Overall app usage by sessions grew by 58%, largely driven by media and productivity apps, as well as Emojis - the small icons used to express an idea or emotion.

The conclusions were arrived at by looking at data drawn from over 2.1 billion smart devices tracked by Flurry on a monthly basis. While growth rate has declined compared to 76% in 2014 and 103% in 2013, the report noted that it remains head and shoulders above that of other mature industries.

Personalization and lifestyle matters

The report details the surging popularity of personalization, as well as lifestyle and shopping apps around the world.

For one, personalization apps saw their sessions balloon more than 332% in 2015. These apps range from Android lock-screens to Emoji keyboards, with the majority coming from the ability for consumers to customize correspondence on their favorite messaging apps such as Facebook Messenger, Whatsapp and Line.

Another category of apps that saw high growth is lifestyle and shopping apps, which grew 81% in 2015. According to the report, this category of apps already accounts for 33% of online commerce in the US and 40% of online commerce on a worldwide basis.

Phablets meanwhile experienced surging growth in terms of the time spent on these devices. According to Flurry, time spent on phablets grew 334% year-over-year, compared to 117% for all form factors.

Considering that the time spent on mobile surpasses that of television, this puts the growth of phablets in an enviable position where media consumption is concerned – and something that marketers will want to keep an eye on.

Telecomasia.net