One third of smartphone owners in the U.K. don’t care about apps at all

By Williams Pelegrin August 20, 2014

1 3 smartphone owners u k dont care downloading apps gift guide feature — Image used with permission by copyright holder

According to research firm Gartner, worldwide sales of smartphones to consumers totaled 968 million. Unfortunately for developers, even if that’s the case, about one third of smartphone owners in the U.K. don’t care about downloading applications, according to professional service firm Deloitte.

The firm told The Telegraph that, in a typical month, 31 percent of smartphone owners in the U.K. choose not to delve into their device’s app store. For those that do, the average number of downloaded apps has decreased year-over-year, from 2.32 to 1.82.

Related: Best educational apps to boost your brain power

Deloitte head of research for technology, media, and telecommunications Paul Lee offers two reasons for this decrease: 1) The number of smartphone owners over 50, who have no interest in using their smartphones as a data device, has increased, and 2) Those who have owned smartphones for several months tend to have a preferred set of apps.

In addition, nine in 10 people do not spend money on apps or other smartphone content, which leads to the belief that demand for paid apps has decreased. Still, Deloitte insists that the app market itself is not shrinking, with the app recommendation market growing larger by the second. “It’s pretty easy to create an app but it’s very hard to get it downloaded, which is why there is quite a big market in app recommendation,” said Lee.

Related: 5 tips to help you find the best deals on apps

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Williams Pelegrin

Former Digital Trends Contributor

Williams is an avid New York Yankees fan, speaks Spanish, resides in Colorado, and has an affinity for Frosted Flakes. Send…

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