When Apple launched its first smartphone in 2007, they had no idea what impact it would have on the mobile industry. In addition to being the company's first Smartphone, this launch also marked the birth of the third-party Apps market (which, ironically, was not officially supported by the device). In 2008, having witnessed the success of these Apps, Apple officially launches its AppStore and starting from the beginning to build one of the arms of this millionaire industry that today the people of Cupertino share mostly with Google and its Android. Moving forward to 2017, we have app stores for all platforms, offering numerous apps for everything and then some. From quality of life apps, to productivity, and really useless things, like a fan app …
App stores have become crowded as more and more app developers are trying to make money from this trend that has become popular in recent years, Apps for EVERYTHING.
Despite this growth, according to research firm BI Intelligence, the mobile app boom is over. Time to see … really? If so, then what does this mean for the application market? Are mobile apps dying? "Let's look at some facts.
The BI Intelligence study states that the average download volume of the top 15 application developers, both on the Apple and Google platforms, has dropped 20% in the last year. This is due to several apparent reasons, although the most popular theory is that people no longer look for specialized applications and prefer to choose 1 application only that has several functionalities, instead of 5 applications that can do the same, but with different interfaces and companies (some at least) already know this, see what Facebook has been doing with Instagram, WhatsApp and Messenger, apart from Instagram that has a slightly different purpose, everyone has basically the same features, making it, at least in thesis, you only need one if you are only looking for features.
A reflection of this that I see less and less people talking about something that was on the tip of everyone's tongue some time ago, Snapchat. Now Instagram has more and more similar features every day and some even more, if we compare. T noticing? When people have to choose between one and the other, they will usually choose the one with the most features.
To aggravate this problem, the web experience is getting better and people are able to easily access the same type of content in their browsers, whereas before they had to use an application to have a comfortable experience. We can even mention Facebook itself here as one of the examples, I know many people who started to access the Smartphone network through the Browser and not the App, saving also a space in the internal memory of the device, which is already very crowded In most cases.
This aspect is something that the mobile casinos and websites industry like Casino.org opened, with a number of popular games on the market that can be accessed from your mobile browser, overcoming the need for endless downloads and updates by the consumer.
In addition, many of the applications are full of advertisements, so it is no wonder that people use their browser when they need to do something quickly and efficiently.
Interestingly, this aspect of accessing content in the cloud is also related to another aspect, which I will not go into in depth in this article, that of Chromebooks. Finally, the last "nail in the coffin of the application market", according to the survey, the emergence of new platforms such as wearable and screenless technology, which are wearable devices, such as Smartwatches and others, whose developers focus on simple and intuitive (and often incorporated) applications with basic functionality and without the hassle of endless advertisements and notifications, even for the sake of comfort in dealing with these types of things on minimal or nonexistent screens.
So that? Are apps really dying? Overall, I would say that dying is a very strong word, but in fact the market is changing. Make a reflection here with me and see if you don't fit in either.
A few years ago (when you bought your first Smartphone perhaps) it was common for you to search and install Apps to simply test or extend features of the software itself that came on the device. Want an example? Photography programs.
Currently, most operating systems already have a camera app capable of making small edits to images, applying filters and making repairs, in some cases, when the hardware allows, these Apps give you access to manual adjustment so that the photo comes out exactly as you want. Not long ago you would need third party apps to have these features. Today you download a lot less Apps, install only what you really like and need, and tend to be faithful to a certain range of Apps that you have become accustomed to using.
In my case, I would say that the type of App that has the most rotation on my Smartphone are games, the others are the same for a long time!
Although the number of downloads has attenuated in the last year (that is, the exponential fashion it was in has not continued), the profit of the applications saw a 40% increase in 2016, indicating that "all is not lost" and indicating that the way in which money is earned from applications has been changing as well. Often they will become access points for a service that will be the real source of profit, like Netflix for example, which makes money not with the App itself, but with the service that the App serves as a bridge to. interaction.
The application world is experiencing a renaissance, an evolution. Delivering unique content and mainly not disturbing the user with advertisements and distractions, in addition to bringing really useful features seems to be the healthiest way today, in addition, providing a simple interface that does not depend so much on updates for improvements can be another interesting way.
What do you think? Did you notice this change in the way Apps are handled? Did you notice the change in the way you use applications? Leave your comment.
See you next time!
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