In some ways, trends for smartphone apps in 2022 mirrored patterns from the previous year. In terms of download counts, TikTok still reigned supreme, followed by Instagram, Facebook, and WhatsApp. Business communication apps such as Microsoft Teams and Zoom were downloaded less frequently.
Similarly, apps associated with subscription-based services—like dating apps and health and fitness apps—also had fewer downloads in 2022 than the previous year. Crypto apps also saw a decline. No doubt investors were spooked as many cryptocurrencies crashed in value in 2022. The global crypto market cap peaked in late 2021 at more than $3 trillion; it now hovers around $1 trillion.
2022 wasn’t just a year of decline, however. Travel, social, food and drink, and shopping apps all saw healthy levels of growth. Artificial intelligence apps like ChatGPT and Lensa AI saw a significant uptick in downloads in the latter part of the year.
As we move further into 2023, AI is again predicted to be a popular theme, as Google, Meta, and others ready their chatbots and AI tools for deployment. Against that backdrop, we look at a selection of apps, old and new, that are tipped to dominate in 2023.
One of the world’s most downloaded apps, Instagram enables its 1 billion monthly active users to share photos and videos.
Instagram’s meteoric rise to fame as one of the world’s most downloaded apps occurred over a matter of months, and it’s been at the top of the charts ever since. The app was developed by software engineers over the course of just eight weeks prior to its launch on Apple iOS in October 2010. In less than two years, the company creating the app had been acquired by Meta (then Facebook) for a reported $1 billion in cash and stock.
While user growth has continued since Meta’s acquisition of the company, Instagram has made a modest number of changes to the app, prioritizing a simple and intuitive user experience with a core focus on photo and video-sharing capabilities.
Slack
Slack first gained attention as the fastest-growing business-to-business software-as-a-service (SaaS) company ever, transforming from a $0 to $7 billion company in the space of just five years.
Acquired by Salesforce in 2021 for $27.7 billion, Slack is an instant messaging tool that facilitates communication between teams via text chat, voice call, video call, and file sharing. The app integrates with project management platforms such as Blossom, Asana, Jira, and Trello.
Slack started life as a collaboration tool created by the Canadian start-up Tiny Speck as they were developing a video game called Glitch. The game developers couldn’t find collaboration software they liked, so they created their own tool for internal company use. In 2013, they released Slack—short for “Searchable Log of All Conversation and Knowledge”—to the public. Within 24 hours, 8,000 organizations had signed up.
Slack is also known for achieving a $1 billion valuation after just eight months of operations, all without spending anything on advertising or hiring a chief marketing officer. Unsurprisingly, Slack saw huge spikes in downloads and user numbers at the onset of the pandemic. During a two-week period between March 10 and March 25, 2020, Slack’s user base increased from 10 million to 12.5 million. As remote work continues to be a reality for many organizations around the world, Slack has maintained its popularity, and should continue to do so in the future.
TikTok
Developed by Beijing-based company ByteDance, TikTok was created for sharing short videos. Fun, silly dancing and lip-syncing videos are perennially popular on the platform, while other people use TikTok to share creative short films.
Initially aimed at the under-18 market, the platform attracts users of all ages, though it still skews young. For example, most U.S. TikTok users are 18-19; the next-largest segment among U.S. users is the age 20-29 demographic. TikTok can boast of amazing “stickiness”—a term used to describe a product’s ability to encourage repeat business. The average TikTok user spends 52 minutes a day on the app.
With built-in filters that aim to make anyone look better on screen, TikTok also boasts a duets feature that enables users on different devices to create group videos. TikTok’s sophisticated algorithm creates a personalized user experience by tailoring content to individual preferences. It’s this customization that keeps users coming back for more.
With nearly 3 billion active users, Facebook is one of the world’s most popular websites. Not only is Facebook a way for people to keep in touch with friends and family, but it’s also an effective channel for businesses to connect with customers.
Originally called Facemash, the platform was created by Mark Zuckerberg when he was still a student at Harvard University. Featuring photos of his fellow students, the website originally pitched students against one another, inviting website visitors to decide who was more attractive.
Unsurprisingly, this concept did not sit well with Harvard’s administrators. Not only was Zuckerberg’s project shut down, but he was also threatened with expulsion. He subsequently relaunched the platform as an online student directory.
Following years of legal wrangles, which resulted in Zuckerberg paying out more than $65 million, Facebook went on to rank as the third most popular website globally, after Google and YouTube. Today, about 37% of the world’s population is on Facebook. A majority of the population in North America, Latin America, Europe, and the Middle East use Facebook. The site is less popular in Africa and Asia, but it is still used by 20.83% and 24.8% of the population on these continents, respectively.