Sensor Tower has published its latest “State of Mobile” report, which provides an overview of key app usage trends and shifts, which could help to inform your strategic approach.
The full, 94-page report includes in-depth breakdowns of mobile apps by category, and key notes on where app marketers and those working in each sector should be looking. You can download the full report here (with email sign-up), but in this post, we’ll take a look at the key social app trends of note.
First off, the report highlights the ongoing power of social apps, which remain the most popular app type, based on total downloads.
As you can see, Netflix is also popular, along with newcomers like Temu and ChatGPT. But social apps continue to dominate in overall downloads, underlining the connective role that these platforms now play in modern life.
Which is why they remain key considerations for marketing, for all brands, while the report also shows that social apps also continue dominate overall time spent.
In terms of social apps specifically, the report highlights several key usage trends, including the rise of in-app purchases (IAPs).
As you can see in these charts, overall time spent in social apps is still rising, though at lower rates than previous years, while in-app spending is up significantly, on the back of platform add-on services and shopping.
That points to more opportunities for apps to integrate more shopping elements, which could see more buy now options appearing in more feeds.
The report also looks at the rise of short-form video, and how Meta has benefited from making Reels a focus.
As per Sensor Tower:
“Sensor Tower data reveals that U.S. Facebook user time spent on Reels in December 2024 increased 17 percentage points from January 2024, equating to millions of engagement hours shifting to the feature.”
The push to integrate more Reels into more elements of Facebook and IG has delivered big benefits, and you can expect to see Meta leaning even more into this approach, and AI-based recommendations, moving forward.
The report also looks at the rising competition for X, and how competitors are eating into the former bird app’s usage.
As you can see in this chart, while Threads is gradually expanding in overall time spent versus X, people are also spending less time in these apps, showing a broader backlash against the format.
“With X as the runaway leader by time spent in the space, global time spent for the top 10 apps fell 10% between 2021 and 2024. While some X users are switching to alternatives, others simply found other sources of entertainment like short-form videos or streaming.”
That’s likely why X is now trying to re-frame itself as a “video first” platform, in order to better align with overall usage shifts, and get its growth back on track.
The report also looks at total downloads by region, including overall app rankings:
And growth in downloads over the last year:
Note the presence of Threads in both charts, which is no surprise given that app was only launched in mid-2023. But it is amazing to see how Elon Musk’s changes at X opened the door for a competitor to rise to 300 million active users in such a short period.
There’s also a whole segment in the report on the rise of AI apps, which also includes some stark charts and data:
Whether you like it or not, AI content creation is on the rise, and as these apps continue to improve, you’re going to see more and more of these depictions online.
The full report includes in-depth, regional breakdowns, and many more app categories, and it’s a good read anybody working in apps or related sectors. Which is pretty much everyone, and there are some valuable notes on where things are headed, and what’s happening in terms of overall app usage.
You can download Sensor Tower’s State of Mobile 2025 report here.
