The List For The Most Downloaded And Highest Earning Apps In August 2022 Is Out And Here Are The Results

The list of the most downloaded and highest-earning apps in August 2022 is out. And while some stats stayed the same, there were quite a few noticeable changes too. Let's look at downloads first.

App Intelligence firm AppFigures managed to crunch the numbers and set out a rankings list. And it was the popular app BeReal that did shine. It wasn’t the most popular app, but figures shed light on its growing popularity.

On the other hand, it was TikTok that reigned supreme again, and we weren’t surprised one bit as it overtook archrival Instagram for the second time. The latter is busy trying to copy BeReal so that’s a rather interesting fact. But it might be doing some good as nearly 57 million downloads had been recorded for this month only.

BeReal has been crowned the top application in Apple’s App Store for the past month. But this time around, it stands at number 8, getting around 10 million more downloads in August for the App Store only. We failed to notice the same popularity across Google’s Play Store though.

Another striking change was the entry of a new QR scanner app that many claim to be unknown. It snuck into the list for Google’s Play Store’s top 10.

The reason why we’re calling the entry interesting is that most Android devices have the native capability of deciphering QR codes. Hence, the fact that the app is being used is definitely interesting, don’t you think?

When you combine the list, you’ll see the common icons of apps from Meta, Google, and TikTok arise so no surprises there. So it’s more or less like a repeat of what we witnessed in July. As a whole, the figures came out to be 348 million in terms of new users being added across various apps and that’s a tad bit lower than what we saw in July.

Moving on to the apps that earned the most in the US in August, there were some noticeable changes. Here is where App Intelligence broke some good news and some bad ones too.

Let’s start with the good. As a whole, more revenue was generated but the shocking part is how the list is more or less a complete replica of last month.

Tinder thankfully wasn’t the app that made the most revenue this time. Instead, HBO Max clinched the top position with almost $51 million of the total revenue this month through both stores. So that is probably the only major change that was noticed.

The top 5 included the usual likes of YouTube and Tinder, closely followed by TikTok and Bumble. All of these social media giants managed to earn more this month than they did in the previous one but nothing was a major change.

It was definitely shocking and interesting to see LinkedIn continue to hold on and go strong, making the list at number 10 again! We also saw Disney+ make the list but enter the top 5, despite being a major archrival for HBO Max.

As a whole, the apps generated $323 million, just slightly higher than July.

H/T: AppFigures.

Read next: What Country Has the Fastest Internet?
by Dr. Hura Anwar via Digital Information World

Apple’s Hardware Subscription Service Rumored To Launch By This Year’s End

It has only been days since we last heard about the new iPhone 14 series launch. And as pre-orders are in swing, deliveries are rumored to go till October. But there was definitely one thing that we felt was missing when the announcement of the new device was made.

There was little to no mention of the company’s hardware subscription service. This is designed to incorporate both Apple One with a number of other goods such as the iPad and iPhone.

Thanks to Mark Gurman from Bloomberg, we’ve got some news on how we could soon be expecting to see the launch just before the year’s end. And that’s great because we first heard about it in the month of March this year.

It was an initiative that had been described to be one that would certainly tie in well with the bundles from Apple One and even the line of AppleCare. In case you didn’t know, both of these projects do exist independently from one another.

Thankfully, whenever you make a purchase of an iPhone device via the company’s Upgrade Program, they do reward you with AppleCare.

But as Gurman pointed out, there are some facts that you need to be aware of. For instance, this program is very different from a regular installment one. And by that we mean it doesn't put on offer monthly charges that come at the price of the phone that’s split into a year or two. Instead, you’re going to be witnessing charges that aren’t even disclosed yet. While it’s a monthly fee, it will depend on the device being utilized by the user.

Similarly, Gurman spoke about how Apple was in discussions about how it would allow users of this program to switch older devices for newer ones, whenever a fresh release of hardware comes out in the market. This is usually a trend we see take place on a yearly basis.

As of now, the latest update is how the Cupertino company is currently testing this feature. And if not by this year’s end, then the following year for sure.

If you’re wondering why the leading iPhone maker failed to delineate more details about the launch at its recent iPhone event, well, the answer is simple. They just wished to tone down the complexity associated with the launch of the new iPhone 14 series.

We could be seeing a discussion about it at next month’s event whose main focus is on both iPads and even Macs. It’s perfect timing, considering the holiday season is upon us.

Read next: Apple Secretly Pushes Back Release Date For Its iCloud Shared Photo Library
by Dr. Hura Anwar via Digital Information World

Mark Your Calendars As Google’s Search On 22’ Event Is Just Around The Corner

If you’re a website owner, we bet you’re keen on knowing what advances Google has been making in terms of its algorithm. And for those who may not be aware, there are plenty.

The company is asking users to mark their calendars after making an announcement about its Search On 22’ Event this month. The date has been highlighted to be September 28th and this is where experts from the leading tech firm will be present to give you the latest details on a number of aspects.

Critics believe this is a golden chance to see how the search algorithms have been modified lately to greatly impact site traffic. Other than that, the biggest updates about Search and how it plans on improving results would also be discussed. So to summarize, it's all about details linked to search rankings at their best.

The company’s statement from today says it is reimagining all of its main leading products so more people get a better sense of what’s happening in this world in the most natural manner. Amid this includes a new update related to ‘helpful content’.

This gives users a better idea of how websites are put into the spotlight to make content that is intended for humans. This is in opposition to those that are created with the sole intention of SERP rankings.

We see this as a major development because, in the past, it was all related to following SEO advice through which websites could be better designed. You’d include the best keywords to enhance rankings and then have search words embedded in your text at strategic locations that aren’t too evident.

But some websites have done a far better job than others, whereas the latter struggled to make pages that had too many technicalities linked to SEO elements. They are keener on making advancements in the gaming system. Therefore, they fail at really capturing the audience’s attention and don’t give people what they want.

Similarly, Google was recently seen launching a number of updates linked to Search snippets, while others had to do with warnings for content advisory, and even advancements make in contextual results.

Google claims the world of Search is enhancing and they’ve really done a great job of putting forward thousands of little changes to the algorithm on an annual basis. To help put things into better perspective, well, in 2020, it made nearly 4,500 changes to its Search Tool.

This is why the world of SEO is definitely a science that can never be exactly predicted. There are a great number of complexities at work and how they come into play at various points on web pages is definitely mindboggling at times.

This is one of the many reasons why we can’t stress enough upon events like these are designed keeping users in mind. There’s a lot of information up for grabs and each is presented in a different manner. So every time Google intends on making that little tweak to its algorithm, you’ll know better how it could really impact your website.

Read next: 8 Out of 10 Websites Will Leak Your Search Data to Google According to This Study
by Dr. Hura Anwar via Digital Information World

What Country Has the Fastest Internet?

Access to high speed internet is essential because of the fact that this is the sort of thing that could potentially end up helping people to stay fully connected with one another. However, some countries have managed to create vastly superior internet infrastructure, and this has allowed their citizens to enjoy a higher standard of living than might have been the case otherwise.

Cable.co.uk recently put out some data that revealed which country has the fastest speed of all. With all of that having been said and now out of the way, it is important to note that Taiwan is the winner in this race with an average broadband speed of over 135 Mbps, or 135.88 to be precise. Taiwan is about twelve Mbps faster than the second country on this list, namely Japan. Japan’s average internet speed hovers at around the 122 Mbps mark, and several other countries are close at its heels.

One thing that many might notice about this list is that East Asian countries feature rather prominently with all things having been considered and taken into account. Singapore comes in fifth, with its 116 Mbps average speeds being quite close to those of other high speed internet countries. In spite of the fact that this is the case, the US and France surpass Singapore, with internet speeds of 118 and 120 Mbps respectively.

Unsurprisingly, a number of European countries have seen massive improvements in average internet speeds over the past few years. Spain, the Netherlands as well as Romania all have impressive internet speeds of 115.6, 113.98 and 112.39 Mbps respectively. Canada is somewhat short of its neighboring country, but this northern nation also has excellent speeds of around 106.8 on average.

Rounding out the top ten list is Hong Kong where the average speed is just above 100 Mbps, and that just goes to show that North America, Europe and East Asia are the world leaders when it comes to internet speeds. These are the parts of the world with the highest levels of human development, and their excellent internet speeds definitely have a role to play in that.

H/T: Statista.

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by Zia Muhammad via Digital Information World

Extreme Weather Increases Hateful Tweets by 22%, New Study Shows

Twitter can be a hub for obtaining useful information, but in spite of the fact that this is the case it also has a reputation for being a place where hateful rhetoric and aggressive interactions can run rampant. Scientists working at the Lancet Planetary Health recently conducted a study which revealed that temperatures in excess of 42 degrees Celsius can increase hateful tweets by as much as 22% with all things having been considered and taken into account.

With all of that having been said and now out of the way, it is important to note that cold weather can also result in a similar uptick of hateful tweets. Temperatures that dip below the negative 3 degrees Celsius mark resulted in a 12% increase in the number of hateful tweets that users put out onto the platform. That suggests that extreme temperature of any variety can strongly impact the sentiments of people online, and it adds a new dimension to the risks that climate change currently poses to our planet.

It seems that temperatures in between 15 to 18 degrees Celsius resulted in the lowest proportion of hateful tweets, so this was used as a baseline for the study in question. Anything below 12 degrees or above 21 degrees resulted in an immediate increase, which is unsurprising because of the fact that this is the sort of thing that could potentially end up putting anyone on edge.

Interestingly, this trend remained consistent regardless of political affiliation, cultural background or economic position. That shows that this a global trend, one that will impact all members of our species equally for the most part.

However, social media platforms themselves have a role to play here. For example, Facebook was revealed to promote all kinds of hateful content in order to boost engagement. That is similar to adding fuel to the fire, so social media platforms should be held accountable for making matters worse. Hateful tweets can harm people in the real world, and they should be taken seriously lest the situation continues to spiral out of control and quickly spill out into people’s lives.

Read next: A Study By The Pew Research Center Outlines The General Public’s Fears With Regards To Climate Change
by Zia Muhammad via Digital Information World

TikTok Surpasses Facebook and Instagram Among British Users

The rise of TikTok has been nothing short of meteoric, and while the social media platform has faced controversies related to potentially harvesting data for the Chinese government, its popularity continues to increase unabated. For example, the British legislative assembly recently suspended its own TikTok account for fear of leaking sensitive data to a foreign power, but in spite of the fact that this is the case the citizens of the island nation have been using TikTok more and more frequently as of late.

TikTok is now the best performing social media platform out there in terms of average time spent by users, with British consumers spending an average of 49 minutes on it per day. With all of that having been said and now out of the way, it is important to note that this has put it in the lead ahead of Facebook, whose average time spent fell to 43 minutes this year after reaching a high of 47 minutes in 2020.

TikTok has also turned into yet another competitor that is giving Snapchat a run for its money, turning into the third most popular social media platform in the UK after taking this position from Snapchat. Both Instagram and Snapchat have seen a muted rate of growth in terms of average user time spent, with both platforms being stuck at 29 and 25 minutes per day respectively.

It is estimated that the total number of British users who use TikTok will go up to 21.1 million by 2026, which would represent about half of all mobile users in the island nation. This is resulting in a whopping 192% increase in TikTok’s in app revenue from British users, and as it enters the social commerce arena this rate of revenue will have nowhere to go but up.

The UK is lagging behind in social commerce, which leaves TikTok well poised to introduce the concept to the market before its better established competitors such as Facebook and Instagram get the chance to. Britain is only behind China in terms of ecommerce adoption, and that creates the perfect storm for TikTok to make its entry.

H/T: InsiderIntelligence
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by Zia Muhammad via Digital Information World

Amazon and Instagram Face Off For the Title of Most Popular Ad Environment

Different social media platforms and digital platforms can offer their own unique benefits to brands who are placing ads on their servers. TikTok has seen a huge increase in terms of user receptiveness to ads, but in spite of the fact that this is the case the success of this platform has been eclipsed by that of Amazon with all things having been considered and taken into account. Amazon is relatively new to the digital ad game, but that hasn’t stopped them from overtaking TikTok for the top spot.

With all of that having been said and now out of the way, it is important to note that marketers tend to tell a different story as far as their preferred ad channels are concerned. The most popular platform for marketers turned out to be Instagram, although TikTok has seen tremendous growth to bring it into fourth place just behind YouTube and Google, as highlighted by Kantar.

This information comes from a series of surveys conducted across 29 markets which asked questions of over 18,000 consumers. It also involved surveys of 400 major brands which represent 90% of the digital ad spend that will be seen throughout 2022.

Surprisingly, Spotify has been making a name for itself as a great resource for digital ads as well. The music streaming platform has a very receptive audience, and that makes it an excellent option for marketers because of the fact that this is the sort of thing that could potentially end up bringing more eyes to their marketing campaigns.

Video based ads are the most preferred marketing channel for professionals in the industry, so it is rather surprising that Amazon managed to supplant TikTok and reach the highest position on this list. Interestingly, the platforms that have the highest level of user receptiveness are not automatically popular among marketers. That suggests that marketing professionals have a different metric for gauging the various platforms that they are placing ads on. Instagram might be the most user friendly digital ad channel for marketers to use, especially since it prioritizes video clips and images to such a great extent.

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by Zia Muhammad via Digital Information World