Even more impressively, worldwide consumer spend for iOS and Google Play combined experienced more than 3x the growth rate we saw for downloads. In Q3 2017, it reached nearly $17 billion with year over year growth of 28 percent. In addition, app usage continues to increase at a significant pace. Total time spent in apps worldwide among Android phone users grew 40 percent year over year coming close to 325 billion hours in Q3 2017.[caption id="attachment_144642" align="aligncenter" width="600"] App spending, according to App Annie.[/caption]
Mobile App Bubble Expanding Worldwide
[caption id="attachment_142888" align="aligncenter" width="1592"] App Annie says the bubble is expanding.[/caption] Mobile development is perpetually in a bubble: every week sees a flood of new apps, many created by relatively new development teams, seeking an audience that's increasingly swamped with options (and unwilling to pay for most software). App Annie’s latest report flies in the face of conventional thinking about this bubble (which many onlookers fear will burst), but nonetheless points to an emerging trend. Overall, the numbers show solid growth. In the third quarter of 2017 (Q3 2017), time spent using mobile services went up 40 percent worldwide over the same quarter last year (Q3 2016). Measured in the billions of hours, we’re now using apps roughly 325 billion hours per quarter. Downloads are also up. Apple's App Store and Google Play are up eight percent year-over-year, with nearly 26 billion downloads combined. As App Annie notes: “This number is particularly notable as it includes only new downloads and does not count reinstalls or app updates.” Spending is likewise off the charts. From App Annie: