U.S. smartphone owners now average 41 applications per device, up 28 percent from the 2011 average of 32 apps, according to new data from Nielsen.
Consumers who own either Apple's iPhone or Google Android devices account for 84 million smartphone users nationwide and generate 88 percent of all app downloads, Nielsen reports. Smartphone owners spend an average of 39 minutes per day interacting with their apps, a two-minute increase compared to 2011 totals. The proportion of time devoted to the 50 most popular apps slipped from 74 percent last year to 58 percent in the current year, and the amount of time spent on apps compared to the mobile web increased from 73 percent to 81 percent.
Facebook remains the most accessed app in the U.S., followed by YouTube, Google Play, Google Search and Gmail. The dominance of Google services is a reflection of Android's market share supremacy: The Android operating system (which preloads apps like YouTube and Google Play) powers 51 percent of all smartphones nationwide, compared to 30.7 percent for Apple's iOS, according to the latest comScore data.
Nielsen adds that subscribers express growing anxiety about their mobile security. Seventy-three percent of smartphone owners indicate concern over personal data collection, up from 70 percent a year ago, and 55 percent are wary about sharing location information via mobile apps.
