App-Scoop

What is the discovery phase of a project? Imagine hiring an employee without knowing what tasks he needs to perform, what you would be paying him/her and the reason you are employing him. You’d never do that would you? Similarly, when you take up a project, you need to go through the discovery phase.

What is the Discovery Phase?

Discovery phase is the time you take to understand and analyze the project that you are about to invest your time, effort and money into. It helps to reduce failure and ensures that you maximize the potential of the idea. Basically, the discovery phase is where you conduct all the research and plan your entire digital project, as well as understand the stakeholders and the needs of the end customers. This phase helps to reveal the real pain points that you might face while developing the project and understand the how and why. 

Develop a blueprint of your project – outline a project goal statement that includes the exact outcome of the project. You can jot down the following outcomes:

• Major milestones of the project
• Cost estimated
• Functional requirements
• Potential visual designs
• Information architecture that explains how the content should be displayed

Basic Steps of the Discovery Phase

Data analytics
Learn about the user habits and go through the analytics of a similar project that is conducted. Look at the areas where the users drop off and the pages of high and low traffic. Try and understand why these problems are occurring and make sure that you don’t make the same mistakes while developing your project.

Audience poll
Understanding what the users want is the key to creating a successful end product. Users can be categorized in age groups, demographics and backgrounds. They all have different needs and wants out of the end product. You can either plan your project so that its applicable to all users or focus on a certain type of users and base your project around that.

Map the journey
Making a plan on the whiteboard is never waste of time. Jotting down the steps and different stages of the project is of key importance. Ensure that when you map your journey, you give enough time for any hiccups that might occur while planning the project.

Questions to be Asked during the Discovery Phase

What are the business needs?
Imagine you are awarded a project that needs to see the light of day. The first step is to identify the stakeholder. Once you identify them, don’t assume that they are going to come with their exact needs. You will need to ask them the following questions:

• Who their target audience is?
• Who are the competitors?
• What the current website content is?
• How is the content structured? 
• What is the performance indicator and how are we going to measure it?

What are the user needs?
As mentioned before, determining user needs has a detrimental effect on the finished product. In the discovery phase, you are expected to conduct surveys, expert reviews, speak to focus groups to gather user needs.
You can ask questions such as:

• Why do the users want to use the service or website?
• What sort of users are you going to have?
• What is the user’s journey while using the product going to be?

 
Consequences of Skipping the Discovery Phase

So, what if you plan to skip the discovery phase? What happens then?
Your guesses can go off the mark and you cannot give accurate estimates. You might have to make a “best guess” approach which might go amiss.
The costing is likely to increase if a certain functionality or content does not produce the results as expected. This would increase the overall timeline and efforts for the project.
New or different technologies cannot be put to use if there is no expert advice taken or any research done. This could mean the loss of opportunities to explore ideas.

Conclusion
​
 As the old saying goes, “It is always better to be safe than sorry!” Getting the discovery phase right is crucial in creating a successful project. It defines the problem space, and sets the parameters for what that service is trying to achieve. The customer satisfaction at the end of the project will heighten the chances of bagging more projects in the future. They may not know the endless meetings and diagrams that were made at the beginning of the project but they will be satisfied with the end product from the get-go. So why not limit the risks to failure by just putting in a little more effort before you start the project? Think about it!
 
 

Bitcoin has been the latest topic of discussion between work colleagues, business meals and even amongst friends. This virtual currency has made millionaires. Some believe that Bitcoin is a bubble that’s about to burst; while others think that it’s going to magnify its presence and believe that in the near future each Bitcoin could cost around $60,000. Who wouldn’t want to invest in a market where the returns are phenomenal? Everyone wants a piece of this pie!

Like the old saying goes, “With great power comes great responsibility!” Here, the responsibility lies on the digital ledger that records the transactions in a decentralized database located in multiple places – also known as the blockchain. ​

What is a Blockchain?

The word blockchain literally means a chain made of blocks. A block is the permanent set of data that is recorded in a ledger. For example, Jack has made a certain monetary transaction with Rose. This information is encrypted and stored on every computer on the system. These blocks are stored in a chronological order and such a chain of records is called a blockchain. The order of these blocks is important as each block has to contain a link of the previous one. These links help to secure the whole data system, so if any one adds any block between two chronological boxes, it is impossible to do without getting noticed. In 2017, the global blockchain technology market is predicted to reach 339.5 million U.S. dollars in size and is forecast to grow to 2.3 billion U.S. dollars by 2021.
Source: https://www.statista.com/statistics/647231/worldwide-blockchain-technology-market-size/
But can a blockchain only be used for financial transactions? Well, the answer is no. Blockchain can be used in various different branches and it can be used in your app too!

Key Point

​The key point to note here is that blockchain technology doesn’t need the support of a middleman or a third party to conduct transactions. One of its most vital features is that it is based on a peer to peer payment. This mechanism will ensure that blockchain can go really far in the app industry.
Global spending on blockchain solutions in 2018, according Stacey Soohoo, Research Manager, Customer Insights and Analysis at IDC, says, “The year 2018 will be a crucial stage for enterprises as they make a huge leap from proof-of-concept projects to full blockchain deployments. As a leader in blockchain innovation and integration, the US will continue to invest in blockchain throughout the forecast, spending heavily in financial services, manufacturing, and other industries.”
Source: https://enterprisersproject.com/article/2018/2/5-blockchain-statistics-cio-reality-check

Blockchain and Mobile Apps

An app based on blockchain technology can be used to make payments, transfer money, prove identity (in case of enterprise apps) and manage health care and property records.
Firstly, the developer needs to create the architecture for the app that is similar to bit coin. But note that the design will vary as per the requirements of the app.
Secondly, the developers should be aware that to develop the app with this technology can be a tricky situation. The developer needs to test and debug the software so that it can run on a single system.
Thirdly, the developers should know about heisenbug – a bug that changes computer operations behavior. Another types of bug is mandelbug – this one creates problems such as abstract behavior of computer, whereas, a bug called schrödinbugs could lead to the app displaying unexpected behavior during an unconventional use.

Benefits of Using Blockchain

Identity Protection
When it comes to security, blockchain has trustworthy mechanism that can assign private key encryption to users and work on cryptography. As we know it is impossible to modify information while working on this decentralized public database.
Also, every data that is entered in blockchain becomes general knowledge with its track record of origin. Blockchain makes data transparent by giving all the parties a direct access to the reports.
Source: Tech Crunch

Infrastructure Protection
A major hack on the brand’s infrastructure can be removed by storing the DNS entries on blockchain. Hence, when the domain records are under the owner’s control it’s impossible for another individual or government to manipulate the entries.

Alternative to Passwords
As we know that the data is already protected by the infrastructure of blockchain technology, its distribution allows authentication of devices and users without the need of password protection. The network decentralization helps in creating consensus between parties for authentication through the blockchain-specific SSL certificates.

​Case Studies on the Usage of Blockchain Technology

IBM is launching a network in the early 2018 in Canada where the people’s identity will be verified using a mobile app. They are building a network using blockchain that verifies people’s identities when they use services such as opening new bank accounts or getting driver’s licenses.
Another company called Landmapp is developing a service and mobile app that uses blockchain to document land titles and land rights. This will help developing countries, especially Africa to reduce the cost for titles. ShelterZoom has also built a service and mobile app that focuses on streamlining real estate offers are made using blockchain technology.
Forbes states that “Only 1.2 billion people have access to a bank account with payment capabilities, while there are approximately 5 billion unique mobile phone subscribers.” A partnership between the blockchain mobile payment company TelCoin and telecom companies will allow people who only have mobile phones and no bank accounts to make secure mobile payments using mobile apps. TelCoin co-founder and CEO Claude Eguienta said that the app will “provide financial services to billions of people.”
Source: Forbes Link
 
Conclusion

This technology doesn’t only make it beneficial for the app developers but they also make the application secure for the customers. Also, one can add the element of confidentiality and develop the advanced peer-to-peer payment platforms with the help of distributed nature of the blockchain.
Now that the fundamentals are covered, the developers need to decide whether blockchain fits the specific needs. The blockchain technology definitely seems to have a bright future when in the tech industry. 

With the rise of Android apps, Google Play has strived to focus on security and performance! There are more than 2 million Android devices, and in the year 2017, 82 billion apps were installed on Google Play. So, it is vital that Google Play makes it a positive experience for their users to discover and install apps that they love.
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Source: https://www.androidcentral.com/over-82-billion-apps-have-been-installed-google-play-last-year

As we know, every Android application operates within a “process sandbox”. These silos can detect malware and contain them. But if the app requires data sources outside of its unique sandbox, they require permission. Even though Google has tried to keep the app secured, scanners don’t manage to catch everything. The user is not updated about the new permission until he/she updates the app. This makes the users data exposed to malware.
Hence, in the year 2018, Google has announced enhancements for increasing the security and performance for the app. Edward Cunningham, Product Manager of Android states that there are going to be three key changes in year 2018-2019.

Changes in API Requirement

In the second half of 2018, the new apps and app updates in Google Play must be built on APIs which can be optimized for performance and security. Google Play console will require the following updates:

• August 2018: New apps required to target API level 26 (Android 8.0) or higher.
• November 2018: Updates to existing apps required to target API level 26 or higher.
• 2019 onwards: Each year the targetSdkVersion requirement will advance. Within one year following each Android dessert release, new apps and app updates will need to target the corresponding API level or higher.

This update will encourage the developers to create apps that have the latest user-interfacing interface, along with security enhancements. On the other hand, apps that do not adhere to the latest API update will be restricted. Google Play states that it wants to “proactively reduce fragmentation in the app ecosystem”.

64-bit Support Equipment

By August 2019, Android devices will only support the 64-bit code. Android 5.0 Lollipop was the first mobile operated system that introduced higher architecture. Today, more than 40% of devices support 64-bits, and at the same time maintain the 32-bit compatibility.
“The Play Console will require that new apps and app updates with native libraries provide 64-bit versions in addition to their 32-bit versions. This can be within a single APK or as one of the multiple APKs published.”
 
Source: https://android-developers.googleblog.com/2017/12/improving-app-security-and-performance.html

Security Metadata

In early 2018, Google Play plans to start adding a small amount of security metadata on top of each APK to verify the authenticity of the app. The developers or end users have to take no action on this update. This metadata is small and will not alter the functionality of the app. Google Play has further stated, “This metadata will enable new distribution opportunities for developers in the future and help more people keep their apps up to date”.
The metadata that will be added to APK will be like a Play badge of authenticity for the Android app. This will be just like the ‘Trust’ badge that is seen while buying any authentic product. Google Play further states, “We’ll adjust Play’s maximum APK size to take into account the small metadata addition, which is inserted into the APK Signing Block and does not alter the functionality of your app. In addition to enhancing the integrity of Play’s mobile app ecosystem, this metadata will enable new distribution opportunities for developers in the future and help more people keep their apps up to date”.
Source: https://android-developers.googleblog.com/2017/12/improving-app-security-and-performance.html

Additional Security Measurements

Further, Android is imposing restrictions on giving permissions. Permissions are of two types: dangerous and normal. When the app requests for the user’s calendar, camera, contacts, location, microphone, SMS or storage, they are classified as dangerous permissions, which are as of now granted. But by the year 2019, every call for private data will be in the hands of the user.
Another component of Android’s security changes is the function that prevents the OS from trusting user-added certificate authorities (CAs) by default. The goal for changing how Android treats CAs is to provide secure app traffic. Android now offers a standardized protocol for integrating trusted system CAs.  

Conclusion

Google Play has gone tremendously in the year 2017 by reducing the risk within the Android app ecosystem. Although, Google cannot predict the new malware of tomorrow, it is taking all the measures to improve security and provide a seamless experience to the user. In the year 2018-2019, we can foresee the measurements that will be taken to protect user data for Android users, thereby improving app security. 

​Recently, one of our clients took the time to review us on Clutch, the leading B2B ratings and reviews platform. Clutch arms business buyers and sellers with the insight they need to facilitate productive business partnerships. Since August, our clients reviewed App-Scoop on Clutch and we are excited to share some of the feedback that can be found on our profile.
 
One of our clients needed an Android and iPhone application development for his lifestyle coaching business. The feedback received for our development work was great. App-Scoop was commended for the ability to listen to the clients’ specifications and delivering a great product.

Our most recent review, was a mobile application solution for nightlife and venue management. Our client provided App-Scoop with wireframes and UI recommendations and we restructured the backend and make it stable for ongoing development. Our client was satisfied with our application and commended our work ethic.
 
“Development has been nothing but bliss. They’ve exceeded expectations while erasing all previous issues; the team goes above and beyond.” – Founder, Tnight Inc. 
​

​We are extremely proud of the feedback that we have received on Clutch. As we grow as a company, we strive to create the most positive experiences for our clients. Whether it’s blockchain applications or custom software development – we treat all projects the same, focusing on our clients’ needs and specifications.
 
We look forward to getting more feedback from our clients in 2018. Be on the lookout for more Clutch reviews. 

How do you start developing a mobile application? Or you want to make changes to the existing one? How do you initiate the first step? The first thing that you need to determine is the category of your app development project. There are three categories:

1. Consumer (has potential for widespread adoption)
2. Modernized (modernizing a new or existing business process)
3. Migration (web-application to mobile-optimized version)

Planning is the second step of building your app. It is a crucial factor that needs to be managed right from inception to ensure that there is no re-work, maximum profitability and increased utility. Planning involves knowing your target group of customers and the mobile products available in the market; and then making an informed decision about what mobile strategy best suits your app’s need.
Here is a list of 51 mobile statistics that can help your with the decision making process and contour the product that you want to introduce to the market. ​

1. 20% queries were made on the search engine using the voice technology.
 
Voice technology is easier, intuitive and easily accessible to any age group. For example, receiving a call while driving without picking up the call or your grandmother just asking for directions instead of typing them
 
Source
 
2. 60% of app users are willing to share their health data collection from wearable technology to Google (in 2016).
 
Wearable technology, for example, FitBits gathers information about your eating patterns, sleeping patterns, number of steps taken and other general health related information. Many users connect these devices to Google services because it’s easier to store and integrate information on to other apps.
 
Source
 
3. Mobile advertising has increased by 22% in the year 2016.
 
The world is using smartphones and the digital technology is the best way to reach maximum number of consumers with decreased costing. Short advertisements delivering strong messages are the most effective.
 
Source
 
4. Mobile apps account for 57 percent of all digital media usage, and smartphone apps alone capture more than half of digital media time spent.
 
Source
 
5. Spotify and Apple music are making more money than music stores; which gives recorded music its first growth in 16 years. 
 
Users want to access any song and download albums to view them offline on their smartphones. It’s made music accessible. Advertisements on these kind of sites are generally viewed more because the user wants to listen to the track.
 
Source
 
6. Internet users in Indonesia spend 90% of their time online from a mobile device.
 
If you target your app towards countries that has such staggering data, it’s most obvious that there your app has a chance to be downloaded and used more than in other countries.
 
Source
 
7. Most people use their smartphones to access information in the morning, shift towards using more data on laptops/desktop computers during work hours and tabs in the evening.
 
Source
 
8. Over 51% of emails are opened on the mobile than on the desktop.
 
Working is no longer limited to desk spaces and office cabinets. Everyone checks their email on the go and wants to keep in touch with work even when they are travelling.
 
Source
 
9. Replies sent from mobile devices are received 54% faster than from a desktop.
 
Short one line emails are becoming the norm. This makes it very easy for the user to send emails from their smart devices.
 
Source
 
10. 90% of media time is spent on apps by mobile users while 10% is spent on websites accessed through a browser.
 
Consumers love apps; they are easily accessible and can be personalized.
 
Source
 
11. According to Google, 90% of the millennial users go online daily.
 
There is a thin line between the real world and the online world. Apps like Twitter, Facebook, Instagram, Tinder and Snapchat keeps people connected and keeps them in touch with the social world.
 
Source
 
12. 75% of millennial users access their smartphones to go online.
 
This means that it is important that your app provides a seamless experience to the mobile user.
 
Source
 
13. Pinterest is most favored by smartphone users, generating 64% traffic from phones or tablets.
 
Source
 
14. 48% of millennial users watch videos exclusively on their mobile device.
 
It’s important to embed the videos into the web page so that it prompts the browser to use the best suited app to play the video.
 
Source
 
15. 48% of millennial users download/use an app based on its functionality; 45% due to social influence from peers; and 37% based on the aesthetic appeal of the app.
 
Source
 
16. 49% of millennial users delete an app if it uses too much of phone battery.
 
Source
 
17. Red is the most popular icon color for food and drinks app; 30% of these are red while only 6% of them are blue.
 
According to color theorists red catches the eye and encourages feelings of energy and action and is even said to stimulate appetite.
 
Source
 
18. Mobile searches using the word ‘best’ has increased by 80% in 2 years.
 
People want the best! When they download an app, they want information that shows them the ‘best’ of what they are looking for.
 
Source
 
19. Smartphone users are more likely to purchase from companies that offer personalized searches.
 
For example, if the user types in ‘Chinese restaurant’, the app should be intuitive enough to show Chinese restaurants that are nearby, rather than 10 km. away.
 
Source
 
20. 50% smartphone users are likely to purchase items on the spur of the    moment in 2017, compared to 2016.
 
Source
 
21. There will be roughly 6 billion users in the year 2020.
 
Source
 
22. Mobile web draws in more unique visits per month, but app users spend more time per visit.
 
Source
 
23. 68% of smartphone users check their phone within 15 minutes of waking up.
 
Source
 
24. 30% of smartphone users are anxious without their phone.
 
Most mobile users are dependent on their smartphone for reminders, work, etc. The thought of being without their smart devices is scary for most.
 
Source
 
25. On an average, users check their phone 150 times a day.
 
Source
 
26. Smartphone users in the middle of a task will reach for ideas by using their phones; this behavior is seen in 91% users.
 
Source
 
27. 65% of users believe that the content that they receive (regardless of the source) while conducting a search on the mobile is accurate.
 
Source
 
28. In 2016, 50% of iOS apps and 23% of Android apps crashed in Q2.
 
Source
 
29. In the year 2016, 65% of iOS performance issues were related to app crashes.
 
Source
 
30. 44% of in-app defects are found by the user.
 
Source
 
31. 47% apps need more time for testing.
 
Source
 
32. 58% of users are frustrated when they are unable to navigate through the app because of interface inconsistencies.
 
Source
 
33. 52% of users get annoyed if the overall app performance is not seamless during use.
 
Source
 
34. 29% of users will uninstall the app if they don’t find it useful.
 
Source
 
35. 70% of users abandon an app because it takes a very long time to load.
 
Patience is a virtue only few possess. In this quick digital world, there is no time to wait.
 
Source
 
36. 50% of men users do not have a single paid app on their smartphones.
 
Source
 
37. 70% of women users do not have a single paid app on their smartphones.
 
Source
 
38. 19% of millennial users purchase 12 plus apps in a year.
 
Source
 
39. Without apps, 76% of millennial users find their phones useless.
 
Source
 
40. 51% of users will delete an app if they do not use it often.
 
Source
 
41. 47% will delete apps to de-clutter their screen.
 
Source
 
42. 41% of users will delete an app if it takes up too much space in their smartphone.
 
Source
 
43. 70% of millennial users are looking for new apps.
 
Source
 
44. 43% of mobile users will agree to receive push notifications, out of which 63% of millennial users check them immediately upon receiving them.
 
Source
 
45. 38% of marketers believe mobile strategy delivers significant ROI.
 
Source
 
46. In 2016, the use of location-based mobile marketing has increased by 149%. 74% of marketers confirm that location-based mobile campaigns are very effective.
 
Source
 
47. 80% of the marketing force believe that mobile exclusive offer campaigns are very effective.
 
Source
 
48. 78% of the marketers declare that mobile loyalty campaigns are very effective.
 
Source
 
49. The percentage of digital ad revenue using the smartphone is expected to grow to 70% by 2019.
 
Source
 
50. 21% millennial users will delete the app if they do not like its logo.
 
Source
 
51. By the end of 2016, smart devices accounted for 51% of total digital ad revenue.
 
Source
​
As we’ve taken an in-depth look in the app stats, you should be able to now build and grow your next app project or even spark a new idea. Product requirements, product performance and user preferences should be considered at the initial stages of the app development. If you focus on the functionality, look and feel, experience and personalization – your mobile app will be the perfect solution. 

Have you heard of a phrase ‘The first impression is the last impression’? Let’s say that you’ve gone for an interview. When you step into the interview room, what does the interviewer base his first judgment on? Correct, the way you are dressed and your overall grooming. Similarly, when you launch a product into the market, the first thing the users will notice is the look and feel of the product.
​
But just because a product looks good, doesn’t mean that it performs in par with the expectations. For instance, your interviewer may think that you look great, but if you cannot answer his questions correctly, then you will not get the job. 

The key is that the product should not only be designed well, but should also meet the functional expectations of the user. Design is the integral part of the project and in itself a feature. So, it’s logical to encounter the complexities and risks throughout the project rather than at the end. There is a term that is used in the software industry; it’s called the Waterfall model.  It is “a linear sequential (non-iterative) design approach for software development, in which progress flows in one direction downwards (like a waterfall) through the phases of conception, initiation, analysis, design, construction, testing, deployment and maintenance.” Using this method will prevent a downfall at the end; instead it will help, build and measure progress iteratively.
There are three simple guidelines that you must follow to build a great product. Each of these principles are dependent on one another. Let’s take a look at these guidelines.

Desirability

There are times when software designers wonder, “The UX was great but I wasn’t able to design it the way the most trending app has been designed.” Design is user-centric and the more feedback you will receive from the people, the more functional design features can be inserted.
The key is to understanding the target audience; what problem do they have and what problem are you solving? This kind of interaction will fill the gaps from the design perspective. When you bring out the ideas and discuss them with your users, you will begin to understand the product’s strengths and weakness.

Viability

If your business doesn’t yield the output and make some money, then the product will get killed or not receive any sort of funding. Improving the ROI and keep a track of its success proves that it’s a business that is worth investing into. A good start is when you can define clear metrics to validate your Unique Value Proposition. This helps you focus more on the effort required.  
Designing a product that is cost-effective and has long term goals will generate more value than a product that isn’t designed to suit the needs in the long term or requires a lot of financial investment before its first output. If you manage to get your customers interested in the product and investing monetarily, then consider that you have passed the product validation test.

Feasibility

You might come up with crunched timelines and operationally and technically sounding solutions but it’s not always easy to complete it. The focus should not always be on the technical aspect but one should also focus on the feasibility, i.e. operations and actors.
“Actors are all the people that live and operate on the peripheral of the user.” To know who the actors are, you must look at the customer experience in context and investigate what needs to be true to create a smooth experience for the user.
You might hire trainees, third parties or hire an operational team, peripheral actors that are unable to see your vision, or consider the product as a threat can become a huge risk to the product’s feasibility. You must communicate, reiterate the product features and ensure that the team is working towards the correct output required for the product.

Conclusion

So, let’s recapitulate the learning with the help of three points:
Keep your aim fixed towards the long term goal. Don’t underestimate the hindrances that you might foresee to reach this goal. Instead, huddle as a team and think of the best way to get over them. The best way to keep track of the product design, take a chart paper and title it with your long term goal. Note each step (from the below to up) that you are taking towards that long term goal to validate and dismiss the assumptions and the risk that your product might face.
Preparation is the key. It’s important to collect your data to understand your customer’s sprint. Running design sprints will help you map out the customer’s journey involving all actors. By rolling out prototype and get feedback from the customers, you can test the hypotheses while keeping momentum, and at the same time keeping your stakeholders happy.
These steps will lead to building a Minimal Viable Product that your user base can discover, test and talk about. Your product’s design will be measured with the three principles that you’ve taken into account desirability, viability and feasibility.
If you get a product idea next time, save on expensive remodels and embed it with the product design from inception!

There are mobile consumers all over the world, and so mobile technology trends are important to follow. In today’s day and age, smartphones are increasingly pervasive and indispensable. The year 2017 has seen a phenomenal response with several mobile app trends restructuring the digital landscape. Mobile developers from all over the world are finding ways to make the apps on more sophisticated hardware tools, latest software and better hardware. ​

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In March 2017, there were 2.2 million apps for iOS users to choose from and 2.8 million for Android users. This is just the beginning! The mobile app market is only going to increase with better and more useful apps for users. So, what kind of apps do you think dominate the market? Most of it is dominated by Google apps, social media, gaming and lifestyle apps. Large companies such as banks and hospitality are using mobile applications to increase customer engagement, branding and use them for direct marketing. 
Now, let’s take a look at the mobile app trends for the year 2018. 

​What is IoT? When a device is connected via the Internet of computing devices in objects that are used daily, enabling them to send and receive data. With the advent of technology, the idea of smart homes, smart cities, smart health, smart automotive and smart education are on the rise. Carrying is now passé, the users are switching to more wearable devices such as Apple Watch and Android Wear. They include more functionality to habitual things giving more opportunities and discoveries for smartphone users.
With the increase of demand, these applications are going to increase and get smarter with the coming age. Analysts predict that this industry will grow from $157.05 billion in 2016 to $661.74 billion by 2021, which is quite a significant increase. Since these apps are directly controlled by smartphones, there will be an increase in IoT devices.

Increase in M-Commerce

Customers who are engaged in online shopping through apps have always required payment gateways to pay for products by using their credit/debit cards. With the introduction of Apple Wallet and Google Wallet, customers are slowly shifting to m-commerce. These m-commerce apps not only provide the customer the comfort of an electronic payment but also offers them various payback offers, schemes and discounts. 

Augmented Reality (AR) and Virtual Reality (VR) Apps

We are familiar with Augmented and Virtual Reality because of popular apps such as Pokémon Go and Snapchat. These apps are going to take the world by the storm. Imagine that you send a message to a friend saying “let’s book a cab for two” and a taxi app opens automatically! That is what these apps are all about.
The future of AR depends on mostly two main criteria:

• Any change happening in the real world should be interpreted in the app to create a well-defined experience
• User experience should be simple, i.e. the customer should get all the information necessary without using many commands

 Similarly, the future of VR depends on how quickly and effectively you can transport the user in an imaginary space without a wand. The main rules for futuristic VR trends will be:

• Designing three-dimensional images, i.e. the app should be able to change the image and show every perspective to the user
• Adding more realism and similarity of objects as the user comes closer, i.e. give them a real experience
• Define the sound so that the user gets immersed into the VR

AR and VR apps require a lot of brilliance in designing, futuristic technology and brilliant software to support it. The future definitely looks promising.

Artificial Intelligence

We’ve understood the future of AR, now let’s take a look at AI i.e. Artificial Intelligence. The incorporation of AI in our smartphones will have many implications. For example, imagine an image that can change its characteristic based on your mood or preferences. Content should be modified from user to user and should be based on his/her preferences. This could also include location specific information. In 2018, most smartphones will have an AI chip.
Yoo Hoi-jun, a professor at Korea Advanced Institute of Technology, recently said, “Competition for AI chips is so intense globally that we will be able to see AI chip-equipped smartphones in the second half of next year.”

On-Demand and Location Based Service Apps

On-demand apps make our lives easier and help us save a lot of time from our busy schedules. These apps include cleaning services, cooks, beauty services, food delivery and taxi servicing apps. These include apps like Uber, Zomato, etc. They are popular because they convenient, timely services and easy payments.
On the other hand, location based apps surfaced such as Groupon offers best deals to their app users depending on their location. It’s possible that in the near future that Facebook and Google might suggest you shops based on location specific portals, navigation and indoor mapping sectors. This would be the biggest development trend in the field of intuitive apps.

Cloud Based Apps

Users feed a huge amount of information in their smart devices, such as videos, photos, and personalized information. Imagine if all of this data gets transferred to a cloud based app! If that happens, it would mean that the devices will work much faster and the data will be saved on a much secure network.
Cloud based apps will give enterprises a sigh of relief because they will be able to share their sensitive corporate data on a secured platform. The current cloud based apps include Dropbox and Google Drive. A cloud technology is a must because it offers reduction in hosting equipments and cost, streamlined process and operations, increase of storage capacity and increased collaboration and productivity. 

Cyber Security

​With the increase in m-commerce and personalization of apps, it’s logical that there will also be a high concern when it comes to securing that kind of data. Imagine all of your financial and personal information threatened by a hacker! As more and more personalized and sensitive information such as personal photos, financial details, personal information down to our shoe size, and even fingerprints in some cases, there will be a need for more apps that protect this kind of information. According to Network World, “70% of mobile professionals will conduct their work on personal smart devices by 2018“. Apps with in-built security features either through API or a simple code for their remote access are becoming the norm and their presence should continue to rise in 2018.

Chatbots

Chatting is in, calling is out! Chatbots and voice-activated assistants powered by artificial intelligence will be the upcoming trend in the year 2018. Assistance will be provided to user by integrating messaging platforms to serve as assistants. Real-time automated conversations between businesses and customers will be possible. Significant process in natural language will be seen with an introduction of voice based interfaces.

Block Chain 

Bitcoin and cryptocurrency are the latest money making trends this year, and as of late the term ‘Blockchain’ is being circulated in the tech community. The digital currencies solely work on technology and hence, all transactions are conducted and recorded. Now, with the latest introduction of Blockchain, it need not just be a monetary unit but it can also be used all other interesting uses.

Distributed Cloud Storage

Soon there is going to be a problem with Blockchain data storage. The current cloud storage services are centralized but it can be de-centralized with Blockchain. For example, Storj is a beta testing cloud storage that uses a Blockchain-powered network to make it less dependent and more secure. Anyone can store their data by a praying a price securing it in multiple prices by hashing.

Digital Identity
Digital security is a concern for everyone in the world. Blockchain technology can make the digital world more secure and efficient by tracking and managing it, resulting in a secured platform and less fraud. For example, the data breach that happened at Target breached private information of more than 70 million customers. With the help of Blockchain these hacked data bases can be uniquely authenticated in a secure manner.

Timestamp Feature
The timestamp feature is one of the most interesting features. The whole network validates the state of a hash i.e. wrapped piece of data at a particular time. Manuel Aráoz, a Buenos Aires, Argentina-based developer, who built Proof of Existence as a decentralized method of verification, a kind of cryptographic notary service said, “As the Blockchain is a public database, it is a distributed sort of consensus; your document becomes certified in a distributed sort of way”.

Lazy Loading

The upcoming trend in 2018 includes lazy loading. You might wonder, what’s that? Let’s understand. When you click to read an article, you might notice that it would take a really long time for the article to download with its images. By the time the article downloads you are either distracted or you just quit and move on. This increased the bounce rate and a drop in the conversion rate. To solve this problem, tech gurus have decided to implement lazy loading which basically means that the images will only download when the user is on the page.

Touch ID

Fingerprint technology and eye scanning are one of the top security factors that can be incorporated into a smart device. Imagine access to data only with your fingerprint. It isn’t just cool but it also saves a lot of time in congruence with the fact that only you can access that data. This safety security measure has been used by top financial and corporate companies to secure sensitive data. Imagine this kind of security system on your smart devices. Touch ID is already used for apps such as Apple pay and Dropbox.

In App Gestures paired with Animation

Designers will need to pay more attention to gestures. Animation should be used to inform them about the interactions available. It should also be able to:

• Clarify the relation between UI elements
• Provide feedback on interaction

Full Screen Experiences

​Frameless designs have become a trend after the release of Samsung Galaxy S8 and iPhone X. The users prefer more space and expect a full screen experience.

Conclusion

Now that you know the key to success in 2018, remember to make apps that can integrate these mobile app trends. With several innovations at the brim of the market, ensure that you are on top of your game with a new innovation or in sync with the trends in your app strategies. Gartner has forecasted the sales of 2.1 billion smartphones by 2019 which is only going to fuel up the need for apps. These apps are surely going to make our lives easier.

​Success is measured in different ways. For instance, in the app world success can be measured with the number of downloads and more recently by the number of active users. Mobile apps such as Facebook or Instagram have millions of active users, whereas, something as common as an alarm clock app might have a few thousand active users but almost every user has the ‘Clock’ app in their smart phones.
Let’s take a look at a few case studies for us to understand the great mobile apps and why they’re so successful. 

Starbucks

There are more than 11 million people who have downloaded the Starbucks app and about 21% of Starbuck transactions are done via the mobile app. So, how did they manage to get so many users?

Reference: https://www.retaildive.com/ex/mobilecommercedaily/elevated-foot-traffic-means-higher-mobile-order-pay-usage-for-starbucks

Special offers: Starbucks offered their customers free gifts such as discount coupons, birthday gifts and complimentary beverages. They engaged their customers by offering free stuff and their strategy worked!

Loyalty program: This strategy not only helped gain loyal customers but also provided Starbucks with their customer’s data. They obtained the record of their customer’s buying behavior and their favorite beverages. Every time a customer bought a drink, they get a star. On collecting a certain amount of stars, they can redeem them for more prizes and benefits.
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Mobile order and pay: This feature is more for the convenience of the customer and the cashier. Isn’t it wonderful if you could pre-order your drink during the rush hours and quickly collect it from the counter instead of standing in that ridiculous long line? The mobile ‘Order and Pay’ option allows you to do exactly that!

Amazon

Amazon has definitely made its mark in the e-commerce industry. The app apart from being a trustworthy retailer has also made a presence in m-commerce. It is fairly basic but very few retailers have mobile optimized sites that don’t hang up or have too many bugs. As per research, 80% of brands don’t have mobile sites.
Reference source: https://econsultancy.com/uk/blog/10111-is-your-mobile-strategy-fit-for-purpose

Easy purchases: Amazon makes it really simple for the users to purchase an item. Shoppers have an option to save their card details and address which are given access to only if the shopper logs in with his/her user name and password. These details make it less cumbersome for the users as they just need to choose their item and click Pay.

First come, first serve: Amazon was one of the early m-commerce app. Since, it was early in the market, the app developers got a lot of time to implement feedback and keep updating the app for better user experience.

Big calls-to-action: Once the shoppers choose their required product, the checkout should be done immediately. There should be a sense of urgency, for instance, Amazon ticks all the required boxes and directs you immediately to the next step: ‘Buy Now’.
Predictive search: Just like Google, Amazon offers predictive search across all its platforms. It’s very convenient if the platform can predict your search on the basis of your previous search, hence saving time of the user. It also helps correct spelling mistakes which also helps with the correct search results.

Optimization on all platforms: Amazon has it’s app for both Android and iOS users, as well as Blackberry and Windows Phone. This helps them reach all their customers that use a smart phone and improves the user experience.
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Personal touch: Whether, you are on app or a mobile site, once you log in, Amazon welcomes you by name. It also showcases the items that you have searched for in the past in the ‘Wishlist’ column. It also recommends products based on shopper’s interest and previous search history. These searches and prompts give shoppers a shortcut to items that they are looking for and encourages impulse purchases. 

Facebook

 We all know that Facebook is a giant app where millions of users are logged in from around the world. Facebook gathered its customer base when they launched on desktops but as technology developed, they knew that they needed to build a mobile app for their users.
The initial few versions of the Facebook app had limited features but they realized that they soon needed to be in par with their user’s expectations. Once they started paying attention to speed and space, the users for the app increased with frequent check-ins. With regards to space, they made the app look bigger with a better UI.
Through Facebook we can learn the importance of testing and then analyzing and interpreting data before making changes. Their testing is built straight into the app.

Conclusion

All the apps mentioned here are all large companies that can invest heavily into the product; there are a few key takeaways for the small or mid-sized apps. There is a lot that can be learnt from these apps to improve your own app. A well-designed UI, predictable search engine, user benefits/goodies, dependability, and authentic reviews are some of the important features that should be applied to your app to make them successful! 

​To keep up with the fast-paced digital age, it’s necessary for all mobile app developers to engage their users with their app. While concentrating on rapid growth, it’s also necessary to ensure that your original user base doesn’t diminish. John Koetsier of VentureBeat said “…user engagement is the new user acquisition, arguing that gaining a loyal, long-term customer is much more important than acquiring casual users.”

Reference site: https://venturebeat.com/2015/10/13/user-engagement-is-the-new-user-acquisition/  

Remember, existing users can ‘churn your app’, which means that they can abandon or uninstall your app if they don’t find it worthwhile anymore. It’s devastating to see your user base diminish, so it’s really necessary to manage your churn rate.
Introducing you to mobile push marketing! The reason push marketing is effective is because it allows you to send messages to the user even when they are not logged on to the app or device. Both Apple and Android support push notifications (which includes most users), which allow the users to take immediate action by choosing an action key.

The push marketing strategy helps you to retain your user base by reducing churning.

Quality of the Push Notifications

We’ve determined the positive aspects of push marketing, but when is it really effective? This strategy is really effective when the messages that you send have value. If you keep sending your users random push notifications, it’s likely that you will annoy the user which in turn will lead him/her to uninstall the app.  
But how do you determine which push notifications are of value to the customer? This brings us to the next point.

Context and Customization

Customization is the key to make the user feel like a privileged customer. The messages that are sent as push notifications should be based on the analytical data given by the software which would determine your user’s preference, geographical location, level of engagement, and past user behavior. Taking into account the data received, you can then send customized messages to the user.

Spruce Your Deals

There are times when the users get into a lull or does not use the app. Re-engage the user! Again, the key here is to send them push notifications that are heavily based on their behavioral patterns. Users withdraw for a reason, so sending them irrelevant messages would make this just uninstall your app.
Inactive users can be attracted to engage with the app, if they receive attractive offers, deals and discounts on products offered by your app. Initiate campaigns that are relevant to the current news.

How do we turn the churn rate around?

To concise, what we’ve established is that as a mobile product owner and marketer you need to proactively impact app retention and customer churn rates. What if you knew the magic number of sending push notifications to engage and retain your users? Imagine if you could predict which user is about to churn and convince them to stay!
The first thing is data. You need to understand how push notifications help impact the app retention rates. It has been said that “app users who receive one or more push notifications in their first 90-days have 190% higher average retention rates than those who don’t receive any push notifications.” Only 5% of the users will continue to use the app 90 days after first app open. But if they don’t receive messages, they are likely to churn it which means that 95 cents of every dollar spent acquiring them is wasted.

​The second is by using the mobile analytics solution: Predictive Churn Analytics. This is a machine based training model that analyzes user patterns to assess the user’s likelihood to churn the app. It classifies them into three risk profiles: low, medium and high. This helps you take real-time decisions about the actions that you wish to take keep your customer.

Reference source: https://www.urbanairship.com/

Conclusion 

Leveraging push notifications using the above three guidelines can make a huge difference to reduce your app churn and gaining customer loyalty. Also, it keeps your users engaged, drives long term usage and increases LTV of each user which directly affects the revenue making power of your app.
At one point of time the apps success depended on the number of users and total installations as an evidence of success, “One million downloads! Yipee!!” But now the game has changed. Marketers and analysts realized that 23% of the users uninstall an app after just using it once. Shocking, isn’t it!
Some more shocking data:

• Acquiring a new customer can be anywhere from 5-25x more expensive than keeping an existing one
• The probability of selling to an existing customer is 60-70%, while it’s only 5-20% for a prospect
• Increasing your retention by only 5% can increase profit by 25-95%
• Improving your retention has 2-4x more impact on growth than acquisition

Reference site: https://blog.profitwell.com/lessons-from-10342-blog-posts-on-growth

So, the best way to keep a check of the overall health of your app is by using the “Churn Metric Formula”. The formula is quite simple:
Number of customers who left during a set period ÷number at the start
The number you get post using that formula should decide your happiness quotient and user satisfaction rate. Good business is about customer satisfaction which should be your top priority!
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​The best way that a product will thrive and grow is through customer satisfaction. Customer feedback is one of the key elements in driving customer satisfaction and business improvement. Feedback from customers helps you to steer your product roadmap to make the changes quickly and not keep trying to figure out what is going wrong through statistical or analytical data.

*As per the recent study published in Statista, mobile app downloads will be more than 269 billion in the year 2017. So logically speaking, there is a lot of competition for app developers. Hence, it’s essential for them to create an app that is functional, engaging and most importantly provides value to its customers.
*Source: https://www.statista.com/statistics/266488/forecast-of-mobile-app-downloads/

As per the Digital Marketing Trends for 2017, the apps are ranked according to the customer’s experience. Gather user feedback is the best method in understanding what the customer wants and improve that in the app. 

Let’s take a look at a few reasons that makes it essential for app developers to receive feedback from the customer.

Cost Effective

The app’s costing is not only done on the basis of its technicality but also the time duration and development resources. For instance, one bug could sometimes take days to fix or adding a new feature which would take months to roll out. Now imagine if you invest in all of these resources that the new feature doesn’t really matter to the end users? Isn’t that a waste of time! To ensure that you don’t face such a situation, it’s essential that you get some feedback from the customers before you plan to implement it. If you implement the feedback given by the users, then your company will yield apps that meet customer expectations. 

Creating Correct Milestones

Create a feedback mechanism where the customers can voice their concerns and opinions, to understand which app features should be kept, which ones don’t really matter and which new ones should be created for the users. Making a roadmap for your app is very essential.

Understand Your Customers

Communication should always be a two-way communication. The only way an app developer can communicate with its end user or audience is by creating in app surveys that they can fill. Here, the customer can state their woes and issues that they face in the app. They can also rate certain services as being excellent, which as an app developer gives you the understanding of what your customer needs at the end of the day.
The idea is to ask the customer feedback in real time i.e., at the time when the user is facing a difficulty and can’t overcome it. A simple toolbar can be integrated for smooth and seamless feedback about the overall experience of the user.

​Combining Analytics and Feedback

Customer feedback can also be deduced by analytics to a certain extent. But if customer feedback is combined with analytics, the app developer will have a clear idea of the issues that are caused. A problem can be pin-pointed with the help of analytics, for the instance, short sessions of users on the app. But do we know why the users are logging out of the app or using the app for a longer time? Here, the role of customer feedback comes in – you have got a lot of feedback about too many ads popping out or the session being timed out or the app hanging up on clicking a certain key or option.
When you have a thorough analysis of the data and the feedback from customers rectifying problems becomes relatively easier than trying to figure it out yourself. This in turn directly affects the number of user base on your app.

Conclusion

You need to work with CX-centric developers to integrate in app surveys and customer communication tools in the app. These tools can be found on the internet easily, but they aren’t incorporated in mobiles. Incorporating the tools gives you access to a wealth of knowledge given by the customers about the features and enhancements that can make your app more popular.
For instance, when a feedback tool in real time was incorporate in the app Urbanspoon, they received more than 7000 pieces of feedback. The Urbanspoon app worked on the feedback to make it better and a smoother experience for their customers with each new update.
Customer feedback shouldn’t be taken lightly or given to an intern. It is one of the key components to keep your business thriving and make your app popular. Feedback from customers is the only way to understand if your product or service is yielding benefits. In the end, you want to create a useful and rewarding experience for your customers can help your app attain success in the future. ​