A new study shows smartphone users are seven times less likely to use mobile web browser based apps than native apps, but when they do, Apple’s Safari is the web browser of choice for most.
Of the 2 hours and 42 minutes that consumers in the U.S. spend on their smartphones every day, 86 percent — all but 23 minutes – is spent in third-party apps, according to mobile analytics and advertising firm Flurry. Nearly one-third, or 32 percent, of that time can be chalked up to gaming, with social media and messaging following closely behind at 28 percent.
Users spent only 14% of their time using web browsers on their devices, with Apple’s iOS based Safari browser grabbing a 50% chunk of that usage. Google’s browser took 35%, and the rest was made up of “others.” The study did not break down the time spent “surfing” the web as opposed to using actual web-based apps.
The most used third-party apps included in the study were Facebook with 17% of total usage, and YouTube with 4%.
The study included both iOS and Android devices.
