App Trends in 2021 That Will Impact the Next Year

In the U.S. for the first time, mobile app usage surged beyond TV watching time. Why am I not surprised? Folks are spending almost 4 hours per day on their mobile apps, a whole 30 minutes more than they spend watching live television programs. And it is not all play, a lot of business is being done through mobile apps. In fact, there are more connected devices globally (7.94 billion) than there are actually people.

Last year, mobile companies drew in a record-high investment in capital, a whopping $73 billion, and that was an increase of 27% year on year. This is in spite of the pandemic or maybe because of it. Mobile on-demand apps have been skyrocketing because users want things immediately and they cannot wait.

The most popular apps are

1. Social Media: almost 99% access it on their mobile devices. Tik Tok is the most downloaded app for 2021.
2. Food delivery: these apps pull in billions of dollars each year and the pandemic amplified its reach to the highest number of users. 31% of U.S. consumers say they use third-party delivery apps a minimum of twice each week.
3. Transportation and travel: Again no surprises here. Uber, Lyft and regional equivalents are booming. Travel apps are reaping the benefits of people who have lived through multiple lockdowns and now want to spread their wings.
4. Gaming: 21% of apps downloaded on Android and 25% on IOS are gaming apps. In 2020, this sector app industry pulled in $77.2 billion making it the most profitable in the app industry.
5. Healthcare: Again, the pandemic saw a rise in telemedicine and fitness apps of course are always popular. Mobile health or mhealth is going to continue to see growth expansion and more apps will be making their presence felt.

Mobile application development companies are seeing this trend in reality. For instance, iTech India global services, an organization that I work closely with, is seeing an increasing demand for apps in the healthcare industry.

This list does not cover the apps that are discovering and establishing new markets. Dating apps will continue to boom. Productivity apps that enable day-to-day tasks, as well as adult grocery app users in the United States, will see an increased surge in 2022.