Smartphone users
(BigStock Photo / DisobeyArt)

There’s a reason that everyone you look at it is looking at a smartphone. According to the folks whose job it is to track such things, people can’t get enough of apps, and global usage of them continues to increase.

In its latest usage report, App Annie takes a look at the average user’s app usage for the first quarter of 2017 and reaches the conclusion that mobile apps have become vital to our day-to-day lives. Last year’s report found that time spent in apps reached 1 trillion hours.

The average smartphone user, in the United States and other countries analyzed, used over 30 apps per month. That’s about a third of the number that are actually installed on phones in the U.S.

Global app usage
(App Annie Graphic)

People use about 10 apps every day, the data shows, with iPhone users using slightly more than Android users. Utilities and tools are the most commonly used apps on a monthly basis, thanks to pre-installed apps such as Safari on iOS and Google on Android.

Social networking and communication apps led the way after pre-installed ones. And on Android, users used 30 percent more games than iPhone users.

Global app usage
(App Annie Graphic)

The amount of time spent per day in apps is pretty significant, with users in the U.S. staring at Facebook and other properties an average of 2 hours and 15 minutes a day — or one month a year. But don’t power down just yet — in South Korea, Brazil and Mexico, the average time is more like 3 hours.

Global app usage
(App Annie Graphic)

And while it may seem like one app demands most of your attention, the time you spend in your favorite app is just a fraction of your total time spent using apps. In most countries, more than 80 percent of time spent in apps is spent outside of that country’s top app.

Global app usage
(App Annie Graphic)
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