In 2012, users will download 45.6 billion applications

By the end of this year, about 45.6 billion applications will be downloaded worldwide, Gartner estimates. Moreover, the absolute majority of them will be distributed either under the free-to-play scheme or freemium.

More specifically, according to analysts’ forecasts, 89% of these 45.6 billion applications will be free. Last year, the percentage of free apps to paid apps was slightly less: 88.4%. But the number of downloads has almost doubled. Recall that at the end of 2011 it was “only” 25 billion.

By the way, Gartner believes that in 2016 users will download 310 billion applications, and 96% of them will be free.