If you search on the internet, you’ll find thousands of lists for the most popular apps in India. Although all of them are great sources of information, very few actually go in deep with the category of apps that dominate the industry.
That’s exactly what we plan to do in this post. Sure, we’re looking for the most popular apps in India but not on an individual level. Rather, we’ll try to categorize the app usage of the Indians.
Most Popular Apps in India
Without keeping you in the dark any further, let’s find out what apps might be most commonly found in an average Indian’s smartphone, whether it’s Android or iOS.
Social Media Apps
Did you think the first one on our list was going to be something else? Hopefully not. Because if you look at this report, you’ll notice that pretty all top performing apps belong to the social media category.
It’s understandable. People need social media not only for entertainment and communication but also for work. Especially during the Covid-19 pandemic, social media became the biggest medium to keep the world connected.
As a result, What’s App, Zoom, Face, Messenger, Instagram, Google Meet, etc. are all present on pretty much every Indian’s smartphone. Not only that, they spend a huge chunk of time on these platforms to communicate with colleagues, friends, and family.
Music Streaming Apps
Right where the reign of social media apps ends, the reign of music streaming apps begins. Indians are huge music lovers. The total download count and rating of apps like Gaana, Wynk Music, Saavn, and Hotstar are proof enough behind this statement.
There was a time when Indians used their internal storage to store songs and listened to them on the go. But due to space limitations, they often had to compromise on the quality of the audio as well as the number of songs they can possess at once.
With the introduction of music streaming apps, there’s no reason to cut corners, neither on quality nor in the number of songs. As long as you have internet connectivity, you can listen to any song you want.
VOD Streaming Services
Yes, another obvious entry in our list. Interestingly, if you look at the report by Similarweb, the VOD streaming services like Netflix, Amazon Prime, or Hulu are scattered around in the ranking. But cumulatively, they take a massive chunk of the users’ time.
There’s a clear logic behind it. People watch less TV and more streaming platforms now. Especially in the last few years, the popularity of streaming apps has gone through the roof. If you stop a random pedestrian on the street and ask for what apps are on their phone, you’ll find at least one or two streaming apps.
Online Betting Apps
These may not be one of the priorities for Indians, but you can surely expect to find betting apps on their list. Online betting is gradually picking up heat and this trend is only destined to flourish. You get all the information regarding online casino apps in the country fairly easily as well.
One of the main reasons behind the widespread popularity of betting is the penetration of offshore operators. As the games are operated from outside of India, the local Indian betting laws don’t apply. And lucky for Indian punters, online gambling is not illegal in the country.
In fact, gambling online can be really fun and exciting due to the huge number of bonus offers and promotions that are always on the run. With a wider variety of games on the roster and an assortment of easy payment gateways, it’s becoming quite the entertainment source, not just for Indians, but for many across the globe!
As a result, people flock to these operators to play online slots, table games, as well as live dealer games. If you are interested to give it a shot, just remember, a reputed online casino or sportsbook must have a proper license regulating its activities. If that’s covered, you’re all set!
E-Commerce Apps
If you want to order something, where do you look first? The answer for a lot of you would be Amazon/Flipkart. This is a trend not exclusive to the younger generation anymore. People from every walk of life and every age group are picking up the habit of shopping online.
The convenience, lots of promotional offers, and outstanding standards maintained by both local and international vendors have resulted in the massive popularity of e-commerce apps.
Final Verdict
There’s not much of a verdict to give. It’s apparent that social media apps are and will dominate the apps industry not only in India but also across the world. As the benefits of globalization become more prominent in the coming years, we’ll see new platforms, new apps, and new trends.