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Maturing apps market demands more of developers

Cape Town - Creating hit mobile application is becoming more difficult in a market where users are more demanding, an international survey has found.

According to research firm Gartner, a survey of 2 000 US and German users found that mobile app use was maturing as people more tightly weave applications into their lives.

"After eight years of searching for, downloading and using smartphone apps, users are maturing in their usage behaviours," said Brian Blau, research director at Gartner.

According to App Annie, the top free iPhone applications in SA are social media apps with WhatsApp, Facebook and Instagram making up the top three.

On Android, it's much the same story on Google Play with WhatsApp, Facebook Messenger and Facebook making up the top three. On the Windows platform, Facebook leads followed by WhatsApp and Messenger.

Specialist apps

According to Gartner, people are comfortable using a few applications that meet their needs, but there are differences in app use with particular groups of people.

"While it is clear that app use is high across all categories, some categories of apps, such as social networking and video, have a very high overall weekly usage. Usage rates, some approaching daily use for most users, are consistent with other observations of the marketplace, such as how businesses brand and use apps as a main touch point," Gartner said.

However, the company pointed out that specialist apps saw more frequent use.

"Fitness has only 23% and 16% use (in the US and Germany, respectively) among all smartphone users, but for those who use fitness apps, more than seven out of 10 are using those apps weekly or more frequently."

As app use matures, Blau has warned that developers needed to ensure that their applications are engaging enough, even if they are free.

"However, app users need to be convinced about the value of the app. Their willingness for new app experiences is open-ended, but their plan is to keep their same patterns of use. Users will try new apps, but they need to be convinced of an app's value before they adopt them and change use patterns over the long term."

While apps like Hold the Button and Yo will no doubt still draw in thousands of downloads, it is not likely that they will still see sustained usability once the fad wears off.

Use case

Hold the Button is a "game" where you have to hold a button as long as possible, while the Yo sends a short "yo" notification with no other details.

Blau said that the use case for applications will become critical as the market matures.

"It's not that smartphone users have lost interest in apps, users remain excited about what apps can do for them in their daily lives, including for work and non-work app scenarios."

Watch Lynette Hundermark discuss app development in SA in this online video:

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