Despite Increased Devices, App Usage Remains Constant

Smartphone ownership in the U.S. increased from 8 percent in 2005 to more than 80 percent in 2014, but consumers continue to use the same eight apps on their mobile devices, said smartphone and tablet research from market researcher Parks Associates. Social networking apps were the most commonly used, followed by gaming and music apps. “The average app use among smartphone users has held relatively constant," said Harry Wange, Parks director-health and mobile product research. "This leaves an increasingly wide variety of apps competing for the finite attention span of the consumer." A similar trend was discovered with tablets. Despite use increasing from about 30 percent in 2012 to 60 percent in 2014, consumers continue to use the same seven apps on their tablets, it said.