2017 saw subdued app usage growth, while Android held on to its market share

The year 2017 saw disruption in mobile app innovation and growth as overall app usage activity registered just six per cent growth over the previous year, says a report.
According to Flurry Analytics’ annual global mobile and application usage study, overall session app activity growth of just six per cent is down from 11 per cent registered in 2016. In this context, Flurry Analytics, part of the Yahoo Mobile Developer Suite, defines app usage as a user opening an app and recording a session.
As per the report, in 2017, “stalwart industry players held and gained market position, while years-old disruptors struggled to find their footing” and while growth may have stagnated, users continue to diversify their behaviour while using mobile applications.
Flurry’s app footprint that tracked more than one million applications across 2.6 billion devices globally noted that the shopping category grew 54 per cent, as consumers continue to shift their spending into e-commerce via mobile shopping apps. Music, media and entertainment came in a close second with 43 per cent year-over-year growth, reaffirming users’ shift to mobile devices to consume media.
As per the report, Android manufacturers make up to two thirds of all active devices in 2017, while Apple dominates individual market share with 34 per cent of all active devices.
Samsung maintained its share between 2016 and 2017 with 28 per cent active devices and will look to return to growth in 2018 with the launch of S9, the report said, adding that Chinese manufacturers Huawei, Xiaomi and OPPO round out the top five and are slowly seeing growth by driving adoption in Asia-Pacific and European markets.