Yahoo CEO Marissa Mayer said the company could benefit from reducing the number of smartphone apps it offers, reports ABC News.

Speaking at an investor event this week, Mayer said the company would be better served by 12 to 15 apps rather than the current “scattered” portfolio which has reached as many as 75 titles during the past few years.

Mayer said the number of available apps has proved overwhelming to Yahoo’s 200 million mobile users, so consolidating features into fewer products and cutting some apps completely could see the services become more deeply ingrained in users’ daily habits.

The Yahoo CEO indicated that future apps will focus on finance, sport, email, weather, entertainment, news and video categories.

Since becoming CEO seven months ago, former Google exec Mayer has consistently stressed that Yahoo needs a better mobile strategy and must hire more engineers specialising in smartphone and tablet apps.

Yahoo boosted its mobile expertise with the acquisition of local recommendation app maker Alike this week. Alike said on its website that it no longer supports the Alike Nearby iPhone and web apps.

In an emailed statement to CNET, Yahoo said: “We were very impressed by the team and their approach to building personalised experiences. The entire Alike team will join Yahoo’s mobile organisation in San Francisco and Sunnyvale.”