The​ ​2017​ ​State​ ​of​ ​Mobile 

 
App​ ​Performance 
 
Research​ ​Report 
 
 
Original​ ​research​ ​appeared​ ​in​ ​the​ ​Akamai​ ​Blog

 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
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THE​ ​METHODOLOGY
We​ ​leveraged​ ​a​ ​vendor​ ​called​ ​Headspin.io​​ ​for​ ​this​ ​exercise,​ ​as​ ​they​ ​provide​ ​a​ ​platform​ ​to​ ​profile​ ​mobile 
apps​ ​and​ ​analyze​ ​their​ ​performance​ ​over​ ​real​ ​devices​ ​and​ ​over​ ​a​ ​real​ ​cellular​ ​network​ ​across​ ​the​ ​globe. 
Think​ ​of​ ​it​ ​as​ ​webpagetest​ ​for​ ​mobile​ ​apps.​ ​Next,​ ​to​ ​understand​ ​what​ ​apps​ ​to​ ​profile​ ​and​ ​analyze,​ ​we 
used​ ​App​ ​Annie​ ​statistics​ ​to​ ​narrow​ ​down​ ​to​ ​the​ ​Top​ ​100​ ​retail​ ​applications​ ​in​ ​the​ ​app​ ​store. 

A​ ​typical​ ​user​ ​interacts​ ​with​ ​10+​ ​Mobile​ ​Apps​ ​during​ ​the​ ​first​ ​3​ ​hours​ ​of​ ​their​ ​day  

WHAT​ ​DOES​ ​THE​ ​MORNING​ ​OF​ ​A​ ​TYPICAL​ ​MOBILE​ ​USER​ ​LOOK​ ​LIKE? 
It's​ ​probably​ ​something​ ​like​ ​this: 
➔​​ ​6:00​ ​a.m.​​ ​Your​ ​alarm​ ​wakes​ ​you​ ​up​ ​and​ ​automatically​ ​starts​ ​increasing​ ​the​ ​brightness​ ​to 
your​ ​bedroom​ ​lamps.​ ​The​ ​snooze​ ​button​ ​is​ ​not​ ​an​ ​option​ ​today! 
➔​​ ​7:00​ ​a.m.​​ ​On​ ​your​ ​morning​ ​run,​ ​you​ ​track​ ​your​ ​total​ ​mileage​ ​and​ ​pace,​ ​and​ ​then​ ​share​ ​your 
workout​ ​details​ ​and​ ​scoreboard​ ​on​ ​Facebook. 
➔​ ​8:00​ ​a.m.​​ ​You​ ​check​ ​your​ ​phone​ ​to​ ​make​ ​sure​ ​your​ ​train​ ​is​ ​on​ ​time,​ ​you​ ​can't​ ​be​ ​late​ ​to 
work! 
➔​​ ​8:15​ ​a.m.​​ ​You​ ​catch​ ​your​ ​train​ ​and​ ​check​ ​Facebook,​ ​LinkedIn,​ ​Snapchat,​ ​and​ ​your 
standard​ ​news​ ​apps​ ​to​ ​get​ ​up​ ​to​ ​speed. 
➔​​ ​8:30​ ​a.m.​​ ​As​ ​you​ ​get​ ​off​ ​your​ ​stop,​ ​you​ ​choose​ ​your​ ​coffee​ ​order​ ​and​ ​pay​ ​for​ ​it,​ ​so​ ​it's 
ready​ ​and​ ​waiting​ ​for​ ​you​ ​-​ ​no​ ​more​ ​waiting​ ​in​ ​line​ ​at​ ​Starbucks! 
➔​ ​8:45​ ​a.m.​​ ​With​ ​coffee​ ​in​ ​hand,​ ​you​ ​walk​ ​to​ ​the​ ​office​ ​and​ ​check​ ​your​ ​office​ ​slack,​ ​Skype, 
and​ ​Whatsapp​ ​groups​ ​to​ ​prepare​ ​for​ ​the​ ​day​ ​ahead. 
➔​ ​9:00​ ​a.m.​​ ​You​ ​enter​ ​the​ ​office​ ​and​ ​get​ ​your​ ​day​ ​started. 

 
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So...what​ ​do​ ​all​ ​of​ ​the​ ​activities​ ​above​ ​have​ ​in​ ​common?​ M
​ obile​ ​apps.​​ ​And​ ​in​ ​the​ ​first​ ​three 
hours​ ​of​ ​a​ ​day,​ ​it's​ ​totally​ ​normal​ ​to​ ​have​ ​interacted​ ​with​ ​10+​ ​apps​ ​to​ ​accomplish​ ​a​ ​variety​ ​of 
tasks.​ ​This​ ​is​ ​the​ ​reality​ ​of​ ​today's​ ​mobile​ ​user.  
 

WHAT​ ​IS​ ​A​ ​SUCCESSFUL​ ​APP? 

 
We​ ​see​ ​the​ ​benefits​ ​of​ ​having​ ​a​ ​successful​ ​app​ ​to​ ​users​ ​in​ ​our​ ​example​ ​above​ ​-​ ​unparalleled 
convenience​ ​and​ ​ease​ ​of​ ​use.​ ​But​ ​what​ ​are​ ​the​ ​business​ ​benefits​ ​that​ ​warrant​ ​this​ ​high 
investment?​ ​For​ ​app​ ​owners,​ ​there​ ​are​ ​always​ ​sets​ ​of​ ​business​ ​goals​ ​they​ ​want​ ​to​ ​achieve 
each​ ​year.​ ​We​ ​have​ ​found​ ​that​ ​the​ ​three​ ​most​ ​common​ ​goals​ ​are: 

 
To​ ​determine​ ​if​ ​these​ ​goals​ ​are​ ​being​ ​met,​ ​there​ ​are​ ​several​ ​key​ ​metrics​ ​that​ ​app​ ​owners​ ​must 
identify​ ​and​ ​track​ ​to​ ​evaluate​ ​their​ ​success.​ ​For​ ​example,​ ​for​ ​an​ ​ecommerce​ ​app,​ ​these​ ​are 
the​ ​key​ ​metrics: 
 
1. Daily​ ​Active​ ​users  
Retention​ ​Rates  
2. Conversion​ ​Rates 
3. App​ ​Abandonment​ ​Rates 
4. Customer​ ​Loyalty​ ​Index 
5. Customer​ ​Acquisition​ ​Cost  
   
 

 
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UNDERSTANDING​ ​TODAY'S​ ​TOP​ ​APP​ ​CHALLENGES 
 
Today's​ ​users​ ​expect​ ​faster​ ​performance​ ​than​ ​ever.​ ​And​ ​for​ ​apps,​ ​the​ ​stakes​ ​are​ ​even​ ​higher. 
Fair​ ​or​ ​not,​ ​users​ ​intuitively​ ​expect​ ​faster​ ​experiences​ ​on​ ​mobile​ ​apps​ ​than​ ​they​ ​do​ ​on​ ​mobile 
websites.​ ​Consider​ ​mobile​ ​app​ ​performance​ ​data​ ​from​ ​Dimensional​ ​Research​​ ​that​ ​shows: 

41%​ ​of​ ​users​ ​expect​ ​apps​ ​to​ ​respond​ ​in​ ​less​ ​than​ ​two​ ​seconds 

53%​ ​of​ ​users​ ​blame​ ​an​ ​app​ ​for​ ​performance​ ​issues​ ​irrespective​ ​of​ ​the 
network​ ​and​ ​device​ ​conditions 

But​ ​it's​ ​not​ ​just​ ​speed.​ ​Consistency​ ​of​ ​experience​ ​is​ ​critical​ ​as​ ​well.​ ​The​ ​combination​ ​of​ ​user 
situations​ ​in​ ​today's​ ​market​ ​are​ ​infinite,​ ​and​ ​with​ ​mobile​ ​users​ ​check​ ​their​ ​phones​ ​on​ ​an 
average​ ​of​ ​221​ ​times​ ​per​ ​day​,​ ​growing​ ​your​ ​mobile​ ​app​ ​business​ ​requires​ ​consistency​ ​across 
device,​ ​network,​ ​or​ ​browser.​ ​Additionally,​ ​the​ ​availability​ ​and​ ​reliability​ ​of​ ​an​ ​app's​ ​API​ ​services 
compound​ ​a​ ​growing​ ​list​ ​of​ ​problems​ ​that​ ​a​ ​mobile​ ​app​ ​needs​ ​to​ ​be​ ​resilient​ ​from. 

Some​ ​of​ ​the​ ​challenges​ ​that​ ​a​ ​mobile​ ​app​ ​business​ ​face​ ​to​ ​deliver​ ​fast,​ ​consistent​ ​and​ ​reliable 
experiences​ ​include: 

Mobile​ ​backend​ ​infrastructure​ ​is​ ​not​ ​built​ ​for​ ​being​ ​reliable​ ​while 
maintaining​ ​performance 

Referencing​ ​the​ ​latest​ ​AWS​ ​outage​​ ​that​ ​happened​ ​on​ ​Feb​ ​28th​ ​2017,​ ​this​ ​outage​ ​has​ ​halted 
apps​ ​and​ ​websites​ ​alike.​ ​Cloud​ ​based​ ​services​ ​like​ ​AWS​ ​are​ ​used​ ​commonly​ ​today​ ​to​ ​provide 
backend​ ​services​ ​for​ ​mobile​ ​apps. 

Cellular​ ​networks​ ​are​ ​not​ ​designed​ ​for​ ​performance 

According​ ​to​ ​the​ ​latest​ ​Ericsson​ ​annual​ ​report​​ ​it​ ​was​ ​observed​ ​that​ ​higher​ ​the​ ​number​ ​of​ ​users 
connected​ ​to​ ​a​ ​cell​ ​tower​ ​the​ ​longer​ ​users​ ​have​ ​to​ ​wait​ ​to​ ​send​ ​and​ ​receive​ ​data.​ ​This​ ​is​ ​a 
common​ ​problems​ ​in​ ​metropolitan​ ​areas​ ​where​ ​you​ ​have​ ​more​ ​users​ ​per​ ​sq​ ​area. 
 
 
 5 

 
LET'S​ ​DIG​ ​A​ ​LEVEL​ ​DEEPER​ ​INTO​ ​KEY​ ​APP​ ​INITIATIVES: 

1. Accelerating​ ​API​ ​requests​ ​over​ ​the​ ​Internet​ ​to​ ​improve​ ​dynamic​ ​transaction​ ​speeds​ ​like 
checkouts​ ​and​ ​ticket​ ​purchases 
2. Caching​ ​APIs​ ​at​ ​the​ ​edge​ ​to​ ​improve​ ​overall​ ​app​ ​response​ ​times​ ​for​ ​product​ ​APIs,​ ​deal 
API​ ​etc. 
3. Instantly​ ​loading​ ​images​ ​based​ ​on​ ​client​ ​side​ ​network​ ​quality​ ​and​ ​resizing​ ​them​ ​based 
on​ ​the​ ​user's​ ​device​ ​to​ ​improve​ ​user​ ​experience 
4. Augmenting​ ​the​ ​app​ ​based​ ​on​ ​client​ ​side​ ​network​ ​quality​ ​improve​ ​product​ ​or​ ​flight 
search​ ​response​ ​times 
5. Preloading​ ​content​ ​within​ ​the​ ​app​ ​to​ ​provide​ ​an​ ​instant​ ​load​ ​experience​ ​and​ ​improve 
new​ ​user​ ​satisfaction 
6. Ensure​ ​API​ ​endpoints​ ​are​ ​reliable​ ​and​ ​smooth​ ​fallback​ ​capabilities​ ​in​ ​case​ ​of​ ​flash 
crowds,​ ​increasing​ ​reliability​ ​and​ ​reduce​ ​crash​ ​rate​ ​for​ ​an​ ​app. 
7. Understanding​ ​transaction​ ​speed​ ​and​ ​measuring​ ​app​ ​performance​ ​using​ ​a​ ​simple​ ​to 
use​ ​SDK 

 
AKAMAI​ ​ANALYSIS  
THE​ ​PERFORMANCE​ ​OF​ ​THE​ ​TOP​ ​100​ ​RETAIL​ ​APPS 
 
For​ ​this​ ​report​ ​we​ ​profiled​ ​the​ ​Top​ ​100​ ​retail​ ​apps​ ​in​ ​the​ ​app​ ​store​ ​to​ ​explain​ ​how​ ​you​ ​can 
leverage​ ​Akamai​ ​features​ ​to​ ​meet​ ​the​ ​three​ ​success​ ​criteria​ ​for​ ​mobile​ ​apps. 

We​ ​had​ ​three​ ​key​ ​goals​ ​in​ ​our​ ​mind​ ​when​ ​profiling​ ​these​ ​mobile​ ​apps: 
 
1. How​ ​many​ ​first​ ​party​ ​domains​ ​are​ ​going​ ​over​ ​Akamai​ ​from​ ​a​ ​mobile​ ​app 
2. How​ ​many​ ​mobile​ ​apps​ ​serve​ ​oversized​ ​images​ ​to​ ​user's​ ​devices 
3. How​ ​many​ ​mobile​ ​apps​ ​are​ ​leveraging​ ​IPv6​ ​and​ ​HTTP/2 

 
 6 

 
API​ ​ANALYSIS:​ ​FIRST​ ​PARTY​ ​VS​ ​THIRD​ ​PARTY 

A​ ​mobile​ ​app​ ​consists​ ​of​ ​two​ ​categories​ ​of​ ​APIs​: 

  
1. APIs​ ​that​ ​are​ ​critical​ ​for​ ​app​ ​load​ ​and​ ​responsible​ ​for​ ​user​ ​experience. 
2. Third​ ​party​ ​APIs​ ​responsible​ ​for​ ​collecting​ ​analytics,​ ​collecting​ ​crash​ ​information, 
enabling​ ​ad​ ​tracking,​ ​and​ ​social​ ​media​ ​integrations.​ ​This​ ​category​ ​of​ ​APIs​ ​are​ ​not 
critical​ ​for​ ​user​ ​experience. 
 
 

“ 
Our​ ​analysis​ ​shows​ ​that​ ​on​ ​average,​ ​a​ ​mobile​ ​app​ ​consists​ ​of​ ​8​ ​third​ ​party​ ​APIs 
and​ ​4​ ​first​ ​party​ ​APIs. 
-Akamai 

” 
 

 
 

 
 7 

 
 
 
 
 
 
We​ ​also​ ​discovered​ ​the​ ​top​ ​third​ ​party​ ​APIs​ ​used​ ​inside​ ​a​ ​mobile​ ​app​​ ​are: 
 

“ 
73​ ​of​ ​the​ ​top​ ​100​ ​retail​ ​apps​ ​use​ ​Google​ ​Analytics​ ​and​ ​Ad​ ​SDKs​ ​in​ ​their​ ​mobile 
app. 
-Akamai 

​ ​ ​ ​ ​ ​” 
WHY​ ​IS​ ​THIS​ ​IMPORTANT? 
This​ ​goes​ ​to​ ​show​ ​that​ ​third​ ​party​ ​SDKs​ ​are​ ​used​ ​predominantly​ ​for​ ​analytics​ ​and​ ​tracking​ ​app 
crashes​ ​for​ ​a​ ​mobile​ ​app.​ ​Keeping​ ​a​ ​tab​ ​on​ ​how​ ​many​ ​third​ ​party​ ​APIs​ ​your​ ​app​ ​requests​ ​for​ ​is 
critical​ ​since​ ​having​ ​too​ ​many​ ​third​ ​party​ ​SDKs​ ​and​ ​API​ ​in​ ​your​ ​mobile​ ​app​ ​can​ ​harm​ ​mobile 
app​ ​performance.​ ​ ​For​ ​example​ ​we​ ​observed​ ​that​ ​mobile​ ​apps​ ​that​ ​have​ ​a​ ​webview​ ​page​ ​as 
part​ ​of​ ​the​ ​user​ ​journey​ ​in​ ​a​ ​mobile​ ​app​ ​gets​ ​bombarded​ ​with​ ​third​ ​party​ ​ad​ ​tags​ ​which​ ​leads​ ​to 
socket​ ​contention​ ​between​ ​critical​ ​APIs​ ​and​ ​non-critical​ ​ones.   

 
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MOBILE​ ​APP​ ​PERFORMANCE​ ​ANALYSIS 
To​ ​learn​ ​more​ ​about​ ​mobile​ ​performance​ ​struggles​ ​today,​ ​we​ ​analyzed​ ​the​ ​.har​ ​files​ ​in​ ​each 
app​ ​to​ ​identify​ ​performance​ ​gains.​ ​Our​ ​findings​ ​are​ ​as​ ​follows: 

WHY​ ​ANALYZE​ ​.HAR​ ​FILES? 

 
.HAR​ ​files​ ​provide​ ​insight​ ​into​ ​every​ ​request​ ​that​ ​the​ ​app​ ​makes​ ​and​ ​also​ ​provides​ ​us​ ​with 
timing​ ​data​ ​for​ ​DNS​ ​connections,​ ​TCP​ ​and​ ​TLS​ ​connect​ ​times,​ ​Time​ ​to​ ​first​ ​byte​ ​and​ ​Time​ ​to 
total​ ​download​ ​for​ ​each​ ​individual​ ​request.​ ​Apart​ ​from​ ​scanning​ ​timings​ ​data​ ​we​ ​also​ ​looked 
for​ ​cacheability​ ​of​ ​content​ ​and​ ​the​ ​size​ ​of​ ​content​ ​served​ ​to​ ​the​ ​mobile​ ​app​ ​users​ ​as​ ​well. 
Looking​ ​at​ ​.HAR​ ​files​ ​gives​ ​us​ ​an​ ​exhaustive​ ​view​ ​into​ ​the​ ​network​ ​chatter​ ​that​ ​an​ ​app​ ​makes 
upon​ ​launch. 
 
NOT​ ​ENOUGH​ ​MOBILE​ ​APPS​ ​USE​ ​IPV6 

84.2%​ ​of​ ​mobile​ ​apps​ ​today​ ​are​ ​not​ ​leveraging​ ​the​ ​benefits​ ​of​ ​having​ ​an​ ​IPv6​ ​connection 

WHY​ ​IS​ ​THIS​ ​IMPORTANT? 

Discovering​ ​what​ ​percentage​ ​of​ ​apps​ ​use​ ​IPv6​ ​connections​ ​vs.​ ​IPv4​ ​was​ ​step​ ​one​ ​of​ ​our 
analysis.​ ​The​ ​reason​ ​is​ ​simple​ ​-​ ​an​ ​IPv6​ ​connection​ ​over​ ​a​ ​cellular​ ​network​ ​is​ ​relatively​ ​faster 
than​ ​an​ ​IPv4​ ​connection.​ ​For​ ​more​ ​on​ ​the​ ​performance​ ​improvement​ ​between​ ​IPv6​ ​and​ ​IPv4, 
Akamai's​ ​own​ ​Erik​ ​Nygren​ ​addressed​ ​this​ ​in​ ​his​ ​blog​ ​which​ ​references​ ​RUM​ ​(Real​ ​User 

 
 9 

 
Monitoring)​ ​studies​ ​conducted​ ​by​ ​Facebook​ ​and​ ​Linkedin​ ​that​ ​show​ ​significant​ ​performance 
improvement​ ​for​ ​the​ ​top-4​ ​US​ ​mobile​ ​networks. 
 

Too​ ​many​ ​mobile​ ​apps​ ​have​ ​a​ ​non-standard​ ​User-Agent​ ​string​ ​when 
requesting​ ​content 

 
WHAT'S​ ​A​ ​NON-STANDARD​ ​USER-AGENT​ ​STRING? 

A​ ​well​ ​formed​ ​User-Agent​ ​string​ ​contains​ ​device​ ​information​ ​and​ ​the​ ​browser​ ​type​ ​that​ ​the 
mobile​ ​app​ ​uses.​ ​Non-standard​ ​User-Agent​ ​strings​ ​are​ ​malformed​ ​User-Agent​ ​strings​ ​that​ ​do 
not​ ​relay​ ​information​ ​about​ ​the​ ​device​ ​or​ ​browser.​ ​For​ ​example,​ ​the​ ​most​ ​common​ ​android 
non-standard​ ​User-Agent​ ​are​ ​okhttp/2.X,​ ​CFNetworking,​ ​etc. 
 

67.9%​ ​of​ ​mobile​ ​apps​ ​has​ ​a​ ​non-standard​ ​User-Agent​ ​string​ ​when​ ​requesting​ ​for​ ​content 

WHY​ ​IS​ ​THIS​ ​IMPORTANT? 

A​ ​lot​ ​of​ ​mobile​ ​apps​ ​today​ ​make​ ​decisions​ ​-​ ​like​ ​resizing​ ​images​ ​based​ ​on​ ​device​ ​type, 
redirecting​ ​API​ ​requests​ ​based​ ​on​ ​app​ ​version​ ​-​ ​but​ ​when​ ​a​ ​mobile​ ​app​ ​has​ ​a​ ​malformed,​ ​or 
Non-Standard​ ​User-Agent​ ​String,​ ​all​ ​logic​ ​based​ ​on​ ​User-Agent​ ​strings​ ​fails.​ ​Based​ ​on​ ​our 
findings​ ​we​ ​learned​ ​that​ ​most​ ​of​ ​the​ ​image​ ​manipulation​ ​services​ ​do​ ​not​ ​resize​ ​images​ ​based 
on​ ​device​ ​type​ ​which​ ​leads​ ​to​ ​downloading​ ​really​ ​large​ ​images​ ​to​ ​the​ ​device. 
 
Pro​ ​Tip:​ ​The​ ​Akamai​ ​Image​ ​Manager​ ​is​ ​immune​ ​to​ ​this​ ​problem.​ ​We​ ​are​ ​able​ ​to​ ​apply 
perceptual​ ​quality​ ​settings​ ​to​ ​images​ ​which​ ​means​ ​we​ ​are​ ​able​ ​to​ ​compress​ ​the​ ​image​ ​without 
sacrificing​ ​on​ ​any​ ​visual​ ​fidelity 

 
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MOBILE​ ​APPS​ ​CDN​ ​USAGE 

We​ ​evaluated​ ​CDN​ ​usage​ ​for​ ​all​ ​the​ ​domains​ ​used​ ​by​ ​a​ ​mobile​ ​app​ ​and​ ​found​ ​that​ ​it​ ​was​ ​very 
much​ ​in​ ​line​ ​with​ ​recent​ ​data​ ​published​ ​by​ ​a​ ​startup​ ​in​ ​the​ ​mobile​ ​app​ ​accelerator​ ​space.​ ​When 
we​ ​examine​ ​this​ ​data​ ​it​ ​becomes​ ​clear​ ​that​ ​there​ ​are​ ​many​ ​inaccuracies​ ​in​ ​this​ ​graph​ ​and​ ​their 
logic​ ​was​ ​flawed,​ ​two​ ​main​ ​points​ ​being: 
 
1. Most​ ​of​ ​this​ ​data​ ​are​ ​caused​ ​due​ ​to​ ​repetitive​ ​API​ ​calls​​ ​from​ ​Crashlytics,​ ​Leanplum, 
Crittercism​ ​SDKs,​ ​which​ ​are​ ​pointing​ ​to​ ​AWS 
2. Third​ ​party​ ​domains​ ​are​​ ​typically​ ​non-blocking​ ​APIs​​ ​and​ ​not​ ​critical​ ​for​ ​user 
experience 
 
 

 
In​ ​order​ ​to​ ​analyze​ ​performance​ ​for​ ​a​ ​mobile​ ​app​ ​we​ ​need​ ​to​ ​understand​ ​what​ ​domains​ ​are 
crucial​ ​for​ ​user​ ​experience,​ ​since​ ​most​ ​of​ ​the​ ​apps​ ​contain​ ​Crashlytics,​ ​Facebook​ ​and​ ​Google 
analytics​ ​beacons​ ​we​ ​decided​ ​to​ ​ignore​ ​all​ ​third​ ​party​ ​domains​ ​that​ ​are​ ​not​ ​crucial​ ​for​ ​a​ ​user 
experience​ ​from​ ​our​ ​CDN​ ​usage​ ​calculation. 
 
 
 
 
 
 

 
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Below​ ​is​ ​the​ ​CDN​ ​usage​ ​of​ ​user​ ​critical​ ​domains​ ​inside​ ​top​ ​100​ ​retail​ ​apps 

41.7%​ ​of​ ​user​ ​critical​ ​domains​ ​are​ ​being​ ​served​ ​out​ ​of​ ​Akamai​ ​today 
 

Fewer​ ​than​ ​10%​ ​of​ ​Mobile​ ​Apps​ ​leverage​ ​HTTP/2.  

 
WHY​ ​IS​ ​HTTP/2​ ​IMPORTANT? 

HTTP/2​ ​has​ ​features​ ​like​ ​header​ ​compression​ ​and​ ​socket​ ​reuse​ ​to​ ​avoid​ ​you​ ​from​ ​creating​ ​a 
new​ ​TCP​ ​socket​ ​and​ ​negotiating​ ​TLS​ ​for​ ​every​ ​request​ ​which​ ​adds​ ​to​ ​content​ ​download​ ​time 
for​ ​resources​ ​within​ ​your​ ​mobile​ ​app. 
 

90.9%​ ​of​ ​top​ ​100​ ​retail​ ​apps​ ​do​ ​not​ ​use​ ​HTTP/2 

 
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We​ ​have​ ​enabled​ ​HTTP/2​ ​on​ ​our​ ​domain,​ ​shouldn't​ ​our​ ​app​ ​be​ ​able​ ​to​ ​speak 
HTTP/2​ ​as​ ​well? 
 
No,​ ​your​ ​mobile​ ​app​ ​need​ ​to​ ​speak​ ​HTTP/2​ ​for​ ​it​ ​to​ ​work,​ ​that​ ​means​ ​you​ ​will​ ​need​ ​to​ ​upgrade 
your​ ​mobile​ ​app's​ ​networking​ ​library​ ​to​ ​support​ ​HTTP/2.​ ​Your​ ​mobile​ ​app​ ​developer​ ​should​ ​be 
able​ ​to​ ​help​ ​you​ ​with​ ​this​ ​question. 
 
THREE​ ​KEY​ ​TAKEAWAYS: 
 
● 85%​ ​of​ ​android​ ​mobile​ ​apps​ ​don't​ ​leverage​ ​IPv6​ ​today​,​ ​which​ ​means​ ​these​ ​apps​ ​are 
slower​ ​on​ ​a​ ​cellular​ ​connection​ ​compared​ ​other​ ​apps​ ​that​ ​are​ ​IPv6​ ​ready 
● 60%​ ​of​ ​android​ ​mobile​ ​apps​ ​have​ ​a​ ​non-standard​ ​User-Agent​ ​string​,​ ​which​ ​means 
these​ ​apps​ ​are​ ​likely​ ​being​ ​served​ ​an​ ​oversized​ ​image​ ​leading​ ​to​ ​high​ ​user 
abandonment 
● 91%​ ​of​ ​android​ ​mobile​ ​apps​ ​don't​ ​leverage​ ​HTTP/2​ ​today​,​ ​which​ ​means​ ​there​ ​are 
unnecessary​ ​time​ ​spent​ ​creating​ ​TCP​ ​sockets​ ​and​ ​negotiating​ ​TLS​ ​for​ ​every​ ​mobile​ ​app 
request.

 
 
 
 
 
 
 

 
 
For​ ​a​ ​free​ ​HeadSpin​ ​trial,​ ​go​ ​to: 
 
http://www.headspin.io/trial