• by Karlene Lukovitz  @KLmarketdaily, December 16, 2021

Despite predictions of a slowdown, the mobile app economy keeps growing — and entertainment apps are grabbing increasing shares of consumer time and dollars. 

More than a third of non-gaming spending is now generated by entertainment and social apps, according to App Annie’s 2021 recap report, reflecting data through October. 

The app-tracking company projects that entertainment-app consumer revenue will hit $12 billion in 2022 — double 2020’s revenue total. 

WarnerMedia is no doubt tickled to see that within the entertainment category, its 18-month-old streamer, HBO Max, is No. 1 in the U.S. both by downloads (above) and time-spent (below).

Among the major streaming service players, only Discovery+ also made the top 10 by downloads in the U.S.

In the U.S. time-spent ranking, however, HBO Max and Twitch are followed by Tubi, Peacock, Pluto, Roku, Discovery+, MX Player, Crunchyroll and Spectrum TV. 

Worldwide, while YouTube leads by time spent, Disney+, HBO Max, and Disney+ Hotstar all made the top 10.

(Fun factoid: Disney+ on Android phones alone hit 975 billion hours globally between January and October, App Annie estimates.) 

And while none of the big streamers owned by U.S. companies made the worldwide top 10 lists for either downloads or monthly active users, Disney+ and HBO Max did come in at No. 3 and No. 4 in worldwide consumer spend.

Looking at the big picture, global spend across the iOS and Google Play stores is projected to set another record, reaching $135 billion in 2021 — up by more than 20% from last year’s $112 billion. 

As in previous years, iOS spending dominates: 65 cents of every app dollar is spent by Apple users. 

iOS and Google Play app downloads are on track to reach 140 billion, representing 20% growth over two years. 

Gamers spend the most on apps, contributing about 60% of iOS revenue and nearly 80% of Google Play revenue.