Their lists include crypto-related apps, metaverse innovations, creator tools, and more.The app ecosystem experienced major shifts in 2021, including Apple's app-privacy crackdown, an antitrust clash over developer fees, and Google's allowing betting apps in the Play Store.
A Dutch regulator in December ordered Apple to change its payment practices due to violations of competition laws, and the European Commission opened an investigation into the payment structure earlier in 2021.Lexi Sydow, head of market insights for App Annie, said many of last year's breakout apps were crypto-related. This is part of a broader embrace of finance apps, which have struggled in the past to catch the attention of consumers, she noted.
"There's a really unique opportunity for a mobile-first generation to basically form new habits that probably buck trends that have been seen for many generations," Sydow said. Car marketplaces such as Carvana and Autotrader also experienced an uptick in usage as demand soared and supply waned, sendingTravel-related companies had to adjust to the pandemic, and Blacker said he looks forward to seeing how the industry will fare as opinions on COVID-19, vaccinations, and travel evolve.
Sydow pointed to the popular games Among Us and Pokémon Unite as examples of social games but highlighted how the 2021 breakout app Roblox — a gaming and game-developing platform — is now the closest to a true metaverse. Chan said apps in the US are becoming more like the"one-stop-shop" apps in Asia such as WeChat and Line, which offer shopping, payments, phone calls, texts, social media, news, and more.