A third of smartphone users 'don't care for apps'

A recent study confirms that demand for smartphone apps is declining as users become more and more conservative about what they download.

16:45 19 August 2014

A report found that smartphone users’ appetite for new apps is waning.

 

It states that 31per cent of users no longer download any apps on their device in a typical month. Meanwhile, the number of people who do download apps also dropped. It added that 9 out of 10 users do not spend money on apps or other smartphone content. 

 

However, Deloitte, which conducted the study, said that the numbers is not an indication that the app market is dying. It said that the decline in the rate of download per user is due to an increase in the number of smartphone owners over 50, who have less interest in using their phone as a data device. 

 

"The new adopters of smartphones use them mostly for text messaging," Paul Lee, head of research for technology, media and telecommunications at Deloitte, told The Telegraph. 

 

"When you look at who uses IM (instant messaging) services like WhatsApp and WeChat, it tends to be younger age groups and it declines very steeply with age."