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

[djcerla]

Remember when Mossberg and The Verge were peddling the narrative of the "App Fatigue"?

Good times.

 

[saudade]

I spent $0 on apps in 2016.

Why r u 2 cheap 2 buy dud?

 

[usarioclave]

I still buy a surprisingly large number of games. For $1-4, why not? Some of them I don't like, some of them are worth a couple of hours of playtime.

What's funny is that there are older games that I keep coming back to, like Green Fingers, Morocco, Tiny Wings, Field Runners, Lucky Coins, Fling, and of course Spaceward Ho.

 

[Deacon-Blues]

I have spent $2.99. That's for all of 2016 and for 2017 up to this point

 

[kdarling]

Remember when Mossberg and The Verge were peddling the narrative of the "App Fatigue"?

Good times.

The article states that people are downloading fewer apps now.

The ones that they are downloading, and spending money on, are overwhelmingly games.

Which leaves an average of just over $1 a month for all the other categories.

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Like others, I wish they had broken down app vs in-app purchasing amounts.

I'd also like to know what the most popular FREE apps are, because a lot of the basic needs for adults (banking, communication, calendars, social, etc) are free.

 

[nburwell]

Most of the money I spend in the App Store is for in-app purchases for subscriptions (i.e. Starz, HBO Now). With the exception of Super Mario Run, I have not purchased any game apps on my phone.

 

[rhett7660]

I spent that one subscription last year. Evernote. I have a few apps that I have paid for, outside of the Evernote fee, $14 for a calendar app, but most have been free. I don't have any games on my phone.

 

[Jessica Lares]

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)

Looking through their charts, it's definitely the IAP in the games that are winning. In the last month, the #1 paid app got 500k downloads while the #100 got 20k. Meanwhile, the #1 free app got 10 million downloads. The one at #100 got 1 million.

https://sensortower.com/ios/rankings/top/iphone/us/all-categories

I spent $20 less this last year than in the previous year. I don't mind paying for IAP for a premium upgrade, but won't "subscribe" to apps.

 

[neutralguy]

I don't spend any money on apps. Most of my apps are utility ones provided by banks etc.. and some free games for my kids.

 

[zohaali146]

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.

I share the same thoughts, never purchased anything