This has been happening for a while. This 2012 article from Nielsen [1] wrote that while app downloads were up (in 2012), user time spend in all apps was flat.

This has been happening for a while. This 2012 article from Nielsen [1] wrote that while app downloads were up (in 2012), user time spend in all apps was flat. It also notes that the 4 of most popular apps were Facebook, YouTube, Google Search, and Gmail. This 2014 recap [2] of a comScore report notes that more than half of all smartphone users download 0 new apps a month -- this started the catchphrase that "the average user downloads 0 new apps a month", which has both been supported and challenged by additional analyses on old and new data every year since. Whether it's 0 or 1.5 [3] isn't the point -- the growth is measly. Aside from a select runaway hits, most of today's most used apps are the same as 4, 5 years ago. The app boom has been over for a long time. Occasionally, one can still strike it rich, but it's the exception, and not the norm. [1] http://www.forbes.com/sites/parmyolson/2014/02/19/exclusive-inside-story-how-jan-koum-built-whatsapp-into-facebooks-new-19-billion-baby/ http://www.forbes.com/sites/parmyolson/2014/02/19/exclusive-... [2] https://www.quora.com/How-was-WhatsApp-built https://www.quora.com/How-was-WhatsApp-built [3] https://www.tune.com/blog/no-the-average-american-does-not-download-0-apps-each-month/ https://www.tune.com/blog/no-the-average-american-does-not-d...