This week in apps: YouTube takes on TikTok, Spotify adds audiobooks, BeReal dives
Welcome to This Week in Apps, the weekly TechCrunch series that recaps the latest news on mobile operating systems, mobile apps, and the overall app economy.
Global app spending reached $65 billion in the first half of 2022, up slightly from $64.4 billion in the same period in 2021, as hypergrowth fueled by the pandemic has slowed down. But overall, the app economy continues to grow, having produced record numbers of downloads and consumer spending across iOS and Google Play stores combined in 2021, according to the latest year-end reports. Last year, global spending on iOS and Google Play was $133 billion, and consumers downloaded 143.6 billion apps.
This Week in Apps provides a way to keep up with the rapidly changing industry in one place with the latest from the world of apps, including news, updates, seed funding, mergers and acquisitions, and much more.
Do you want This Week in Apps to be in your inbox every Saturday? Sign up here: techcrunch.com/newsletters
Now is the time to create new social applications
Image credits: TechCrunch
Today's dominant social networks are losing their grip on the younger generation of internet users. Last month, we looked at how one of the world's biggest social networks, Facebook, began to lose relevance - and thus lost its position in the App Store's top charts - as young people turned to apps like BeReal and TikTok. In place. But there still seems to be this feeling among a number of app makers that trying to compete on social media is a lost cause. This is no longer necessarily true. Just as Instagram grew under the shadow of Facebook, there's room for other apps to grow outside of TikTok - an app that's now seen more as an entertainment platform than a place to connect with close friends (although TikTok is pushing to change that).
The rise of BeReal is proof that alternative networks that prioritize real-world friendships can still find ground. In fact, young people crave to be themselves and stay in touch with their friends outside of streams filled with creative content and targeted ads.
But BeReal's long-term success is not a given at this point, even though the app has currently established itself as a leader in the App Store's Top 5, and is often the #1 app. ° 1, sometimes, in world markets. . It's a good start, but BeReal has yet to understand key elements of its business, such as monetization, and struggles to communicate with both its own users and the general public.
For example, when the app went down this week, the company vaguely tweeted a statement — "yes, we're here" — that left its userbase largely in the dark about... .
Welcome to This Week in Apps, the weekly TechCrunch series that recaps the latest news on mobile operating systems, mobile apps, and the overall app economy.
Global app spending reached $65 billion in the first half of 2022, up slightly from $64.4 billion in the same period in 2021, as hypergrowth fueled by the pandemic has slowed down. But overall, the app economy continues to grow, having produced record numbers of downloads and consumer spending across iOS and Google Play stores combined in 2021, according to the latest year-end reports. Last year, global spending on iOS and Google Play was $133 billion, and consumers downloaded 143.6 billion apps.
This Week in Apps provides a way to keep up with the rapidly changing industry in one place with the latest from the world of apps, including news, updates, seed funding, mergers and acquisitions, and much more.
Do you want This Week in Apps to be in your inbox every Saturday? Sign up here: techcrunch.com/newsletters
Now is the time to create new social applicationsImage credits: TechCrunch
Today's dominant social networks are losing their grip on the younger generation of internet users. Last month, we looked at how one of the world's biggest social networks, Facebook, began to lose relevance - and thus lost its position in the App Store's top charts - as young people turned to apps like BeReal and TikTok. In place. But there still seems to be this feeling among a number of app makers that trying to compete on social media is a lost cause. This is no longer necessarily true. Just as Instagram grew under the shadow of Facebook, there's room for other apps to grow outside of TikTok - an app that's now seen more as an entertainment platform than a place to connect with close friends (although TikTok is pushing to change that).
The rise of BeReal is proof that alternative networks that prioritize real-world friendships can still find ground. In fact, young people crave to be themselves and stay in touch with their friends outside of streams filled with creative content and targeted ads.
But BeReal's long-term success is not a given at this point, even though the app has currently established itself as a leader in the App Store's Top 5, and is often the #1 app. ° 1, sometimes, in world markets. . It's a good start, but BeReal has yet to understand key elements of its business, such as monetization, and struggles to communicate with both its own users and the general public.
For example, when the app went down this week, the company vaguely tweeted a statement — "yes, we're here" — that left its userbase largely in the dark about... .
What's Your Reaction?
