The Top 5 App Categories in 2022

The mobile app market is constantly changing as user preferences evolve. Trends change and impact the popularity and performance of apps that fall under different app categories. 

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As an app owner, it’s important to pay attention to what categories are showing significant growth and popularity with users in 2022 - your app might fall into one of them, increasing its value and potential ROI, which can put you at an advantage should you decide to sell. 

Is your app in an in-demand category?

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If you’re considering selling your app, you’ll want to have a good idea of its potential value and how in demand it will be before deciding whether or not to put it on the market. Likewise, if you’re considering launching a new app, you’ll want to get a good idea of how successful it will potentially be, as part of your market research. 

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One way to do this is by assessing the category your app falls under. How popular is its category? Is it currently experiencing rapid growth in terms of user downloads and in-app advertising or in-app purchase revenue? Or is its growth and popularity peaking? These factors can directly influence an app’s current and long-term value and worth. 

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Let’s take a closer look at the top-performing app categories of 2022.

The top 5 mobile app categories in 2022

Health & Wellness

Over the years, particularly since 2020, there’s been growing user demand for apps that provide easy, accessible tips and solutions for lifestyle improvement, which has led to an explosion of health and wellness-related apps appearing on the market. These apps tend to cover a variety of lifestyle concerns, whether they’re physical, nutritional, mental or emotional.

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Use cases and examples in this app category include:

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• Fitness tracking apps
• Personal training apps
• Cooking and nutritional-related apps
• Weight loss apps
• Meditation apps
• Yoga apps

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According to Statista, approximately 86.3 million people in the US will be using health and fitness apps by the end of 2022. Based on this emerging data, health and fitness is one of the most lucrative mobile app categories to occupy.

Gaming

Gaming apps remain some of the most frequently downloaded mobile apps among users, enjoying immense popularity. iOS gaming apps generated an astounding $52.3 billion in revenue by the end of 2021. 

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Their success can be attributed to several factors like their mobile nature, allowing users to log on and play on their phone from anywhere, and their rewards-based structure, granting users tokens, points or other winnings which can be further used.

Finance

Finance apps have become incredibly popular, being used for mobile payment, digital trading and asset management, business management, accounting, mobile banking, and personal finance.  

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By giving users easy access to seamlessly manage their spending and finances at the click of a button, it’s not hard to see why finance apps hit 5.9 billion in global downloads in 2021. Financial mobile apps are especially popular with younger Gen Z users. 

Entertainment

Free and on-demand entertainment apps like Netflix, Spotify, YouTube, and social media apps engage and entertain users through visual, audio and video content.

Entertainment apps are projected to generate $29.35 billion in total revenue by the end of 2022 and continue to grow in user demand and popularity. 

Education

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Remote learning is here to stay and many schools and universities now offer distance education through fully digital courses and qualifications. Beyond school, e-learning as an industry has taken off in recent years and app publishers have caught onto this trend, with apps like Duolingo increasingly being published. 

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There’s huge user demand for educational apps, with the industry’s market share expected to increase to $70.55 billion between 2021 and 2026.

Ready to jumpstart your app’s growth?

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At the end of the day, you need to consider both the category and the niche your app falls into - are they showing consistent improvement in user acquisition, downloads and retention or are these metrics decreasing annually? It’s essential to review these metrics when evaluating your app.

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At Appic, we can help you get an accurate idea of how well your app, and its relevant category, are performing with a free app assessment. 

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If it’s in a high-demand category enjoying significant growth, selling it could earn you a great profit that you can use to invest in another app venture. If it’s not that doesn’t mean it’s not potentially valuable - and profitable. Selling it might be the best course of action, allowing you to pursue other projects with upfront capital. 

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Either way, Appic can help you determine if selling or staying on and scaling your app is the right decision for you. We specialize in taking on high-potential apps, either as a buyer or a partner, and developing them to their full potential. Chat to us about how we can help grow your mobile app. 

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