The com.android.internal.os.PkgUsageStats class provides access to application launch counts and runtime statistics. Since this class is not part of the public SDK, direct usage requires either source-level access or reflection techniques.

For native Android development, the following approach demonstrates how to retrieve usage data:

import com.android.internal.app.IUsageStats;
import com.android.internal.os.PkgUsageStats;

public int compare(ApplicationInfo firstApp, ApplicationInfo secondApp) {
    ComponentName firstComponent = firstApp.intent.getComponent();
    ComponentName secondComponent = secondApp.intent.getComponent();
    int comparisonResult = 0;
    
    IUsageStats usageService = IUsageStats.Stub.asInterface(
        ServiceManager.getService("usagestats"));
    
    try {
        PkgUsageStats firstStats = usageService.getPkgUsageStats(firstComponent);
        PkgUsageStats secondStats = usageService.getPkgUsageStats(secondComponent);
        
        if (firstStats != null && secondStats != null) {
            if ((firstStats.launchCount > secondStats.launchCount) ||
                ((firstStats.launchCount == secondStats.launchCount) && 
                 (firstStats.usageTime > secondStats.usageTime))) {
                comparisonResult = -1;
            } else if ((firstStats.launchCount < secondStats.launchCount) ||
                      ((firstStats.launchCount == secondStats.launchCount) && 
                       (firstStats.usageTime < secondStats.usageTime))) {
                comparisonResult = 1;
            } else {
                comparisonResult = 0;
            }
        } else if (firstStats != null && secondStats == null) {
            comparisonResult = -1;
        } else if (firstStats == null && secondStats != null) {
            comparisonResult = 1;
        }
    } catch (RemoteException e) {
        Log.i("TAG", "Failed to retrieve usage statistics");
    }
    
    return comparisonResult;
}

When working within the SDK environment, reflection can be used to access these internal APIs:

public int compare(ApplicationInfo firstApp, ApplicationInfo secondApp) {
    ComponentName firstComponent = firstApp.intent.getComponent();
    ComponentName secondComponent = secondApp.intent.getComponent();
    int firstLaunchCount, secondLaunchCount;
    long firstUsageTime, secondUsageTime;
    int comparisonResult = 0;
    
    try {
        Class<?> serviceManager = Class.forName("android.os.ServiceManager");
        Method getService = serviceManager.getMethod("getService", String.class);
        Object remoteService = getService.invoke(null, "usagestats");
        
        Class<?> stubClass = Class.forName("com.android.internal.app.IUsageStats$Stub");
        Method asInterface = stubClass.getMethod("asInterface", IBinder.class);
        Object usageStatsInterface = asInterface.invoke(null, remoteService);
        
        Method getPkgUsageStats = usageStatsInterface.getClass().getMethod(
            "getPkgUsageStats", ComponentName.class);
        Object firstStats = getPkgUsageStats.invoke(usageStatsInterface, firstComponent);
        Object secondStats = getPkgUsageStats.invoke(usageStatsInterface, secondComponent);
        
        Class<?> pkgStatsClass = Class.forName("com.android.internal.os.PkgUsageStats");
        
        firstLaunchCount = pkgStatsClass.getDeclaredField("launchCount").getInt(firstStats);
        secondLaunchCount = pkgStatsClass.getDeclaredField("launchCount").getInt(secondStats);
        firstUsageTime = pkgStatsClass.getDeclaredField("usageTime").getLong(firstStats);
        secondUsageTime = pkgStatsClass.getDeclaredField("usageTime").getLong(secondStats);
        
        if ((firstLaunchCount > secondLaunchCount) ||
            ((firstLaunchCount == secondLaunchCount) && (firstUsageTime > secondUsageTime))) {
            comparisonResult = 1;
        } else if ((firstLaunchCount < secondLaunchCount) ||
                  ((firstLaunchCount == secondLaunchCount) && (firstUsageTime < secondUsageTime))) {
            comparisonResult = -1;
        } else {
            comparisonResult = 0;
        }
    } catch (Exception e) {
        Log.e("###", e.toString(), e);
    }
    
    return comparisonResult;
}

For end users seeking their own device usage analytics, Android provides built-in tools through engineering mode. On devices running Android 4.0, enter the dialer and input "##4636##" to access diagnostic menus. Within the menu, select "Usage statistics" to view application usage metrics including launch frequency and time spent.