The coronavirus that sweeps the world breaks new epidemiological records every day. And I have already sung to make adjustments to many aspects of our life. He canceled conferences, exhibitions, concerts and other events that we have all been waiting for. He also locked us home. Because of this, the world's largest IT companies cannot properly release new products, administer their products, and simply release updates on time. There are also some other changes that have resulted from changes in user behavior during the pandemic. Today I will talk about one of these changes in this article. At the end, you will tell how these changes have personally influenced you.
It is the most popular app store in the world.
Most popular apps for Android during quarantine
Our colleagues at androidpolice.com have done an interesting study that illustrates very well how the preferences and habits of Google Play users have changed. Considering that this is the main thing for Android – a smartphone and its user, the store perfectly illustrates the behavioral changes that monthly isolation formed in them. As they say, tell me what you download and I'll tell you who you are.
Analysts checked the data on the number of downloads of applications from Google Play that users have made on their smartphones. For comparison, they took data from the last three months and compared them with each other. Even without sophisticated analytics, one can understand the underlying nature of the changes. But first, look at the picture and tell yourself what has changed over time. True, it is worth noting that some of these applications are not so widely represented in our region, but just a few are enough, which perfectly reflect the general picture of what is happening in this world.
TOP 10 free apps in the last three months.
You can see that Zoom has become the most popular app, even despite the security issues I mentioned earlier. This service is actively used for video conferencing. Now this is most relevant due to the fact that only in this way remote employees can communicate with colleagues and management, and relatives and friends among themselves.
Popularity of collaboration apps
Interestingly, other collaboration apps, on the other hand, have dropped in the download rankings. For example, Google Classroom dropped from 5th to 34th place, and Microsoft Teams fell from 9th to 29th. However, this does not mean that these applications are not being used. It rather means that new users are not interested in them (those who installed it, use it further).
The five most downloaded applications also included another service for video communication and a couple of applications for saving on purchases with delivery. All this was a consequence of the fact that people, being at home, began to be interested in other things than before.
How people entertain themselves during quarantine
Applications such as SkyView Explore the Universe and CE5 Contact have also become more popular. This suggests that people have free time from the usual entertainment and they began to be interested in the stars and the study of other planets. They may be exploring escape routes in case the pandemic doesn't end quickly.
The TouchRetouch application, which is a tool for editing photos, also returned to the top ten downloads. In March it dropped to 14th place, but moved up again in April.
In general, in global markets, researchers have noticed a significant increase in downloads of applications related to food delivery services. But this change is obvious, unlike what is happening with Spotify and YouTube Music. They fell in popularity rankings. This decline in interest can be explained only by the fact that people sit at home and do not listen to music as they did before on the road. Video content consumption is growing now.
TOP 10 paid apps in the last three months.
The increase in consumption of video content is evidenced by the increase in downloads of applications such as Disney + and TikTok. Social networks in general are now experiencing an explosive growth in popularity, although they were not included in the rating due to the fact that many use them through a browser.
What applications are most often downloaded to the phone
Whatever one may say, but such global changes in society as general isolation cannot but leave an imprint on the habits of users. It just seems that the changes are not very serious. In fact, when hundreds of millions of users begin to change their behavior patterns, it has a huge impact on the industry.
This is especially true of the global rejection of expensive smartphones, which we all expect. Perhaps even together with Google, which is preparing to abandon the top processor in its new flagships.
TOP 10 grossing apps in the last three months.
And it is also very noticeable when crowds of people with nothing to do rush to watch videos on popular services, and they, in turn, begin to reduce the maximum playback quality. They say that in this way they reduce the load on providers, but we understand that the point is also in their own capacities, which are not unlimited.
Everything is changing and large services will definitely make changes in their work, which will continue to operate afterwards. And there will also be a change of leaders. Many applications and services will rise and remain popular, while those that are not able to rebuild so quickly will go to the bottom. Perhaps forever.