A new report by Nielsen has revealed that US smartphone users spend more time accessing apps than browsing the mobile web. According to the statistics, almost 88% of those on Android or iOS platforms have downloaded an app over a 30-day time frame. As pitted against last year, the average number of apps downloaded per smartphone has jumped from 32 to 41, which roughly accounts for a 28% rise.
The figures revealed that today’s smartphone users download more apps as well as spend more time accessing them. Compared to the time spent on the mobile web, the app usage rate approximates to 10% higher than the previous year. Just as seen in 2011, the 5 apps ruling the roost are Facebook, YouTube, Android Market, Google Search, and Gmail. The total time idled away in dabbling with a particular application remains roughly consistent, with the present day mobile owner spending 39 minutes using apps per day, as compared to 37 minutes last year.
Privacy still seems to be a cause for concern in case of people making use of apps that require the relevant location to be entered. Last year, the number of users with an eye on privacy settings came up to 70%. This year the same figure reached 73%, highlighting a more cautious attitude with regards to personal data collection. About 55% of respondents seemed to be watchful about sharing their location on smartphone apps.
This Nielsen report outlines the increasing use of apps among smartphone owners in the US and it was presented at the Appnation conference.