Functional
applications that offer something new and useful, with design that takes into account UX and UI are some of the features an app should have in 2018.

What do we do when we download apps? Broadly speaking, we seek to solve the human social need to connect, talk, share, verify, guide, discover, understand, solve and buy. The latest surveys show that we check our devices on average 150 times a day, because our way of doing things today is closely linked to the interaction with our mobile device.

Let’s see some revealing figures provided by Idatha to draw the entire landscape:

• 66% of smartphone users use them to search for something they’ve seen in a TV commercial.
• 82% of smartphone users use a search engine to find local businesses or services.
• 91% turn to the phone for ideas when they are doing a task.
• Over 100M hours of “How to” videos were viewed on YouTube in the last year.
• 82% of smartphone users use it to make queries while shopping in a store.

While web search engines are still the favorite search engines, surpassing the Apps by only 10% in the region, there is a growing trend to use chatbots to solve queries.

On the other hand, content consumption preferences when it comes to solving everyday or work issues are distributed as follows: Tutorials 69%, Videos 66%, Web page or brand 45%, Blog 22%.

According to the global mobile research presented by the Interactive Advertising Bureau (IAB) at an event organized by the Uruguayan Electronic Government Agency (AGESIC), mobile devices are used every 5 minutes by 22% of the world’s population; the time spent on mobile devices is around 3 hours for almost 50% of the world’s population. This use is prevalent when it comes to communication or entertainment applications. And as for these types of apps, these are the five main activities: interacting on social networks (82%), watching short videos (62%), buying products or services (51%), reading articles or blogs (27%) and searching for information (21%).

Lastly, it is worth noting that during 2017 nearly 200 billion mobile applications were downloaded and today there are more than 5 million available in the main mobile markets of Apple and Google, according to figures from Statista.

Tips for creating a successful app

This large offering of apps is a big challenge for developers. The fast pace of technology forces us to add increasingly sophisticated features to our apps and continuously acquire new skills. Now that you have these facts about the use of mobile apps, we will give you 5 indispensable tips to make your best App with GeneXus!

1. Think of solving a problem. An excellent app can be based on ordinary needs, to make a task easier or to solve a day-to-day issue. Identify moments related to the needs of today’s fast-paced world and help improve the quality of life of those who download the app. Some of the most important characteristics when generating applications are for them to be original and familiar at the same time; that they offer something new, valuable and functional for users, with smooth interaction with the interface (marked by an excellent UI and UX design).

2. Don’t limit yourself to just one operating system. Develop your app in a multiplatform way, as the most popular operating systems today are those of Apple (iOS) and Google (Android). If you also consider that your app works on the web, you will improve your options and reach, and make your app more practical.

3. Think not only about mobility but also about IoT, AI, Virtual Reality and Blockchain. Remember that your app may not only take advantage of the main features of mobile devices, such as the camera, calendar, GPS, etc., but also exploit the potential of the latest technology: to connect with a given object in the prolific Internet of things scenario –50 billion things are expected to be connected to the Internet by 2020–; to enable transactions with blockchain or bitcoins; to take advantage of Artificial Intelligence to engage in conversations that address people’s queries in chatbots; to make entertainment apps based on Virtual Reality; or to explore the needs of applications that meet the demands of autonomous vehicles.

4. Design is of the essence. Use the principles of UX (User Experience) and UI (interaction with the interface) in your App project. It is about creating an engaging and seamless experience for our user or customer to simplify and streamline a task. Use design to generate products and user experiences that excite people. In the myriad of apps that are available, between two products with the same price, function and quality, you know what they will choose, don’t you? 

5. Promoting your app is necessary. In addition to creating the product and the user experience, you have to sell it. Use social networks to promote and recommend your app. Remember that you have to start with a good base to get good results; this is the main part of success because recommendations are very important and impact the image of your app, which influences the download decision.

This will allow you to reach a larger potential market without having to make large investments in advertising, and you will receive feedback from your users in real time to know how to improve your application.

Finally, let’s get to work!

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