iPhone app usage peaks at 9PM on weeknights, study finds

March 9, 2010 | Paul Boutin
Comments

Mobile analytics company Localytics plotted observed iPhone activity by the hour, adjusted for timezones, and came up with a chart that validates most people’s suspicions: iPhone owners use their apps much more on nights and weekends rather than during the weekday. The obvious conclusion: The iPhone is used much more a personal gadget rather than a professional tool.

Boston-based Localytics gets its data directly from apps that incorporate the company’s analytics tracking tools. The data is, of course, biased by being measured only through a fraction of the 100,000-plus apps in Apple’s store, but Localytics’ analysts believe it’s enough of a cross-section to apply broadly to the rest of the app market.

Weekday usage peaks at 9 PM local time, they found, with Tuesday being the busiest weeknight. There’s an obvious implication: People are using iPhone apps while watching TV. That bodes well for the iPad’s adoption as a couch-surfing device, Localytics exec Brian Suthoff told me in a phone interview. “It seems people are reaching for their iPhone rather than their laptop” on the couch, he said.

On weekends, iPhone owners only increase their app playtime by 7 percent over weekday use, and as shown in the chart, Saturday app usage is spread out surprisingly evenly across the day.

Localytics, founded in 2009, is privately funded.

Next Story:
Previous Story:

Print
Email
Twitter
Facebook
Google Buzz
LinkedIn
Digg
StumbleUpon
Reddit
Delicious
Google
More…

Companies:

People: ,




Photo of Paul Boutin

About the Author, Paul Boutin

Paul (paul@venturebeat.com) covers Apple & the iPhone, social networks & social media, digital music & video, and any crazy Internet story. Paul wrote and edited for Valleywag from 2006-2008, after several years with Wired magazine and Slate. He writes regularly for The New York Times' Personal Tech section and sometimes for Wired and The Wall Street Journal. He studied computer science at MIT in the early 1980s, and worked as a software developer and network administrator for 15 years before becoming a professional writer. Follow him on Twitter at @paulboutin, and follow VentureBeat on Twitter at @venturebeat.

  • rogerrayenz
    Only 7 percent of iPhone owners use their sabbath day application, and to increase as shown in the chart, Saturday application usage is spread out evenly throughout the day surprisingly.

    digital camera memory cards
  • Its Really Great.....Amazing Job You People done Really fanstic....that How you coollect such type of information...?????
  • Nice work,interestng data obsevations but who crae for it,people use there iPhone whenever they want to use..... that set
  • Tony
    Although the article says the peak is at 9PM Local Time, Localytics clearly states the peak is at 9PM EST. That's Eastern time, not Local time.

    At 9PM EST the west coast is not yet watching TV. It means that usage starts to drop pretty significantly after 7PM local time. That is a totally different message.


  • I can vouch for this with at least my own experience. When it comes to sitting on the couch to watch American Idol, The Office, Bones, etc. in the evenings I much prefer my iphone to my macbook which just sits on my lap like a heater. Can't wait for the ipad to come out!

    App, Game, Wine, and Movie Reviews -
    http://www.yourwiseguy.com
  • 9pm is kind like the time people actually starting wind down to do something personal plesaure, and it after the TV primary time.
  • Scott
    yeah - i don't think this tells us anything about iPhone usage during the day... they're just not using apps on the Localytics platform during the day (of which i'd guess most are games)
  • BC
    The not-so-obvious conclusion: people mostly use the untracked Mail, Calendar, and Contacts apps during business hours on weekdays.
blog comments powered by Disqus