New app installations hit a record high of 30.3 billion in Q2, driven by annual increases in the number of downloads in Google’s Play store, App Annie reported.
Figures from the app analytics company showed total downloads increased from 28.4 billion in Q2 2018, with downloads on Google Play up 10 per cent to around 22.5 billion following growth in emerging markets led by India, Brazil and Indonesia.
App Store downloads remained consistent year-on-year at nearly 8 billion, with China, the US and Japan leading demand.
Consumer spending records were also broken during the quarter, as users shelled out $22.6 billion on apps, up 20 per cent year-on-year.
Facebook Messenger was the most-downloaded app across both platforms, followed by the social media company’s main app; WhatsApp; Tik Tok; and Instagram.
Tinder topped the consumer spending list, followed by Netflix; Tencent Video; video platform iQIYI; and YouTube.
Gaming growth
App Annie highlighted the role of games in driving growth, noting the genre accounted for 35 per cent of all downloads and almost 75 per cent of spending.
Users downloaded a total of 11.2 billion games in the quarter.
By market, the US led total iOS downloads but trailed China on spending; while India was the largest market for Google Play downloads, but was outpaced by the US in spending.
