Gamers expected to download 160 billion apps in 2017: report

PEOPLE are expected to download more than 160 billion apps in 2017, with free games driving a new wave of app obsession.

Angry Birds from the online and mobile phone game app.

PEOPLE are expected to download more than 160 billion apps in 2017 with our desire to play free games on our smartphones and tablets driving a new wave of app obsession.

The prediction released today by Juniper Research suggests that an average of 20 apps will be downloaded by every person on the planet in 2017 alone.

That's a dramatic increase from the 80 billion apps we are expected to download this year.

The research says that the majority of the annual downloads will be free games, as app developers look to improve the "stickiness" of their games by developing social functions for game play.

One example of that extra "stickiness" is the Google Play Game Services recent announcement that players would find themselves ranked on combined leaderboards that included the platforms of Android, iOS and the web.

The Juniper report also says that the challenge for app developers to turn those downloads into an income source would become greater, with the number of apps paid for at download dropping from 6.1 per cent this year to 5 per cent by 2017.

The report says the expected boom in app downloads will be a result of the spread of smartphones in developing markets and the increasing number of free apps.

The Apple App store will mark its fifth anniversary this month, and recently notched up the 50 billion download milestone.

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