According to a new study released by research firm Frank N. Magid Associates, tablet owners spend more on apps as compared to their smartphone-wielding counterparts, according to CNET.
The report indicates that in the U.S., 60 percent of tablets owners spend money on apps. For smartphone users, on the other hand, only 54 percent of them are willing to purchase such services.
In terms of monetary value, tablet consumers dish out an average of $55 for apps while those who prefer to use smartphones only spend $42 for content.
Majority of these purchases are driven by video game apps. Last year, a total of $16 billion was spent on mobile apps. 70 percent of this figure belongs to gaming contents for tablet devices.
A related survey from the Juniper Research firm estimated that the worldwide revenue for tablet game apps will hit the $13.3 billion mark in 2019. This would indicate a threefold rise from 2014's $3.6 billion figure.
The comparatively superior spending habits of tablet users over smartphone owners is surprising especially considering that more people own the latter device in the U.S.
Based on Magid's report, 71 percent of the country's population own smartphones. This year's data shows a 10-point increase from that of 2013.
As for the tablet, the number of users for 2014 is at 57 percent, which is 13 points more compared to last year.
Another surprising factor is how tablet app sales contradict the device's failing status in the market. But like what Best Buy CEO Hubert Joly previously said, the tablet's current market status is not an indicator of its waning popularity.
He simply believes that people are not purchasing newer versions of tablets because they don't need to, according to Recode.
"The tablets have been an unbelievable phenomenon," he said. "I don't think there's a category that ever took off so quickly and so big in the history of tech."
"The issue has been that, once you have a tablet of a certain generation, it's not clear that you have to move on to the next generation," he added.
