FollowIt was rather a narrow win for Facebook, which overtook Google Maps to bag the top position as the most used mobile app in the United States. ComScore estimates show that Facebook attracted about 85.5 million visitors in December last year, against 74.6 million drawn by Google Maps.
The ComScore analysis shows that half the apps of Google are in the top ten positions. While Google maps came second, Google Play, Google Search, Gmail and YouTube bagged the next four spots. What’s more, they were all downloaded more than 50,000 times.
That leaves us wondering how Facebook beat the search giant! It all happened after Apple removed Google Maps from its built-in Maps app in the iOS 6 last September. Unsurprisingly, the use of Google Maps plummeted, leaving the next three months in favour of Facebook, which quietly climbed to the top.
Facebook not only had the largest audience, but has retained its top position in terms of user engagement. ComScore says that the social network app accounts for 23 percent of users’ time spent on mobile apps. That’s over double the statistics for Google – Google apps en mass account for only 10 percent of the time spent.
Nevertheless, Google has nothing to worry as it still holds a majority in the top ten positions. And, Apple has recently put back Google Maps in its mobile operating system. Perhaps, this move will help Google make a comeback!
What does 2013 hold in store for the ever-growing competition? Given the dynamics of competition, the statistics don’t seem to set any trend. As more and more consumers are turning to smartphones and getting used to popular services such as eBay, Amazon and Twitter, it’s hard to predict which app will gain prominence.
