Welcome back to This Week in\u00a0Apps,\u00a0the\u00a0TechCrunch series that recaps the latest in mobile OS news, mobile applications and the overall app economy.
\nThe app industry is as hot as ever, with\u00a0a record\u00a0204 billion downloads and $120 billion in consumer spending in 2019. People now\u00a0spend\u00a0three hours and 40 minutes per day using apps, rivaling TV. Apps aren\u2019t just a way to pass idle hours \u2014 they\u2019re also a big business. In 2019, mobile-first companies had a\u00a0combined\u00a0$544 billion valuation, 6.5x higher than those without a mobile focus.
\nThis week, Apple and Google announced their editorially curated lists detailing the best apps of the year, and Apple also revealed those that were downloaded the most. Apple also made a notable new hire for an App Store role and opened up its anticipated App Store Small Business Program to developers.<\/p>\n
Top Stories
\nBest Apps of the Year<\/p>\n
Image Credits: Apple<\/p>\n
Both Apple and Google released their \u201cbest apps of 2020\u201d year-end lists and there were some similarities between the two, as well as some differences. Both companies\u2019 lists reflected the tough and stressful year 2020 has been, with everyone being stuck at home during a pandemic that changed how we worked, attended school, connected with friends and family, and entertained ourselves.
\nApple and Google, as a result, both selected at least one \u201cde-stressing\u201d app among their year-end winners. In Apple\u2019s case, it was Endel, an iOS app that won for Apple Watch App of the Year. Google, however, awarded sleep app Lo\u00f3na the title of best app of the year.
\nDisney+ also made both Apple and Google\u2019s lists, the former as Apple TV App of the Year and the latter as the User\u2019s Choice for app of the year. The new streaming service was a godsend for families with younger children, who often struggled in 2020 to keep kids entertained. New releases like Onward and Mulan in 2020 helped give families something to look forward to, while Marvel and Star Wars content, including new series \u201cThe Mandalorian,\u201d were hits with streamers, as well.
\nAnother pandemic-prompted choice was Zoom, which won as iPad App of the Year. Though Zoom was around before the coronavirus outbreak, it\u2019s now become a part of our everyday lexicon as an interchangeable term for \u201conline video meeting\u201d \u2014 as in, \u201clet\u2019s do a zoom call about that.\u201d The iPad app at least made these endless virtual meetings a little less painless.
\nAnd home workout companion Wakeout! become Apple\u2019s iPhone app of the year, as most people gave up the gym due to coronavirus risks. The app\u2019s quick one-minute breaks helped users stay moving, even when stuck at home for days on the couch or working on their laptop in bed.<\/p>\n
Image Credits: Genshin Impact (screenshot via Sensor Tower)<\/p>\n
Meanwhile, gacha-based action role-playing game Genshin Impact won as \u201cbest game\u201d of the year on both Apple and Google\u2019s lists. While a cynical take is that the app stores wanted to point users to a huge moneymaker \u2014 the game reportedly earned $245 million its first month and nearly $400 million in two months on mobile \u2014 it also highlights consumers\u2019 desire for console-like experiences on mobile.
\nThe game, however, has been heavily criticized for its gacha game monetization techniques, which though common to games in China, Japan and South Korea, are basically gambling mechanics. And addictive ones at that. But as a Wired report noted, some of this comes down to cultural differences. U.S. users grew up on cartridge games, not arcade games, where you were constantly inserting more money to keep playing. Western users just aren\u2019t as comfortable with this \u201cspend to keep playing\u201d business model, which they feel is predatory.
\nApple\u2019s other top apps of the year included perennial favorite Fantastical as Apple\u2019s Mac App of the Year; Legends of Runeterra as iPad Game of the Year; Disco Elysium as Mac Game of the Year; Dandara Trials of Fear as Apple TV Game of the Year; and Sneaky Sasquatch as the Apple Arcade Game of the Year.
\nGoogle\u2019s list also included SpongeBob: Krusty Cook-Off as users\u2019 choice for best game, and it highlighted a variety of top titles in various gaming subgenres in a dedicated section of its Play Store.
\n2020\u2019s most downloaded apps
\nApple also gave a peek into the \u201cbest\u201d apps of the year, as determined by app downloads. The pandemic played a role here as well, making Zoom the most-downloaded iPhone app of 2020.
\nAlso of note, TikTok was the biggest social media app by downloads, ahead of all the Facebook-owned apps making the list, including Facebook, Instagram and Messenger. Square\u2019s Cash App hit No. 10, as the pandemic saw increased demand for contactless payments and direct giving to people in need.
\nThe most-downloaded apps and games of 2020 were, as follows:
\nTop Free iPhone Apps<\/p>\n
ZOOM Cloud Meetings
\nTikTok
\nDisney+
\nYouTube
\nInstagram
\nFacebook
\nSnapchat
\nMessenger
\nGmail
\nCash App<\/p>\n
Top Paid iPhone Apps<\/p>\n
TouchRetouch
\nProcreate Pocket
\nDark Sky Weather
\nFacetune
\nHotSchedules
\nAutoSleep Track Sleep
\nThe Wonder Weeks
\nSkyView
\nShadowrocket
\nSky Guide<\/p>\n
Top Free iPhone Games<\/p>\n
Among Us!
\nCall of Duty: Mobile
\nRoblox
\nSubway Surfers
\nInk Inc. \u2013 Tattoo Drawing
\nMagic Tiles 3: Piano Game
\nBrain Test: Tricky Puzzles
\nBrain Out
\nCoin Master
\nCube Surfer!<\/p>\n
Top Paid iPhone Games<\/p>\n
Minecraft
\nPlague Inc.
\nHeads Up!
\nMonopoly
\nBloons TD6
\nGeometry Dash
\nNBA 2K20
\nGrand Theft Auto: San Andreas
\nThe Game of Life
\nTrue Skate<\/p>\n
Top Free iPad Apps<\/p>\n
ZOOM Cloud Meetings
\nDisney+
\nYouTube
\nNetflix
\nGoogle Chrome
\nTikTok
\nAmazon Prime Video
\nGmail
\nHulu
\nGoogle Classroom<\/p>\n
Top Paid iPad Apps<\/p>\n
Procreate
\nGoodNotes 5
\nNotability
\nDuet Display
\nTeach Your Monster
\nLumaFusion
\nAffinity Designer
\nToca Hair Salon 3
\n9: Toca Life: Hospital
\nToca Kitchen 2<\/p>\n
Top Free iPad Games<\/p>\n
Among Us!
\nRoblox
\nMagic Tiles 3: Piano Game
\nInk Inc. \u2013 Tattoo Drawing
\nCall of Duty: Mobile
\nSubway Surfers
\nDancing Road: Color Ball Run!
\nTiles Hop \u2013 EDM Rush
\nMario Kart Tour
\nSave The Girl!<\/p>\n
Top Paid iPad Games<\/p>\n
Minecraft
\nMonopoly
\nBloons TD 6
\nPlague Inc.
\nGeometry Dash
\nThe Game of Life
\nFive Nights at Freddy\u2019s
\nHuman: Fall Flat
\nStardew Valley
\nTerraria<\/p>\n
Top Arcade Games<\/p>\n
Sneaky Sasquatch
\nHot Lava
\nSkate City
\nSonic Racing
\nPAC-MAN Party Royale
\nSpongeBob: Patty Pursuit
\nOceanhorn 2
\nCrossy Road Castle
\nWHAT THE GOLF?
\nLEGO Brawls<\/p>\n
Josh Elman joins Apple to focus on App Store discovery\u00a0
\nVC Josh Elman announced this week he was joining Apple in a role that will see him helping customers \u201cdiscover the best apps for them.\u201d In other words, app discovery.
\nElman\u2019s background includes RealNetworks, LinkedIn, Zazzle, Facebook and Twitter, and later moved into VC. Elman worked at venture firm Greylock in 2011 as a principal, and by 2013 he had become a general partner. While there, he invested in SmartThings, as well as social networks like Musical.ly (now the massive No. 2 app of the year, TikTok), Nextdoor, Houseparty and Discord. He later moved to fast-rising fintech startup Robinhood and now, he\u2019s heading to Apple.<\/p>\n
With an eye for what\u2019s next, longtime operator and VC Josh Elman gets pulled into Apple<\/p>\n
Weekly News
\nPlatforms<\/p>\n
Apple opens up enrollment into the App Store Small Business Program. The program will reduce App Store commissions to 15% for qualified developers with revenues under $1 million.<\/p>\n
Google announced Android\u2019s winter update will include an expanded Emoji Kitchen in Gboard, auto-narration for Google Play Book without narration, a \u201cGo Tab\u201d in Google Maps for frequent destinations, Android Auto soon arriving in more countries, support for app sharing in Nearby Share and Voice Access improvements.<\/p>\n
Google launches the first version of Android Studio Arctic Fox (2020.3.1) on the Canary channel, along with Android Gradle plugin (AGP) version 7.0.0-alpha01. The release is also notable for moving to a year-based system more aligned with IntelliJ IDEA, the IDE upon which Android Studio is built. Going forward, the number scheme will work like this: <Year of IntelliJ Version>.<IntelliJ major version>.<Studio major version>. The new version of Android Studio includes over 200 improvements and bugs, including those in the code editor, app inspection tools, layout editor and the embedded emulator.<\/p>\n
Android\u2019s winter update adds new features to Gboard, Maps, Books, Nearby Share and more<\/p>\n
Services<\/p>\n
Amazon will now let iOS users text Alexa to ask for things instead of using their voice.<\/p>\n
Security & Privacy<\/p>\n
Twitter now supports hardware security keys for iPhones and Android.<\/p>\n
Google Authenticator app for iOS adds a dark theme and support for bulk 2FA account transfers, helpful for switching between devices.<\/p>\n
Google launches Android Enterprise Essentials, an MDM for SMBs that will require their employees to use a lock screen and encryption to protect company data and can remotely wipe devices. It also prevents users from installing apps outside the Google Play Store via the Google Play Protect service.<\/p>\n
Twitter now supports hardware security keys for iPhones and Android<\/p>\n
Accessibility<\/p>\n
iPhones can now automatically recognize and label buttons and UI features for blind users using Screen Recognition in iOS 14.<\/p>\n
Android\u2019s winter update, similarly, will introduce a new version of Voice Access that will use ML to understand interface labels and buttons on devices.<\/p>\n
iPhones can now automatically recognize and label buttons and UI features for blind users<\/p>\n
Apps in the News<\/p>\n
Google now lets anyone contribute to Google Maps\u2019 Street View using the Street View app and Android phone that supports ARCore.<\/p>\n
Telegram is the first third-party app to use Apple\u2019s Announce Messages with Siri feature for AirPods.<\/p>\n
Google adds the messaging feature every iMessage user dreams of: the ability to schedule sending of messages in Google\u2019s Messages app.<\/p>\n
Reddit reveals DAUs for first time: 52 million.<\/p>\n
Google Assistant can now reply to messages from WhatsApp, Google Voice and more.<\/p>\n
Google Maps gets a Facebook-like news feed with business updates, local reviews and more.<\/p>\n
TikTok tests three-minute long videos. (But we don\u2019t need longer versions of its viral hits like M to the B).<\/p>\n
Triller claims 321 million downloads and 65 million MAUs. (Former employees have accused the TikTok rival of inflating its numbers, which Triller denies.)<\/p>\n
Evernote rolls out a redesign on Android. The updates include a new note editor, faster search and improved navigation.<\/p>\n
Google\u2019s learn-to-code app Grasshopper is now available in Spanish.<\/p>\n
WhatsApp will now allow users to set custom wallpapers, adds doodle wallpaper in more colors and adds new stickers.
\nE-commerce app Wish accused of selling counterfeit products.\u00a0<\/p>\n
7-Eleven adds its own mobile wallet to its app to allow customers, including cash customers, a contactless way to pay at its stores using their phone.<\/p>\n
Match-owned dating app Hinge refreshes design and adds a \u201cStandouts\u201d feature to show users outstanding prompts and photo prompts from their best potential matches, and can answer with a new paid feature, Roses.<\/p>\n
Quibi is really gone now.<\/p>\n
French administration suspects Wish of selling counterfeit products<\/p>\n
Trends<\/p>\n
Image Credits: App Annie<\/p>\n
App download rates have declined by 4% since 2015, but active engagement has grown.<\/p>\n
Messaging app usage is up 13% (four-year CAGR), and users spend 67% more time in messaging apps than in social media apps.<\/p>\n
Messaging apps that offer privacy features see, on avgerage, 30% more active users than alternatives.<\/p>\n
Q3 smartphone sales down 5.7% in Q3 to 366 million.
\nMobile shopping climbed 25% on Black Friday to $3.6 billion.\u00a0<\/p>\n
U.S. shopping app downloads on Black Friday reached a record 2.8 million\u00a0per Sensor Tower, or 2.7 million per App Annie. App Annie also said shopping shopping app downloads topped 2.3 million on Thanksgiving and 2.1 million on Cyber Monday.<\/p>\n
On Black Friday, Walmart was the No. 1 U.S. shopping app download, followed by Amazon. On Cyber Monday, that was reversed, also per App Annie.<\/p>\n
In-app revenue was 150% higher on Black Friday than the average of the previous 30 days, says AppsFlyer.
\nApp Store and Google Play consumer spending topped $100 billion from January 1-November 29, Sensor Tower says.<\/p>\n
US shopping app downloads on Black Friday reached a record 2.8M installs<\/p>\n
Funding and M&A<\/p>\n
Salesforce buys Slack for $27.7 billion.<\/p>\n
VSCO acquires the tech and team from the AI-powered video editing app Trash to move further into the video market. Deal terms weren\u2019t available, but Trash was backed by $3.3 million.<\/p>\n
Teen banking app Step raises $50 million. The app is TikTok star Charli D\u2019Amelio\u2019s first startup investment. Other investors included lead Coatue; returning investors from Stripe, Crosslink Capital, Collaborative Fund and Will Smith\u2019s Dreamers VC; and celeb investors D\u2019Amelio, Justin Timberlake and The Chainsmokers, Eli Manning, Kelvin Beachum, Larry Fitzgerald and Andre Iguodala.<\/p>\n
Ivanti acquired security firms, including enterprise mobile security firm MobileIron and corporate VPN provider Pulse Secure. Ivanti bought MobileIron for $872 million in stock.
\nU.K. challenger banking app Monzo adds \u00a360 million\u00a0in funding.<\/p>\n
AR gaming startup Krikey raises undisclosed funding, including from Jio Platforms. The company has raised $22 million to date.<\/p>\n
Wellory raises $4.5 million\u00a0for its anti-diet nutrition app.<\/p>\n
Airbnb to IPO with shares priced between $44 and $50.<\/p>\n
ESL app for kids Novakid raises $4.25 million.<\/p>\n
Virtual fitness app Salut raises $1.25 million.
\nVideo app Supergreat, a TikTok for beauty products, raises $6.5 million.<\/p>\n
Mental health app Intellect raises undisclosed round led by Insignia VP.<\/p>\n
Review
\nWe tried the Apple Watch Family Setup with a tween. They weren\u2019t impressed with the apps or the controls, but did like the Memoji. No Roblox group chat on the small screen? Boo.<\/p>\n
A tween tries Apple\u2019s new \u2018Family Setup\u2019 system for Apple Watch<\/p>\n
Downloads
\nIconboard<\/p>\n
Image Credits: Iconboard<\/p>\n
If you find it too frustrating to use Apple\u2019s Shortcuts to build your own custom icons, you can turn to Iconboard instead. This newly launched app lets you design a style for your icons and apply it to all of your icons at once. It can even create invisible icons to give you a way to space out items on your screen.
\nCardlet<\/p>\n
Image Credits: Cardlet<\/p>\n
While I\u2019ve been enjoying Punkpost\u2019s custom designs for when I\u2019m too lazy\u2026err I mean busy\u2026to send my own handwritten notes and cards, Cardlet is ready to give my go-to app a run for the money. Like Punkpost, Cardlet will send a real paper card on your behalf, but it adds a modern-day touch: The app includes a hidden AR experience that brings the card to life when viewed with the camera.
\nHeynote<\/p>\n
Image Credits: Heynote<\/p>\n
Some people don\u2019t trust to-do lists, reminders or calendar notifications to always get the job done. When there\u2019s something we really need to remember, we stick it directly on our home screen. (Okay, this one may only appeal to a small niche of scatterbrained users like me.) But if you have, in the past, also designed your own temporary wallpaper just so you won\u2019t forget a super critical appointment, the Android app Heynote, (hat tip to Android Police!) might help. Instead of a widget or reminder, this app lets you put custom text directly on your home screen as a custom wallpaper. Doctor appt. at 11 AM? You can\u2019t forget it when it\u2019s there every single time you look at your phone.<\/p>\n