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The Average iPhone User in the U.S. Spent $40 on Apps in 2016

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iPhone owners in the United States spent an average of $40 on premium apps and in-app purchases on each of their devices in 2016, according to new data shared by analytics company Sensor Tower. That's up from an average of $35 in 2015.

Unsurprisingly, most iPhone users are spending their money on games. 80 percent of U.S. App Store revenue in 2016 was generated by games, and on average, iPhone users spent $27 on game-related content.

sensortowerspendingbycategory-800x620.jpg

Spending on apps in the entertainment category - such as Netflix and Hulu - was at $2.30 on average, compared to $1.00 in 2015, perhaps due to Netflix starting to offer in-app subscription options at the end of 2015. According to Sensor Tower, Netflix contributed over $58 million in gross revenue to the entertainment category in 2016, up from $7.9 million in 2015.

Average spending on music also rose slightly in 2016, from $3.40 to $3.60, and social networking went from $1.80 to $2.00. Spending on apps in the photo and video category jumped from $0.30 to $0.70 during 2016.

While spending on apps is up across the board, Sensor Tower saw a decline in the average number of apps installed on each iPhone - 33, down from 35 in 2015. Games continues to be the most popular app category, with an average of 10 games installed on each iPhone.

sensortowerappdownloadsaverage-800x620.jpg

According to Sensor Tower, its estimates are based on data pulled from 132 million active iPhones in the United States during the 2016 calendar year (January 1 to December 31). The numbers use estimates from Consumer Intelligence Research Partners and the company's own Store Intelligence platform.

All revenue estimates included in the report are gross amounts spent by consumers before deducting Apple's 30 percent revenue cut.

Article Link: The Average iPhone User in the U.S. Spent $40 on Apps in 2016
 
Article Link
https://www.macrumors.com/2017/02/21/iphone-average-app-spending-2016/
Hmmmmm.. and I have 229 apps currently installed on my iPhone. After I deleted a few a week ago
 
I only bought Procreate for my iPad/Pencil. I'd like to buy more but I'm into legacy software and iOS isn't a platform for that.
 
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the most expensive app i ever bought was a game for 1.99$ a year ago and then i realized them US prices dont include tax and got mad at myself lol
 
Or in other words, people bought slightly less apps in 2016 (vs 2015), but paid slightly more overall.

That's not good news, from a consumer standpoint.
 
It is incredible how much money some people spend in freemium games. I've never ever been tempted to spend any real money in a freemium game. Ever. I've only purchased a few apps like Lapse It, Pixelmator, and a couple non-freemium games. And sometimes I pay to remove ads.
 
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now i see it said:
80% of 28B =$22.4 billion spent on stupid games. Wow. In one year.
Apple: Enriching people's lives.
Click to expand...

I don't get it. Would you rather not have games on the app store? Is Apple doing a disservice to to its users by giving them the largest mobile game catalog? Users seem to enjoy playing the games offered at the app store. That seems decently enriching.
 
As much as I think of iPhone as becoming boring for my taste. But their apps are the most polished one. After all we are spending most of our time on those apps than the OS itself. This is the only reason why developers are spending their time improving their apps because this is where the money flows. Whoever pays your job that's where you spend you resources.
 
Never spent money on games. That's worse than playing the lottery.
The last app I purchased was Plane Finder because I needed to track a flight from Denver to Washington. Other than that I pay for LQ Netflix, NFL Mobile and did the trial of SlingTV but they would blackout games which was a deal breaker.
 
Relentless Power said:
I must be a rare user. I never purchase applications and I do not have any on my iPhone. Plenty of free applications serve my needs. There are A lot of free applications that are just as good as some of the paid applications from my experience.
Click to expand...
Same, if I spend money on an App Store thing, it's rare

Some things I have spent money on I'm not saying I never spend money, but nothing more than $5 total on things in a year

I used to buy power up mega boost 5000x, but I realize games that do that stuff are douchebags that don't deserve my money, and I also don't need to buy it in the first place
 
Meanwhile, I do not know a single person that spent that kind of money in the Google Play Store last year.
But hey, developers don't need to pay rent and eat, right?
 
I used to buy apps all the time. Now I just don't have time to try out everything, and I feel like advancements in UI design have really stalled. Combine that with the fact that stock iOS does so much more than it used to, and there's less reason to go looking. When it comes to games, I really stopped caring once most games went Freemium. I'm looking forward to my Nintendo Switch arriving next week and playing better games during my lunch break and when I travel. I think I'm gonna need a slightly bigger work bag, but my bag is already pretty small so it's not that bad. I'll be switching to a mirrorless camera this summer, so I'm gonna need something a little bigger to lug around my gear anyway. I just hope I don't get mugged: Apple Watch, iPhone, iPad, Sony A7III with mid to upper-range glass, Nintendo Switch. Yikes!
 
GoodWheaties said:
It is incredible how much money some people spend in freemium games. I've never ever been tempted to spend any real money in a freemium game. Ever. I've only purchased a few apps like Lapse It, Pixelmator, and a couple non-freemium games. And sometimes I pay to remove ads.
Click to expand...
Yeah pretty rare for me to pay for a freemium games. If games are not playable without paying micro-transactions I generally delete.
 
I've bought one app that keeps track of your vehicle maintenance and a few in app purchases. After having lost access to what I consider the best Craiglist app, because Apple chose to delete it from the app store I will never purchase another app.
 
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