Mobile data and analytics firm App Annie said that global app and game downloads, as well as consumer spending in those apps, reached new heights in 2018.
Based on preliminary data through December 15, App Annie predicted that global downloads across iOS and Google Play will surpass 113 billion downloads in 2018, up 10 percent from 2017.
Consumer spend is predicted to have grown even faster at 20 percent year over year to surpass $76 billion globally. This is fueled by growing consumer spend in mobile games — the most popular and profitable gaming format — as well as ever-increasing revenue from in-app subscriptions in non-gaming apps.
In addition, mobile is expected to take a greater share of consumers’ time in 2018 than ever before. In 2018, the average smartphone user in the United States spent nearly three hours each day in apps, up 10 percent from 2017 and up 20 percent from 2016.
2018 has been another transformative year for mobile. The year saw the rise of social video, hyper-casual games atop the charts, battle royale gaming take over the world, and electric scooters becoming a popular mode of transportation. New genres and categories continue to emerge on mobile, bringing new apps and new opportunities, App Annie said.
The top game of the year was Fate/Grand Order, while the top app was Netflix. You can see the rest of the list in the chart.