In lockdowns, people spent more than 3.8 trillion hours on mobile in 2021

The last year has also been one of lockdowns and quarantines. So, much like 2020, 2021 was also spent, in the most part, in front of the screens. But there is one screen in particular that trumped all others. According to an App Annie report titled 'State of Mobile 2022', people spent a whopping 3.8 trillion hours on mobile in 2021.

"Mobile is the 'Greatest of All Time' and the go-to device of the future. The big screen is slowly dying as mobile continues to break records in virtually every category - time spent, downloads and revenue," said Theodore Krantz, Chief Executive Officer at App Annie.

The report added that in the top 10 mobile markets globally, users spent 4.8 hours a day on mobiles. Led by TikTok (which witnessed an increase of 90 per cent globally outside of China), 7 of every 10 minutes was spent on either social, photo and/or video apps.

Consumers also spent $170 billion on apps and this figure is up 19 per cent as compared to 2020. Downloads on the mobile in 2021 reached 230 billion growing by 5 per cent year-on-year (YoY).

Additionally, the report mentions that publishers released 2 million new apps and games in 2021 bringing the cumulative total of all apps and games to 21 million. Mobile gaming grew to $116 billion in 2021, a 15 per cent rise as compared to the previous year and was particularly fuelled by a preference for hyper-casual games.