App Insights

Mark this past week as a win for cord cutters. Last Tuesday comScore released its latest video report that validated what many suspected: consumers want TV content on every device, not only on TV. Later that day, HBO announced an “Over the Top” streaming service. Two days later CBS announced its own subscription streaming service.

Some entertainers, like Michael Jackson, become worldwide stars. Others, like Psy of Gangnam Style, capture the world’s attention for 15 minutes. And others stop at the border, never attaining international fame. With games, the same is true. What makes one gaming title spread like wildfire beyond its country of origin to become an international juggernaut, while another is only a local hit? In today’s report, we investigate.

Gaming is the Global Pastime

The press is buzzing that Apple may unveil a phablet-sized iPhone 6 on September 9th. Six years ago, who would have guessed that an extra inch of screen space could cause so much commotion?

Last Spring we reported that, as of February 2013, the phablet was an insignificant player in the mobile ecosystem dominated by phones and tablets. In fact, we said that this new kid on the block was not having a meaningful impact among consumers, developers or manufacturers. Today we are taking a second look to see how far phablets have come since our original report.

Over the past 5 years, Apple and Google have maintained a healthy duopoly in the smartphone market. Android has picked up market share dominance, especially internationally. Meanwhile, Apple has maintained a perceived lead in software and customer engagement, something many analysts refer to as the “Apple Magic”.   At Flurry, we have always measured consumer engagement by the time spent in apps, which allows us to put metrics behind the “Apple Magic”.

When the iPad was first introduced in early 2010, we analyzed its early use cases and pegged it as a media consumption device as opposed to a personal productivity device and a PC replacement. The image we built for the iPad in particular and the tablet in general is that of a living room device rooted in gaming, media and entertainment with a potential to replace the physical magazine rack, the set-top box and eventually the television set.

In May of 2013, KPCB’s Partner and world-renowned analyst Mary Meeker shared her latest Internet Trends Report. In that report, Ms. Meeker shared an interesting stat: “The average mobile consumer checks their device 150 times a day”.  That number raised a few eyebrows and led many analysts to question the difference between existing smartphones and highly anticipated “Wearables”. In this report, we have used data from Flurry Analytics to analyze the behavior of consumers that heavily use their smartphones or tablets, a segment we refer to as the “Mobile Addict”.