Apps Overwhelmingly the Biggest Part of the Mobile Landscape

The mobile industry isn't exactly an old industry. After all, for those who remember JibJab year in review songs, “Steve Jobs invented iPhone” didn't become a lyric until 2007's song. But with that invention came a rush of growth that turned the cell phone into the smartphone, and the smartphone into an industry to rival most any since the actual Internet itself. But, as Flurry discovered in its newest report on the mobile industry, how we use mobile devices is a field that's starting to see some interesting changes, and it's all being led by apps.

The new Flurry report focuses on January 2014 to March 2014, and this microcosmic slice of the field shows some surprising developments afoot. Time spent on a mobile device, for example, increased—on average—from two hours, 38 minutes a day,  to two hours, 42 minutes a day over just last year. Most of that time is spent using various apps, about two hours and 19 minutes a day on average. That in turn means that time spent on the mobile Internet has been largely ignored in favor of apps, with suggests that use takes up a mere 22 minutes a day, about 14 percent of a user's average day.

What's more, app use can be further split in terms of the app's purpose. The leader in terms of apps is the gaming app, which takes almost a third—32 percent—of all time spent online. Social and messaging apps like those offered by Facebook stepped up as well, reaching 28 percent of time spent from 24 percent the previous year. Entertainment and utility apps reached eight percent each, and productivity apps doubled in popularity, going from two percent to four percent in terms of time spent.

Drawing a connection between the two ideas, meanwhile, reveals a stark conclusion: while users aren't necessarily spending a lot more time online—an extra four minutes a day, on average—a lot more of that time is going into apps. Much of the time spent with apps, also, is spent with Google and Facebook apps, and that's reflected in mobile advertising spending. Facebook, for example, is a near-perfect mirror of the idea that advertisers go where the people are. Facebook accounts for about 17 percent of time spent online, but 18 percent of the advertising spent online at last report. Google apps, meanwhile, blows this concept out of the water, accounting for 18 percent of time spent but nearly half—49 percent—of advertising spending. Other apps draw about 65 percent of time spent but just 33 percent of ad spending. This could easily change as projections have already emerged to suggest that, by 2017, advertising revenues generated from in-app advertising will pass revenues generated by web display advertising. Moreover, just this year alone, the mobile ad market is set to grow 75 percent, based on a study from eMarketer.

There's a lot to take away from this study. Mobile advertising is growing by leaps and bounds and while Facebook is probably the best value for advertisers, it may not be for much longer. There can be some good buys in other advertising, but that market is extremely fractured and perhaps best suited for niche markets.