2014 marked a substantial increase in usage, quality and quantity of mobile apps. While app stores for Android and iOS crossed more than a million apps hosted way back in January 2014, it also set a new high in terms of downloads. As of Oct ’14, there were 85 billion downloads in Apple app store¹

With games (20.38%), education (10.36%) and business (9.43%)² forming the top 3 segments of apps available on app stores in September 2014, smartphone user interest has certainly been versatile. The downloads came from a large swathe of industries and niches including publishing, games, entertainment, music, stores, utility, enterprise and others. Since the birth of smartphones, apps have not only been attracting extensive investment from marketers of all forms but also converting it into billions of dollars as revenues. This trend is only set to grow further, and the onslaught of several startups is only going to fuel the practice. Now that we are well into 2015, here’s looking back at the best trends set in the app market.

Growth of messaging apps

From WeChat (438 million users in Nov ‘14) to Facebook Messenger (200 million) and several players like Viber (105 million), Line (170 million), and KakaoTalk (50 million), messaging apps have seen a massive increase led by WhatsApp (600 million)³. Smartphone users have been found to set a clear division between communicating through a social network (Facebook messenger) and exclusive messaging apps. However, messaging apps of today aren’t just limited to texts and picture messages. Today, to send a video instantly, one needn’t create and send an MMS. It can be easily done over platforms like Lettrs and Cyber Dust and more importantly in a bare minimum of data usage. Messaging apps are also integrating music, shopping and even games to make the interface much more entertaining and engaging.

Educational apps

There has been a substantial rise in the number of educational apps in 2014. Tablets and smartphones are proving to be a great means of information exchange and spreading awareness. In some schools in California, iPads have been included in the school kit to create better access to education and syllabuses. This certainly is a great moment for developers as their designs are directly helping create a better society and not just entertaining kids (games).

Enterprise apps

Some of the most innovative apps brought into the stores have been developed by companies, to be used by their staff. Enterprise apps have been able to break the barrier and create remote collaborations and easier team building. Taking a closer look, enterprise apps like HP Flow CM, Worx Home, IBM Worklight and Quip have been able to bring about a change in the way companies and entrepreneurs do business.

Free gaming

Gaming has always been a much wanted accessory with mobile device. However, since the launch of smartphones, gaming has gained much prominence among users. 2014 has seen a rise in constructive and free-to-use gaming apps with popular titles like Candy Crush Saga, Lumosity, The New York Times Crossword and Angry Birds.

Internet of things

The most talked about titles in the app world come from the wearable apps, including Google Glass and Smart Watches. While there is a lot of technological challenge involved in this category, they seem to be the hottest topics in the Android and iOS marketplaces.

Stepping into 2015, we can only say that the app industry will continue to spread its wings and we certainly can expect to be impressed.

1- http://www.statista.com/statistics/263794/number-of-downloads-from-the-apple-app-store/
2 – http://www.statista.com/statistics/270291/popular-categories-in-the-app-store/
3 – http://was-gb.wascdn.net/wp-content/uploads/2014/11/Slide41.png

A successful app development for iOS entails close collaboration between iOS developers and graphic designers. Any disconnect between the two delays the app development process, leading to an infuriated client. In order to ensure seamless workflow between developers and designers, we have listed below a few practical and easy to follow tips for designers that save time, reduce iterations, and speed up the iOS app development process significantly-

1. Honesty at the mock up stage – At the initial stage, use only those deigns in the mock up that delivers value to the full developed app. At the mock-up stage there are a lot of unknown variables that need to be accounted for

a. will the app being developed be the right fit for your designs?
b. will your design respect the dynamism or uncertainty of real life and adjust well to actual elements, layout, data, or content?

This tip will make certain that developers’ screen mock-up truly depicts how the app will look like at the stage- i.e. when not all information is at hand.

2. Close collaboration – Constant and open communication is a must between developers and designers. As a designer, you can sit with developers and see how your designs get programmed into living entities within the app. This helps maintain overall consistency of the color and theme of the app and prevents any disconnect with what the designer delivers versus what the developer expects.

3. Avoid redundancy – If possible and applicable, you can deliver a similar set of elements as a template that can be customized further by developer and then applied appropriately. For instance, if you are designing a button element, there need not be separate buttons for ‘ok’, ‘cancel’, ‘submit’, ‘search’ etc. Developers can easily add the label upon blank buttons wherever required.

4. Design prototypes – There are tools that help designers convey a dummy depiction of how different elements will be arranged and brought together. Developers will get a sense of the different action, navigation and animation put together by you and thus remove any confusion. You can try out tools such as Invision and Proto.io to create such productive design prototypes.

5. File delivery – Developers already have a lot going on to accomplish app development. Some useful piece of advice for designers to help reduce overheads on developers would be-

a. Sorted delivery – You can make folders per screen of the app and dump all images in it. You can also put in a screenshot of entire screen with placement of various elements to avoid confusion.

b.Consistency – You would need to ensure that all elements are consistent. For instance all images should be .PNG (and not a mix of .JPG and .PNG)

c. iOS oriented – Images need to be both high res (for retina display of recent iOS devices) and low res (for older iOS devices). Also follow the universal naming convention (for e.g. suffix high res images with “@2x”).

These steps will ensure that the deliverable can be easily used by developers further in the app development process. Got any other useful point to add to the above list? Write in to us and let us know.

In today’s frantic technology driven world, mobile app have created a strong niche in a short span of time. When 25% of international media and marketing executives view mobile as the most disruptive force in their industry ¹, it is time to sit up and take notice Having a small business app developed for its service/product offerings could help give emerging and nascent businesses a solid platform to chart the growth map by capturing the formidable mobile audience.

The need for such apps is further corroborated by the fact that by end of 2014, mobile usage is predicted to overtake desktop usage ². Having said that it is essential to know what features can help in sustained interaction and engagement that will in turn help close sales and earn business through the mobile. Today let us have a glimpse at some of the must-have features which could tip the scales in your favor:

1. Seamless Social Media Integration:

Before everything else, this clearly is the need of the hour! We are living in a world of social media boom. You simply cannot undermine the importance of this aspect. Having mobile apps and social media business pages separately proves cumbersome for smooth management and increases abandonment rate. Hence, business apps need to be seamlessly combined with the respective social media profiles.

2. Location Based Services:

You can employ this strategy to give your company increased chances of business from mobile users in the vicinity. You can showcase your outreach with the help of location check-ins. Moreover, you can optimize customer satisfaction by giving them area specific offers, discounts, and special prices.

3. Customizability:

In a world of mobile revolution, people have gained heightened app sensitivity. That’s right! Users want their apps to represent their preferences, tastes, hobbies and likes. They need the power of customization. Changes like appearance modifications, notification settings, saving personal information and managing order history need to be incorporated within the app for best results.

4. Simplicity:

Apps with simple yet enticing interface and navigability will promote ease of understanding, improved readability, and seamless internal mobility. Too many advertisements and offers can act as deal breakers. ‘Minimalistic’ is the new buzzwords adopted by leading players such as Apple to great effect.

5. Payment Processing Methods:

Make sure that your customers have access to single button payment features [Credit cards, bank transfers, online banking, etc.] so you never get to miss ever a single business sale due to cart abandonment or long-winding checkout process.

6. Timely yet Relevant Communication:

Push emails and push messages optimize customer communication by a significant margin. Users will appreciate getting to know about new offers, deals, discounts or early bird rewards that will sweeten their online purchase.

7. Monetary Management:

Take care to have a robust and secure gateway and backend to –

• Integrate Bank Accounts
• Monitor payments and sales
• Manage payroll and orders anytime, anywhere
• Track Invoices

8. Shipping and Delivery Management:

Allow your precious customers to get real time updates regarding the whereabouts of their package information once the payment has been done. Keeping them informed about the status of delivery till the time it reaches them instill a sense of confidence in customers’ minds – a factor that possesses a great recall value.

9. Comprehensive Feedback System:

Give your users the power to communicate with you directly or indirectly via comments, periodical surveys, FAQs, discussion forums and forms. Getting a chance to review and post feedback provides further impetus to customers to try out your business app again as they know that their comments are being acted upon.

1 – As appearing in http://blogs.sap.com/innovation/mobile-applications/8-statistics-every-business-should-know-about-mobile-0363048

2- http://www.convinceandconvert.com/mobile/7-mobile-marketing-stats-that-will-blow-your-mind/

Rapid prototyping is nothing but submission of mock-up design (wireframes) about how a system should look and function upon full-fledged release. The system can be anything – a software, an app or a website. With rapid prototyping, stakeholders get a glimpse of what the fully ready design will look like and how it will behave. This will then undergo validation from leadership executive, developers, designers and other associated stakeholders.

The core purpose of this activity is to ensure that all perspectives are clearly factored in when doing actual development and thus save costs, time and effort in multiple iterations afterwards. When prototyping, you need to focus on the key/common functionality that will be used the most. Anything that is new, complex or routinely used functionality but needs security will definitely go through prototyping.

The process

The three key stages of rapid prototyping process include –

1. Prototype – is the development of sketches or simulations that mock-up the actual solution
2. Assess – this is then shared with key stakeholders for their review and feedback
3. Revise – all feedback is incorporated into the prototype and made ready for further fine tuning

As more feedback keep getting added the prototype grows in scope and assumes a full-fledged pre-development design. The term ‘Rapid’ refers to the quick time in which the mock-up goes through a series of iterations to evolve into something concrete.

Fidelity in prototyping

Fidelity refers to the amount of effort/time involved to make prototype nearer to the actual product. So, low fidelity (wireframes) will be a rough pencil sketch far removed from the actual working system (more practical in the initial iterations), while high fidelity is as realistic to actual system as it gets – by use of high end simulator tools (this will be practical when all feedback has been collected and incorporated into the prototype).

Depending on the stage at which the development happens or the end objective of the prototype, fidelity can also encompass one or more of the below dimensions of fidelity –

1.Visual fidelity – This tackles the look and feel aspect of prototyping. It can range from rough pencil sketches of the mock-up to hi-fi stylized versions. More focus should be on the UI aspect here.

Juicy Tip – Don’t go high end in the first stage itself as the mock up is bound to take shape and evolve further post gathering feedback from stakeholders. As the process progresses, you can bring in individual elements such as color, graphics, high-res images etc.

 2. Content fidelity – This tackles the way content placement will affect the overall look of the application or website.

Juicy Tip – Start off by placing dummy text (“Lorem ipsum…”) into the rough sketches just to fill up the blank space on layout. As the design keeps getting better you can replace this with actual content to gauge its impact.

 3. Behavioral fidelity – This dimension shows whether the prototype will be static or dynamic / interactive when presented to stakeholders.

Juicy Tip – Initially, keep interactivity to the minimum as focus should be on layout and visual appeal. Later on you can add elements of interactivity to make the behaviors as similar to actual system as possible. This way the subsequent iterations can be utilized for usability testing and user experience.

GoodWorkLabs specialises in User Experience (UX) for software products, mobile apps, games and enterprise products. Request for a free quote for your UX, prototyping and design needs.

The 2014 Apple Conference near its headquarters in Cupertino, California turned heads by the bunch with new devices, a new payment system and new a smart watch. If you haven’t had the chance to watch it live, here is our lowdown on the key highlights of the glittering events that was as many as 4 launches in one dazzling evening.

#1 – iPhone 6 and iPhone 6 Plus – The device every loyal Apple fan has been waiting for was finally announced by Tim Cook, the Chief Executive of Apple. While the basic look of exterior matches the iPhone 5, the slightly rounded corners managed to hold attention. Also prominent was the protrusion of the camera lens out of the phone’s body. While the iPhone 6 sports a 4.7 inch screen, the iPhone 6 Plus boasts of a huge 5.5 inch screen – the biggest screen size on iPhone till date.

Both the phones feature Retina HD display, iOS8 and 20 LTE bands. They run on the proprietary Apple A8 64-bit 2^nd generation SoC that contains a little over two billion transistors built around a 20nM process. Apple claims 25% speedier CPU and 5% boost on graphics. ¹

The price sensitive consumer would be forced to think twice before ordering the new iPhone 6. However, crazy fans around the world will see no problems in shelling out $299 for 16 GB, $399 for 64 GB or $499 for a 128 GB iPhone. The interesting thing here is the increased storage made available in place of the maximum 64GB space in previous iPhones. ²

We are sure that the new editions will be a delight to both the iOS app developers as well as the iPhone users.

#2 – Apple Pay – The conference also marked the debut of Apple Pay, a new payment process that uses NFC and fingerprint-sensing TouchId to enable purchases directly from the phone itself. Users simply have to get a one-time credit card verification done from their bank. They can then use Passbook, Apple’s online merchant services, to make payment at a wireless tap-and-pay terminal. Tim Cook claims Apple Pay to be “an entirely new category of service. And it’s all about the wallet”. ²

#3 – Apple Watch – Apple also officially announced its first Apple Watch at the event. It has an accuracy of +/- 60 milliseconds and comes in six strap styles and 2 metal frames color tones. Some of the key features include Siri integration, touch screen, a gyroscope, a heart monitor and an accelerometer. It also doubles up as a “comprehensive health and fitness device” by using a three-ring system for monitoring physical activity everyday and gauging it against set goals. It will be available from 2015 onwards at a starting price of $349.

Tim Cook’s love for music was evident when he mentioned the iTunes festival in London and the growing fan base of iTunes. He then announced the final performance of the evening by U2 and helped distribute the band’s latest album for free to the participants.

Write in to us and tell us which of the product launches of the evening did you find the most enticing?

1 – http://www.extremetech.com/computing/189787-apples-a8-soc-analyzed-the-iphone-6-chip-is-a-2-billion-transistor-20nm-monster

2 – http://bits.blogs.nytimes.com/2014/09/09/apple-live-blog-new-iphone/?_php=true&_type=blogs&_r=0

3 – Image source – Mashable

Here’s a candid post by Nandini Saraf, an author of biographies, on 5+ apps she can’t live without on her iPhone 5s.

I recently acquired the latest Apple phone, the iPhone 5S. This happened after much planning and scheming from my part, where I had to attract my father’s attention toward some really good high-end smart phones, but never mention the one I really wanted.

Father: ‘Why don’t you buy an iPhone instead?’

Me: ‘No! It’s too expensive. These are good enough.’

Father: ‘Let’s go to the Apple store and check what they have.’

Me: Smiling mischievously!

Well, now that I have an iPhone, I realised how addicted I have become to it. And it’s not because it’s an iPhone. Well that’s there. But it is also because of its super amazing apps. There are about half a million apps and more. And almost all of them are rated well by its users.

Some of the apps that I really cannot live without on my iPhone are:

The Big Bad Social Apps

Facebook, LinkedIn, WordPress, and Goodreads are some of the most popular social networking apps that I heavily use. Not a day goes by when I have not opened my Facebook account or not checked out a book on Goodreads. I have my account on Twitter as well, but there I just follow people like a stalker.

The Keep-me-busy Messaging Apps

Whatsapp, Hangout, iMessage, Facebook Messenger, and Skype; these are just a few of the commonly used messaging apps. And I use them all; daily! Need I say more?

The SOS Mapping Apps

Google Maps is what I refer to when I am lost. My sense of direction is so strong that I can get lost even when I am at a place where I have been more than once. Hence, the Google Maps. There are other mapping apps as well, but this is the only map I like to refer.

The Make-me-pretty Photo Editing Apps

There are a whole lot of apps for editing photos. Photoshop, PicsArt, Repix and Pic Jointer are among few of such apps. It is said that a picture speaks a thousand words, and in this age of social media, at one go, it speaks to a thousand odd people too. It is for this purpose that photo editing apps become a necessity.

The Addictive Gaming Apps

Some of the games that I usually play are 2048, HayDay, QuizUp, Scrabble and Monsters. 2048 has now become so addictive that if I had nothing else to do, I would probably end up playing it the whole day. Scrabble and Monsters are the other games that I really enjoy.

The Indispensable Shopping Apps

How can a girl live without shopping? Amazon, Flipkart, Myntra, and Jabong are my regulars. Among them, Amazon is obviously a favourite, followed by Flipkart. Although it’s a different issue that I usually and mostly buy books, and mobile and laptop accessories using these apps.

***

Share with us–Which apps you can’t live without on your iPhone? Write to us.

(image source: CultOfMac.com)

This is Part 2 of the iOS8: Amazing New Features series. You can read Part 1 here.

With the release of the new iOS 8 SDK (Software Development Kit) in June 2014, the app developers are in for some really good news. This Developer’s kit includes 4000 new APIs (Application Programming Interface), which will help the developers to add new features and capabilities to their apps that will assist in enhancing the apps’ performance.

Following is a list of the various new kits and/or features that come with iOS 8 SDK.

Advantages of iOS 8 v/s iOS 7 Features:

Games:

Technology improvements in iOS 8 make it easy for iOS game developers to implement their game’s graphics and audio. 

• SceneKit helps create 3D animated effects and scenes into apps.
• SceneKit integrated with SpriteKit helps create high-performing and battery-efficient 2D games.
• Metal offers streamlined API, a unified graphics and shading language. Modern architectural considerations, such as multiprocessing and shared memory, make it easy to parallelize the creation of GPU (Graphics Processing Unit) commands.

App Extensions:

App extensions lets the developers create actions or buttons separately, which can be used in other apps as well.

• Your app can now share photos, videos, files and website links with social networking sites and other such websites.
• You can also customise your own action buttons to help users complete various functions like translating text into another language or editing documents, and so on.
• Developers can now get their apps to display widgets such as news stories, in the ‘Today’ section of the Notifications centre.
• Also, your apps can provide storage location which other apps can also access. This helps users to edit one file using several apps.
• Create custom keyboards that users can install and use universally.

CloudKit:

• Developers can now store and retrieve their app data in a more structured, secured and efficient manner directly on the iCloud.
• They can also make the users anonymously log in to their apps with their iCloud Apple IDs.
• Now there is no need to write server-side application logic. With CloudKit, developers can solely concentrate on client-side app development.

Touch ID:

• Developers can now make use of Touch ID, the way User IDs were used to gain access to certain contents in the app.
• Touch ID cannot be accessed by iOS or any other app, and is well protected.

PhotoKit:

• Now create apps that can directly edit photos in the camera roll. Previously, users had to first import the photos.
• Other attributes include fetching objects and requesting changes, thread-safe architecture for caching and loading thumbnails, and knowledge of changes made by other apps.

Manual Camera Controls:

• Now users can use your apps and directly control the exposure settings, camera focus and white balance.
• Also, they can click pictures with different exposure settings with the help of ‘bracketed exposure captures’.

HealthKit:

• With HealthKit, all health-related information shared by the users is stored in one secured location.
• iPhone or iPad App Developers can gain access to all the information as soon as the users share them with their app. This helps the developers to provide users with a complete health-report instantly.

HomeKit:

• Developers can now create apps that will help users to locate other iOS devices in their house, for quicker configuration.
• Your apps can also control the devices with the help of certain actions.

Handoff:

• iOS 8 can make users continue using an app on another device, from right where it left off on the previous one.
• Your apps also have the option of doing the same.

Swift:

• Swift, as the name suggests, is the new fast programming language which is highly secured and interactive.
• It is used for Cocoa and Cocoa Touch.
• Writing Swift code within Xcode 6 shows immediate results before compilation into native machine code.
• Code your apps in playgrounds before moving it into projects.

Here’s part 1 of the iOS: Amazing New Features series.

(image source: Any Geo blog)