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

[TallManNY]

I spent much more than that. Plenty of it on games. But also some other Apps. Still very cheap when you factor in these are Apps and Games i have with me all the time. I think other folks would buy more Apps if there were a better way to market to them.

 

[blcamp]

I don't think I've spent $40 in the aggregate in the 6 1/2 years that I've had an iPhone.

 

[Cineplex]

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.

You are not rare....you are normal. For the average to be $40 there have to be some big spenders out there.

 

[MRrainer]

I have a subscription for WeatherPro. And that's it.
Having a 16GB iPhone 4S that is slow like an old dog probably helps in curbing app-store purchases ;-)

 

[kazmac]

Apps. Nope. I think I've purchased maybe 15 (none over $4.99) in my 7 years of owning an iPhone and iPads.

Now movies, yes. Easily spent at least $60 on iTunes movies in 2016.

 

[macfacts]

I'd like to see a break down of app vs in app purchases. Most IAP for games are for virtual money (something that targets kids)

 

[DeepIn2U]

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.

Man I can tell you I learned my lesson a few years back with the 3GS and Eliminate Pro!

from my old blog

^ upgrades to healing faster, guns, amo ... I was hook, line and sinker in less than 1hr. Total cost of a freemium game $160 in 3mths! That game got killed immediately after I saw the spend amount. I've been a bit scared and far too busy to game on iOS since then to be honest.

 

[KieranDotW]

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.

Nope. I don't remember the last time I paid for anything on the App Store. I only have six apps on my iPhone – fb messenger, twitter, Instagram, youtube, Netflix, and imdb. I use mobile sites for almost everything and don't see the hype behind most app-only services.

 

[blue22]

I'm interpreting all this as iDevice users are EXTREMELY frugal with paying for app related content/services. $40 a year works out to $3.33 a month, which quite honestly is hardly "a lot of money" at all to be spending on an app's content and/or services. Makes you wonder how much some developers are struggling to make some ROI for their app-dev work.

 

[RiddlaBronc]

If I click on an app and it offers in app purchase, I automatically back out of it.

I almost have no apps and the only ones I have are paid subscription apps such as netflix and spotify

 

[scotttnz]

Apple would have seen a substantial uptick in app store and services revenue from my family in 2016. (I'm sure we are a line item at the top of a report Tim Cooks reads every day....) We got Apple Music, finally gave up on trying to fit in the free tier of iCloud storage, started using itunes to rent movies (the local video rental store finally closed down ) and I bought some new apps when I got an iPad Pro (Pixelmator and a few others).

Personally I'm quite happy to pay a reasonable price for software that usefully extends the functionality or enjoyment I get out of an expensive idevice. But I do detest micro-transactions and in-app purchases in general. Just charge me a fair price up front for the whole app please. The exception being free trials that enable you to properly test an app before upgrading to a paid version.

 

[Jnesbitt82]

I guess I'm a rare one then. I spend between $200-$400 per year on apps.

 

[DUIduckSAUCE]

MLB at bat a bargain at only 2.99 a month

 

[seanmcbay]

I just realized I haven't paid for an app in years. I'll probably grab Mario Run if it goes on sale though.

 

[KAZphoto]

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.

Do you remember the name of the Craigslist app? That happened to me as well. When I transferred stuff to my iPhone 7 I lost my Craigslist app. It was called like Craigslist Pro or something like that and it was really pretty good. I've gotten used to another one but I did pay for that one and still wonder how it's able to be taken from us when paid for!

Also Apple needs to figure out how to tame the freemium apps. They should be made to list what the in app purchase possibilities are or something so I can see which apps are money grabs before downloading. It would also be great to permanently delete apps from our Apple ID account. Apple can delete apps without us knowing but I can't delete them myself. Go figure.

 

[DrewDaHilp1]

Do you remember the name of the Craigslist app? That happened to me as well. When I transferred stuff to my iPhone 7 I lost my Craigslist app. It was called like Craigslist Pro or something like that and it was really pretty good. I've gotten used to another one but I did pay for that one and still wonder how it's able to be taken from us when paid for!

Also Apple needs to figure out how to tame the freemium apps. They should be made to list what the in app purchase possibilities are or something so I can see which apps are money grabs before downloading. It would also be great to permanently delete apps from our Apple ID account. Apple can delete apps without us knowing but I can't delete them myself. Go figure.

Yes, it was Craigslist Pro. I'm using Qwilo Pro now, which is decent but doesn't show other chosen areas by simply scrolling down.

 

[KAZphoto]

Yes, it was Craigslist Pro. I'm using Qwilo Pro now, which is decent but doesn't show other chosen areas by simply scrolling down.

Glad to know I wasn't the only one annoyed by this. Not sure if it's a newer app or what but you may want to check out C Plus for Craigslist as it seems pretty good so far and similar to the previous one. It lets you continuously scroll down though the different areas. Also it is free which helps compensate for "losing" the other one.

 

[DrewDaHilp1]

Glad to know I wasn't the only one annoyed by this. Not sure if it's a newer app or what but you may want to check out C Plus for Craigslist as it seems pretty good so far and similar to the previous one. It lets you continuously scroll down though the different areas. Also it is free which helps compensate for "losing" the other one.

Thanks for the suggestion, downloading now. The real annoyance is that Craiglist Pro is sitting in my iTunes but it won't install.

 

[Bart Kela]

I'm interpreting all this as iDevice users are EXTREMELY frugal with paying for app related content/services. $40 a year works out to $3.33 a month, which quite honestly is hardly "a lot of money" at all to be spending on an app's content and/or services. Makes you wonder how much some developers are struggling to make some ROI for their app-dev work.

Actually, Android users are even cheaper and despite the larger user base, many developers claim making 3-5x more from the Apple App Store versus Google's Android app marketplace (whatever they call it).

That's why mobile app developers generally target iOS users first. It's a more lucrative market and that is not adjusting for the differences in user base sizes. It has been like this ever since Apple launched the App Store.

 

[KAZphoto]

Thanks for the suggestion, downloading now. The real annoyance is that Craiglist Pro is sitting in my iTunes but it won't install.

I found it by chance. Was using another I wasn't so crazy about that doesn't let you post and I had to restore my iPhone for troubleshooting reasons and it wouldn't transfer that purchase for whatever reason so I went looking again to see what was out there. See what you think.

 

[Strutten]

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.

How could you possibly know that, since you never buy any?

 

[5105973]

Interesting thread. In 2016 I spent about $40 on Android Apps and $30 on iPhone apps. Before 2016, nothing for Android since I hadn't tried Android yet and probably $10 a year, if anything, for iPhone. I threw money away on Hay Day for iPad and some dragon game that I can't remember the name of. I consider it all money well spent. It used to be way more expensive to buy programs for computers.

 

[44267547]

How could you possibly know that, since you never buy any?

You don't have to necessarily make a paid application purchase to fully understand what you're receiving. Allow me to retort to further clear your question.

That's what reviews are for. Where users who made application purchases that were not content with what they paid for over a free version of the same application.

Second, in comparison, these developers that create some of the paid and free applications clearly list some of the differences before you make the purchase, which can have minimal differences in terms of what your actually receiving, which; pending the application, isn't compelling enough to purchase.

Third, some paid applications have trials where you can experience the app for X amount of days before you're actually charged, which I have tried in the productivity page over the free versions and in some cases, it doesn't justify the purchase. Advertisement free isn't compelling enough to warrant a $3.99 application.

There are plenty of ways around of purchasing applications, especially considering how mobile sites have grown exponentially.

 

[Loge]

Note that this only covers the iPhone. It would be interesting to see a similar survey for the iPad.

 

[Abazigal]

I must have spent a small fortune on apps when I was still a new iPad user trying to find the right combination of apps to use in the classroom. That and macstories was practically recommending new apps every day.

Less so these days because I have more or less settled on a fixed selection of apps which suit my needs very well. Still pick up an app now and then, but I definitely spend a lot less.