Mobile Application Market Size, Share, and Trends 2024 to 2034

The global mobile application market size accounted for USD 196.08 billion in 2023 and it is expanding over USD 1,383.65 billion by 2033, poised to grow at a noteworthy CAGR of 21.55% from 2024 to 2033.

Key Takeaways

• By region, Asia Pacific held the dominating position in the mobile application market in 2023; the region is expected to continue the trend throughout the forecast period.
• By marketplace, the apple store segment led the market in 2023; the google play store segment is expected to witness the most lucrative growth during the forecast period.
• By app category, the gaming app segment dominated the mobile application market in 2023. On the other hand, the entertainment and music segment shows promising growth for the forecast period.

Mobile Application Market in the Asia Pacific 2024 To 2033

The Asia Pacific mobile application market size was valued at USD 64.71 billion in 2023 and it is projected to reach around USD 456.61 billion by 2033, growing at a CAGR of 21.56% between 2024 and 2033.

Rising smartphone penetration along with high adoption rate of advanced technologies such as IoT, artificial intelligence, and augmented & virtual reality (AR & VR) have significantly triggered the Asia Pacific market with a rapid pace. The region accounted as the most lucrative region and predicted to witness the highest growth rate during the forecast period. In terms of revenue share, the Asia Pacific expected to dominate the global mobile application market during the analysis period. Among Asian countries, China encountered as the leading destination for mobile application download in 2016. However, India recorded the highest percentage of daily use of approximately 27%. In the future years, rising disposable income combined with government initiatives is likely to boost regional market growth. Additionally, the accessibility of low-price mobile informationingesting packs and networking developments are two significant growth drivers in the region. In addition, adoption of smartphone and internet penetration is also driving the expansion of mobile application market in Asia-Pacific region. 

On the other hand, being technologically forward and developed economies North America and Europe held prominent position in the global mobile application market in 2021, with more than 60% revenue share collectively. Presence of magnificent players in the North America such as Apple Inc., IBM Corp., Microsoft Corp., Google LLC, Cognizant, and many others has led the region at the dominant position. In addition, early adoption of technologies in the region along with significant investment in the mobile application to transform the world into fully digitized are another prime factors that drives the market growth. According to world investment report 2017, media & entertainment industry is the most affected industry by digitization and the percentage of impact should be nearly 62%.

The U.S. is dominating the mobile application market in the North America region. In standings of in-app compensation, rewarded mobile games, and a fast-increasing user base of mobile applications in the country, the U.S. is projected to arise as a profitable market for mobile gaming applications. The growth of the North America mobile application market is being attributed to the existence of major market players. 

• As of 2022, 66% of Indian population owned smartphones; whereas as of 2022, the country had 930 million mobile internet users.

Mobile Application Market Overview

The global mobile application market offers the development and distribution of mobile/smartphone apps in order to run various applications in a mobile operating system. The distribution of mobile applications is primarily done with Apple app store or Google play store. Ongoing technological advancements, such as faster processors, improved connectivity and penetration of smartphones in developing countries are observed to promote the growth of the mobile application market.

Data and statistics:

• As of 2023, Google Play Store has 3.718 million applications for Android smartphone users across the world. Approximately 96.9% of apps on Google Play Store are available for free.
• Instagram, in 2022, covered almost 45% of Facebook’s revenue. The application has over 300 million active users across the globe.

Growth Factors

Mobile applications often deliver operators with facilities that are alike to those accessible on desktop computers. The major purpose of the mobile application is to link consumers to internet services by allowing them to access the internet on their mobile devices. The acceptance of various gadgets and the development of the e-commerce sector’s consumer population are two important drivers driving the market's growth. Furthermore, the market's growth is fueled by continued growth in enterprise applications, increased attention on apps designed for health and fitness, and high downloads and in-app purchases for gaming apps.

The increasing consumer base for e-commerce industry along with rising adoption of smart phones are some of the major factors that drives the growth of mobile application market. In Asia Pacific the smartphone penetration will reach 62.4% by 2021. Furthermore, rising application of virtual and augmented reality triggers the market growth significantly. At present, the smartphones are equipped with various sensors such as accelerometers, gyroscopes, and motion sensors to verify the capability of AR and VR through various mobile apps. In gaming apps such as ‘Pokemon Go’ AR and VR feature enhances the user experience. Besides entertainment business, mobile applications are also largely used for health care and medical benefits. It helps to connect to doctor from various places at a single platform. Other than this, there are several health monitoring apps where users can check their daily exercise routines and improve it accordingly.

However, lack of high-speed connectivity in under-developed and developing nations is expected to impede the market growth. Nonetheless, rising adoption as well as investment in digitization projected to flourish the market growth in the coming years.

Mobile Application Market Scope

Mobile Application Market Dynamics

Drivers

Expansion of e-commerce sector

e-commerce businesses often develop dedicated mobile shopping apps. These apps offer a convenient way for customers to browse, shop and make purchases on mobile devices. Mobile apps for e-commerce frequently integrate various payment methods, including digital wallets and mobile payment solutions. The enhanced shopping experience offered by such apps usually encourages customer engagement and app usage. Thereby, the expansion of e-commerce sector drives the demand for mobile apps while fuelling innovation in the market.

• ‘State of Mobile 2023’ report published by Data.ai stated that Indians spent 8.7 billion hours on shopping apps in 2022. Temu, an e-commerce app was downloaded by 50 million people since its launch in September 2022.

Restraints

Lack of advanced mobile devices

Manufacturers of mobile devices are struggling to stay up with the fierce competition and keep up with mobile app developers. Applications created for specialized purposes necessitate the use of advanced device features. To remedy this challenge, consumers must switch to devices with advanced features that allow mobile apps to run more efficiently. As a result, these factors are likely to stifle market expansion over the forecast period.

Opportunities

Shift in consumer patterns and lifestyle

As consumers rely more on mobile devices for various aspects of their lives, including shopping, entertainment and communication, there is a growing demand for mobile apps that cater to these needs. This increased mobile usage creates a larger user base for mobile apps. The shift towards streaming, entertainment, food delivery and meal planning apps has created a thriving market for mobile apps. Thereby, this shift in consumer pattern and lifestyle creates an opportunity for mobile app developers to develop innovative solutions.

Challenges

Saturation of smartphone

Downloads of free apps are projected to decline at a slower rate than paid app sales. According to recent disclosures from two global heavyweights in the global mobile application business such as Apple and Google, the number of apps installed is anticipated to decrease over time as customer demand for mobile apps is met. Another issue contributing to the worldwide mobile application market's fall is smartphone market saturation, which will result in fewer total mobile app installations.

Marketplace Insights

The apple app store segment dominated the global mobile application market in 2023; the segment will continue to grow at a significant rate throughout the forecast period. With a substantial user base, iOS users are known for their willingness to spend on apps, which attracts developers to the platform. Apple also offers extensive developer support, resources and development tools, enabling developers to create feature-rich, high-quality apps.

The overall growth in Apple smartphone sales is observed as a major driver for the segment’s growth. For instance, in the third quarter of 2023, Apple generated its highest sales in India with 2.5 million units.

On the other hand, the Google play store segment is expected to grow at a notable rate. The accessibility of Google play store in various regions without language barriers promotes the segment’s growth. The broad reach enables developers to target worldwide audiences. The integration of pre-installed apps in android smartphones also encourages users to access Google play store for additional apps, creating a seamless user experience.

App Category Insights

The gaming app segment held the dominating position in the mobile application market in 2023. The rise of e-sports and competitive gaming has added a new dimension to gaming apps, turning them into platforms for organized tournaments and competitive play.  Owing to an unexpected expansion in the gaming populace and, as a result, the quantity of mobile gaming claims in nations like as India and China, the segment is expected to maintain its dominance over the projection period. Increased application of augmented and virtual reality (AR and VR) in the gaming applications and high-level graphics are accounted as the prime factors contributing to its revenue growth. Furthermore, rising investment in gaming applications expected to fuel its growth during the forecast period. For instance, in August 2021, the global mobile gaming industry has received USD 9.6 Bn of investment and has reached at USD 68.4 Bn market revenue by the end of the year 2021. 

On the other hand, entertainment & music segment encountered prominent growth rate during the forecast period. The growth of the segment is mainly due to rising demand of online music and entertainment. Netflix, Pandora, Hulu, HBO NOW, YouTube, and many more entertainment apps are available in the market. Additionally, the entertainment app developers are incorporating 3D features to enhance the picture quality.

• In July 2023, China granted permission for 88 new gaming apps. With a substantial engagement, the gamer base in China reached 668 million in the first half of 2023.

Recent Developments

• In October 2023, capcom, a game developer introduced Resident Evil Village which is a Survival Horror Game, for the latest iPhone 15 Pro series and M1 and M2 iPads. The trial has been initiated at a size of 1.4GB.
• In October 2023, the government of Karnataka is planning to launch its own transportation network company in order to provide services like Ola and Uber for the convenience of taxi and autorickshaw drivers.
• MobileIron Inc. bought incapptic Connect GmbH, a mobile applicationcreator, in May 2020 with the purpose of developing and deploying protected mobile business applications.
• Mitsui & Co., Ltd., a Japanese corporation and prominent healthcare investor, revealed in November 2018 that GOQii had raised funds. Following the project, GOQii set its sights on expanding its presence in India and entering the Japanese market through its health shop.
• AppSheet, a supplier of a no-code development platform for application software, was purchased by Google LLC in January of 2020.
• Qualcomm Inc., a semiconductor and telecom equipment company based in the United States, spent $150 million in Indian startups in September 2015. Market companies are likely to benefit from such investments by expanding their product portfolios, increasing their market presence, and gaining a competitive advantage.

Mobile Application Market Companies & Market Share Insights

The global mobile application market is highly competitive with presence of established and big market players. In addition, several new players such as Xiaomi, and OnePlus have also established their strong footprint in the recent past. The companies are largely focused to provide user-friendly application with enhanced experience. In addition, they also incorporated advanced technologies such as augmented and virtual reality in the new application to satisfy the customer requirement and experience.

Some of the prominent players in the mobile application market include:

• Apple Inc.
• Cognizant
• CA Technologies
• Hewlett Packard Enterprise
• China Mobile Ltd
• Google LLC
• Intellectsoft
• Microsoft Corporation
• International Business Machines Corporation
• Verbat Technologies

Segments Covered in the Report

This research report includes complete assessment of the market with the help of extensive qualitative and quantitative insights, and projections regarding the market. This report offers breakdown of market into prospective and niche sectors. Further, this research study calculates market revenue and its growth trend at global, regional, and country from 2021 to 2033. This report includes market segmentation and its revenue estimation by classifying it on the basis of marketplace, app category, and region:

By Marketplace

• Google Play Store
• Apple iOS Store
• Other Marketplaces (Microsoft)

By App Category

• Music & Entertainment
• Gaming
• Health & Fitness
• Education & Learning
• Retail & e-Commerce
• Travel & Hospitality
• Others (Navigation, Utilities, and News)

By Regional Outlook

• North America
  • U.S.
  • Canada
• Europe
  • U.K.
  • Germany
  • France
• Asia Pacific
  • China
  • India
  • Japan
  • South Korea
• Rest of the World