If you base your opinion on anecdotal evidence, you get fooled by the fact that consumer apps by their nature are more likely to have come to your attention. I

If you base your opinion on anecdotal evidence, you get fooled by the fact that consumer apps by their nature are more likely to have come to your attention. If you really want to measure rates of technical progress, you have to be rigorous and do it bottom up. I.e. decide in advance what you consider to be important, then go look at the trend. Cancer survival rates might be a good place to start.