Mobile Devices

February 26, 2013

Dependency on Mobile Apps High Worldwide

API company Apigee has released its findings for the 2013 Mobile App Behavior survey, which includes statistics from over 760 smartphone users in France, Germany, Spain, the U.K. and the U.S.

Using the online survey site uSamp, Apigee surveyed users in February to determine just how dependent people are on mobile apps these days. The verdict? Very.

The study found that 82 percent of respondents have apps they consider “critical” on their phones, which are apps that they cannot go without for even one day.

The most critical apps were found to be e-mail, at 57 percent, Facebook at 41 percent, and alarm clock apps at 31 percent. 


Image via Shutterstock

Of the countries surveyed, Spain ranked as the most app-dependent, with 93 percent of respondents confirming that they cannot go one complete day without using a mobile app.

In contrast, approximately 50 percent of U.S. residents responded that they could not go even a few hours without using at least one app, so app-dependency is not a localized phenomenon by a long-shot.

The study also collected information on how many apps people are using every day, with a whopping 72 percent of respondents worldwide claiming they use as many as 10 apps per day.

Even more surprising, there is at least a small number of users (two percent) that claim to use more than 50 apps in one day.

App-mania, says Apigee, has officially set in.

“The findings of the study show that people all over the world are becoming increasingly intertwined with their mobile apps,” said Apigee CEO Chet Kapoor. Based on these findings, Apigee also tried to find out what users want from their apps, now that they are becoming a standard (if not necessary) part of everyday life worldwide.

Users are “demanding more” from apps, says Kapoor, adding that “Apps are becoming transformative to everything we do, but an app is only as good as its APIs. Apigee’s API platform helps build powerful digital ecosystems that let us all shop, communicate and connect through apps on trillions of mobile devices.”

A slightly sadder aspect of the survey found that 23 percent of people think they cannot “feel happy” without using apps, with 19 percent saying they cannot “maintain relationships” without them, and 13 percent believe they cannot “find dates” unless by using an app.

Even sadder, 10 percent of respondents said they would not be able to “impress people” without mobile apps.

One alarming finding in the survey is that 85 percent of respondents reported that they would actually rather give up drinking water (necessary for human life, remember!) than delete all of their mobile apps. An even sillier response stated that nine percent of users felt they could invent a new kind of energy before they could function without their apps.     

While obsession with mobile apps seems to have hit an unrealistic and shocking high, this information is extremely useful for companies like Apigee, and many others in the mobile app industry.

Smartphone users reported “tracking energy usage in the home” (38 percent), “remote car start” (34 percent), and “Apps that can charge purchases directly to a mobile phone bill” (21 percent), as functions they wish a mobile app could accomplish.

In short, expectations of apps are on the rise just as app-dependency is, however healthy or unhealthy this trend is, and Apigee’s report could have major implications for the future abilities of mobile app technology.

Kapoor will be participating in a keynote address entitled “Mobile as a Platform for Innovation” at the Mobile World Congress this Thursday, February 28th.




Edited by Brooke Neuman


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