App StoreSource: Joe Keller / iMore

What you need to know

  • A new report from App Annie shows a huge increase in app usage last quarter.
  • App downloads from the App Store grew 30% year over year.
  • Consumer spending in the App Store grew 15% year over year.

Mobile app usage has reached an all-time high during the second quarter of 2020, according to a new report by analytics firm App Annie.

According to the report, app downloads from the App Store for the iPhone grew twenty percent year over year to almost ten billion downloads in the second quarter of 2020 alone.

Google Play downloads grew 10% year over year to 25 billion, while iOS downloads grew 20% year over year to nearly 10 billion new downloads for the quarter. On Google Play, non-gaming apps accounted for 55% of all downloads, while on iOS the figure was slightly higher at 70%.

Q2 2020 3 WwdownloadsSource: App Annie

The report shows that the Games, Photo and Video and Entertainment categories remained the most popular.

On iOS, Games, Photo and Video and Entertainment remained the largest categories by downloads for fourth straight quarters. The Business category was the largest driver of overall download growth, led by video conferencing apps. Health and Fitness, Shopping and Medical apps all had strong quarter-over-quarter growth of 30%, 25% and 20%.

In terms of consumer spending, spending on the App Store grew fifteen percent year over year to $17 billion during the second quarter of 2020.

Q2 2020 was the largest quarter yet for mobile apps usage, downloads and consumer spend. Consumer spend on iOS grew 15% year over year to $17 billion in Q2 2020, and 25% year over year on Google Play to $10 billion. Non-gaming apps accounted for 35% of consumer spend on iOS and 15% on Google Play, largely due to in-app subscriptions.

Q2 2020 4 WwconsumerspendSource: App Annie

Games, Entertainment and Photo and Video were the most popular categories, with TikTok taking the #1 spot in the world. Virtual gifts and tips seem to be the reason for the app's ascension to the top spot.

On iOS, Games, Entertainment and Photo and Video were the three largest categories by consumer spend. Photo and Video has seen strong quarter-over-quarter growth, with consumer spend up by 25% from Q1 2020. TikTok's continued rise in 2020 is a key driver of this, becoming the #1 top grossing app on iOS App Store globally in Q2 2020. This was achieved largely through sales of virtual gifts used for tipping streamers, where users can increase their chance of getting a shout-out out of the recognition they earned through tipping, creating a positive feedback loop which further encourages creativity and spending.

You can read the full report at App Annie.