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How many apps do you use a month? Study shows the average is 26 [Poll]

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A Nielsen study (via TechCrunchreveals that while we all spend much longer using mobile apps than we did two years ago, and we may have many more apps installed on our phones, the average number of apps we actually interact with in any given month hasn’t changed nearly as much.

While time spent using mobile apps climbed from 18h 18m in 2011 to 30h 15m by the end of last year, the total number of apps actually used only increased from 23.3 to 26.8. So we’re spending more time using pretty much the same number of apps … 

The biggest jump seen was in photography apps, where monthly usage time more than doubled in the space of a year. Entertainment and news also saw substantial increases.

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Unsurprisingly, the younger you are, the more time you’re likely to spend using apps.

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We’d also hazard a guess that techier folks who make up our readership use more apps than average, but let’s see. Take the poll to tell us roughly how many apps you use in a typical month, and let us know in comments any changes you’ve noticed in your own app use over the years.

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Comments

  1. Lee (@leemahi) - 10 years ago

    I have 300 apps and I probably use 40 of them all the time. Over a month, it could be over 100 I’m sure.

  2. Mr. Grey (@mister_grey) - 10 years ago

    the poll here is a bit skewed given that it only says “under 20.” I use about ten and maybe that goes up to twelve sometimes. I think there is lots of variation in that under 20 category.

  3. I’m in the 40’s somewhere depending on the month. Most people I know only use about six though, so I’m a little surprised it’s that high. I guess with all the social media apps & games it adds up.

  4. herb02135go - 10 years ago

    Whenever there is a story about some new app I think about this over saturation

    Frankly, most apps are useless.

  5. Paul Allen - 10 years ago

    Wow, 26 seems really low. I currently have 56 in my iPhone’s multitasking switcher, and I cleared it down to zero about 2 weeks ago.

Author

Avatar for Ben Lovejoy Ben Lovejoy

Ben Lovejoy is a British technology writer and EU Editor for 9to5Mac. He’s known for his op-eds and diary pieces, exploring his experience of Apple products over time, for a more rounded review. He also writes fiction, with two technothriller novels, a couple of SF shorts and a rom-com!


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