The year 2020 was crazy, and we saw a lot of unprecedented events happening from the start till the end. During the Coronavirus lockdowns, humanity was dependent upon technology, and we observed a massive surge in the use of online services, especially mobile apps. Users from around the world downloaded apps billions of times, resulting in massive revenue streams for the app owners.
Today, we will be looking into apps that are expected to top in this long remaining year based on the behavioral changes in the last year’s downloading patterns. First, let’s briefly look into the top-performing mobile applications of the prior year, and then we will proceed further.
MOST DOWNLOADED APPS IN 2020: A RECAP
As said earlier, 2020 was a crazy year, and we saw paradigm shifts like never before. New records were set, and global industry leaders found new ways to excel in these testing times. In the year 2020, the top 10 most downloaded apps were mainly from the entertainment or social networking categories, just 1 or 2 apps being an exception.
TikTok, as you might have guessed, remained the uncrowned king of the most downloaded mobile applications in 2020 around the globe. More than 850 million downloads of this entertainment, video-making app across multiple platforms were noticed.
Any guesses for the next four applications? The fab four from Facebook, Inc.
WhatsApp, Facebook (original app), Instagram, and Facebook Messenger were ranked 2nd, 3rd, 4th, and 6th, respectively. These four applications from Facebook bagged more than 2 billion downloads combined. Yes, more than a staggering 2 billion downloads. Isn’t it amazing? WhatsApp remained Facebook’s most downloaded app with 600 Million downloads, while others did not do bad as well.
Zoom app secured 5th spot in the most downloaded apps list of the year 2020 with over 477 million downloads. Zoom saw a drastic increase in its shares and market value after the Coronavirus outbreak and soon became one of the world’s most famous apps. Snapchat, Telegram, Google Meet & Netflix were 7th, 8th, 9th, and 10th respectively in the list.
This list shows that users’ priorities underwent a massive shift, and the need for quality applications in the categories of entertainment and communication rose exponentially.
WHAT TO EXPECT IN 2021?
So which apps will perform best in the year 2021? We have carefully drafted this list, but there is always room for improvement, and there is nothing decisive when predicting the future. Let’s look at the list and see what it is like.
The below list is in no particular order.
TELEGRAM
According to public data shared by Sensor Tower, Telegram has topped the most downloaded apps list for the first month of this year. Telegram was the most downloaded app (non-gaming) that saw more than 63 million installs in the first month of the year 2021. We think, the app will be performing comparatively better throughout this year and be among the top.
SIGNAL
After Elon Musk’s tweet, Signal app got millions of new installs in span of just a few hours. The world famous entrepreneur and CEO and co-founder of multiple revolutionary companies Musk said in a tweet: “Use Signal” and the app’s downloads and market share went up drastically. This came after a privacy policy review by WhatsApp and Elon Musk suggested an alternative. Anyways, with such a dramtic start to the year, the app will be performing great for the rest of year.
WHATSAPP
WhatsApp will be the undisputed victor for the world’s most downloaded apps at this year’s end. We say this because we think that the need for communication is increasing day by day, and WhatsApp’s flawless design and convenient structure is fulfilling that need and the masses are already familiar with it. Though a recent privacy policy review from WhatsApp snatched a number of its users, we don’t think it would stop more users from downloading the app in the upcoming months of the ongoing year.
FACEBOOK
With its intriguing design and unlimited features for people of all ages and backgrounds, Facebook has laid the foundations of a social network that will not be overtaken by any other, not anytime soon at least. We think Facebook will be the second most downloaded application of this year, and we will be seeing many more amazing features from the tech giant.
INSTAGRAM
Instagram has emerged as a platform that is not much talked about. Still, many celebrities, influencers, and photography fans love using this app. Like its siblings, this fantastic app has a number of features, both for ordinary users and businesses, and has become a hotspot for paid and affiliate marketing activities.
TIKTOK
We had pushed TikTok down further even when it topped the worldwide most downloaded apps list; why? Because we think the app will lack slightly in fascinating new users, especially those from North America, South America, and Europe. We believe that America’s new administration will somehow be affecting the performance of this China-made mobile application. At the same time, it will still be popular in many other countries on the planet.
ZOOM
Although the lockdowns have ended in most parts of the world, the business owners have realized that their employees don’t always have to be present physically at the workplace. Zoom will be in the top downloaded apps list for this year too, and for obvious reasons. The pandemic is not over yet, so there is a fair chance that Zoom will make a comeback. Who knows?
YOUTUBE
Ahh, who doesn’t like YouTube? Either you have to watch your favorite YouTuber’s latest video or a documentary that has recently been released, or you need to watch something funny to cheer yourself up. YouTube is the go-to app for many (including the author). The number of downloads for YouTube is expected to increase significantly, and we will probably be seeing this amazing mobile app among the top apps at the end of 2021.
VERDICT
Tough ask, very tough indeed! Predicting the future is not a piece of cake, but we still have inked down what we think is going to happen in the future. A significant number of apps are famous in the world, and probably many dozens more will appear on the horizon, but stats don’t lie; they rarely do.
The apps that have been downloaded in the preceding year will be the leaders this year, too, and we think it is unlikely that there will be any considerable changes in this list. What do you think will be the most downloaded apps in 2020? Comment down below to let us know.
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