Apps Quickly Lose Their Appeal

Consumers tend not to use many of their smartphone apps: survey

By Evann Gastaldo, Newser Staff

Posted Jan 31, 2012 11:27 AM CST

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Apps Quickly Lose Their Appeal — A customer holds up her newly bought Apple iPhone 4S on the day of its release outside a Softbank shop in Tokyo on October 14, 2011. (Getty Images)

If you have a smartphone, chances are you've downloaded quite a few apps—but barely use any of them. A new survey by the Pew Research Center finds that of all smartphone owners, 68% use just five or fewer apps on a weekly basis (and 17% don't use apps at all), USA Today reports. One analyst estimates that 80% to 90% of apps are eventually deleted after being downloaded, so if 30% of downloaders actually keep an app on their phones, it is considered "sticky."

"The novelty wears off," says a Pew researcher. Of course, the apps that do stand the test of time end up taking a lot of our time: Android users spend around 90 minutes on their phone each day, and around two-thirds of that time is spent on apps. iPhone users are similar, says a media researcher. (Read more iPhone apps stories.)