Study: Do Smartphone Users View Video with YouTube App or Browsers?

Smartphone users spend considerably more time watching videos on their devices through third party apps like YouTube than in browsers, according to a new study by Arbitron Mobile.

An average of 88 percent of all online video minutes viewed in the seven countries studied -- the United States, the United Kingdom, France, Germany, China, Japan and Indonesia -- were accessed via mobile apps like YouTube, Netflix and QIYI Video.

In fact, YouTube was the leading video app in every country except China, where QIYI Video reigned supreme.

Yet while the amount of minutes spent watching video was much higher for third party apps, 87.5 percent of all users spent at least some time viewing videos with browsers.

Smartphone users in China spent the most time with third-party video apps, with users averaging 350.1 minutes a month, while the United States came in second at 230 minutes and Indonesia landed third at 181.5 minutes.

In comparison, smartphone users in the US spent an average of only 17 minutes per month viewing video with Web browsers. Users in China spent 16.6 minutes per month, while users in Indonesia spent 23.9 minutes.