The Mary Meeker internet trends report is out and much of the attention this year is devoted to India.
For the uninitiated, Meeker is a venture capitalist at Kleiner Perkins Caufield & Byers and a former Wall Street securities analyst who is known to deliver rapid-fire internet trend reports every year which are keenly-awaited by much of the tech world.
Here are the top findings of the report from India's perspective:
Forget Desktops, Most Indians Consume Data On Mobile
About 80 percent of Indians consume their data through mobile phones. This is way ahead of the global average which is around 50 percent.
India Downloading More Apps Than U.S.
On an average, Indians spend more time on their Android phones than Americans or Brazillians or Indonesians or even Mexicans. In fact, the hours spent by Indians on their Android phones is the second highest in the world after China.
Consequently, India has more Google Play app downloads than the U.S and this has happened over the last three years.
No, Chrome Isn't India's Favourite Browser
China's Alibaba-backed UC Browser has been the preferred choice of browser for most Indians. UC Browser's market share has been on the rise eating into the share of more established players like Google Chrome and Opera.
Wireless Data Usage Soaring In India
India's total monthly wireless data consumed has grown over 9 times, in the second half of 2016 alone. Interestingly, the spike in India’s wireless data usage coincided with the launch of Mukesh Ambani-backed Reliance Jio, which offered free services in the first six months of operation.
And With More Data, Comes More Streaming
Not only is India's data consumption rising, but the consumption is also dedicated to specific apps. Music streaming service Gaana.com has seen a three-fold rise in streams per month over the last year. Similarly, video streaming app Hotstar has also seen a four-fold jump in the number of daily active users.