App addiction? The average adult spends 5 hours a day playing mobile games

By Karen Tumbokon June 11, 2015

nielsen app usage report 2014 nintendo mobile games — Image used with permission by copyright holder

No matter how many apps you have on your smartphone, a recent Nielsen study shows that you probably only use 30 of them on a regular basis each month. Chances are, most of your favorite apps are games, video streaming, or music listening apps, and you’re using them an awful lot more than you used to.

Although monthly app use doesn’t seem to be increasing, the time spent in each app is skyrocketing. In the past two years, the time consumers spent engaging with select apps has increased by a whopping 63 percent.

Nielsen says the most popular category of apps is “entertainment,” but this includes apps like mobile games, weather apps, ebooks, and sports apps. In Q4 2014, the gaming subcategory, saw the highest usage of any app type in the entertainment app sector. On average, mobile users spent 10 hours and 2 minutes playing games each month. Of course, apps that stream music, videos, and movies follow right behind the games subcategory.

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nielsen app usage report 2014 top best apps for store google play — Image used with permission by copyright holder

nielsen app usage report 2014 average number of apps used per month — Image used with permission by copyright holder

nielsen app usage report 2014 average apps used per person — Image used with permission by copyright holder

The increase in entertainment app usage is staggering, and the trend also crosses over into overall app use. Back in 2012, consumers spent more than 23 hours engaging with their favorite apps in the four quarter alone. During the same timeframe in 2014, app use reached 37 hours and 28 minutes. The new figure marks a substantial increase, and it indicates that users are engaging with certain apps repeatedly over time.

However, increased app usage seems to have only affected a few chosen apps. Just last summer, Nielson reported the number of apps being used has only slightly increased over the past few years. When it comes to comparing recent numbers by gender, it turns out that men use 27.2 apps per month and women use 26.3 apps per month.

Nielsen’s data comes from a willing group of 5,000 panelists across demographic groups, races, and ethnicities. Nielsen’s panel is made up of 58 percent Android and 42 percent iOS users. While we’ve seen the app marketplaces grow, app developers are still continuing to battle to be part of the handful of apps that are being used on a daily basis.

You can read the full report here for more interesting stats.

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Karen is a technology, music and entertainment writer. Originally from New Jersey, Karen began her writing career in music…

Mobile

Pokémon Unite tops the list of Google Play’s Best Games of 2021

Pokemon Unite characters.

In its usual end-of-year retrospective, Google has announced the Best of Play winners for 2021, highlighting key apps and games that Google feels made the most positive contributions to the world of mobile over the past year.
For the first time, Google has also expanded these awards beyond the Android smartphone platform this year to include apps and games on tablets, Wear OS, and Google TV. The awards recognize innovation in app and game development, and in making its selections, Google looks for apps that challenge the norms by “introducing unique gameplay features and giving users never-before-seen experiences.”

Pokémon Unite took the Best Game of the Year award for 2021, beating out top picks from previous years such as Genshin Impact (2020), Call of Duty: Mobile (2019), and PUBG Mobile (2018). Google cited the dynamic gameplay and cross-platform experience of Pokémon Unite as its key merits, while also giving honorable mentions to independent developers that it says are “creating imaginative and personal gaming experiences.” The runners-up this year were notably both indie developers: George Batchelor for Bird Alone and Annapurna Interactive for Donut County.
Masaaki Hoshino, Producer for Pokémon Unite, thanked Google for the recognition, adding, “All of us who worked on the game are very honored to receive such an award,” particularly as this is Pokémon’s first strategic team battle game. “We tried to distill the best parts of the MOBA genre to create a new kind of game,” Hoshino added, while also candidly admitting that he was “unsure if it would be well received by players around the world.” The Pokémon Unite producer says he’s thrilled to have the affirmation that his team is on the right track and plans to continue improving the game and making it even more exciting.
Google Play also acknowledged winners in five more specific categories, including Best Competitive, Best Game Changers, Best Indies, Best Pick up & Play, and, for the first time, Best for Tablets.
Once again, Google also ran its Users’ Choice awards to give Play Store users a chance to weigh in by voting on their most popular picks. This year, the vote for Best Game went to Garena Free Fire MAX. Previous Users’ Choice award winners include SpongeBob: Krusty Cook-Off (2020), Call of Duty: Mobile (2019), and PUBG Mobile (2018). Although the 2018 and 2019 Users’ Choice matched Google’s own pick for Game of the Year, this is now the second year in which the user vote has gone in a different direction.
As for apps, Google noted that apps focused on personal growth continued to be in high demand throughout 2021, and its top picks reflected that.

Gaming

Pikmin Bloom is more a Nintendo fitness app than a video game

Pikmin gang carrying items and waving

Pikmin Bloom recently released for mobile devices across the world. Nintendo fans weren’t sure what to expect when Pokémon Go developer Niantic announced a new augmented reality game based on Pikmin, the popular franchise starring half-plant, half-animal creatures. While the game takes some inspiration from Pokémon Go, it's a completely different experience that's more akin to a fitness app than an actual game.

Pikmin Bloom Game Overview Trailer

Mobile

The 5 best apps to test your 5G connection on Android and iOS

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So you've picked up one of the best 5G phones (or one of the cheapest 5G phones), and you're ready to give this whole 5G thing a whirl. Except, well, how do you know you're getting the full benefit of 5G? Sure, the little "5G" symbol pops up sometimes, but what's the actual impact of that? Are you really getting your faster 5G speeds? Or, if you live outside of a 5G area, where should you go to experience the next big mobile network?

Whether you're after a tool to put your new 5G connection to the test or a map that shows you where to go to access your 5G network coverage, here's a list of the best apps to test your 5G connection on Android and iOS.
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