
Half of U.S. smartphone users download zero apps per month - laurentdc
http://www.recode.net/2016/9/16/12933780/average-app-downloads-per-month-comscore
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mladen5
One of the reasons behind this is because people mostly consume content on
mobile devices. But there is also another reason.

To install app you first need to open play/app store, then find app you need,
then download/install it and then find it in your list of apps when you need
it.

"40% of people abandon a website that takes more than 3 seconds to load"
Installing app takes at least 30 seconds. I hate it when i visit website and
it load native app, let aside installing new app.

This is one of the reasons why i believe Progressive Web Apps will replace
most of native mobile and desktop apps in near future.

Hybrid mobile apps are just a step in that direction. Browsers just need to
implement all APIs for access to device native functions, and Google is
already pushing in that direction. Some of functionality already exist via
Service Workers.

You can actually build Progressive Web App today: [http://blog.ionic.io/what-
is-a-progressive-web-app/](http://blog.ionic.io/what-is-a-progressive-web-
app/)

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znpy
Well, of course?

I've had my phone for a bit more than two years now, and I can tell that once
I installed all the apps I routinely use, why should I _routinely_ install new
stuff?

I sometimes try new stuff, but quite frankly once my phone does what I want it
to do, I don't really care that much about new and trendy stuff anymore.

~~~
undersuit
Everytime I fly Allegiant I install their app for the trip. I also install
Uber before I travel. Then when I get home I uninstall the apps I won't use
for another 9 months.

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FullMtlAlcoholc
This should not be a surprise. In a country as wealthy as America, almost
everyone who has a mobile phone has made the transition to smartphone.

For many, like my 80 yr old father, this journey was a forced march. He was
perfectly happy with his flip phone and it's large, tactile buttons. I was
also content not having to provide remote tech support to a man who was alive
when horse and carriages were still a viable form of transportation. (As an
aside, that generation has really seen some ... stuff). Once his phone
succumbed to its planned obsolescence, he had no choice but to upgrade.

I tried to introduce him to apps. However, in the 4+ years since he's had a
smartphone, he's downloaded and used only two apps: one for checking the
lottery and the other is a collection of virtual slot machines.

All one has to do is look at their parents, grandparents, elderly relatives,
etc. to see that this is assumption is a no-brainer.

EDIT: I neglected to mention why I don't consume as many apps as I'd like to.
Google, a company whose name has become a synonym for search, and Apple have
the most obtuse platforms for discovering them. In the play store, I can only
search by keyword. There is only one filter, # of stars and up. There is no
way in the app stores to sort the data or filter it by any other means. The
recommendations, like most recommendations engines is it or miss. They hide
the number of installs an app has (which for me is much more important than
the number of stars or ratings it has) until you go to its page/card. I
understand why, but smaller apps get buried in the noise anyway. 99% of the
apps I install are discovered either through either word of mouth or sites
like producthunt

