Half of the top-ranked apps in 2024 come from Meta and ByteDance (suppose TikTok and CapCut). What’s attention-grabbing? All of those apps depend on AI to ship a high-quality person expertise.
The research comes from Setapp, an final platform for getting hand-picked safe apps for Mac and iPhone. To compile this listing, we collected information on probably the most downloaded and highest-rated apps on the App Retailer and Google Play. After scrubbing the info for accuracy, right here’s what we discovered.
10 hottest apps in 2024
Spoiler: Social media and messengers reign supreme. Once more.
1. Instagram
Instagram stays a serious participant within the social media house, and content material personalization stays one in all its key options. Final yr, Meta lastly revealed how its algorithms curate content material for every person. For instance, to construct a personalised feed, the AI selects about 500 posts from the accounts a person follows, assigns every a relevance rating, after which shows them within the feed accordingly. Customers may even study extra about why they see a selected publish by clicking the three dots within the prime proper nook and deciding on ‘Why you see this publish.’
- Class: Social media
- Downloads: 696 million
- Common ranking: 4.5
- Remaining rating: 90
2. TikTok
A person could not drop a single like, however TikTok’s AI algorithms will nonetheless determine what content material they like. And this yr, TikTok expanded its promoting alternatives for manufacturers and creators. They launched TikTok Symphony – a set of AI instruments for creativity. It helps generate movies primarily based on just some inputs, creates scripts, assists with brainstorming, and even improves current movies.
- Class: Social media
- Downloads: 654 million
- Common ranking: 4.6
- Remaining rating: 85
Professional opinion
I believe TikTok Symphony is only the start of what AI can deliver to apps. It could actually actually assist folks shift their roles to extra inventive, strategic duties, permitting them to give attention to high-level decision-making relatively than execution.
I am additionally outsourcing as many routine duties as doable to AI. Google Pocket book LM permits me to add and precisely analyze giant volumes of supply materials tailor-made to my wants. Spellar AI creates assembly summaries, and Able to Ship generates draft emails. Examples abound.
My staff and I additionally work on Setapp AI+, a complete answer for these trying to combine subtle AI expertise into their each day operations. I’m enthusiastic about AI’s potential to automate and personalize processes, making person experiences even smoother.
3. Fb
With 3 billion lively customers per 30 days (as of April 2024), Fb is forward of Instagram and TikTok. Like these apps, Fb makes use of AI to personalize content material and may draw on person actions from each Fb and Instagram. On the similar time, Fb has the bottom common ranking of all the highest apps, suggesting blended person experiences, presumably as a result of considerations over privateness and information administration.
- Class: Social media
- Downloads: 553 million
- Common ranking: 4
- Remaining rating: 83
Professional opinion
I imagine privateness and safety must be a precedence for each builders and customers. For customers, the essential safety toolkit features a VPN (particularly when connecting to public networks) and a password supervisor (to keep away from the temptation of reusing passwords). These two instruments alone could make you safer than thousands and thousands of others on-line.
4. WhatsApp
With 2 billion month-to-month lively customers, Whatsapp is understood for its end-to-end encryption and safe and dependable communications. Just lately, it launched Meta AI (now obtainable to a restricted variety of customers). This chatbot can generate photographs, have interaction in conversations, and seek for info.
- Class: Messaging
- Downloads: 475 million
- Common ranking: 4.55
- Remaining rating: 74
5. CapCut
CapCut brings AI into video modifying and makes it really feel like magic. It could actually create AI characters to relate a video, clone voices, clear audio from extraneous noise, create voiceovers with AI text-to-speech, and extra. The app is taken into account a powerful competitor to Adobe and Canva. Along with being simple to make use of, it additionally seamlessly integrates with TikTok (each merchandise of ByteDance) and presents many highly effective options, most of that are free.
- Class: Video modifying
- Downloads: 389 million
- Common ranking: 4.55
- Remaining rating: 64
6. Telegram
Telegram is understood for its sturdy privateness options, together with secret chats and self-destructing messages. Its in depth performance, akin to channels, bots, and enormous file-sharing capabilities, distinguishes it from different messaging apps. It’s notably well-regarded amongst customers who prioritize safety, superior communication options, and cross-platform expertise.
- Class: Messaging
- Downloads: 355 million
- Common ranking: 4.35
- Remaining rating: 60
7. Snapchat
Snapchat doesn’t entice a lot curiosity from folks over 35. Nevertheless, on the subject of the 13-34 demographic, the app reaches greater than 75% of this inhabitants in some international locations. The app appeals to youthful audiences, preferring its distinctive options like ephemeral messages, snapstreaks, and AR lenses. Snapchat’s steady innovation in AR expertise and partnerships with manufacturers for filters and lenses maintain customers hooked.
- Class: Social media
- Downloads: 343 million
- Common ranking: 4.4
- Remaining rating: 59
8. Subway Surfers
Subway Surfers, a runner that by no means ends, is a standout within the gaming class. Launched 12 years in the past, it grew to become the primary sport to interrupt the 1 billion downloads barrier on Google Play. Its easy but addictive gameplay, common updates, and seasonal occasions maintain gamers coming again for extra. The sport’s vibrant graphics and easy-to-learn mechanics have garnered a broad viewers, making it a traditional within the cellular gaming scene.
- Class: Gaming
- Downloads: 304 million
- Common ranking: 4.45
- Remaining rating: 54
9. Zoom
After a spike in the course of the pandemic, Zoom’s revenues have leveled off and are crawling. Nevertheless, its intuitive interface and dependable efficiency have cemented its place as a prime communication app. Now, Zoom is leaping on the AI bandwagon with the introduction of Zoom AI Companion. It could actually summarize conferences and chat chains, deliver customers up to the mark in the event that they missed part of the assembly, and help in crafting polished emails and messages.
- Class: Communication
- Downloads: 300 million
- Common ranking: 4.50
- Remaining rating: 54
10. Temu
The addictive nature of Temu, a procuring app, is commonly in comparison with TikTok. Consultants imagine that Temu’s AI advice algorithms work equally: they analyze the time the person spends on a product, the velocity of switching between gadgets, and so forth. Inside minutes, Temu profiles the person and presents probably the most related merchandise. Coupled with a well-designed interface, a various product vary, and aggressive costs, Temu is now competing with procuring giants like Amazon and Shein, regardless that it solely launched in 2022.
- Class: Buying
- Downloads: 274 million
- Common ranking: 4.65
- Remaining rating: 51
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Key insights and future traits
What traits can the highest apps of 2024 reveal? Let’s dive into the important thing concepts and traits that present the place the trade is headed and what we are able to count on within the coming years.
- The rise of AI. Nearly each main app makes use of AI, whether or not to rank content material or to introduce revolutionary, highly effective options. The appliance of AI goes past bettering the person expertise; it additionally helps specialists give attention to high-level decision-making relatively than execution.
- Social media evolution. Apps like Instagram and TikTok proceed to dominate with their partaking options, akin to short-form video and eCommerce integration. We are able to count on future social media apps to additional mix leisure with procuring, making a seamless person expertise.
- Improved person expertise. Excessive person satisfaction with apps akin to Temu and CapCut signifies that customers worth seamless performance and intuitive interfaces. Future apps will possible give attention to customized experiences and integrating AI to fulfill particular person person wants higher.
- Productiveness and communication. WhatsApp and Zoom spotlight the significance of dependable, safe communication instruments. As distant working and digital collaboration stay prevalent, future apps will possible improve these options with extra sturdy safety measures and higher integration throughout platforms.
- Gaming and leisure. Subway Surfers illustrates the steadiness between partaking content material and accessibility. Future traits could embody extra immersive experiences by means of augmented actuality (AR) and digital actuality (VR), in addition to extra interactive content material.
How we carried out the analysis
Knowledge assortment
The information for this text had been sourced from a number of respected platforms, akin to G2, TechRadar, GetApp, and extra, to make sure the accuracy and reliability of the findings. The gathering course of concerned two foremost classes of information: app scores and variety of downloads.
App scores
We utilized the official APIs of the Google Play Retailer and Apple App Retailer to assemble the scores of the preferred cellular purposes. These APIs supply a dependable and constant method to entry real-time information relating to app efficiency metrics.
Google Play Retailer: Scores had been extracted utilizing the Google Play Developer API, as documented on the Google Builders web site. This API offers detailed details about app scores, critiques, and different efficiency metrics instantly from the Google Play Retailer.
Apple App Retailer: Equally, scores for apps on the Apple platform had been gathered utilizing the App Retailer Join API, which is obtainable by means of the Apple Developer documentation. This API permits for extracting complete app efficiency information, together with scores and critiques, from the Apple App Retailer.
Variety of downloads
The variety of downloads for every app was obtained from dependable third-party sources specializing in app market analytics. These sources compile and supply entry to in depth app utilization statistics, making certain a excessive degree of information accuracy.
Enterprise of Apps: Knowledge on the variety of downloads had been extracted from Enterprise of Apps, a number one platform for app trade statistics and insights. Detailed obtain statistics had been obtained from their information part.
Appfigures: Further obtain numbers had been sourced from Appfigures, a well-regarded service that gives app market intelligence. Knowledge had been retrieved from their app statistics web page, which aggregates info from varied app shops to offer complete insights into app efficiency.
Knowledge processing and evaluation
As soon as collected, the info had been processed to make sure consistency and accuracy. Duplicate entries had been eliminated, and discrepancies between sources had been cross-checked and resolved. The processed information was then analyzed to find out a remaining rating for every app primarily based on recognition and person satisfaction.
Limitations
Whereas the info sources used are respected and dependable, this research has inherent limitations. The provision and accuracy of obtain numbers can range relying on the supply, and ranking information could not totally seize the person expertise as a result of potential biases in person critiques.
Backside line
The highest 2024 apps present what customers love. Instagram, TikTok, and Fb paved the way in social media, whereas Temu excels in procuring. Surprisingly, extremely rated apps like Microsoft Authenticator and Pinterest have fewer downloads.
In gaming, Subway Surfers is the favourite, and Duolingo is praised for training. These traits verify the significance of innovation and nice person experiences.
Wanting forward, count on to see extra seamless cross-platform performance, improved safety measures, and the combination of AR and VR into video games and leisure. Not surprisingly, AI will play a big function in future app improvement, bettering personalization and effectivity.
