Yahoo has released their State of Mobile: Canada Edition study for the second year in a row. In the report, which was compiled using statistics gathered by Flurry, Yahoo’s analytics platform, Yahoo Canada reveals how people across the country are using their mobile devices and apps.
It’s definitely fun to take a look at some of the statistics, and while there were some surprises — time spent on mobile gaming declined over last year, there were other findings that were totally expected such as the increase in phablet (devices with screens between 5” and 6.9”) use at the expense of small tablets.
Check out some of the highlights of the report below and let us know what you think in the comments below or on Google+, Twitter, or Facebook.
Overall Mobile App Usage
- Social and messaging app usage stole the show across every major city accounting for roughly 60% of time spent.
- Torontonians lead the way with the highest percentage (43%) of time spent on apps for utility and productivity while the majority of Vancouver and Calgary users spent their time most frequently on gaming apps (38% and 34% respectively).
- Montrealers used education based apps the most frequently compared to any other Canadian city (5%).
- Music, media, and entertainment apps were the most frequently used by Canadians after utility and productivity, and gaming (approx. 20%).
- Across the country, Facebook was the most popular app among Canadians, while Twitter was the least popular.
- Mobile usage peaks during prime time hours. The average Canadian gradually uses their mobile device more often as the day progresses and most frequently between 9:00 pm and 10:00 pm.
- Overall the least used apps among Canadians were education and business related apps.
Top Canadian Trends
- Sports app usage by Canadians last year grew by 172%.
- Phablets saw a 26% year-over-year uptick in adoption in Canada.
- Canadian mobile trends are on a 12-month delay compared to global usage figures.
App Usage by Category
- Sports and Messaging and Social apps saw the most year-over-year session growth with 172% and 98% increases respectively.
- Gaming: The app category once known as “the darling of the mobile industry,” saw time-spent decline by 4% globally, compared to a 3% decline in Canada.
- Retail: In 2016, Shopping apps continued to gain popularity, growing 39% in Canada compared to 31% globally.
- Sports: App usage by Canadians last year grew by 172%. It didn’t hurt that Canada’s largest city, Toronto, had an incredible sports season with both the Blue Jays and Raptors making the playoffs.
Breaking down the data city-by-city
- Interesting trends in app usage across four of Canada’s major cities: Calgary, Montreal, Toronto, and Vancouver.
- Social and Messaging app usage stole the show across every major city, second and third places show that some cities have varying priorities when it comes to Productivity:
- Torontonians lead the way with the highest percentage (43.3%) of time spent on apps for utility and productivity while the majority of Vancouver and Calgary users spent their time most frequently on gaming apps (38.1% and 35.4% respectively)
- Montrealers used education based apps the most frequently compared to any other Canadian city (5.1%)
