What’s interesting about this year’s group of winners is the subtle statement Apple is making with its editorial picks. This Week in Apps offers a way to keep up with this fast-moving industry in one place with the latest from the world of apps, including news, updates, startup fundings, mergers and acquisitions, and suggestions about new apps and games to try, too.ĭo you want This Week in Apps in your inbox every Saturday? Sign up here: /newsletters Top Stories Apple announced its top apps and games of 2021 In 2020, investors poured $73 billion in capital into mobile companies - a figure that’s up 27% year-over-year. In 2019, mobile-first companies had a combined $544 billion valuation, 6.5x higher than those without a mobile focus. Currently, the average American watches 3.7 hours of live TV per day, but now spends four hours per day on their mobile devices.Īpps aren’t just a way to pass idle hours - they’re also a big business. And in the U.S., app usage surged ahead of the time spent watching live TV.
Consumers last year also spent 3.5 trillion minutes using apps on Android devices alone. The app industry continues to grow, with a record 218 billion downloads and $143 billion in global consumer spend in 2020. Welcome back to This Week in Apps, the weekly TechCrunch series that recaps the latest in mobile OS news, mobile applications and the overall app economy.