Tag Archives: Mobile Apps

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Steadily and swiftly, IoT(Internet of Things) is making a huge fuss in industries across the spheres. Be it be a smart workplace, smart home or a smart city, IoT has made a mark everywhere. According to Statista, the world will have more than 31 billion connected devices by the end of 2020. The world will soon see the benefits of this thriving technology piercing in every sector.

The larger picture is that people want to govern these connected devices using their fingertips, and this gives way to IoT penetration in the world on mobile app development.

There is no wrong in saying that IoT is the next big power when it comes to custom mobile applications. Here’s a list of factors which will help us prove our point that the Internet of Things will revolutionize mobile app development scenario in the coming times.

Efficient App Development

IoT has spread its Midas touch in our personal as well as professional lives, providing us users an unprecedented level of convenience. And that’s it’s making the world of app developers an easy one.

Developing an app takes a toll on the developer, by making machine internet interaction available to them. This newest piece of technology enables the developers to build an application is very less time, saving a huge effort from their end. Developers can use the saved time to make more tech solutions or update the existing ones. Also, they can add several amazing and engaging features to the mobile apps using IoT.

Improve App Productivity

Connectivity is the prerequisite of a flourishing mobile platform. What does IoT do in terms of connectivity for mobile apps?  It increases mobile apps’ ability to be connected to gadgets all around. Any custom mobile application needs to be sturdy enough to suffice this requirement. With this, developers have to make applications in order to readily communicate with the endless connected gadgets. This strategy can amplify IoT changeability and enhance the consumer’s interest while making the futuristic application. In a layman’s language, IoT is sure to increase an app’s efficiency.

Integration with Devices

We all know that user experience is an essential element in any mobile app. Since the inception of mobile applications, the primary focus has been to make them user-friendly. This is the reason why app developers make easy to navigate and convenient to use applications.

However, with the numbers of apps and devices going up with every passing day, developers are now more into making mobile applications which can work with smart-connected gadgets to make better applications. The idea behind is to add on more benefits to the applications using IoT.

Personalized User experience

Users found a useful digital assistant in mobile apps giving them a room for easy and widespread adoption across the globe. They make a repository of information over time in order to provide custom responses to the app users. This brings us to a conclusion that with extensive usage these applications become better and all their responses tend to fall into place with every command or interaction. Here, The effectiveness of the app can be multiplied with the help of IoT. Developers can make use of IoT potential while making the tech solution in order to leverage real-time information and location-based data, thus, deliver a personalized experience.

Strengthen Data Security

Organizations across various sectors bring about new applications in order to boost their business. But there is an alarm bell hung over them, they are in danger of a data breach and any kind of cyber attacks because they are like a repository of sensitive information and many a time have user’s personal information like debit-credit card details, etc. saved.

The mobile app domains are facing incidents of data compromise every now and then. Apps made using IoT technology are far less vulnerable to such threats and thefts by using an additional security IoT layer. Multiple entry points and encrypted data lets the app users stay protected. IoT, thereby, enhances the app security to a large level and also protects critical corporate data a lot more conducively.

Conclusion

New age IoT apps can add value to a business in endless ways. In the near future, we are sure to witness some radical changes in the world of mobile app solutions all thanks to IoT. It’s fair to say that the present-day mobile platforms and IoT will evolve together to bring about more secure and efficient mobile solutions.

 

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Who doesn’t hate crashing apps or the opens that work like a sloth or freeze for few seconds, we all do. Research by Dimensional Research shows that around 61% smartphone users expect every mobile app they use to start within just four seconds, whereas around 49% of the users want to respond to inputs within just two seconds. If any app freezes, crashes or shows recurring errors, around 53% smartphone users will uninstall them.

Why Do Apps Crash

Whether you are targeting individuals or the entire enterprise crowd, upsetting them with your apps is the quickest way to being shunned out. After having a word with several experienced mobile developers we have churned out a list of five major development failures which take your app astray and throw it down the performance cliff.

Managing Memory

One of the biggest problems which most of the developers were shouting out loud was memory management. A mobile app may be twinning around too many threads and sipping in a lot of memory resources or running on a gadget with way too many apps open.

Most of the coders take the liberty of writing long and complex codes as their’s is the only app that exists in a device. The apps are no less than little digital divas, wanting all the limelight- and draining all the gadget’s resources. We are in dire need of more good citizens in the app ecosystem. Dear developers, keep in mind that most of the smartphone users don’t use the apps in high-end updated gadgets like yours, and better the memory management of your app better will be the user experience.

Poor Network Management

The tech-friendly ambiance gives most of the developers access to super-fast internet. But this can be a huge problem while planning an app development process; a very common mistake which developers make is assuming that just like them we all reside in a 30mbps utopia. Another important reason why most of the apps crash is the responsiveness and freezing apps in the middle of the use, mostly when you are waiting for a response from the apps’ end.

If developers don’t pay heed to this, your app is prone to crashes, as a huge network dependency combined with snack-slow access to the internet can notably lessen the responsiveness of any app thereby leading to instability, poor performance, and some downtime.

Deficient Testing

iPhone is just eleven years old and since the first of the mighty gadget was unveiled, the world now has more than 40 variants of the Apple machines. Does this raise your eyebrows? Let’s count the Android mobile models, back in 2015 the world had more than 24000 Android mobile variations, with a large number of manufacturers globally it’s nearly impossible to keep a complete tally. The pace of these roll-outs in not going to slow down making it very difficult for developers to test their solutions in real-time on all the devices, especially its a low-budget project. There is a bag full of emulators and simulators available in the market but they all have their own drawbacks. They are unable to give us the exact effect of issues like overheated or low battery, working of the gadget’s camera while the app is open or interruptions by incoming calls.

Things pointed out by the simulator may have their own limitations, just like emulators, as it is unable to replicate the device’s hardware. The complete testing process should be clubbed with benchmarking against the available industry standards and the expectations of the user to make sure that the developer and the user are on the same table.

Error & Exception Handling

Whatever you may try and implement to make the app as flexible as possible, you will still have a few variables and limitations which will be out of our control. Let’s take an instance if during a file transfer a user’s wi-fi stop working, or if they enter a wrong value into a given field, it may send the application on a topsy-turvy ride. Such unexpected issues may cause the app to crash, and thereby frustrate the users.

Why Apps Crash

However, it’s not always that the app crashes but at times may leave the user in the middle of haywire, not knowing what’s actually happening and what they need to do now. This uncertainty may be more frustrating for the user than the actual app crash. It’s of utmost importance that you as an app maker take in considerations all such errors and put all these handling conditions into place.

Also, if you notice a fault in your app, first-things-first terminate all the activities and let your users know about it. Sounds unreasonable? But if you proactively manage the communication with your users and give them a heads-up beforehand of any outrage, they are most likely to stay with you for long.


Software lifecycle

The whole iterative app development process- release of a beta version of the application in the market and gradually improving issues thereafter- this one after the other releases helps the apps to build an audience by improving the MVP which they offer firsthand. This highly acknowledged concept comes with a set of goods & bads- where on one hand you can measure user reaction, identify various issues, create a marketing shout-out and get an upper-hand on your potential competition if you are all set to bring about a game changer in the market and more.

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The bag of advantages may be heavier in this case but the absence of traditional software lifecycle brings about several crucial complications as its dependent on the third-party API’s and operating system. This stage-by-stage process requires top-notch professionals to keep a track of everything.  With the rollout of every new version, all the previous testing has to be done again. In simple words, an early release of the app to the market makes it prone to a pile of flaws. Make a note, if the app keeps freezing and crashing users won’t consider whether its the first version or the last. They’ll just delete it.

Can we actually create a bug-free mobile application(on the first go)? Probably not. However, you can put your heads to the trouble-makers and do your best to do your best to make a powerful exception handling for the issues that may go wrong. No app is perfect and yours too will have some hiccups, but you can make sure they are not huge, not the ones which make the users hate you.

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A bug on the day of the software release is the biggest nightmare for any tech company. The release of software can be taxing, nail-biting, the times when the whole team is working with fingers crossed and wishing that nothing goes sideways; be it be a bug on a random untested iOS device, poor response by the customer or an unhappy stakeholder, but doesn’t have to be that way!!

The release process your company follows defines the way your business responds to consumer feedback, changes in the market, and technological shifts. Working with numerous clients gives our team experience of just every kind of software/app/website release which exists around. Some bumpy and mostly smooth releases across every type of methodology, from Agile to pure Waterfall.

Software Release Process

We just synthesized our experience together in what we call Progressive Release. It is infused with sharp, emphasizing quick iteration, agile reply to feedback by customers, and low-stress release time-period. We have jotted down five pointers filled tactics to de-risk the complete release process and to-dos to have a customer-centric approach throughout.

Outcomes

A software product cannot be an afterthought, at the time of the release its just like an unruly scramble to be completed. The team needs to critically analyze and establish a complete picture of what the end product would look like keeping in mind all the aspects of design, architecture, development and how the product turns out and the marketing plan.
Make sure that every feature has a measurable goal to fulfill, which in turn leads to a higher level of business outcomes- at the end it’s far less about the output and more about achieving the desired outcomes.

The Development Process

In order to keep the whole process smooth and the team focused on outcomes rather than brawling over smaller touchpoints making the whole release process an exhausting one, we have come up with a continuous integration system. Through this process, business leaders can ensure that the code is regularly merged in order to enable lean and automated methods of continuous deployment or delivery. A method like this lead to an agile release modulation of around 2-4 weeks without adding endless time on testing and documentation.

Feature Toggles

Down the line in order to narrow down the risk while running the race to get the product to the market faster, feature toggles will help your team to plan the release of a particular functionality, to a given user segment, at a distinct time.
For instance, recently for a cinema app we made, feature toggles helped us to enable the fully native ticketing feature to select specific markets across the region to the complete nation’s rollout. This enabled our team to test the particular feature in a production environment, while de-risking rollout of this critical function for our client. This functionality empowers the team to put their heads to the incomplete features which are mostly merged via the continuous integration process, thereby hiding the incomplete functionality from the users until they are ready.

Planned Rollout

This stage lets you release a single version of the product slowly and steadily over a couple of days, rather than launching a big-bang(prone to problems) instantaneous product release. This helps the team to closely monitor the performance of the solution and work on the production issues they affect a large chunk of users. Also, you can monitor the product in regard to its performance in accordance with the business goals and the success pointers via analytics.

Staged Rollout
The official support from iOS and Android makes the staged rollout a pain-free process to be carried out. This process requires a routing or load-balancing service which identifies that users that should be targeted to the new product in case of web applications. There are several other ways which can be followed to carry out staged rollouts without building newer services.

A/B Testing

Planning a series of A/B tests in accordance with the release strategy can help you improve the complete performance of the product without going for another point release. Especially used for data-driven supplementing design elevation, A/B testing is mainly done using a third party tool like Adobe Target, etc. A/B testing differs from feature toggles as the A/B strategy should always be done with a sole motto to enhance the performance of the product, the key pointers which they pay heed to are- account creation, purchase(in case of e-commerce solution) or churn prevention.

The major reason for leveraging feature toggles is to eliminate all the problems that may occur while a software releases and it tests a larger chunk of the complete experience, whereas A/B testing is to incrementally enhance the major details in the functionality and also measure their efficiency against the assigned product outcomes.

Crux

While working on your tech solution’s release process, make a transformation way ahead and keep making incremental changes till you reach your desired destination. A Progressive release plan can help your team to bring about a much-improved product within a record time.

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The way mobile apps have changed the world is nothing short of a miracle. From adults to children and even seniors, of late, we see all and sundry glued to their smartphone screens, finding it hard to let go of their favorite apps. As per a recent survey, there were a total of 2.2 million iOS apps available on the Apple AppStore. Mind you, that number is constantly increasing on daily basis. It’s clearly indicative of the fact that the mobile app market is going through a phase of ultimate boom.

 
Talking of mobile apps, a normal user is just interacting with its front-app as that’s all he/she sees on a smartphone’s display. For anyone wanting to learn what goes behind the scenes and what makes successful apps different from ordinary apps, they have to understand how the App Stores operate. This blog will help you get a clear understanding of that.
 
The two major app stores i.e. Google’s PlayStore and the Apple’s AppStores are the giants of the mobile app industry. They both operate slightly differently and therefore have a specific set of guidelines for app submission. The focus of this blog, however, is the Apple’s AppStore. So without further ado, let’s dive straight into that.
 
The app begins to take shape as an idea first. So that’s almost the preliminary step to app development. Whether you’re a business owner or an app developer, you have to do your homework on the app idea before jumping on to the development stage. It’s best to stop pursuing the idea if it doesn’t have any potential to be successful.
 
Learning the truth after the app launch can be quite a painful experience. In order to understand an idea’s potential, a detailed market-analysis can be undertaken. If that doesn’t help, there’s always the option of going for an MVP(Minimum Viable Product) to gauge the audience’s interest in your app idea.

Do Your Homework On The App Idea

Do Your Homework On The App Idea

Once you’re certain of the idea’s potential, you can start to think about the app development. It helps to reach out to experts and insiders within the industry or in the app development business. These people see apps developed on regular basis and can pass on some helpful and informative tips to you as you initiate the app development.
 
Getting a cost and time estimation as early as you can is quite crucial. Once you have the estimates, do your best not to go beyond them. Timing is everything in the app market. Your app may fail to generate as much excitement as you’d have expected if it’s launched at the wrong time.

 
As for development, it’s important to get the basics right. Some of them are as follows:
 

1. Ensure that all the app screens are updated synchronously. That way the app won’t feel sluggish to the user and a smooth and better user-experience will be made possible.
 
2. Next, find the various SDKs and APIs such as the Push Notification, Google SDKs, Facebook SDKs etc. that need to be integrated in the app.
 
3. Optimize the app for a better user-experience and ensure it uses less memory. Apple offers some of its own features to reduce the memory usage for eg. Automatic Ram management system. It’s features such as this that make the Apple apps more beautiful and popular among the mobile community.
 
4. Apple offers quite a handful of devices and your app needs to be compatible with all of them. Also, make sure that the constraints are absolutely perfect so that the app can run on all screen resolutions.
 
5. Finally, establish that the app is compatible with the Apple’s guidelines – https://developer.apple.com/app-store/review/guidelines/
 
6. A background-testing of the app should also be performed to ensure that the app doesn’t get terminated when minimized. The user should be able to pick up the app from where he/she left before minimizing.

See Your App Past All The Setbacks

See Your App

You’ve probably taken care of all the loose ends and are very lucky if Apple approves your app in the first attempt. However, if your app is rejected, it’s still not the end of the world. There are a few things you can look at. First thing first, address any issues that cause the app to crash. Only when your app has been tested ‘crash-free’ can you think about its submission. Next, you have to ensure that all the app icons have been provided in different sizes as per Apple’s guidelines.

 
Finally, you must run the app run through various tests to check the functionality of each and every feature it has to offer. If the app makes through all the tests, you’re good to go for submission and that’s the start of the approval phase. Apple performs its own tests before making any app live on the AppStore. So, in case any bugs or errors are encountered from their end, the app will be sent back to you with the list of such errors. Fix them and you can try resubmitting the app.

Think About Promotion As Early As You Can!

Think About Promotion As Early As You can

The next step after app approval is the app promotion. In fact, some businesses employ the app promotion strategies as soon as the app development phase begins, just to get a head start in the market. App Promotion is quite important if you’re serious about your app gaining all the deserved success.
 
This is the age of digitalization and things go viral on the internet within minutes. So an effective online marketing plan employing Social Media channels such as Facebook, Instagram etc. must be in place. Other than that Google ads, Iron source ads and Youtube ads can use be used for app promotion. All these medium can bring your app into recognition.

 
Getting your app published on the AppStore is no doubt a proud moment. Yet, the job doesn’t end there. If you want your app to stay a hit and popular among people it has to be continually maintained and updated with the latest technologies in the app industry.
 
Finally, whenever you’re in doubt just pop into the Apptunix offices, a premier mobile and web application development company. Our free app consultation services will help you devise a successful app development strategy.
 

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The era of smartphones and mobile apps is at its apogee. The mobile technology, in particular, has been advancing at a rapid and incessant pace. There are apps for almost every sort of purpose. Mobile apps have equipped us with the power to control almost everything with unbelievable ease. As a result, the mobile app development industry is experiencing a period of definite boom. There’s been a surge in the number of companies and individual mobile app developers, all looking to make a fortune through their services.

Pre-Requisites Of Android App Development

If we talk about the apps, they have a long journey to cover in order to reach the end-users. It requires time and thoughts to develop an app. An app development involves cost and manpower. For different platforms, there needs to be a corresponding framework environment. An Android app development requires a Java SDK, Android Studio, Native and third-party libraries. Apart from these basic prerequisites, some other standard tools become necessary if the app to be developed is a gaming app.

How Are Apps Changing Our Lives?

changing

Mobile apps are changing our lifestyle in a myriad of ways. As said earlier, there are mobile apps for almost every purpose these days. In such exceptional cases, people tend to begin and end their days relying on the mobile apps. Apps are now managing your household chores, transport, shopping, education, work, banking, entertainment, health and lots more. That’s clear indication that our lives are highly impacted by the mobile apps. There are still more uncharted territories that mobile needs to breach but there’s every reason to believe that it’s only a matter of time before that will happen. Each day new ideas are given life in the form of mobile apps.

So What Are The Myths?

This blog takes a look at the commonly held misconceptions about the Android App Development. For the most part, the views of the people outside the industry are flawed and they can have a detrimental effect on the future of Android apps. In the long run, as these misconceptions go around and reach more ears, they can cause potential clients and businesses to distance themselves from Android apps. This blog is an attempt to address such misconceptions and bring the actual facts to light.

1. Android Requires Lesser Cost & Efforts Than iOS And Other Platforms

android

The most common myth is that because Android is open source almost anyone can create a mobile app without too much difficulty. Its true that Android is open source but this does not make app development effortless. There are millions of Android devices in the market and managing even a single UI on all these devices needs a lot of efforts. Nor is it true that every Android app requires less cost. Some of the high-end Android apps with lots of features and functionality can raise the cost of development considerably higher.

2. Once An App Is Launched, Development Is No Longer Needed

That development is not required once the app is pushed into Play Store is the biggest misconception about Android apps. An app isn’t done with its launch. Every app needs continuous enhancement and maintenance to stay strong in the market. So the app needs to be in the constant care of the development team for bug fixing, new feature additions and maintenance.

3. Idea Is Enough To Start App Development

idea

This is true to some extent and not just with regards to Android but almost every other mobile app platform. However, the key thing is that your idea will not work if it isn’t feasible. Before the implementation of any idea, it’s quite crucial to perform the feasibility check and thereafter ascertain the time and resource requirements. You also need to cross-check whether or not the idea you are going to deploy is worth attempting? A thorough market-analysis must be undertaken to determine the potential of your app idea. So overall, it’s a lengthy process from idea-conception to app development.

4. Only Some Apps Need Marketing

Mostly, we tend to think that if an app’s concept is a good one, the app will sell itself. That’s another misconception. Every app needs marketing to increase the buyer adoption and selling rates. Marketing is the key feature for the success of any app. To beat other apps in the same category and with similar functionality, it’s the marketing that can prove to be a gamechanger for you.

5. Earning Can Begin Instantly With Downloads

marketing

Another huge myth is that once the app is in the Play Store, the earning will start instantly. That’s not the reality. Downloads will not pump in money unless the app user pays you for using the app.

6. Native Development Makes App Development Easier And Solves All Issues

No doubt, Native development makes the app smooth. But it is not possible to use it in all scenarios. In fact, everything depends on the requirement and not all requirements fit in Native. There are some functionalities that need to be developed in cross-platform. Although Cross-Platform offers nearly the same experience as Native, the user has to compromise on some features.

 

So, those were some of the most basic and common myths about Android app development. No doubt, there must be many other. But the point is that these misconceptions impact development of the app either directly or indirectly. Such, myths should be clear to the client, business owner, and a developer so that an efficient and productive app can be launched in the market.

 

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Digital Marketing is in high demand in today’s era and every business for their success and survival are trying their best to make a remarkable presence in Digital World. They are in a great search to understand the modern digital trends strategies and to find their target audiences.

 

Promotion of a mobile business is the really tricky. The question lies in the fact where to place more investment in mobile applications or in mobile advertising? In order to get recognition digitally it is very important to know the difference between the two and not to jump on a conclusion. So here are all the essential insights for you to have a deeper understanding of the two.

Mobile Advertising

Mobile advertising is one of the rapidly rising industries, and passing up on the chance with mobile advertising is ill-judged. A strongly established strategy for mobile advertising plan can get new clients and can also increase the buying intent of existing customers.

 

Mobile ads are petite in size that adjusts well in the screens of smartphones, displaying higher visual graphics than words.Like other forms of advertising, mobile advertising will have its adaptability curve revised as the trends change.

 

Mobile App

Mobile Apps development helps to get higher clients via service provided by Mobile app.Mobile Apps are easy to use. A user can easily navigate a mobile app and get all the required information by just a click.Your business and business practices must comply with your mobile app. Simple navigation, compatibility across multiple mobile platforms and connecting with existing customers is what a Mobile App do.

 

Decision and choices in business are pretty important as it can bring a business one step closer or can put your business in a real bad situation. Whatever your decision may be, it has to be wise just to make sure that it doesn’t hamper your existing clientele and brings you new business with a tremendous increase in ROI.