An update of the most downloaded free apps for the Apple iOS and Google Android operating systems in the Caribbean region. as at December 2019.

 

Can you believe it has been well over two years since we reported on the most downloaded free software applications (apps) in the Caribbean? We had not realised it until one of our readers drew it to our attention. Hence, as 2019 draws to a close, we thought it opportune to remedy this oversight.

Traditionally, the findings we reported were primarily apps for the Apple Phone (the iOS operating system), as per country download statistics were publicly available. With regard to Android devices, which tend to be more widely used in the Caribbean, Caribbean-specific download data was not as readily available as that for iOS apps; and hence was not included in previous exercises.

 

Top 5 Google Android apps

However, in the two years since our last review, the availability of Android app download data for Caribbean countries has improved, and so we have included our findings for eight countries in Exhibit 1. The data was drawn from sources, such as App Annie and AppFigures, as at 19 December 2019, based on data aggregated over the course of up to three months, and the apps would have been downloaded from the Google Play Store.

Exhibit 1: Top 5 free Android apps in select Caribbean countries, as of 19 December 2019 (Sources: App Annie, AppFigures, et al)

 

Top 5 Apple iOS apps

With regard to the most downloaded free iOS apps in the Caribbean, we were able to find data for 19 countries. The apps would have been downloaded from Apple’s App Store, and the data collected was drawn from sources including iOSappstats and App Annie, as at 19 December 19, 2019, based on data aggregated over the past three months.

Exhibit 2: Top 5 iOS apps in select Caribbean countries, as of 19 December 2019 (Sources: iOSappstats, App Annie, et al)

 

Summary

Consistent with our 2017 findings, social media apps tend to be among the most popular downloads, which may be an indication of the types of activities for which smartphones are being used in the Caribbean. It could be argued that to a considerable degree, smartphones in the Caribbean are being used primarily for entertainment, as very few productivity or work-related apps made the top five.

Not surprisingly, instant messaging apps, specifically WhatsApp, was among the top five in almost all of the countries reviewed. Among iOS users, YouTube, also seemed to have increased in popularity since our 2017 exercise, which may suggest, at the very least, a greater inclination by users to stream videos on their smartphones.

 

 

Image credit:  Gerd Altmann (Pixabay)