Budgeting for an App? 6 Costs to Consider

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There is really no single answer to the question of how much it costs to build an app. Most mobile app experts will give a long and structured answer to help you estimate what app that you have in mind will cost to build and deploy. Depending on the intended purpose, an app will have varying integrations with third-party apps. It will also use different built-in features in the hardware device it will be installed. These include GPS navigation and Augmented Reality.

Detailed preparation is required in order to ensure you set aside enough funds to oversee the development project to completion. Many development projects stall because the owners hadn’t factored in all costs involved in the project. App development is a capital expenditure akin to commissioning a new plant in a factory.

Here are 10 costs to consider when budgeting for an app.

1. Business Analysis

The first step in any app development project is establishing a business case for the app to be built. The business might even hire a business analyst to conduct a market analysis before embarking on the actual building. In fact, if there is already a budget for the app, 10% should ideally go into the analysis phase.

If there are existing competitors in the app, the proposed app must have a unique selling point to ensure that it can gain and grow its share of the market. Part of the preliminary work includes preparing the documentation for the project. All the requirements of the app must be put down succinctly before being handed over to the development team.

Another reason to carry out an analysis is to establish whether you can achieve everything in the project scope within the budget and time constraints. If not so, it may be necessary to scale the project down to make it achievable.

2. Prototyping

Once the requirements of the app have been established, the next cost item is prototyping. Here, the development team prepares mock-ups of how the app’s UI will look like. The goal is to ensure that the final app’s visual design is perfect and that the app is consistent in terms of colors, fonts, placement of buttons, navigation menus, and other factors that influence user experience.

Normally, the preparation of prototypes can take up 10-15% of an app’s budget.

3. The Development Phase

The bulk of your app development costs will go to paying the team to write the code to bring your app to life. The development team is likely to have a front-end engineer or a UI/UX designer, a backend engineer, a mobile developer, and a quality assurance engineer. Building an app requires experts in several fields to collaborate on the project. The cost of hiring each of these experts is north of $100 an hour.

In order to get the best value for money, it is best to work with a development team that adopts an agile delivery/development methodology. They should be able to provide weekly updates on the progress of the project. There must be deadlines in place for the achievement of major project milestones.

4. Features that Drive Costs

The length and cost of the development phase will heavily depend on the features intended in the app. Today, it is standard for mobile apps for instance to include screen optimization for different devices. Support for tablets, in particular, adds complexity and drives up development costs.

It also matters the number of platforms for which the app is being built. Normally, mass-market apps will need to include an Android as well as an iOS version.

Modern apps also require push notifications as an added feature to add to the amount of interaction users have with the app. It’s also quite common for apps to now allow users to create accounts and sign in using their social profiles. This is meant to add to the speed of signing into the app but it also adds a layer of security. If all these added features need to be present in the app, they will undoubtedly result in tens of additional development hours being billed.

5. App Marketing

An often overlooked but important part of the app development and deployment process is marketing. Having a marketing strategy and setting aside a budget for it is crucial in ensuring the target audience of the app is made aware of its existence and where to access it. The landing page can also be used to collect emails of interested users before the formal launch. These emails can be used in retargeting and user retention campaigns.

It’s best practice to have a landing page from where people can be redirected to various stores for download.  The landing page might also have a blog section where the company shares useful content to users. The blog content can also be shared across the different social media platforms that the company uses.

Your app must also be properly optimized for the stores where it will be available. This includes having proper description of what it does as well as high-quality images of what the various UI-screens look like. You must categorize the app accurately for users to be able to find it organically.

6. App Maintenance Costs

The success of an app greatly depends on the ability of the owners to respond swiftly to bugs as well as user feedback after the launch. The norm today is to go through many iterations of the app throughout the year, each with incremental changes. This way, customers feel that the app is constantly improving while the learning curve for new features of interfaces is not too steep.

Normally, app maintenance costs will amount to about 15-20% of the initial development budget. Besides bug fixing, part of the maintenance budget goes to paying of commercial licenses for technologies used in the app. Apps also require paying for hosting services.

Another common hack is to work with a development partner who can handle design, development, and maintenance. Negotiating for all these services with one partner is likely to be much more cheaper than working with multiple firms.

Ideas on How to Reduce Your App Development Budget

Limited resources means businesses will often have to make compromises or shrewd decisions on how to approach the app development process.

One such shrewd move is to use cross-platform development technologies instead of native ones. This means that the development team can simultaneously build Android and iOS version of the app. This will not only cut the development time but also costs.

Another move would be to strip down the app so that the first version to be released only contains fundamental features. This is called a minimum viable product (MVP). The MVP approach ensures that the bulk of the budget goes to building the features that provide the most utility to the intended users of the app.

If your business is looking for an app development partner, reach out to NS804. We are a world-class mobile app development company. Our team will help your business develop specifications for the MVP, carry out the development and also help with the launch and marketing strategy. Book a consultation call here.

Which Comes First When Developing A Mobile App — iOS Or Android?

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Should you choose iOS or Android for your next app project? Well, that largely depends on your goals. And that’s because these goals will help you determine which platform you should develop for first.

But you may have heard that it’s cheaper and faster to develop for iOS. And that’s true, but this is seldom a good enough reason to opt for iOS over Android. It’s better to consider the target audience and what platform they predominantly use. 

Ultimately, always consider where your app will likely succeed first. Below, we reveal a few handy tips to help you choose iOS or Android — but to do so wisely! 

1. When Developing A Premium App

It’s no secret that iOS users spend more on apps than their Android counterparts. Moreover, they prefer premium apps and are willing to purchase apps instead of watching ads like Android users. And that difference is significant, as users spent $85.1 Billion in the App Store versus $47.9 Billion in the Google Play Store in 2021.

So, if you’re planning on going premium with your next app, then iOS is the clear winner. The same applies if you’ll be monetizing via in-app purchases and subscriptions, iOS still leads the way here. But be careful with utility applications, as these tend to do better on Android and don’t engage iOS users as much.

2. Consider Your Target Audience

One of the most crucial factors that will determine whether you’ll choose iOS or Android for your upcoming project is your target audience. And then, you’ll need to determine their demographics, locations, and preferred platform.

Outside North America and most Western territories, Android reigns supreme, especially in the developing world. Android has a 72% market share, and iOS has 26% of the mobile audience. So, if you’re aiming for maximum downloads, especially with a freemium app, Android’s your best bet!

Since most Android users reside in low and middle-income countries, you’ll be reaching a diverse audience. And that means you’ll need to spend some time and money on localization.

3. Starting With iOS Or Android For Mobile Game Development

Between Apple and Google, the latter has historically been the more game-friendly company. But that’s slowly changing, especially after the introduction of the Apple Arcade subscription service. However, Google remains competitive with Google Play Pass and Instant Play games.

And then, there’s the wide variety of platforms and storefronts that Android reaches. Android apps and games run on Chromebooks, and Google Play Games (still in beta in some regions) now run on PC. Furthermore, the Amazon App Store, Huawei AppGallery, Samsung Galaxy Store, and several other stores host Android games. 

Thus, Android offers developers many more opportunities to reach gamers than Apple. And specific genres, such as arcade, puzzle, and racing games, tend to earn more as freemium titles, which suits Android perfectly.

However, if you want to be featured in the App Store, you may want to hold off on the Android version momentarily. The cool thing about the App Store is that it’s curated by humans who take an interest in titles that stand out. And if you provide them with a unique game that’s timed-exclusive, it’s possible to be featured, leading to many downloads and sales.

The Bottom Line

Both iOS and Android are fantastic platforms that offer developers plenty of solid opportunities. But you need to develop apps first for the platform that lines up with your goals closely. Avoid fanboyism and the hype surrounding a particular platform, and focus on the platform that will deliver the results you want instead. Contact NS804 to learn how we’ll help you deliver phenomenal iOS or Android apps to your users! 

10 Mobile App Development Questions, Answered

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Mobile app development strategy is now a priority for most businesses. That’s because of the rapid uptake of mobile apps that has transformed the mobile app landscape.

However, for most businesses, small and large, successfully bringing an app to the market demands substantial research and strategic planning. So, there are several questions to consider when you begin the mobile app development journey.

Understanding these ten questions will help you identify the best mobile app development strategy for your enterprise.

1. Is a mobile website sound enough?

Your business objectives will guide your decision to design a mobile app or a mobile website. For instance, if your objective is to offer mobile-friendly content to a wide range of people, a mobile website can be an ideal choice.

Mobile websites present a great way to put valuable content in the hands of your target audience. Unfortunately, mobile website users have exceedingly high expectations of functionality and quality that sometimes these websites cannot deliver.

2. How feasible is my idea?

Most small and medium-sized enterprises struggle with this question. They wonder about the feasibility of their app idea, often struggling to understand whether they should put huge budgets on app development and maintenance.

Well, the best way to know whether your idea is feasible is to test it. You have to design a prototype, take it to your target market, and see whether there’s something valuable in it.

There’s no way to know whether your app idea will succeed if you haven’t taken it to the field of real prospects or at least seen how apps of similar nature have performed before.

3. Who is my target audience?

Most businesses and individuals fail to know who exactly is their target audience when developing an app. Always know your app’s end users before kick starting the app development process.

To know your target audience, conduct a comprehensive study of your app’s user demographics. Focus the research on identifying the users’ buying habits, age, challenges, and locality. In addition, research on how much time they spend on devices, their preferences, and interests.

4. What’s my mobile app category?

Knowing your mobile app category will significantly help you cut your mobile app development costs. While knowing your app’s category is a no-brainer, your app should be designed in such a way that it can fit into any categories available in both Apple Store and Play Store.

Knowing your app category will reduce your competitive research time. In addition, knowing the primary and secondary categories will help you narrow down the most appropriate or potential clients for your app.

5. How can I validate my app idea?

This is a question that’s asked by most mobile app developers. Individuals and businesses that want to integrate mobile apps into their digital strategy wonder how they can actualize their dreams and validate their ideas.

The answer to this simple question is: you can validate your idea by using a prototype, a Proof of Concept, or a minimum viable product. Alongside validating your idea, a Minimum Viable Product allows for client and stakeholder participation, eliciting new ideas and revealing new areas of improvement.

The prototype or minimum viable product ensures that the entire team contributes to the project through the product life cycle stages. So, if you want to increase the chances of your app’s launch and eventual success, using a proof of concept POC or a minimum viable product may help you attain that goal.

6. How will my app make money?

This is a question most individuals struggle to answer. So, making money with your app depends wholly on your app monetization strategy. Selecting the right monetization strategy or a combination of strategies will help optimize your app’s performance and usage.

As you seek to monetize your app, look for a model that will generate income without compromising on your app’s overall performance and functionality. For example, the subscription monetization model works based on music and video subscriptions, while the in-app purchase model is perfect for products and free-to-play games.

Carefully consider how you monetize based on your market research, user base, and product. Doing this will not only guarantee profitability but will substantially increase your success.

The most common app monetization strategies include:

  • Subscription
  • Freemium
  • In-App purchases
  • Pay per download
  • Advertising base

It’s important to note that regardless of your app’s monetization strategy, it’s not an afterthought. Your initial plans must capture your app’s idea and its monetization strategy.

The last thing any individual or business wants is to invest in a product that has no long-term returns on investment. So, carefully define your app’s monetization strategy straight from the beginning.

7. Hybrid, native, or web?

Selecting web, native, or hybrid can make or break your app’s mobile strategy. In addition, deciding to build your app as either a native, hybrid or web involves many factors for consideration.

Benefits of Native Apps

  • Deliver the best performance
  • They’re interactive, intuitive, and smooth
  • Allows developers to access the full feature set
  • A superior user experience
  • Approved by its operating system, ensuring compatibility, quality, and security.

Advantages of Web Apps

  • Web apps are relatively easy to maintain
  • They’re less expensive upfront
  • Do not have to follow standard OS protocols
  • Web apps can survive in all operating systems and platforms
  • Updates are not done from a centralized store – web apps update themselves automatically when the app loads

Advantages of Hybrid Apps

  • Only one codebase is needed for hybrid apps
  • Hybrid apps have access to a device’s internal API
  • Hybrid apps don’t need a web browser

The initial cost of a native app may be higher. However, you’ll save money and time in the long run.

8. Should I outsource my mobile app development?

Many companies have many items to consider when starting with mobile app development. One of these questions is who’s going to build the product.

Outsourcing mobile app development comes with flexibility, experience, and expertise, alongside an in-depth knowledge of new trends in technology.

9. Are there similar apps in the industry?

Competition holds a special place, not just in developing a new mobile app; but also in determining or predicting the future of that specific app. The first step in the competitive analysis is to know whether there are any competitor apps in the market.

Obtaining this information will not only help you know what elements or items your app must have, but will give you insights on what you should consider in the future to remain sustainable.

10. How do I protect my app idea?

One of the most commonly asked app development questions is how to protect your app idea. Well, the truth is that you have control of your app until it’s launched in the market. However, once launched, competitors will copy whatever attributes they see fit. And some competitors may duplicate the entire app idea.

So, while you’re at the ideation towards conceptualization stage, you can protect your app idea by signing a non-disclosure agreement NDA with the app development companies you’re involved with.

At the end of the day, the best way to protect your app idea is to work on it before your competitors do. And working on it means constantly adding new features and looking for new ways to improve the app’s overall functionality.

NS804 – Masters in App Design, Development and Deployment!

NS804 is a leading and trusted provider of mobile app development. With vast experience in app design, development, and deployment, NS804 has helped thousands of clients meet their app development goals.

NS804 offers expertise from inception to completion, helping you transcend the app development journey.

Contact NS804 for timely mobile app design, development, and deployment.

What Do People Want In A Health And Fitness App?

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The health and fitness app has become a permanent fixture in most people’s lives. And you can tell that this is true by merely observing the people around you. Nowadays, most people wear smartwatches — but that’s not surprising — considering the global smartwatch market grows consistently by 13% year-on-year. 

But even if someone doesn’t own a smartwatch, they certainly own a smartphone. And most decent health and fitness apps will work on both types of devices. However, smartwatches are ideally suited for tracking health and fitness due to their wearable nature.

Yet our focus of attention isn’t on which device to use. Instead, we want to uncover what people want in a health and fitness app. And how developers can respond to these wants in a competitive mobile app marketplace.

1. A Health And Fitness App Must Have Personalization Features

All good health and fitness apps have user profiles. And these are necessary as every user has unique health attributes, exercise routines, and goals, to name a few. 

Moreover, these user profiles should protect the privacy of the user, especially if they share their smartphone or smartwatch with someone else. And make it easy to access health stats and progress reports via an intuitive user interface (UI).

2. Social Media Integrations

There’s no better way for people to stay motivated than by sharing their results with others. Some may like to brag when they reach a new milestone or break a performance record, but most prefer camaraderie and support from like-minded people. 

Thus, social media integrations are absolutely essential, as they’ll allow users to easily and quickly share results on their favorite platforms. Furthermore, developers can add chat and group-based activity features to further enrich their health and fitness app.

3. Streaming And Video Sharing Capabilities

Offering a live streaming capability is an essential feature nowadays. Fitness instructors can share videos with others that use your health and fitness app, to help them practice proper exercise techniques.

However, users can also share videos of themselves with instructors and health practitioners. These experts can then examine these videos and ascertain whether or not users are following proper health and fitness procedures. And then, offer feedback and suggestions directly to users via a live chat feature.

4. Gamification Will Enhance Your Health And Fitness App

Another effective way to motivate people to reach their goals is with gamification features. By offering rewards within the health and fitness app, most users will push themselves harder to reach set milestones. 

These rewards can come in the form of prize money if it’s financially feasible. Or they can take the form of virtual prizes, such as trophies and digital reward tags. It’s also possible to penalize users when they fail to reach certain goals, by removing rewards or lowering their score associated with their progress.

In Conclusion

The more people use health and fitness apps, the more features they’ll desire and demand. But the good news is that there are many ways to evolve these kinds of apps, and even innovate on existing ideas. Contact NS804 to learn how we’ll help you develop a leading-edge health and fitness app that will help improve your users’ lives. 

Do You Have A Great App Idea? 5 Tips To Get It Validated

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Coming up with a great app idea can seem easy at times. But what may not seem easy is ascertaining if that app idea is truly feasible. If most developers were honest, they’d admit they lucked out on some of their best and most profitable ideas. Instead, they’d like everyone to believe they’re geniuses for coming up with winning ideas.

Of course, some top-tier app developers have a methodology for brainstorming ideas and validating them. And that’s what we want to focus on right now!

We’re not interested in revealing tips aimed at opportunistic appreneurs and developers that want to make a quick buck from current trends. And that’s because this is not a sustainable way to push out compelling apps at a regular cadence.

Instead, we want developers to work systematically to achieve consistent results regularly. We also want developers to think of themselves as problem solvers and not simply studios that push out code.

While working with new technologies is always fun, we should never lose track of the fact that we’re here to provide solutions. Our goals should always align with those of our clients and users. And that’s to make life easier for them by solving problems that hold them back or impact productivity.

However, you may be at this point now where you have a great app idea that will solve a problem users experience. But how do you validate it to know for certain that it will serve your target market well? Read on, as we’re about to reveal several handy tips to help you through the validation process.

1. Market Research Is A Must! 

Never commence planning and developing an app without conducting market research first. And that’s because you need to know if your app is unique or improves on existing ideas. And if the market already has competitors, can you compete by offering something different or better?

Moreover, you should clearly define your app’s unique selling point (USP). Ask yourself what sets it apart from competing apps and how your users will benefit.

And possibly, create a prototype to show your team, company stakeholders, or even a small focus group. Then, ask them for feedback on what they think of the app and if they can pinpoint its USP and potential target audience.

2. The Early Stages Of The Validation Process

As a startup with limited time and money, going through the validation process may seem challenging. But we recommend that you don’t skimp on this step, as it will help determine if you have a great app idea or not.

We mentioned earlier about building a prototype and showing it to relevant parties. However, you can take things further by setting specific validation goals. 

For example, you may decide not to build a prototype but focus on pitching your idea to investors. If you manage to convince five or more investors about the virtues of your app idea, then that’s a good sign. Or you can work with another metric: if 100 or more potential users view your concept design on social media and react positively — you may want to greenlight the project. 

As you may understand by now, there are several ways you can go with this. And by setting several validation goals that you can measure, you can gain real-world feedback without breaking the bank. But only doing the above won’t be substantial for most projects, even though it’s a good starting point.

3. Effective Ways To Validate A Great App Idea

Real-world feedback is an ongoing theme with app validation. And that’s because there’s no better way to determine if there’s interest in your app concept or idea.

So, focus on ways to receive user feedback from potential users. But also ensure that you research the size and value of the market you’re targeting. And no matter how much you like your idea, don’t invest in developing it into a full-fledged app without thorough market validation. 

But how do you thoroughly validate the market? Well, one of the best ways to do this is with a minimum viable product (MVP). An MVP is a stripped-down version of your app with the bare minimum of functionality. And the main advantage of this is that you can deliver an MVP to your users cheaply and quickly. 

Should it prove popular with users, you can scale it into a fully-fledged app and implement the features that users have suggested. However, if it fails to gain traction, you can scrap the project or implement changes that may make it more appealing to users. The latter may be the way to go if there’s still middling interest and users have made suggestions.

4. Conduct User Surveys

Another good way to ascertain if you’re on to a great app idea is via user surveys. Start by creating a customer profile that represents your ideal users. Your customer profile may have the age, demographic, education, hobby, location, and spending attributes.

If your customer profile slants to the younger ages, you may want to find users on a platform such as TikTok. And if they’re older professionals, you may want to track them down on LinkedIn. Either way, you should have a clear picture of your target group so you can survey them properly. 

Ensure that you tailor your survey for your target group and use language and tone that appeals to them. Moreover, respect their time by not asking more questions than you have to or asking complicated questions that are too difficult to answer. Ideally, you want these users to complete your entire survey and not give up halfway through.

5. Pre-Selling And Pre-Registration 

Another effective way to test your app idea is by setting up a pre-selling landing page. This landing page will feature a description of your app, screenshots, and a promo video to create buzz. Furthermore, visitors can easily register and submit their email addresses to stay updated. 

What’s so compelling about this approach is that it’s a way to attract early adopters. And the higher number of these early adopters, the more validation you receive for your app. Moreover, it can act as a revenue stream if you need to generate income before launching your app officially. 

But if setting up a landing page and maintaining an email list isn’t your thing, there’s no need to despair. Google Play offers pre-registration for your app so that you can build hype and user relationships before launch. This is done directly on the Play Console and is implemented 3-6 weeks before the launch date. 

It’s an effective way to drive traffic to your app’s store page. And it’s possible for Google Play to automatically deliver your app to users and auto-install it on their devices on launch day. Thus, it’s almost certain that you’ll have users on day one with a limited amount of work on your end. You can also use Google’s pre-marketing tools to boost interest further.

The Bottom Line

When you have a great app idea, you’ll want to validate it as soon as possible. The good news is that there are several ways to go about this, as we’ve already covered above. However, there’s a bit of additional work involved, which may increase your costs and time to market (TTM).

But if you work with experts, such as NS804, you’ve got a partner to help you navigate this process. Contact us today to learn how we’ll help you validate your best ideas and turn them into phenomenal apps!

Make Your App Simple to Navigate with These 6 Design Tips

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Mobile app design is not all about looks and beautiful aesthetics. It’s sometimes about how easily users can communicate and interact with your app.

Think about app design as a concept that merges looks and interaction – aesthetics and functionality. And app navigation is like interactions or a conversation with an app.

So, making your app navigable is critical to the overall design work.

Here are six design tips to make your app simple to navigate:

1. Thumb navigation

Research has suggested that 49% of app users use only one thumb to navigate the phone’s interface. When designing, remember that your app will be used in numerous ways.

So, ensure that when designing, you place the most crucial features at the bottom of the app. This way, users can reach these features when using the phone with a hand or two.

2. Bottom tab bar

Many reputable apps, including LinkedIn and Instagram, place their primary features on the bottom tab bar. For instance, Instagram’s core functionality tabs are accessed through the tab bar, making switching between features easy.

So, when designing an app, ensure you do the following:

  • Avoid using icons of different colors at the bottom
  • Avoid scrabble icons at the tab bar
  • Show only the most frequently used destinations

You can always display a badge at the tab bar to show new information.

3. Card-style design

Cards are critical elements to use in your mobile interface design because they can display actionable features. The card-style design allows content to reveal itself to the targeted audience, making navigation easy and fast.

The card-style design further gives users the fun feeling of swiping left and right. For instance, the Google Primer App allows users to tap on each card and swipe the cards away anytime they are done reading what’s written on each card.

4. Avoid clutter

It’s advisable to keep your app clean and succinct. And by avoiding clutter, you make the app cleaner and easy to navigate. In addition, by removing clutter, you prioritize content, and the space, whether white or black, contributes to readability.

5. Full-screen navigation

Full-screen navigation means you don’t save any space on your screen. This type of navigation can be beneficial and equally powerful for some mobile apps. The full-screen navigation is simply a navigation platform that lists all the navigation elements, and it’s great for simplicity and coherence if you select the colors properly.

6. Search box

Your users can feel locked in a dark room if you omit search navigation. Ensure that you incorporate a magnifying glass icon at the top of the app to give your users the liberty to search for whatever they want.

Adding a search box means liberating your users and letting them explore every nook and cranny in your app.

NS804 – App Navigation Made Easy!

NS804 is a trusted provider of superior mobile app design solutions for Android and IOS. NS804 seeks to provide clients – individuals, businesses, corporations, and organizations – with clean interfaces and functional apps that answer difficult questions.

In addition, NS804 apps meet the criteria of simplicity and functionality allowing consumers to enjoy all that an app has to offer.

Contact NS804 for superior mobile app design in Richmond Va.

7 Emerging App Trends Business Are Tapping Into Right Now

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There’s no denying that the mobile app revolution is underway. In 2021, there were a whopping 7 billion mobile app users globally. The following year, this number rose to 9 billion and was projected to reach 10 billion in 2023 as smartphones and wearables become an integral part of our everyday life.

The shift from e-commerce to m-commerce did not happen by accident. While e-commerce presented a digital model for online shopping, m-commerce seemed to respond better to consumer needs given that it was integrated into mobile devices like smartphones, wearables, and tablets.

This post examines seven mobile app trends that businesses are tapping into to maintain a competitive edge in their industries.

1. 5G Technology

Mobile apps have proven to be a game-changer in the industry. They’ve helped transform markets, tap into new customer pools, and boost the bottom line.

Unfortunately, the app development landscape is forever changing, making it hard for businesses, especially small and medium-sized enterprises, to keep up with emerging trends.

One of these emerging technologies is the 5G. 5G offers 100 times faster internet connectivity than its predecessor, 4G LTE. This particular trend of faster internet connectivity speeds will significantly transform the mobile app development landscape.

Already, businesses of all sizes and sophistication are looking at how they can leverage this new technology to transform themselves and redefine their competitive positioning.

For instance, 5G technology could enable businesses to develop more immersive AR and VR technologies, provide improved data analytics, and transform their efficiencies on numerous fronts.

The 5G technology remains a game-changer in the mobile app development landscape, and enterprises must look into how they can optimize this new technology to drive value.

2. Internet of Things (IoT) App Integration

The Internet of Things is no longer a complicated term or concept. The IoT simply refers to the interconnectivity of devices and the information or data that flows among interconnected devices.

The rise of mobile penetration across multiple sectors has created seemingly endless possibilities for the internet of things. The Internet of Things refers to the increasingly high number of devices connected to the internet, and the information or data supported or emitted by these interconnected devices.

A classic example of IoT app integration is the rise of smart home technology. Mobile apps, for example, can be used to activate thermostats in remote homes. Mobile apps can also activate alarms, security cameras, and automated gates or entrances remotely.

Refrigerators, ovens, cookers, and other appliances can also be controlled using mobile apps, providing countless control and automation possibilities.

Credible research indicates that the global internet of things market will reach $264 billion in 2022. These statistics show that $190 billion of this income will come from interconnected mobile apps.

3. Augmented and Virtual Reality

Despite the Covid-19 pandemic and the recent transformations in the global business landscapes, businesses are expected to embrace mobile app development.

That’s because mobile apps provide a tangible way for businesses to reach their target audience and grow their brands despite the economic turmoil of the pandemic.

Integrating augmented and virtual reality is one of the most reputable mobile app development trends in 2022. This integration involves using immersive technologies to create engaging customer experiences.

For instance, businesses are using augmented reality technology to show customers what products will look like in their homes. In addition, augmented and virtual reality technologies are being embedded to provide a realistic preview of products.

4. Artificial Intelligence and Machine Learning

As we recover from the Covid-19 pandemic, businesses are looking at ways to remain competitive in an ever-changing global landscape. Artificial intelligence and machine learning are one of the hottest words in the tech world right now, and they’re just beginning to get famous.

The reason machine learning and artificial intelligence are the two most important concepts right now is that they possess a huge capability to process huge amounts of information and data quickly and efficiently.

This capability is especially valuable to businesses that want to process huge amounts of information and make informed business decisions based on available customer behavior data.

And by incorporating artificial intelligence in their mobile apps, businesses can not only mine critical customer information – they can equally draw meaningful insights from collected data.

Also, artificial intelligence can create more interactive and engaging customer communication information and data or content. The creation of engaging content is a critical element of mobile app development.

So, businesses looking forward to staying competitive in an ever-changing business landscape must consider integrating machine learning and artificial intelligence in their mobile app development efforts.

5. Blockchain

Blockchain is another emerging mobile app trend that’s promising to make an impact in the coming years. Already, we have witnessed the success of blockchain in creating a secured and seamless cryptocurrency market, and its application in other industries and sectors continues to be lauded.

The blockchain, which essentially represents a distributed ledger technology, promises to revolutionize and transform the way businesses operate by offering a secure and water-tight way of storing information.

And while blockchain is mostly associated with cryptocurrencies like bitcoin, it has a wide range of applications for businesses of all types and sizes. For instance, blockchain can streamline supply chain processes, track inventory levels, and create secure digital contracts.

6. Apps for Foldable Devices

It’s not a surprise that you had, or maybe you knew someone who had a flip phone a long time ago. The first generation of flip-flop phones was replaced by touch screen phones and smartphones with one or two buttons.

However, at the start of 2019, we witnessed a generation of foldable smartphones. 2019 saw the release of foldable smartphones like Huawei Mate X, Samsung Galaxy Fold, and Motorola Razr.

These smartphones fold to expand or compress the screen size based on the user’s preference. For instance, the user can receive a call with the phone closed but watch a video with the device open.

That means that from an app development perspective, developers must account for these changes in mobile design. The idea is that an app must seamlessly update its display as the device unfolds and closes.

The key highlight of any app is to offer a superior and user-friendly viewing experience regardless of whether the app is open or closed.

7. Development for Wearable Devices

Wearable devices have taken a toll over the last decade, defining trends in the healthcare sector. Wearable devices nowadays monitor heart rate, record blood pressure, and keep tabs on pulses.

Some wearables go a notch higher to show important body variables and statistics like disease diagnostics, patient therapy delivery, and early disease diagnostics.

It’s important to note that wearable technology has come with devices such as trackers, fitness bands, and smartwatches, signaling a new wake for wearable devices.

However, emerging statistics show that the wearable market has not reached its full potential. There has been a year-to-year increase in wearable adoption from 2017 to 2022, signaling that the market is yet to exploit its fullest potential.

The evidence shows that while we are not witnessing a year-to-year jump, the growth rate is steady, a clear indication of the hidden potential of this market.

For instance, Apple Inc. made a big announcement about wearables and app integration at its 2019 WWDC. The newly launched WatchOS 6 brought the Apple Store to Apple Watch. This trend shows that new apps are being built specifically for these devices.

In the future, more mobile apps will be made with wearables in mind. Users with wearables will be able to download thousands of apps directly from their wrists – reinforcing the mere fact that mobile app development is gradually shifting towards wearable technology.

NS804 – Transforming The Mobile App Development Landscape!

NS804 is a trusted provider of custom-built mobile app solutions for individual businesses and corporations. NS804 provides expertise in mobile app development, allowing enterprises to approach their app projects with diligence.

So, if you want to tap into emerging app trends or integrate emerging solutions in your app development project – look no further!

Contact NS804 to know how exactly you can integrate emerging app trends into your mobile app.

App Performance: How To Tell If Your App Is Succeeding

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If you’re not continuously monitoring app performance, you won’t have a clear picture of app quality and success. And that means you won’t know if your app meets or exceeds user expectations. Moreover, you can’t correctly evaluate your app since you’re not measuring its key performance indicators (KPIs).

So, what should you do to ensure you know everything about your app that matters? And more importantly, how do you do so without hurting your brand? After all, there’s nothing worse than releasing an app — even as a beta for testing purposes — that delivers a shoddy user experience. 

Read on as we’re about to reveal the steps you need to take to monitor app performance — the right way!

1. Implement App Performance Metrics For App Quality

First and foremost, you need to know if your app runs flawlessly or is a buggy mess that upsets users. Thus, you’ll need to implement the following app performance metrics that will furnish you with reports in real-time:

  • Crash analytics – To help you identify when and why app crashes happen
  • Performance – Collect data related to load speeds, device configurations, operating systems, and screen resolutions
  • In-app feedback and ticketing – An effective way to gain feedback and respond to app issues without hurting your brand
  • Testing – Use an SDK such as Firebase to build and test apps across multiple devices and platforms 

2. Measure KPIs That Determine App Success

You’ll also need to know how well your app is performing in the app stores. And there’s quite a bit of data that you’ll need to collect and analyze, such as follows:

  • Number of downloads – This is one of the most important KPIs and helps determine app growth or stagnation
  • Reviews and ratings – Positive reviews and ratings bolster downloads as users often look at these first before trying out an app 
  • Track active users – It’s crucial to know how many users continue using your app after they download it from the store
  • The average duration of user interaction – User engagement directly correlates with higher usage times
  • The frequency of user sessions – This is another important metric that determines user engagement
  • Retention rate – This metric helps determine whether or not users remain interested in your app
  • Churn rate – Another important metric that indicates how many users leave an app

3. Mobile Game Considerations

All app performance metrics discussed above also apply to mobile games. Given the viral nature of mobile games, it’s also crucial to measure the K factor. So, what is the K factor, and how does it impact a mobile game? In a nutshell, the K factor refers to the number of users that talk about your game and recommend it to others.

An easy way to work out the K factor is with this simple formula (i = average number of invitations sent by a user, and c = conversation rate of those invited): 

k-factor = i*c

In Conclusion

Always implement app performance metrics, as these will help you gain a 360-degree view of your app. The more data you collect about your app’s performance and how users interact with it, the better informed you’ll be to make the right changes — and when they’re necessary. Contact NS804 to learn how we’ll help you create phenomenal apps that truly succeed! 

What Are The 9 Best Education Apps for Children?

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App developers are now capturing children’s imagination by making learning fun through cool, educational apps. Today, there are many educational apps for children that make screen time beneficial. Your children’s skills will increase across a variety of topics and regions with the aid of these apps. There are study apps for practically any subject, from science to social studies and foreign languages.

This post brings you the best 9 education apps for children:

1. Khan Academy

This app is free and packed with a number of programs for children of all ages. It is one of the best education apps for children. For the majority of disciplines, Khan Academy provides YouTube tutorials.

There are comprehensive visuals for different classes, including math, business studies, science, AP courses, arts, humanities and exam preparation. Students can work at their own pace and use visually appealing content like images, maps, and other visuals. Khan Academy is well-liked by students, parents, and teachers.

Features:

  • Interactive learning path that supports learning at the child’s pace
  • Provides a wide range of topics
  • Suitable for basic and supplemental education
  • Junior version available for learners under five years

This app remains critically underpinning for offering diverse learning opportunities on a wide range of topics.

2. PBS Kids Games

The PBS Kids app is perfect if you want your child to experience learning through play. Kids can pick from hundreds of games that cover a range of topics, including arithmetic, reading, language, and science.

PBS Kids Games contains features that allow parents to be on the lookout for their children’s actions and performance. Parents can also manage their accounts to provide their kids with a safe and secure environment.

Features:

  • Regular updates with new games
  • Offline games available to play on the go
  • Friendly and secure playing experience
  • Relatable characters inspired by popular shows

This app remains the coolest app for experiencing learning through play.

3. Duolingo

How do you say “hi” in Portuguese? Children and adults can master many different languages that Duolingo presently provides. Children are kept interested and engaged through constant feedback and simple lessons with fun online learning material. One of the most well-liked educational apps available today is Duolingo. It has a system that enables children and adults to learn a new language at a personalized pace.

This cool app uses technology to provide individualized instruction and private tutoring for over 30 foreign languages. There are a variety of different games to play that will test your writing, speaking, and reading skills.

Features:

  • Uses scientifically established teaching techniques that promote long-term language retention
  • Tracking progress and achieving goals is made exciting with incentives and achievements
  • Fun characters and game-like courses make sessions productive and amusing
  • Ideal for children and adults

Duolingo is perhaps the most intuitive language app for honing linguistic skills in children.

4. Hopscotch

Hopscotch is a programming app ideal for beginners to explore and learn the basics. The app allows children to design programs with vibrant characters using the drag-and-drop editor.

Kids can create amusing characters that move, change looks, and respond to commands using a comparatively basic platform. By selecting characters, they may personalize their programs. They can also save and share their creations with the Hopscotch society, as well as leave comments on and play other people’s works.

It is a fantastic method for children to express their creativity and begin learning about computer programming without worrying about complex, technical code language. Kids can go from this basic coding app to more difficult ones like Scratch on a desktop or laptop.

Features:

  • Child-based programming
  • Offers play-along video instructions
  • Supports creativity through art, tales, and games
  • Provides children’s privacy and security

5. Elmo Loves 123

Elmo Loves 123 is a great app for preschool, kindergarten, and older kids. With this app, children can learn to trace and recognize their numbers and eventually add and subtract, which makes learning numbers much more fun.

It is jam-packed with exercises and games. The app includes videos and coloring pages to enhance the joy and excitement of the experience. It also captures snippets from the original Sesame Street program.

Parents can also use a tracker to keep tabs on their kids’ academic progress. The latest version offers the highest level of parental security.

Features:

  • Children can discover new features by tracing favorite numbers
  • To unlock the number of games with Abby and friends, press the Abby button
  • Sessions include number tracing, object identification, and group object counting
  • Children can learn to solve problems, create art, and be creative

This app can make the difference between learning at home and attending conventional schooling. It offers far more content than what’s offered in conventional kindergarten schools.

6. Epic!

Children under 12 years can access this digital library on their mobile devices. Epic allows its users access to more than 40,000 high-quality books. Even more reading tests and educational movies are available in this infinite library. Kids may take this digital library with them everywhere they go, expanding their knowledge bank. This app is ideal if you wish to improve your child’s reading habits and skills.

Features:

  • Provides users with four customizable child profiles
  • Considers children’s reading preferences to provide individualized book recommendations
  • Provides multilingual books and read-aloud novels
  • Children can read both offline and online

The fact that children can read both offline and online makes Epic a darling for many.

7. ABC Mouse

ABC Mouse has numerous interactive reading, math, science, and art-related games, exercises, and movies. In addition, it is a multi-platform program that works on both computers and mobile devices. The program provides animated videos, games, novels, music, crosswords, and coloring pages. It includes the full curriculum. However, because it is not a formal educational setting, your child can progress at his or her rate.

Features:

  • Complete online curriculum
  • Step-by-step learning paths
  • Entertaining visual material and activities
  • Allows for progress tracking

ABC Mouse remains one of the most integrated and educationally-diverse apps for children.

8. Prodigy Math Game

Ideal for children at elementary level and over, the Prodigy app adopts a fun fantasy approach. The role-playing game encourages kids to tackle more math problems as they advance through the levels.

Students tackle curriculum-based problems to complete adventure quests, win battles and earn rewards. Prodigy Math Game’s flexible algorithm is designed to adapt to the student’s level of learning. The personalized approach ensures kids stay engaged and do not get frustrated by tough questions.

Features:

  • All lessons are in line with the curriculum
  • With more than 1,400 skills available, children can study more and become stronger in the topic
  • Parent accounts enable tracking of the child’s development and comprehension
  • While children practice math, there are possibilities for setting goals

Prodigy Math Game remains a leading app for honing mathematical skills in children.

9. YouTube Kids

YouTube Kids provides a more protected and secure setting for kids to view all the fun, educational videos they adore. They will learn new and interesting stuff, and you will feel more at ease.

Parental powers allow the limitation of children’s screen time. Adults can also control the information their children consume and sort according to age. The app is loaded with entertaining videos ranging from science activities to funny cartoons for different age groups.

Features:

  • Parental powers allow you to control how your child uses apps
  • Movies that encourage inner creativity and playfulness
  • For their children, adults can design a particular experience that is special
  • Guarantees security from inappropriate content

There is no doubt that children love spending time on digital devices. Most of the time is spent playing games or watching funny videos and cartoons. It is time to squeeze learning and fun into that screen time with these amazing education apps.

NS804 – Streamlining Your Educational Apps For Children!

NS804 is a trusted provider of superior mobile app design solutions. As experts in the design of mobile apps for organizations across multiple sectors – finance, insurance, manufacturing, legal, entertainment, healthcare, and retail – NS804 now provides children’s mobile app development solutions.

So, if you’re looking forward to developing the best education app for children, look no further!

NS804 is your number one, trusted mobile app developer!

What Can Your App Metrics Tell You About Your Customers?

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App metrics will help you succeed as an appreneur or even as an enterprise releasing one or more apps. After all, it’s never a good idea to push out an app without monitoring its key performance indicators (KPIs). And that’s because you’ll be missing out on crucial information that impacts your app in its entirety.

Just think for a minute that you’ve spent a lot of time and money on a food ordering app. Many users download it, but you receive very few orders. Having failed to add mobile app metrics, you’re left bewildered as to why this occurs. To top it off, you’re left guessing about what needs to improve, apart from a few negative user reviews.

The hard truth is that you should never have to guess what’s wrong with your app. Instead, you should know how it performs during its entire lifecycle. And app metrics will also help you learn more about your customers, which we’ll discuss in more detail below.

Learn More About Customer Device Specs

You should add metrics that monitor your app’s performance and user experience (UX) from the get-go. But why is this so important when your app runs fine on your test devices? Your test devices only offer a limited view due to the massive variety of devices available, especially in the Android space. It’s a technical impossibility to test your app on the thousands of different Android smartphones, tablets, and TVs that your users may own.

However, your mobile app metrics will let you know how your application performs after the user installs it. You’ll gain access to valuable data, such as the user’s device operating system (OS), screen resolution, load times, and crash reports. Moreover, you’ll have a granular view of this data to allow you to pinpoint issues and fix them. Occasionally, you may detect these issues before most of your users do.

Mobile App Metrics Reveal Customer Engagement KPIs

Is your app engaging users, or are they uninstalling it in droves? Believe it or not, that’s one of the most important questions you should be asking. But it’s also one that you should be getting answers for immediately. And that’s because engagement rates directly impact your app’s revenue, so never leave this to chance.

Your customer engagement KPIs should reveal the following: average number of screens per visit, session length, stickiness ratio, retention rate, and churn rate. Furthermore, you should have detailed data on daily, weekly, and monthly engagement per active user. 

Monitor Customer Spending Habits

Your app’s supposed to make you money, so you need to know if your customers are actually making purchases. Also, integrate the necessary application programming interfaces (APIs) to facilitate and monitor all payment methods. Nowadays, users like to make payments using Apple Pay, Google Pay, PayPal — and several other payment services.

But what customer revenue metrics should you monitor? You’ll need to look at the following: average revenue per user (ARPU), number of purchases, time to first purchase, customer lifetime value (CLV), conversion rate, and cost per install (CPI).

In Conclusion

Mobile app metrics, when properly implemented, reveal much about your customers. And the data you collect and analyze will help you to pinpoint issues that impact your app negatively. Thus, allowing you to make fixes and roll out updates that actually make sense. Contact NS804 today to learn how we’ll help you integrate app metrics to unlock the true potential of your applications!