

There are over 2.327 million Android apps in the world, with 0.75 million app publishers on the Google Play Store alone.

Although Google Play Store is removing low-quality & spamming apps from the store, its application numbers are rising every day. The Google Play Store gets updated with around 998 new mobile apps daily! These increasing app numbers have made the Google Play Store the biggest mobile app store in the world.

As per the Business of Apps study, last year, around 26.8 billion apps and games were downloaded from the Google Play Store in Q1 2025.

Apple App Store

There are 2.95 million iOS apps available on the ​​Apple App Store, with 787,123+ publishers globally. Around 11.86% of these apps are games.

Mobile App Download Statistics

In 2026, the mobile app downloads globally are projected to reach 143 billion on the Google Play Store, which will be up by almost 30 percent from 111 billion apps downloaded in 2021.

In comparison to the Play Store, the App Store will experience approximately 38 billion app downloads in 2026, an increase of around 15 percent when compared to the number of downloads in 2021.

iOS app store accounts for 37 billion mobile app downloads till 2025 and may increase to 38 billion or more by 2026, says Statista.

Additionally, approximately 54% of iPhone apps are downloaded from outside the developers’ home countries.

Apple has also disclosed that it facilitates 747 million app downloads, 1.5 billion redownloads, and 40 billion automatic app updates each week, according to the latest figures.

Mobile App User Spending Worldwide from 2022 to 2027

Combined user spending in the App Store and Google Play is expected to reach almost $186 billion by 2027. 

In the same year, users are projected to spend $125 billion on mobile apps from the Apple App Store. 

This represents an increase of over 50% compared to the total spending registered in 2022.

Mobile App Retention Statistics

When developing a mobile app, the major focus should be on the user retention rate. We understand that it is a bit harder to ensure higher user retention rates all the time, but it is important to give different tactics a try.

Let’s first know the meaning of the mobile app retention rate.

Well, the mobile app retention rate is calculated based on measures like the number of users who continue to use the application after its installation. The more continued use of the application by the maximum number of users, the better the mobile app user retention rate. Basically, the mobile app user retention is calculated in a cycle of 30 days after a user installs the app on his/her mobile device.

The mobile developers’ community shares an average mobile app retention rate measured within 30 days:

If you look at the mobile app development type and genre, then the user retention rate differs depending on the kind. Below are the average mobile app retention rates based on industry type:

So, to ensure a better mobile app user retention rate continuously, you need to check the factors leading to better mobile app growth, as explained in the topic given below.

Mobile App Growth Statistics 2026

Now you know that smartphone users spend the majority of their time on mobile apps for various functions. However, you would also want to know the factors motivating smartphone users to stick to their favorite mobile app. This study would help you get ideas to make your mobile app solution even more productive.

Mobile App Features and Functionalities

1. Attractive Mobile App UI/UX Designs

The mobile UI/UX design trends are the most fluctuating once. In the past few years, mobile UI/UX designs have advanced a lot and are becoming a major factor in the success of your mobile apps. The market competition for the best mobile app UI/UX to ensure maximum user retention rate is also growing rapidly.

The leading mobile app UI/UX statistics say:

• A Good UI design helps to increase application conversion rate by 200% and UX design by 400% (Forrester Report)
• The ROI ratio from UX is 9,900% (Forrester Report)

Latest Mobile App UI/UX design trends you can try on your solution

• Use of in-app gestures (like Double Tapping, Dragging, Flickering, Swiping, Touch & Hold, Bottom Swiping, Swiping for switching screens, Swiping from the top, etc.) borrowed from your mobile OS type (iOS & Android Gestures)
• Use of AR in UI: The augmented reality implementation in UI has been increasing since 2019. In that year (2019), the AR users were counted at 0.44 billion, but are now expected to grow to 1187 million by 2028.
• Use Illustrations in UI for a better impactful user experience.
• Use Bitmojis and other cartoon characters for a rewarding application user experience.

Reading more about the latest UI/UX statistics can help you know the benefits of investing in mobile app design.

2. Best Performance

For the success of any mobile application, the best performance in terms of faster and crash-free operations is key. In today’s fast-forwarding world, mobile app consumers demand to have applications that release new updates frequently, provide a rewarding app user experience, and meet their every need in line.

When there is such an intensive mobile app market competition going on, your mobile app performance is the only key.

• 30% of mobile app users want their favorite app to load in just a fraction of a seconds.
• 49% of mobile app users might wait for an app to load if it takes around 2-3 seconds or max by 5 seconds.

Not meeting such app loading speed might cause a loss of your potential loyal mobile app users.

On average, users have around 40 apps installed on their smartphones.

With such installs, around 51% of smartphone users are highly likely to use brand-specific apps to make purchases to earn reward points for better discounts for future purchases.

3. Platform Dedicated Audience

Now, you already know that the Android and iOS platform audience count at the latest by region, with their successful user base retention ratio. Hence, it is important to choose your app development type wisely. You also know the mobile app development cost for Android and iOS apps, in which, indeed, iOS app development rates are a bit higher.

If we look on the bright side, to get incredible revenue generation, you do have an option for cross-platform or hybrid mobile app development. This option is more cost-effective than native app development and helps you generate revenue from all app hosting platforms.

You should also know more about native vs. hybrid Apps to make better decisions for your mobile app development project.

Be With the Mobile App Development Solutions’ Success Trends

After learning about mobile app development and business revenue generation, you might feel motivated to develop your own mobile application. Do you have any idea about the app development type? In simple terms, “What kind of mobile app do you want to build?” Let us make your research work easy.

Google Play Store:
As per the latest study, news and magazines, weather, sports, shopping, and social app categories have received an increase in popularity in the Google Play Store.

As the latest, Google Play Store has star app categories, including art and design (with a 13.96% increase), entertainment (11.57%), beauty (8.73%), comics (8.68%), and photography (7.66%).

For the Apple App Store:
If looking for the all-time top trending app categories in the Apple App Store, then out of 26, utilities, business, games, education, lifestyle, food & drink, and health & fitness categories are receiving anticipation from iPhone users.

By following these mobile app ideas and industry types, you can build the most revenue-generating app. For better insights, refer to the mobile app statistics and development ideas given below.

1. Social Media Apps

Social Media applications were famous from their inception, starting with Facebook. Today, social media platforms have become an integral part of our lives for our entertainment, networking, and marketing purposes. Did you know that nine out of ten people spend their 4-5 hours daily scrolling social media?

There is no doubt that the short social media videos, shorts, reels, etc., have doubled the global digital user base’s time spent on social media platforms. And what social media platforms does that include?

Without an extensive survey, we can get that answer from ourselves and the people in our surroundings. Wherever we go, we will find the majority of social media users using applications, including Facebook, Instagram, Threads, Twitter, Snapchat, etc.

As per Backlinko’s study, around 94.2% of 5.65 billion global internet users and 86.6% of users have social media accounts, out of which 63.9% of the global population is currently utilizing social media actively.

In 2025, Facebook ranked in the top position with 3.07 billion active users worldwide, followed by YouTube and other platforms.

Seeing such success rates of social media platforms, you do have a chance to rock in the market by developing a well-thought-out social media platform like Instagram that can benefit the global user base.

2. Messaging, Chatting, Video Calling Apps

Online chat or messenger apps and video calling apps have connected the world. They have narrowed it down for people living in distant locations to connect over the internet through such online chat apps and have real-time conversations. Now that all online chat apps also provide HD video calling facilities, their usage has extended a lot globally.

We all know that whenever there is a talk about an online real-time chat application, WhatsApp comes first to our minds. To know more about popular real-time online chat applications, see the social media mobile app usage statistics below about their global user base:

(Source: Statista – Most popular global mobile messenger apps as of Feb 2025, based on a number of monthly active users) 

3. Video Streaming Apps

We all need entertainment for ourselves. And when we get to access global entertainment programs, series, movies, and documentaries in one app, why would we not want to use it? Speaking of Over The Top (OTT) Services, or online video streaming apps, YouTube, Netflix, Amazon Prime Video, Disney+ Hotstar, AppleTV+, etc., like global platforms, are the ones we use the most regularly.

As per Statista, the OTT video marketplace is expected to reach $429.40bn by 2029 at a CAGR of 6.30% with a user penetration ratio around 61%.

There are countless online video streaming platforms available in the market, but here, we’ll target the top-rated OTT platforms at the global level, which we discussed above.

• As of the latest, in Q4 2024, the revenue of YouTube was calculated at $10,473 million. which shows an approx. Moreover, it has 100 million subscribers for both YouTube Premium and YouTube Music.
• By the end of June 30, 2025, Netflix had earned around $1,107,916.60 compared to $1,054,280.10 calculated till March 31, 2025.
• Disney+ generated revenue of $3013 million globally in Q3 2025.
• Amazon Prime Video has been experiencing steady growth from the start. But by introducing new collaborations with global entertainment industries, it might hit $100 billion worth of OTT platform generation by 2026-2027 and may reach $1 trillion worth of marketplace in a few years or by the next decade. No doubt, it has been the strongest competitor to Netflix over the years.

With a growing expectation of entertainment services, there are indeed chances to create better business opportunities by building an OTT mobile app like Netflix.

4. Financial Apps (E-wallets, NetBanking, Stock Market)

After online video streaming services provided application stats, financial apps are largely used by global mobile users. As per one study, it is found that 76% of users prefer to use online finance apps to manage their finances. After the e-transaction is made easily accessible and convenient, its usage is expected to rise in the following years.

Over 165% of consumers prefer to use digital wallets to make their transactions.

With such success rates, the personal financial software marketplace is expected to be worth $4.2 billion by 2032 at a CAGR of 12.2%.

The global e-trading mobile app market has been projected to increase by 6.4% each year, with an estimated $13.3 billion worth of marketplace by 2026.

With the regular internet payment methods, decentralized internet payment systems like Cryptocurrency also seem to be gaining popularity, with 560+ million crypto owners worldwide at the latest.

Have a look at the leading countries by crypto ownership percentage:

Seeing the growing popularity of crypto platforms, it has also become evident to check out blockchain development trends that supercharge your digital finance projects.

5. On-Demand Apps (Booking, Delivery, E/M-commerce)

After the COVID-19 pandemic, the user base of on-demand services providing apps has increased a lot, especially in online booking (hotel accommodations, services booking, etc.), online shopping apps, food/grocery delivery apps, etc.

Because of the extensive applications and increasing popularity of on-demand services, its on-demand apps revenue will increase to $335 million worth by 2025. In this slab, popular on-demand services include:

• C2C Lending and Community Financing (crowdfunding)
• Online Distance work
• C2C Home Sharing
• Car Rental & Sharing
• Online Music or Video Streaming
• Tool Hire
• B&B or Hostel booking
• Book Lending

As per the latest Statista study, the number of users for online food delivery apps is forecasted to increase to 2.5 billion by 2028.

Moreover, European on-demand app marketplace spending is expected to be worth $1.8 trillion by 2025.

Also, the on-demand app market creates many new business opportunities for the rising entrepreneurs and helps them to do better business in the upcoming years at the global level.

6. Gaming Apps

In our free time, we all enjoy playing mobile games to freshen up our mood, whether it is the popular and mostly played Candy Crush, Card Games, War Games (PUBG, Fortnite, etc.), or any other ones.

Speaking of which, the gaming market has a huge dedicated user base across the globe.

The market size of mobile games is estimated to reach $118.90 billion by 2027 at a CAGR of 6.39%. If mobile game user penetration is the concern, then the market may expect to receive an anticipation of 23.3% in 2027 worldwide.

Current figures estimate about 2 billion mobile gamers worldwide. In the latest survey, Statista shared that by 2027, there will be 137 million users who’ll play games on mobile, which is an 8% increase from the current data. So, there will be 1.9 billion new mobile game players by 2027.

As per one survey done among mobile gamers in the US in 2024, 43% showed their anticipation for action games and 34% for casual games.

If we check gaming mobile app statistics age-wise, 55% of US gamers are GenPop, and 68% are in the age group of 18-34, who majorly play games through their smartphones and tablets.

The gaming industry is changing and has become a major revenue-generating business. The involvement of Web 3.0 technology in the gaming industry is changing the paradigm by adding many new exciting gaming features and experiences.

Transform Market Insights Into a Winning Mobile App with MindInventory

The mobile app usage statistics inform you about different aspects of the mobile app marketplace, enabling you to have a comprehensive overview of the stats & facts of the future scenario. When you’re aware of the prospective future, it becomes convenient to build an app that reigns supreme in this competitive landscape. 

That’s all about mobile app usage, growth statistics and trends to take place in 2026 and beyond. If you’re planning to build your dream mobile app or just need consultation for your next app development project, hire mobile app developers to help you bring your ideas to life!

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