Strategies for Effective Mobile App Marketing in a Crowded/Saturated Market

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In mobile app marketing, a saturated market refers to an environment that offers more or less similar apps with the same features and capabilities, and all apps target overlapping demographics of users. This unhealthy competition creates rivalry, making it hard for new entrants to gain traction.

In such a competitive market space having the right and the most effective marketing strategy can make a difference and help you stand out. Without the right strategy to target and attract potential consumers and users, even the most robust and the highest quality app can fail to succeed.

The right and the most effective marketing strategy can not only improve the app’s visibility but can also help the app influence user perception, lead to customer acquisition, and promote the overall success of the app.

Strategies for Effective Mobile App Marketing in a Saturated Market

1. Conduct Market Research to Identify Your Target Audience and Their Needs

Market research is the cornerstone of any successful marketing strategy for an app, especially in a saturated market. It involves gathering information about your target market and clients, their needs, preferences, locations, and perceptions. By understanding your audience, you can tailor your app’s messaging, features, and marketing efforts resonating with your audience.

Demographic Analysis

Start by identifying the demographic traits of your target audience like their age, location, gender, education levels, and income. This information helps create user personas that represent different segments of your audience.

Psychographic Analysis

Psychographic analysis primarily deals with analyzing your clients’ and potential users’ interests, values, lifestyles, and buying behavior. Knowing you’re the psychology of your users helps you craft messages and communications that resonate with their aspirations and motivations.

Needs Assessment

Identify the specific needs, pain points, and challenges your audience faces and explore how your app can overcome those challenges. Conduct focused groups, interviews, and surveys and gather information from potential users.

Analyze your Competitors to Identify their Strengths and Weaknesses

Competitor analysis is vital for understanding the market and identifying opportunities for expansion and differentiation.

  • Identify competitors. Identify direct and indirect competitors. Direct competitors are players with similar offerings as yours, while indirect competitors refer to players whose products and offerings can easily replace yours.
  • SWOT analysis. Conduct a SWOT analysis to identify your competitors’ strengths, weaknesses, opportunities, and threats in the market. Strengths may include a strong brand and unique product features and weaknesses may entail limited market presence and poor user experience. Opportunities may capture emerging trends and market gaps, and threats may entail changing regulations and new entrants.
  • Differentiation Strategy. Look for areas where your app can provide added value. You can focus on strengths that your competitors lack and identify weaknesses that you can improve.

Use Data Analytics Tools

Use data analytics news to gather information about your user behavior, measuring the effectiveness of the marketing campaign and measuring its effectiveness. Leveraging data analytics tools to collect client and consumer information may help you tailor effective marketing campaigns and optimize the app’s performance.

  • User behavior analysis. Use tools like Firebase Analytics, Google Analytics, and in-app performance to track navigation paths, user interactions, and engagement levels. Analyze this data to identify trends and areas of improvement.
  • Conversion funnel analysis. Analyze the conversion funnel from app discovery to conversion to optimize conversion rates and identify bottlenecks at every stage.
  • A/B testing. Conduct A/B tests to experiment with different app features, messaging, and marketing strategies. Measure the impact of these variations on user behavior and iterate based on data-driven insights.

Using data analytics tools helps you collect insightful information, helping you build knowledge and insight about your marketing efforts.

2. Develop a Unique Value Proposition

Define what makes your app stand out from the competition. This could be its innovative approach, features, niche market, or a combination of all these. The goal here is to define what makes your app special and unique and why should consumers choose your app over others.

One of the most unique value proportions is unique features. For your app to stand out in a competitive marketplace or saturated market, it must exhibit unique features and functionalities. This means your app must be different and must provide distinct benefits and capabilities that are specifically unique to the app and not to other apps in the same market.

Innovative technology is another distinguishing feature for developing a unique value proportion. Apps like Facebook, WhatsApp, Slack, and Microsoft Teams are innovative because they represent innovative technologies in their respective industries and fields. Similarly, to stand out in a competitive marketplace, your app must provide an innovative technology that’s unique in its way.

Your app must provide an exceptional user experience for it to stand out in a competitive market. The apps must focus on delivering an intuitive, smooth, and speedier interface that responds at the slightest touch. Emphasize how your app saves time, simplifies tasks, and enhances productivity for its users.

Another aspect of creating a unique value proposition is creating a specialized niche focus. If your app caters to a specific industry, market, and user segment, you must emphasize and highlight the specific value it provides to that target market. Highlight how your app addresses their challenges, unique needs, and interests better than other apps.

Crafting a Compelling UVP

There are various strategies you can use to craft a compelling unique selling proposition:

  • The unique selling point must be clear and easy to understand.
  • The USP must communicate the relevance and ease of use of the new app.
  • The USP must contain an emotional appeal.
  • The app must communicate its benefits and value to the end users.

It is important to note that your unique selling proposition is an opportunity to sell your product to your target audience by communicating the features, benefits, and overall value of your app.

3. Optimize Your App Store Presence

To make your app stand out in a crowded or saturated market, it’s important to optimize your app store presence. If your app is designed to run on IOS, it is important to take advantage of app store optimization. Some apps are cross-platform, meaning they’re designed to run on both Android and IOS. Regardless of the IOS, it’s important to leverage your app store to reap maximum benefits.

Use appropriate keywords

It’s advisable to use appropriate keywords in your app’s title, description, and meta-description. Using the right combination of keywords strategically in your app’s metadata will help to improve its visibility in the app store and hence improve adoption and retention.

Some of the strategies you can use to ensure appropriate use of keywords include:

  • Keyword research
  • Natural selection and incorporation of keywords
  • Optimizing app title and description
  • Metadata optimization

Keywords improve searchability and visibility, ensuring you’re at the top of the search engine and easily visible to a large target audience.

Design Eye-Catching Icons, Screenshots, and Videos

Visual elements play a crucial role in capturing users and encouraging them to explore your app even further. Invest in creating visually appealing assets that showcase your app’s unique features and capabilities.

  • App icon. Design a visually appealing and striking app icon that stands out on home screens and the app store. Ensure the icon reflects your brand identity and communicates the essence of your app.
  • Screenshots and videos. Create high-quality promotional videos and screenshots that highlight the benefits, functionalities, and user experiences of your target audience. Use clear captions, engaging visuals, and annotations to demonstrate the app’s value and encourage downloads.
  • Preview videos. Pay attention to the preview video feature in the Play Store or App Store. Use this opportunity to demonstrate your app’s unique features, user interactions, and app functionality clearly and compellingly.

Encourage positive reviews and ratings

Encourage positive reviews and ratings to encourage downloads. Positive reviews not only influence user perception but also contribute to higher app store rankings and visibility. Implement strategies designed to encourage users to leave feedback and give ratings on the app’s user interaction and speed.

Some of the strategies that you can use to encourage positive reviews and ratings include:

  • Prompt user feedback.
  • Ethically incentivize any reviews.
  • Address any negative feedback.
  • Maintain app quality and functionality.

By encouraging feedback and ratings, you can engage with potential users better and shift their perceptions.

4. Leverage Social Media and Digital Marketing

Social media provides an excellent platform for connecting and reaching out to your target audience. Social media allows you to build meaningful connections, obtain feedback, and provide continuous improvement to your mobile app. In a highly saturated market, here’s how to use social media to build an app that stands out.

Platform selection

It’s advisable to select platforms most frequented by your target audience. Facebook, Reddit, LinkedIn, or X are all potential social media channels you can leverage to build meaningful connections with your target audience.

Profile optimization

Optimize your profile with the appropriate colors, logos, and messaging to ensure it communicates your values. Provide clear information about your app, its functionality, and benefits.

Content strategy

Create content that resonates with your audience. It’s advisable to use catchy phrases, captivating colors, and designs to attract user attention and influence adoption. Create a mixture of content types, including videos, audio, polls, stories, images, and quizzes.

Develop engaging content

Engaging content plays an instrumental role in attracting and retaining your social media followers while promoting the app effectively. It’s advisable to consider the following formats of content.

  •  Videos. Create captivating videos that showcase your app’s story, features, and benefits. Include animation, visual storytelling, testimonials, and behind-the-scenes footage to amplify your app.
  • Blog posts. Develop informative blog posts that explore topics relevant to your niche. Include industry guides, how-to guides, case studies, and industry trends content. In addition, it’s advisable to blog posts for search engines to attract organic traffic.
  • Infographics. Design visually appealing infographics that communicate tips, key information, statistics, and comparisons related to your niche. Infographics are highly valuable and can attract attention on social media platforms.
  • User-generated content. User-generated content UGC encourages users to create and share content related to your app such as testimonials, user reviews, success stories, and feedback. User-generated content adds credibility and authenticity to your marketing.

Use targeted ads

Use targeted ads on platforms such as Facebook, YouTube, Twitter, and LinkedIn. Targeted advertising allows you to reach your audience based on their interests, behavior, likes, demographics, and online activities. Here’s how to leverage targeted ads effectively.

Audience segmentation

Segment your audience based on gender, age, demographics, location, interests, app usage, and app preferences. This will help you create targeted ads that target users based on these specific user preferences.

Ad formats

Leverage various ad formats offered by different platforms such as Facebook (lead ads, video ads, and carousel ads), Google ads (app install ads, display ads, search ads), and Instagram ads (video ads, carousel ads, and story ads).

Ad creative

Develop compelling ad creatives with attractive and attention-grabbing visuals, clear and concise copy, and thought-provoking calls to action. Test these ads on different platforms to optimize performance and improve conversion rates.

Budgeting and optimization

Set realistic marketing budgets based on your marketing goals and monitor ad performance through metrics such as click-through-rate CTR, cost per acquisition, and retention rates. In addition, leverage ad campaigns regularly to maximize reach and returns on investment.

5. Leverage Collaborations and Partnerships

Identifying and establishing collaborations and partnerships with the right organizations and individuals can significantly boost your app’s credibility and visibility. Here’s how to identify potential partners and collaborators.

  • Alignment with your target audience. Identify influencers, brands, and organizations who share the same target audience as yours. Consider factors such as user behavior, demographics, interests, app preferences, and gender.
  • Complementary services. Look for apps that offer complimentary services or products like yours. Collaborating with partners whose offerings complement yours can provide mutual benefits to both parties.
  • Influencer identification. Research and identify influencers in your niche who have a significant following and engagement with your target audience. Look for influencers who align with your brand value and who can authentically promote and grow your brand.

It’s important to note that partnerships and collaborations play an instrumental role in ensuring your app stands out in a highly competitive marketplace.

NS804 – Building Apps That Stand Out

NS804 is a trusted provider of custom mobile app solutions. The company focuses on both iOS and Android apps, providing excellent mobile app solutions for businesses of different sizes and industries. We believe that marketing is crucial for the success of any app.

We believe that businesses must invest exhaustively in developing effective marketing campaigns that educate and inform people about its features and benefits. As part of this realization, we help businesses align their app development efforts with the needs of the market, ensuring that our apps answer the needs and interests of the target audience.

Contact NS804 today for superior and custom mobile app solutions.

 

 

Mobile App Maintenance: The Importance Of Regular App Updates

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Few first-time appreneurs and developers consider mobile app maintenance when laboring away on their debut projects. And that’s reckless, to put it mildly, as app development is a long process that doesn’t end at launch. Users and the app stores expect apps to receive regular updates months or even years after their initial releases. 

But why are app updates such a pertinent issue that appreneurs and developers must never ignore? The primary reason is that no app is perfect on release and will likely never be during its lifetime. There is a certain quality threshold that an app must meet before it offers a satisfactory user experience. Not meeting this threshold will cause users to uninstall the app and leave negative reviews and low ratings, hurting the prospects of the app. 

That’s why the savviest appreneurs and developers have a mobile app maintenance plan from day one. They know that they must set aside resources for the continuous upkeep of their apps. These resources often include the funding, staff, analytics, tooling, and training required for app maintenance. Furthermore, it’s necessary to have dedicated staff or contractors to handle communications, compliance, documentation, user experience (UX) testing, quality assurance (QA) testing, and user feedback. 

Now, that’s a lot to unpack and only drives through the message that app development is a long, costly, and challenging endeavor. But we don’t want to dissuade you from trying your hand at app development, especially if this will be your first attempt. Instead, we encourage you to move forward, partner with an experienced and reputable studio like NS804, and consider the helpful pointers listed below. 

 

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What Does Mobile App Maintenance Entail?

Mobile app maintenance is an ongoing process that involves multiple tasks that result in the continuous improvement of apps. These tasks include gathering user feedback, data, and analytics. These factors will let developers know whether or not their apps meet changing customer expectations. 

If apps don’t meet customer expectations, developers must modify their apps to bring them in line with these expectations. However, this is only possible by rolling out app updates at regular cadences. In the case of app-breaking bugs or security vulnerabilities, developers must release patches timeously. 

And even if an app runs smoothly and reasonably bug-free, it’s still necessary to respond to current market trends. For example, 2023 was a big year for artificial intelligence (AI) that the market couldn’t ignore. Soon after the launch of ChatGPT and other similar services, mobile app developers quickly launched new AI apps or implemented AI features in their existing apps. 

It’s not uncommon for appreneurs and developers to abandon apps if they’re no longer feasible. The app stores are incredibly competitive — if not downright brutal — making it difficult to justify the cost and effort to maintain underperforming apps. 

Yet, this is not the case with custom apps, especially those aimed at internal company tasks and business-to-business (B2B) applications. Mobile app maintenance is crucial for custom business apps, as regular security and feature updates are essential for the smooth functioning of organizations of all sizes.  

Why Do Users Care About Regular App Updates?

Today’s smartphone users are app-wise and can easily discern a good app from a bad one. Moreover, today’s users are part of a mature market gradually reaching its growth limits. We only need to look at the US smartphone market to understand the staggering difference between today and a decade ago. In 2013, there were approximately 173 million smartphone users in the US, but today, it’s edging closer to 315 million.

While we may be reaching the peak of the smartphone era, this doesn’t mean the app market is going away. It only means that there’s an increase in user demands that you must respond to if you’re going to succeed. But how can you succeed in such an overwhelmingly crowded market where users uninstall apps on a whim? The first step is to create an app that addresses a problem that users have and to make it sticky.

Of course, that’s not easy, and few developers get this right on their initial attempt. But let’s assume you are addressing a problem users are experiencing, but they’re still uninstalling your app — what now? 

That’s where your mobile app maintenance plan comes in, as you’ll focus tightly on your app’s performance and user data. Your analytics will let you know if your user journeys and flows are succeeding or failing. You’ll also know if technical issues make your app function inadequately. These are the most common reasons why users drop apps like hot potatoes and why post-launch analytics are so crucial.

Once you know what’s holding your app back, you can address all relevant issues. Then, plan your roadmap to release the necessary fixes and updates. And establish an effective communications pipeline to gather user feedback and inform users of new updates.

Why A Lack Of Updates Will Hurt Your App? 

Even your most diehard users will lose interest in your app if you don’t update it regularly. They will assume that you no longer have the interest or resources to roll out updates and will eventually move on to apps that seem more promising. There’s nothing worse than losing users due to not providing them with the features competitors have provided already. The current state of the app market requires that you respond to user needs rapidly. 

Look at the leading mobile apps in your segment, and you’ll find that all these receive regular updates. Every app update helps to reinvigorate interest, especially with those users who have started to drop off or become bored. But it’s also a great way to draw new users and media attention when app updates include innovative or highly desired features. 

A lack of updates will also hurt your app’s stability and usability, especially when users upgrade their devices. Furthermore, Apple and Google demand that developers update their apps to meet the requirements of their latest operating systems and APIs. Failing to do so will result in the removal of any un-updated apps from the App Store and Google Play. Third-party Android stores also have specific app update policies that you must follow if you publish on these. 

Security concerns around hacking and data breaches have become the norm recently. Since many people use mobile apps for financial transactions, you must ensure that your app never has any security vulnerabilities. Even if you’re developing a mobile game, you must never take security issues lightly since hackers exploit these also to gain access to user credentials. So, always roll out patches and updates as soon as you know of or encounter a new vulnerability.

How App Updates Help Keep Your Tech Stack Current?

You may be proud of your studio for using the latest technology stack to create your apps. But technology moves forward rapidly, especially in the mobile space. What’s trailblazing today can quickly become outdated in a matter of months. Therefore, you never want to stick to the current versions of your integrated development environments (IDEs), APIs, frameworks, game engines, backend technologies, testing, and deployment tools. 

Sure, your programmers may want to use long-term support (LTS) releases for a more stable development environment. But eventually, you’ll need to pull the plug and move on to the latest supported version. Your team may whine about such a decision since they will feel more comfortable with the older tooling. But ultimately, they must use the tooling that increases stability, usability, and quality.

The beauty of mobile development tooling vendors is they have close relationships with the device manufacturers. Thus, they build their tools according to current and future hardware specifications. And that’s fantastic because this means you’ll often gain a free performance boost and increased stability when building your app with the latest tools.

Furthermore, you’ll be future-proofing your app since it will run adequately on devices about to hit the market. So, you’ll have the assurance that your app will run on devices you haven’t tested for yet. But this doesn’t mean that you should ignore testing altogether. Always test on an emulator if you lack access to a specific mobile device. 

As part of your mobile app maintenance processes, ensure that you keep up to date with what your tooling vendors are releasing. Read their blog posts and release notes regularly, and update all your development tools timeously. 

What Are The Different Types Of App Updates? 

There are several kinds of updates you can roll out, but not all will be suitable for your app. We explain which app updates are best suited for which purposes here: 

  • Feature release updates: Your users will provide feedback about features they want, so you should roll out feature release updates with these additional features. If your app proves popular, you may need to implement these kinds of releases several times a year.
  • Functionality updates: You should roll out functionality updates when upgrading an existing function. The frequency of these updates will depend on how often you need to upgrade the functionality of your app.
  • Maintenance updates: If your app suffers from vulnerability issues due to a cybersecurity threat, you must release emergency hotfixes immediately. You may also release a preventative update for potential attacks, an adaptive update to deal with upcoming changes, and a corrective update for patching up quality issues.
  • Monthly updates: All new apps need monthly updates to gain and retain user trust. Also, it’s necessary to release weekly updates if your app suffers from serious usability, stability, and security issues.
  • Updates for watershed events: You can surprise and delight your users by releasing an update to celebrate the first year of its release. The update must include a significant change or improvement to set your app apart from competitors. 

How To Implement Mobile App Maintenance Successfully?

All the stages of the mobile app development process are challenging. But you can make the maintenance process of your app more manageable by following these steps:

  • Document your mobile app maintenance plan: Always keep notes and documents produced by all stakeholders involved in your project. Ensure that all team members can retrieve these documents easily when necessary.
  • Prioritize training: Ensure your team is up to speed with the latest app update procedures and technologies. 
  • Establish effective communications pipelines: You want to keep all stakeholders in the loop at all times. Keep your communications open and secure for all the relevant parties, and keep everyone informed of any crucial events that require their attention.
  • Keep ahead of compliance and policy changes: The app stores constantly alter their guidelines and policies, so you must adhere to these to avoid any nasty surprises. Furthermore, stay current on regulations in the different territories you publish.
  • Regularly test the effectiveness of your app’s UX: Always be mindful of the end-user experience by testing your app’s UX. More often than not, a bad UX is why most users uninstall apps, and it’s fixable with an update. 

 

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Why Do You Need To Partner With A Reputable Studio?

As you can tell, mobile app maintenance requires hard work and sticking to a tried-and-tested plan. If you already have prior experience with the processes mentioned earlier, you know what to expect. Yet, you may still need the assistance of a talented mobile developer to help you deal with all the complexities involved with regular app updates. And if you’re new to all this, partnering with a studio is undoubtedly the right choice. 

A highly acclaimed and reputable studio like NS804 will help you deploy your app updates on time and within budget. We’ll look at your plan, goals, and requirements with an analytical eye and offer solutions that will drive your app down a successful path. 

Furthermore, we’ll help you evaluate methodologies and development technologies that will lead to the best possible upkeep of your app. We’ll also help you implement new features, fix bugs, and optimize your app so you can focus on other aspects of your app development endeavors.

In Conclusion

Mobile app maintenance is a crucial part of the entire app development cycle. Never ignore this part, as your users expect you to deliver updates that will keep them stuck to your app. If you do this right, you’ll extend the potential lifespan of your app, driving additional revenue and business. Contact NS804 to learn how we’ll help you plan, prepare, and deploy app updates like a pro!  

What to Include in Mobile App User Testing Processes

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Mobile apps have grown by leaps and bounds, providing limitless possibilities and affording capabilities like communication, productivity, entertainment – and beyond. With millions of apps in AppStore and PlayStore, developers face fierce competition to design apps that stand out, provide unique solutions to customers, and build evergreen applications that answer both the current problems and future challenges.

This is exactly where mobile app user testing comes into play.

Why User Testing?

In the highly competitive market of mobile apps, user testing is the linchpin in mobile app development that separates apps that succeed and those that fail. User testing helps developers determine how well an app resonates with the target audience, providing an operating benchmark for improving the features and creating superior apps. The mobile app user testing is the differentiating factor between an app’s conception and its overall usability.

The central purpose of user testing is to ensure that an app functions as intended and provides an intuitive user experience.

Here’s precisely why user testing is crucial:

  • User-centered design. Mobile app testing helps you understand and map your user needs in your development. In essence, testing identifies your users’ pain points, behavior, preferences, and options – and integrates these needs into the app.
  • Bug detection. While extensive pre-launch testing is crucial for identifying underlying errors in code, it’s nearly impossible to detect every usability issue without real-life testing. User testing uncovers these problems before they reach your target audience.
  • Improved retention. An intuitive, error-free, and user-friendly app is likely to attract more users, which leads to a competitive advantage in the app’s adoption and use. Apps that attract and retain users perform better in a dynamic competitive market than apps without retention rates.
  • Enhanced ratings. When your app is optimized for best use, it’s likely to feature better and more positively, increasing its likelihood of adoption and use. Conversely, negative reviews from poor customer experiences can affect your app’s success.
  • Cost-efficiency. Fixing your app’s underlying issues pre-launch is more cost-effective and less time-consuming than fixing the issues during the development stage. User testing helps to identify real usability issues before they reach the market, resulting in more cost savings in fixing errors and bugs.

So, whether you’re developing an Android app or an iOS app, mobile app user testing is a critical process of overall development. User testing is the linchpin of successful mobile app development.

So, in the next section of this article, we will discuss some factors, elements, or things to include in your mobile app user testing processes, providing you with correct, accurate, and relevant information to know when conducting user testing.

 

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1. Prepare for user testing

Before embarking on the user testing journey, it’s crucial to lay a solid foundation for the process, ensuring you have the right tools, the right infrastructure, and processes. The first step of this process is to define your goals, laying a foundation for what you seek to achieve after the process. While these goals and objectives differ depending on the different stages of the mobile app development, they should generally capture the following goals:

  • Usability assessment. This step determines the app’s ease of use and overall user-friendliness.
  • Functionality testing. To ensure all features and functionalities work as intended in harmony.
  • Performance evaluation. To assess how the app performs under different situations and circumstances.
  • User satisfaction. This testing gauges user feedback and satisfaction with the app’s functionality and usability.

Articulating these points upfront allows you to create a roadmap that guides your testing efforts and ensures you gather the relevant information to make the right decisions.

2. Set up the testing environment

Setting up the testing environment is a crucial step to ensure you achieve the best results. A well-prepared environment ensures you can assess how your app performs in different situations and ensure that it mimics real-life scenarios.

Here’s how to achieve the right testing environment:

  • Device diversity. Endpoint and mobile devices come in different shapes, sizes, and operating systems. So, choose a representative sample covering the most commonly used devices by your target audience.
  • Operating systems. Consider the different varieties of operating systems and testing on both new and old operating systems as users may have different challenges or constraints accessing newer versions.
  • Emulators and simulators. While mobile phones, tablets, and laptops are essential, use emulators and simulators to expand your testing coverage without acquiring every device.

It’s also crucial to ensure you have the right tools and technologies for the testing process. Here are some of the testing tools you can use for this process.

  • Testing tools. When it comes to testing tools, it’s advisable to invest in automated testing tools such as Espresso, Appium, and XCUITest. In addition, performance testing tools such as Firebase Performance Monitoring and Apache JMeter can help evaluate your app’s responsiveness and speed.
  • Remote testing services. You should consider remote testing services if your audience spans multiple geographic regions. These services provide you with remote access to global testers who can assess your app’s performance on their devices and operating environments.
  • Bug tracking and reporting. Implement a robust bug-tracking system that allows testers to detect and report issues immediately. Popular bug-tracking tools include Trello, Bugzilla, and Jira. Efficient bug tracking can help increase an app’s usability, performance, and responsiveness.

Having the right tools and technologies and selecting the best technologies and software allows you to establish the conditions needed to conduct meaningful and thorough mobile app user testing.

3. Conduct user testing

The process of conducting user tests is at the heart of mobile app development. This process involves giving real users your app to test its functionality, usability, responsiveness, and security.

Here’s a detailed breakdown of how to conduct user tests:

  • Usability testing. This process involves exploring how responsive and navigable your app is. It helps you identify navigation issues, responsiveness problems, and where users may face glitches. This type of testing ensures your app is easy to use and aligns with your users’ expectations.
  • Functionality testing. Functionality testing assesses how your app functions. It helps detect errors, bugs, and hitches that may prevent consumers or users from browsing seamlessly. Functionality testing ensures key aspects of your app operate as required.
  • Other testing types. Depending on your app’s scope and complexity, you may need to conduct other tests such as security tests, performance, and localization testing. Each test plays a fundamental role in ensuring your app functions as intended.

As you test your app, it’s crucial that you establish test detectors to guide you through the testing process. Guide testers include the following three elements;

First, provide testers with defined test scenarios that comprehensively cover your app’s functionality. The scenarios provided should align with real-life use cases or match the objectives set during the planning phase.

The second step of your testing is to communicate instructions clearly and concisely and explain the tasks testers should perform and the objectives they should attain. Avoid questions or biasing suggestions that may influence the tester’s behavior.

The third step is documentation. It’s vital to ensure the testers have relevant documentation such as boarding guides and manuals, which allows them to understand the app’s features and functionalities.

4. Gather user feedback

Once user testing is complete, the next step is to gather structured and unstructured feedback and observations from your testers. This section of the article discusses the steps that you should follow to draw better insights from collected feedback.

The first step is to analyze, organize, and categorize the responses by reviewing all the feedback given by the testers. Collect feedback and recommendations collected during the process, recording notes, comments, and recordings of user interactions.

Secondly, categorize the comments, notes, and responses into groups based on common issues and themes. This form of categorization helps identify patterns and prioritize relevant areas of improvement.

The final step is analyzing and categorizing both qualitative and quantitative data. The quantitative data include: response rates, success rates, and task completion rates and qualitative data include observations and user comments. Analyzing these two subsets of data provides an end-to-end understanding of user feedback, allowing you to know what areas to improve.

After gathering user feedback, it’s advisable to prioritize and document identified issues and bugs, which allows you to map usability problems. You can prioritize and document issues based on issue severity, create a detailed report with a priority list of issues; and finally assign a priority ranking to each issue, identifying how much of a priority each usability issue is in the whole process.

5. iterative testing and improvements

Iterative testing is the secret ingredient for successful mobile app creation. This section of the article discusses iterative testing, the process of developing an app, the importance of addressing issues promptly, and how to make improvements based on user feedback.

  • Continuous process. In testing your mobile app, it’s crucial to understand the iterative nature of mobile apps. Therefore, mobile app testing isn’t a one-step process; it has to be cynical, evolving with the emerging needs of users and consumers.
  • Feedback. Each testing cycle introduces a new set of feedback for the proceeding steps or stages of the testing. This feedback loop ensures that the app evolves and adapts to the ever-changing user needs, preferences, and values.
  • Agile methodology. Most developers use agile methodology by incorporating user testing as a fundamental step of the development process. Agile methodology promotes feedback, collaboration, and flexibility, accommodating different user feedback in the design process.

Iterative user testing and improvements help address issues promptly, helping you deal with user expectations. When developing your app, you will realize that users have many expectations about an app’s performance and responsiveness. Failing to address these issues promptly may lead to negative reviews and frustrations that impede your app’s adoption and market reputation.

Another reason to incorporate feedback and continuous improvement through the agile methodology is because of the competitive landscape. The tech industry is a highly competitive marketplace. Addressing issues can be a significant differentiator. Apps that address user feedback and incorporate feedback tend to retain new and existing users, providing the developer with a competitive edge.

Lastly, addressing issues is part and parcel of quality assurance. Timely response or simply responsiveness can go a long way in setting you apart in quality assurance, ensuring your apps and products meet the requisite benchmarks. By resolving bugs and usability issues promptly, you reduce the risk of app abandonment.

 

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6. Security and data privacy testing

The increasing sophistication of cyber-attacks and the growing prevalence of cyber incidents continue to compromise users’ data and the integrity of user information. As mobile apps become more interconnected with our everyday-use devices – laptops, wearables, tablets, and other endpoints, so is the need to protect these endpoints from potential abuse or intentional compromise.

As part of your mobile app user testing process, emphasize the importance of security and data privacy testing. We cannot over-stress the significance of protecting the integrity of consumer private information.

  • User trust. Users trust apps that are secure and protected. Loss of trust can lead to severe consequences including; reputational damage, loss of users, and lawsuits.
  • Legal compliance. Breach of trust can lead to legal liabilities, leading to hefty fines and penalties. Complying with established laws like the GDPR and HIPAA guidelines is crucial to ensure your app remains relevant.
  • Financial implications. Loss, breach, and potential breach of consumer private data may have far-reaching financial consequences, including loss of revenues, brand damage, and legal fines.

Security and data privacy testing ensure that developers provide and leverage the best-in-class security systems, including encryption, patching, and detection tools to create robust and highly secured applications.

NS804 – Your Trusted Provider of Mobile App Solutions

NS804 is a trusted provider of custom-built mobile app solutions for businesses of different sizes and shapes. Whether you’re a manufacturing shop floor, a retailer, an e-commerce store, or a hospitality facility, we can help you reclaim your digital victory with custom-built mobile apps that give you that digital presence.

NS804 secures the future of its applications with reliable and secure applications that meet the highest security and testing requirements. We work collaboratively with talented and competent teams of developers, security experts, quality assurance, and engineers to ensure we provide secure and trusted mobile app products.

Contact NS804 today for mobile app development solutions.

UI/UX Design: 8 Trends In Mobile Apps Happening Right Now

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The current UI/UX design trends are exciting because they represent the tastes of a maturing mobile market. Today’s users know what they want and what they find appealing. And seasoned app developers have a grasp of what kind of UI/UX design works and what is relevant. Thus, the quality bar is set high, but that doesn’t mean you can’t push it higher. If you plan on releasing an app in 2023 and beyond, read our handy list of design trends before forging ahead. 

1. Next-Gen Application Programming Interfaces (APIs) Are Ready For Prime Time

Apple and the Khronos Group have done much work on their graphics APIs. Several years ago, Apple introduced Metal, a proprietary low-level API for handling impressive 3D graphics and shaders. Likewise, the Khronos Group introduced Vulkan, a powerful third-party API for various operating systems, mobile devices, and consoles.

These APIs replace the aging OpenGL API on both iOS and Android. Apple has officially moved over to Metal since iOS 8, but it’s a gradual process on Android since many older devices don’t support Vulkan. Furthermore, Apple doesn’t support Vulkan, but developers can use the MoltenVK library to run their Vulkan code on Metal with reasonably good performance. 

But what does all this mean for you as a mobile developer or an appreneur? If any of your existing apps use OpenGL, it’s time to future-proof these with Metal on iOS and Vulkan on Android. You’ll substantially improve the visual quality and response times of your apps. And since 90 Hz and 120 Hz displays have become commonplace, users expect a snappy experience and next-gen UI/UX design to stay hooked. 

However, if your apps don’t require the raw horsepower of complex APIs like Metal and Vulkan, there are better alternatives. If you want to display simple shapes and 2D objects, Google has introduced Skia, and Apple has SpriteKit for these purposes. Skia and SpriteKit also conform to the new design language, look, and feel that Google and Apple expect developers to follow. So, if you want your apps to have a truly native UI/UX design on both platforms, use these two APIs for optimal results. 

 

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2. UI/UX Design Must Take A Sustainable Approach

Nowadays, you likely hear much about sustainability from environmentalists, intellectuals, influencers, policymakers, politicians, and even device manufacturers. That’s not surprising considering the considerable damage overconsumption does to the health of the planet and all its inhabitants. Damaged and disused smartphones, tablets, and laptops contribute to this problem via e-waste. 

The rapid technological evolution and lack of repairability of mobile devices have made them highly disposable. Sadly, this results in large landfills filled with toxic components, which also negatively impact the health of e-waste workers. Of course, this problem hasn’t gone unnoticed by some consumer-centric manufacturers that plan to shake up the smartphone market. 

A Dutch-based manufacturer recently announced the Fairphone 5, which boasts a five-year warranty and Android software updates until 2031. Furthermore, users can self-repair their phones — including the camera and battery — with an ordinary Phillips screwdriver. The goal is to prolong its lifespan, from something users often replace within two or three years to a phone that they could keep for five years or more. 

But will the mobile device giants like Apple, Samsung, and Huawei follow suit, or will it be business as usual? While it’s impossible to foretell what the big three will do, a small but crucial revolution in sustainability has begun. A growing number of users are holding onto their phones for longer, with Europeans replacing their devices every 40 months and Americans at around 24 months. 

That means you should plan your UI/UX design for devices that exceed their typical lifecycle of approximately two years. And when you update your user interface (UI), ensure it looks and works great on new and older devices. 

3. Elegance And Simplicity Dominate Recent UI/UX Design Trends

Mobile devices have matured, yet so have users. Users don’t want to see an overly busy and colorful UI, as it lacks sophistication and hurts usability. Instead, they prefer neutral color tones, well-spaced and thought-out UI components, and intuitive button placement. 

Even the choice of font plays a crucial role in winning over users. A clever way to impress your users is to use Blacker, Hermann, and Recoleta Serif fonts in your next app project. Not only do these Serif fonts look incredibly elegant, but they work well together with a range of background colors and textures. Moreover, users often recall words written with Serif fonts far better than with other fonts. So use Serif font for commands and menu options you want users to remember in the long term. 

But what if you want to use 3D elements for your next app? Several years ago, 3D elements enjoyed reasonable popularity and gradually fizzled out. That doesn’t mean you shouldn’t use any 3D design elements, especially if it suits your app. An augmented reality (AR) app, Archviz walkthrough, or mobile game may need 3D design to express core concepts or even for usability. 

4. Add A Splash Of Bright Neon Colors When Necessary 

While you should never make your app look like a colorful mess, that doesn’t mean that you should avoid color altogether. The recent resurgence of the cyberpunk subgenre has had a massive impact on the wider culture. One of the biggest video games in recent years, Cyberpunk 2077, introduced its unique neon-drenched design language that many find incredibly appealing. 

Let’s not forget about the recent Blade Runner 2049 movie and every Nicolas Winding Refn film that doesn’t go easy on the neon either. These cyberpunk-oriented examples teach us that bright colors and neon can make a scene or design element look truly stunning and memorable. Of course, a UI/UX designer with a trained eye for detail and knowledge of color theory will pull this off successfully. 

But you may be wondering when it’s most suitable to use bright or neon colors. If you’re developing an educational, design app, or mobile game, you could benefit from using bright or neon colors, provided you color match correctly. Avoid taking this route for any business, fintech, or utility app, as it will make your application look less like a serious candidate for its target audience. And if you must use bright or neon colors for such an app, use them sparingly. 

5. Every UI/UX Design Roadmap Should Encompass Foldables

Foldable smartphones are no longer niche and have gradually become commonplace for mainstream use. And even though foldables seem to be exclusively in the domain of the Android camp, speculation is rife that Apple will introduce their answer to the foldable phone soon. So whether you’re exclusively an Android or iOS developer or even a multiplatform developer, you can no longer ignore the foldable market. 

However, foldable phones bring several challenges to the table that you can’t ignore either. The differing display sizes of various models and extra screen real estate means that you have to carefully plan your UI in greater detail than before. Your UI/UX design team must lay out every step of the interaction process when wireframing. They’ll need to carve out the user’s journey from the welcome page to any interactions necessary on the secondary outer display. 

Also, your UI/UX design team must implement the correct gestures for navigating the larger screen. They must make the user’s journey as efficient and practical as possible so that users successfully navigate the app with as few gestures as possible. Furthermore, the team must refrain from adding unnecessary features just because there’s extra screen real estate. The last thing you want to do is make your app bloated, as this will increase its file size and possibly hurt its usability.

6. Design With Video Content In Mind

In 2023, you can’t ignore video, as it can profoundly impact the success of your app. While some may argue that not every app is suitable for video or needs to deliver this type of content, these naysayers may be missing the bigger picture. The truth is that video is a powerful medium you can integrate in just about any app today. 

Even a simple to-do list app can benefit by having short video tutorials to explain all its functions. It’s not necessary to film actors doing these tutorials, but use stylized motion graphics and animations instead. Any competent UI/UX designer could use a tool like Figma to design and animate stunning tutorials. If you don’t have the staff or tooling to do this, consider teaming up with an experienced studio, such as NS804, to handle this for you and other aspects of your app’s development. 

A side benefit of creating video content for your app is that you can also upload these videos to TikTok, YouTube, and Vimeo. These can act as marketing material for your app, as people who haven’t used your app yet may view them. If these tutorial videos do a great job explaining how to use your app, some viewers may download it and try it out. Those using a similar app or looking for a replacement may switch if your app seems more intuitive based on these tutorial videos and its actual usability.

7. Make UI And Transitions More Dynamic And Memorable 

The look and feel of your UI say much about the quality of your app. If your UI looks appealing while feeling snappy, it will inevitably win over many users. But many apps in the marketplace already meet this standard, so how can you make your app stand out? Start by creating a more dynamic UI and transitions using a tool like Figma. 

Figma or any similar UI tool will help you prototype and craft impressive motions for many of your UI components. Add movement in your UI to wow your users but ensure that it feels intuitive. For example, if your UI looks like it requires a diagonal gesture, then implement a diagonal-oriented movement to match the UI. Then, add a transition utilizing an animated diagonal split screen to move to the next page. All this will make your app more technically impressive and memorable.   

You may take things further by adding sound effects that trigger during inputs and transitions. Yet, it’s these minor details that will ultimately set your app apart from its competitors. 

Another UI design trend worth considering is using buttonless inputs and liquid swipes. It results in stunning-looking apps that feel next-gen. But it’s necessary to use large, bold text so users with disabilities can also navigate the app. Inclusive design should always be a core part of your upcoming app projects.

 

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8. Illustrations And Graphics Enhance UI/UX Design

While it’s possible to develop a visually appealing app with only text and background textures, this can also look bland. After all, users have become accustomed to receiving much visual stimulation from various sources like comic books, films, games, music festivals, and even modern storefronts. So, creating an app that may look boring to your potential users should never be on the agenda. 

There are several ways to spruce up your app, but we recommend you try stylish, visually bold graphics or illustrations. Most modern mobile graphic designs consist of organic-looking shapes and figures. You may need to hire a graphic designer to create these, but your UI/UX design team may also handle this task. 

If your app requires illustrations, this calls for someone with an entirely different skill set. If you’re a mobile game developer, you may already have hired one or more illustrators, so this shouldn’t be a problem. But if you don’t have an illustrator on your team, you may commission art from a freelancer on sites like ArtStation, Behance, and DeviantArt. 

A talented illustrator will create artwork that can act as a story-telling tool, help differentiate your app, and even conceive a visual style tailored to your brand. The latter will help you build brand awareness and is a good strategy if you plan to work with the same illustrator on a long-term basis.

The Bottom Line

UI/UX design is a necessary part of the app development process that often takes center stage. Ideally, you should have at least one talented UI/UX designer on your team, but if you don’t, consider working with a professional studio. Contact NS804 to learn how we’ll help you develop apps with excellent design and usability.

Videos – A Notable Trailblazer in Online Dating

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The mobile app revolution has taken the world by storm – from e-commerce apps that embrace realistic virtual and augmented reality shopping capabilities to video-based dating apps.

Recent developments in mobile apps show that the digital world will embrace a paradigm shift, making apps the next big thing after the internet. Already, the metaverse defined the limits of virtual spaces, signaling a new awakening in how we use and interact with the internet.

Today, video-based dating apps have defined a new frontier, eliminating the barriers set in previous dating apps. Traditionally, the online dating scene was a scam zone characterized by fake profiles and unrealistic characters.

However, today, this is about to change with new video-based, next-generation apps like PreVue Dating.

Here’s what we should expect with video-based, next-generation dating apps:

1. More authenticity

Documented evidence shows that there are many benefits to using a dating app with a video as opposed to one with just images. The first advantage is more authenticity. Videos allow users to showcase their personality, tone, and body language in ways that mere pictures cannot.

Videos give users a more personalized and accurate presentation of themselves, which helps create trust and increase the likelihood of a successful match. So, new dating apps that embrace the video-based capability will ensure more users and personalized experiences than dating apps without this new capability.

 

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2. Better communication

Truth be told: videos provide better communication and more personalized interaction than mere images or pictures. Precisely, videos allow users to exchange information and talk more realistically, ensuring that users can hear and respond to one another in real time. This capability can lead to more meaningful communication and deeper connections which is a critical element in online dating.

3. Improved safety

Videos can help improve the safety of users by allowing users to verify that those they are talking to are the people they’re claiming to be. Videos can also help users feel more comfortable meeting in person as they’ve already seen and talked to each other via video.

Let’s consider the following statistics:

  • One in every seven dating profiles may be fake
  • Of all 3.5 million profiles created every month, 500,000 may be fake
  • Romance scams resulted in losses of over $1.3 billion in the US in 2022
  • Canadian romance scam victims lost over $50 million in 2021
  • Australians lost at least $568 million in online dating scams in 2021
  • Social media remains a fundamental attack vector in online dating scams

So, video-based dating sites are gradually providing safety nets to most users in online dating sites.

4. User experience

There’s no denying that video-based dating apps are realistic and provide a better user experience. A dating app with a video feature can provide a more meaningful conversation and deeper connections and interactions. Users can share videos of themselves and others, making the app more meaningful and entertaining.

Already, a Forbes publication showed that video communication is being optimized to further physical distance and allow for social distancing – in both work and dating spheres.

So, when you combine this capability with the risk of physical communication in the wake of the Covid-19 pandemic, you realize that video-based communication is gaining momentum in bridging glaring gaps in physical communication.

5. Mutual attraction

Sharing videos with interesting captions on social media is nothing new. Facebook first launched its video function in 2007. YouTube began in 2005. And Snap Chat exploded after adding a 10-second video capability to its platform. TikTok is currently the new frontier in marketing, and it utilizes live and recorded videos of users.

There’s no denying that the short-form video model became a striking feature of most online applications – and this trend will grow. Despite this development, it has taken a few years for dating apps to adopt this feature.

But why the delay?

The prevailing theory is that it’s scary to show more online. Everyone has great photos and excellent captions depicting their ‘best angle’ and ‘their good side’ which provides psychological protection.

However, with platforms such as PreVue Dating taking video-form elements in their models, it shows just how videos are harder to fake and how the dating landscape is changing.

Videos indisputably allow users a better gauge of mutual attraction. And as users become more discretionary, videos will gain more momentum in the dating world, signaling a new normal to most users of online dating sites.

6. Increased confidence

Most people turn to online dating because it’s more confidential. Indeed, most online dating users prefer to first match with interested potential matches before meeting them in person. This ultimately provides psychological protection in case things do not go as planned.

The truth is – videos allow users to showcase their personality, tone, interests, and attitudes which can increase their confidence. This may be particularly helpful to those users nervous about meeting new people or people who may struggle with making the first impression.

7. Time-saving

Videos can be a more efficient way to get to know someone without wasting time. Instead of spending hours, days, or sometimes weeks getting to know someone, videos allow users to get a taste of someone’s interests and personality in minutes. Video-based capabilities help users establish compatibility without wasting time exchanging messages and texts.

8. Screening tool

One exhilarating aspect of videos in dating is that they can act as screening tools. Users can screen those they’re interested in before committing to a date or a meet-up. Screening can help reduce the number of mismatches and increase the chances of a successful date.

9. Hobbies and interests

Videos can help users showcase their interests and hobbies in a more meaningful way than written descriptions and images. By showcasing interests and hobbies in a more interactive and meaningful way, videos can help potential matches get a better understanding of what they have in common.

10. Better visibility

Adding a video on one’s dating profile provides better visibility and enables users to stand out from the crowd. This capability is especially important at a time when dating platforms are flooded by fake profiles. Adding a video boosts the number of potential matches, providing a more fulfilling and interactive online dating experience.

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PreVue Dating – A Path to Online Engagement

Online dating apps have been doing a lot of experimentation and innovation in videos. Some of these platforms allow basic features such as pulling and posting a video from your phone. Others offer full-blown video-chatting functionality. Dating apps have adopted various and varying rules and moderation capabilities to improve match quality and dating experiences.

NS804 has worked closely with online dating app players to identify proven strategies for online dating experiences. And with the wake of PreVue Dating, it’s becoming clear that video dating will be a frontier in online dating. However, it’s important to note that as video becomes a trend in online dating, users will have to adopt several safety guidelines.

Some of the main safety cornerstones for videos in online dating include:

  • Platform guidelines. Online dating platforms must be overtly clear about what’s appropriate content.
  • Community feedback. The online dating community must drive the common good with reporting buttons that flag and moderate content.
  • Human moderation. Human moderation is a critical element in reducing technology gaps and human errors. For instance, Facebook has approximately 15,000 reviewers hunting inappropriate content and fake news.
  • AI moderation. Many dating apps take appropriate precautions to protect their women users. AI-powered private detectors scan images for inappropriate content.
  • Privacy functionality. Controls when and how users use the video functionality feature. Some apps, for instance, allow chat users to blur their screens until they feel comfortable.

Contact NS804 to bring video-based capabilities to your online dating platform.

How Clients Benefit From Android Mobile App Developers In Denver

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The bustling capital of Colorado, Denver, has so much to offer out-of-town visitors and those looking for Android mobile app developers. Owing much to its phenomenal museums and historical landmarks, it’s a city that showcases its rich culture and heritage with panache. And it’s also home to some incredibly talented app development studios.

One of these studios is NS804, which also ranks as one of the most reviewed developers in Denver, according to the Manifest. Furthermore, we’re renowned for developing quality apps for our clients and have earned several accolades over the years. We’re Gold Verified on Clutch and have a comprehensive portfolio and many happy clients that back up the quality of our work.

But what makes us better than our peers, and what can you expect from NS804? We’re a full-service mobile app developer specializing in native Android and iOS development. That means we’ve amassed a team of specialists in all areas of app creation. 

We have designers, project managers, programmers, testers, writers, and even app store optimizers. So, our clients benefit immensely by having access to a ‘one-stop-shop’ instead of dealing with disparate entities, which only complicates the app development journey. But clients can enjoy further benefits, which we’ll explain in more detail below.

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A Team Of Android Mobile App Developers Utilizing Design

Design plays a fundamental role in the app development process. We start by designing a wireframe of the user interface (UI) and may even create a prototype. And we do this to show clients how their app will look, feel, and function. 

If they’re happy with the results, we’ll proceed with a minimum viable product (MVP) or a full-fledged product. But if they’re not, we’ll listen to their concerns, feedback, and suggestions before going back to the drawing board. And once we return with satisfying results, our clients will be eager to move forward. 

Since we’re one of the leading native Android mobile app developers in Denver, we’re inclined to use the latest best-in-class tools. And that means we’ll use Jetpack Compose to create beautiful and modern native UIs. These UIs will delight Android users and keep them engaged, especially those that have purchased the latest smartphones and tablets.

Android Mobile App Developers Demystify The Development Process 

Many clients are new to app development and have many questions. We’re always available to answer their questions and demystify the development process as best we can. After all, it’s not uncommon for clients to have questions about the following:

  • Notable similarities and differences between Android and iOS
  • Required tools for Android app development
  • Game engines and tools required for making Android mobile games
  • Ways to optimize an Android app or game
  • How to succeed on Google Play and other Android app stores
  • How to build a backend and implement analytics

Building Android Apps That Succeed

App projects are always risky, even on popular platforms such as Android. That’s why we always strive to keep clients informed about the progress of their projects and any issues or upcoming roadblocks that may hinder progression.   

And since we know the Android landscape so well, we’re aware of the various factors that could sink even the most promising projects. These may include a lack of a clear objective, an unintuitive UI, failure to iterate, poor marketing, or a disappointing user experience. However, we work closely with clients to ensure none of these materialize.

The Bottom Line

As one of the leading Android mobile app developers in Denver, we use our vast experience to create phenomenal apps according to spec. And since we know all of the ins and outs of the Android platform, we’re well-positioned to tackle the most demanding projects and to support these in the long term. Contact NS804 to learn how we’ll help you create the most engaging Android apps today! 

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Charlotte, VA Mobile App Trends to Know

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One proven fact about mobile apps is that they’re more popular than websites. The growth in smartphone ownership coupled with an uptick in internet penetration rates means that people today use mobile apps to access shopping platforms and do many other things like issuing payments, comparing prices, and contrasting where and when to shop.

Apps, in addition to their popularity, have an interactive and intuitive design. Interactive app designs are more popular and easy to use – and people tend to avoid apps and websites with complicated designs.

Statistics estimate that the average user has approximately 80 apps on their mobile devices. Ads continue to be the most popular source of revenue for mobile apps, making mobile apps a frontier in today’s digital world.

Here are common mobile app trends businesses and consumers must know

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1. Interconnected internet of things (IoT)

IoT is a dawning reality for most mobile applications. Sources estimate that the global internet of things will reach $320 billion by 2023. $226 billion of this estimate will come from mobile apps, signaling a new wake for mobile app adopters – enterprises, institutions, and markets at large.

According to Statista, the revenue associated with technologies that use IIoT will eclipse $1.5 trillion by 2025, highlighting the importance of IIoT integration in mobile apps.

Therefore, as mobile apps become a new frontier and with the projected growth in this market, it makes perfect sense for mobile app developers to integrate the interconnected internet of things in their creations, mobile apps included.

2. Apps for foldable devices

While it feels like a long time ago, foldable devices dominated the mobile app market in the last few decades. From Samsung to Nokia, foldable mobile phones have remained a strong force in the mobile market.

In 2019, mobile phone developers appeared to steer towards this traditional trend in mobile design. For instance, Samsung launched the Samsung Galaxy Fold, Huawei surprised us with the Huawei Mate, and Motorola was not left behind with its newest invention – Motorola Razr.

The difference between today’s foldable devices and what we experienced two decades ago is that the former fold to increase and decrease the screen size based on user preferences.

From a mobile app development perspective, content creators and resellers must account for this new development when designing and upgrading apps for foldable devices.

3. 5G technology

The dawn of the 5G technology will have a lasting impact on mobile app trends. For retailers, resellers, and content creators, the emergence of 5G technology will dictate how apps are developed, their speed, and their reaction to user touches.

Looking at the uptake of 5G technology, we realize a surprising trend. In 2019, there were 3.7 million 5 G-supported smartphone devices. This figure rose to almost 1030 supported devices in 2023.

5G technology means a lot for mobile app development.

First and foremost, mobile app developers must design with speed and latency in mind. For instance, 5G technology promises ten times more speed and almost a similar decrease in latency.

Depending on the network operator, 5G technology will be 100 times faster than 4G. The development and infusion of 5G by mobile operators mean that mobile app designers must incorporate more features without worrying much about the app’s functionality and overall performance.

4. Cloud computing

The emergence of cloud computing promises a lot for mobile app developers. The growth in cloud services is supported by three leading platforms – Amazon Web Services (AWS), Google Cloud Platform (GCP), and Microsoft Azure.

The cloud provides enhanced storage, allowing apps and processors to process and store information quickly. The emergence and growth of cloud platforms further imply that developers will need to incorporate this new frontier in their developments.

Cloud computing will benefit apps in the following ways:

  • Accessibility. Easy accessibility of mobile apps and mobile app features anywhere and anytime.
  • Flexibility. Cloud will enable app users and developers to easily get rid of any software and any hardware.
  • Security. Cloud computing provides apps with centralized security, meaning that app users do not have to worry about data privacy.
  • Performance. Apps can perform more effectively because the cloud provides a superior user experience and better performance.
  • Continuity. Cloud computing allows for business continuity because the cloud secures business-critical information, allowing it to be accessed even during a disaster or calamity.
  • Cost. Cloud provides cost savings because you only have to pay for a designated subscription and increase this subscription depending on changes or adjustments in your storage and processing needs.

Cloud facilitates quick application development and provides instant business insights to consumers and enterprises seeking to leverage their business data to make informed, data-driven business decisions.#

5. AI and ML

The use of artificial intelligence and machine learning has been on the rise in recent years, and this trend will rise in 2024. What artificial intelligence and machine learning do is that they enable mobile apps to understand human behavior. AI and ML provide better user experiences like enhanced user preference and personalized experiences.

6. Metaverse-like experiences

The notion of the metaverse as a world integrating different user experiences has gained traction in the last few years. In 2023, we will see the growth and uptake of metaverse-like experiences in individual apps.

The growth and uptick in metaverse-like experiences will see mobile app users moving between different app experiences and accessing a wide range of services from a single platform.

Major meta players like Roblox, Microsoft, Facebook, and Decentraland are all working towards reimagining mobile apps that offer a virtual world where users can interact, collaborate, share, create, and participate in activities.

7. Integration of gamification

The lines between mobile apps and games are blurred – and soon, we will see the emergence of gamification in mobile apps. The gamification of apps in non-gaming fields like health and fitness, education, and productivity will provide users with immersive and engaging experiences.

The essence of gamification in apps is pretty simple, it’s geared to engage and motivate users, thus helping them accomplish goals by awarding virtual points or virtual awards.

For instance, a health and fitness app can use gamification to encourage users to participate in competitions and earn points when they accomplish a specific target. Gamification will ultimately shape how mobile apps are used and perceived by users.

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NS804 – Supporting Charlotte’s Digital Transformation

Charlotte County in south-central Virginia is a small town with a potential for economic growth. Business parks cover this local township, highlighting its potential for local and regional economic growth.

Charlotte’s rural culture signifies a favorable tax structure and lower land rates. So, if you intend to start a business in Charlotte, VA, you’re in the right place.

At NS804, we provide superior solutions in mobile app development in Charlotte, VA. So, if you’re running a business or planning to start one, you can always rely on our expertise to stir your journey.

Charlotte’s rural culture presents a digital opportunity for entrepreneurs willing to adopt digital solutions. Our mobile app development solutions allow you to access your target customers, whether inside Charlotte County or in its vicinity.

Reach us today for superior mobile app development solutions – whether you’re looking for IOS apps, Android apps, or hybrid apps.

Are You an Appreneur? What Today’s Mobile App Developers Need to Know

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Appreneur is a new concept that refers to individuals and businesses involved in developing apps. Appreneur is responsible for developing mobile applications from inception to completion. Today, more than ever, apps are revolving at a high rate, requiring that app developers keep up with new trends and changes.

So, here are a few things that today’s appreneurs need to know:

1. Coding skills

Appreneurs must be conversant with multiple programming languages. Strong coding and development skills in many languages are a requirement for appreneurs seeking to target a diverse market.

2. Android foundations

Android foundations are a requirement for developers seeking new markets. That’s why appreneurs must hire people with strong skills in either Java or Kotlin. Strong programming and development skills in multiple programming languages let you develop diverse types of apps, thus targeting a larger market than companies with limited programming languages.

 

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3. Touchless interface

One key emerging trend in mobile applications is the touchless interface. Indeed, Gartner predicts that 50% of mobile applications will have at least one touchless experience by 2023.

Today, most users are already familiar with touchless user interfaces. For instance, using biometrics as a double authentication factor will surge in new and upcoming mobile applications. Finance and payment apps will require users to identify themselves with touchless interfaces, providing an enhanced and superior user experience.

4. Virtual and augmented reality

If you’re in the fashion industry, you already know about virtual outfits. Virtualization allows consumers to see exactly how their clothing will turn out immediately after they wear it. So, fashion houses use virtual and augmented reality to improve shopping behavior.

In 2023 and beyond, virtual reality will revolutionize the clothing and fashion industry, opening new markets for appreneurs seeking to leverage this niche. So, appreneurs must embed virtual and augmented capabilities in their apps.

5. Audio-focused social media

Camera and video-focused apps may be the next big thing. However, the traditional audio-based format is getting attention in the social space. One classic example is Clubhouse, an audio-focused social media conversational platform with over 10 million users.

Appreneurs must be privy to this new evolution in audio and video-focused applications. Appreneurs must design apps that answer the most pressing questions like video and camera. They must ensure these new capabilities are well-captured in mobile applications.

6. User-friendliness

The technology adoption model (TAM) identifies that users adopt new technologies for two main reasons: ease of use and perceived usefulness. Appreneurs must be able to create code that’s easy to use while also designing the user interface in a friendly manner.

App adoption and use will directly affect how users interact and use these new forms of technology. In addition, the elderly, children, and disabled populations will rely on user-friendly apps instead of complex and sophisticated applications.

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NS804 – Leverage a Unified App Development Platform

NS804 is a leading and trusted developer of mobile applications. Whether you’re seeking an Android app for a small enterprise or an IOS app for a large organization, NS804 provides solutions tailored to your needs. In addition, NS804 has experience developing hybrid apps that help answer all your digital marketing questions.

Contact NS804 today to take advantage of a unified platform.

6 Ways a Mobile App Can Be an Enterprise Cost-Saving Tool

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Mobile apps are increasing in popularity and adoption. Almost 48% of small businesses have adopted mobile apps, thanks to smartphone adoption and internet penetration rates.

In 2022, almost half of all small enterprises had a mobile application to connect with new and existing customers. This figure represents a 10% jump from the previous year.

In addition, almost 28% of small businesses that did not have a mobile app reported that they had plans to adopt one to support future business growth. These statistics point to the growing popularity of mobile applications in the contemporary business landscape.

Trends in Mobile App Adoption

The rising popularity and the growing adoption of mobile apps come from a combination of factors. For instance, reported findings indicate the following:

  • Mobile apps will generate $935 billion in sales in 2023
  • Apple app store has almost 2 million apps for download
  • There are 3 million apps available for download in Google Play Store
  • 22% of millennials open an app 50 times a day
  • 5 hours are spent opening mobile apps every day

In addition to these statistics, findings show that in 2022, only 13% of businesses did not intend to release a mobile app, compared to 26% in 2021.

 

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Benefits of Mobile Apps

There’s no denying that the increased adoption of mobile apps comes because of several reasons:

  • Faster operation. Mobile apps are way faster than websites and web browsers
  • Personalized experience. Mobile apps have one-on-one support
  • Online and offline. Mobile apps have both online and offline capabilities
  • Instant updates. Mobile apps provide instant updates and notifications
  • Branding possibilities. Mobile apps have a huge potential for branding
  • User interaction. Mobile apps extend enhanced user interaction
  • Robust features. Mobile apps embed many features that enhance their usability

Despite the far-reaching implications of mobile apps in the contemporary business landscape, a key reason enterprises adopt mobile apps is due to their cost-cutting capabilities.

6 Ways a Mobile App can be a Cost-saving Tool

1. Inventory management, control, and tracking

Published statistics note that the inventory carrying costs will total approximately 20% to 30% of the total inventory value. Essentially, inventory carrying costs are calculated as a percentage of a business’s total inventory at a specific time and in a particular period.

Mobile apps make it easy to track inventory costs. Mobile apps make it easy for shop floor managers to check inventory levels, process payments, and analyze daily activities. In addition, mobile apps help organizations check the day-to-day inventory activities in real time.

2. Employee visibility

Employee costs are a critical expenditure. Employee costs cover salaries, overheads, recruiting, equipment, pensions, and employer national insurance contributions. Managing and monitoring your employee costs can help you achieve cost-saving opportunities.

Mobile apps facilitate employee tracking and help in team management. Mobile apps help managers to get the most appropriate worker to the job in real time. In addition, it helps managers to know an employee’s whereabouts in case of a disaster – and track time accurately.

3. Shipment and logistics tracking

Shipment issues are bound to occur in any organization. Items are likely to be damaged or destroyed during a shipment. Shipping costs are sometimes unreasonably high, and lacking knowledge about international shipping continues to take a toll on most companies.

In addition, shipping route disruptions and the stress of route disruptions continue to affect organizations of different sizes and scales. Harsh environmental conditions and lost items further derail the free movement of goods and deliveries. Luckily, mobile apps offset some (if not all) of these challenges.

GPS tracking apps allow visualization, optimization, and updating of routes, saving shipping time and fuel costs. Real-time visualization helps trucks and shipments to avoid challenges related to route disruptions and costly damages.

4. Measuring asset performance

A popular saying states that what cannot be measured cannot be improved. Measuring is a critical part of improvement and service performance cannot be achieved if it can’t be measured.

Luckily, mobile apps provide more opportunities to evaluate asset performance. Mobile apps ensure that assets run at full performance through shorter maintenance and shorter response times. Mobile apps further provide visibility in machine and plant performance, helping shop floor managers monitor plant health through predictive maintenance.

5. Mobile CRM

Customer relationships are the lifeblood of any successful enterprise. Successful organizations are anchored on superior customer service, allowing organizations to be at the forefront of customer adoption and retention.

Mobile apps have bridged the gap between customers and support. Today, more than ever, organizations are connecting more with consumers, thanks to mobile apps. One way that mobile apps help to reduce customer contact time is through real-time chat support.

Mobile apps allow enterprises to collect and process meaningful information. Customer feedback can be collected and processed in real time. In addition, mobile apps help to address customer disgruntlement since concerns can be received and processed without wasting time.

6. Replace manual processes

Did you know that mobile apps have reduced labor-intensive business processes? Going paperless helps with environmental responsibility and conservation and opens cost-cutting opportunities, allowing enterprises to invest their money in more meaningful business processes.

Mobile apps provide automation capabilities, reducing manual processes to cut costs and save time. In addition, going paperless not only reduces the often paper-oriented tasks, it significantly reduces the risks associated with manual entries.

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How Mobile Apps Transform Business Processes

Against the backdrop of business process improvement are huge obstacles and customer-facing challenges that must be solved. Luckily, mobile apps have helped offset most of these challenges through better and more improved digital capabilities.

Mobile apps help with systematic data processing and management. Today, organizations collect and analyze significant amounts of data in real-time and use this data to make improved business decisions.

In addition, mobile apps provide improved marketing of new product offerings. Before, organizations used offline media to reach their target audience. Traditional offline media included newspaper ads, mail advertising, billboards, and TV advertisement.

Today, mobile apps have reduced traditional advertising costs with new and improved marketing models. Mobile apps have increased customer reach because over 6.8 billion users have smartphone devices. In addition, approximately 5.1 billion people globally have an internet connection.

If you consider the growth of remote working, you realize just how important mobile apps are in this transformation. Work-from-home is a new standard for most countries and across diverse industries.

The U.S. Congress adopted a new directive that shifted the standard work week from 40 hours to 32-hour work-week, providing room for an efficient workforce. Achieving work-life balance has been a pressing issue for most workers. However, with the rising adoption of smartphone devices and the infiltration of mobile apps, organizations are today achieving work-life balance and creating efficient workforces.

Therefore, looking at mobile apps, you realize the cost-saving opportunities they have provided to individuals and organizations. From digital marketing to remote working, mobile apps continue to free e-commerce and revolutionize the digital marketplace.

NS804 – Reliable Mobile App Development Partner

NS804 supports organizations throughout the different lifecycle stages of mobile development. NS804 works closely with many stakeholders (app developers, business owners, and marketers) to develop highly customized apps. Our vision is to bridge gaps in mobile app adoption by businesses and customers.

Reach out to us for mobile app development solutions.

Android Studios: Are There Any Experienced Mobile App Developers In Charlotte?

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If you’ve been feverishly searching for experienced Android studios in Charlotte, North Carolina — you’ve come to the right place! Not only is NS804 one of the leading lights of the mobile app development world in the Queen City, but we’ve also received many accolades. 

And while we pride ourselves on being one of the most prominent Android studios in this dynamic city, we’re experts at cross-platform native app development. That means that we know both Android and iOS platforms intimately and are renowned for creating engaging and performant apps for either platform.

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However, you may not be interested in iOS and only care about targeting Android for your upcoming project. Or you’re thinking of releasing an iOS version of your app at a later stage but want to focus on Android for now. Whatever scenarios you’re currently contemplating, we’re here to help you make the right choices and accomplish your goals.

But now you may be wondering what to expect from one of the most prolific mobile app developers in Charlotte. And if you’re embarking on your first app project, we understand you’ll have many questions. Also, we know there isn’t enough information available about what Android studios can offer their clients. 

So, to make things easy for you, we’ve prepared this in-depth article to demystify a matter that may seem obscure. Read on to learn more about what one of Charlotte’s most talented Android studios can do for you!

The Best Android Studios Go Native 

We’re now living in the era of powerful cross-platform development frameworks. These include the likes of Flutter, Ionic, and Reactive Native. While the latter framework promises native performance, it’s still fundamentally a hybrid development toolkit. Furthermore, it requires a significant degree of optimization to create performant apps. 

Now there’s nothing necessarily wrong with using these platforms, especially for startups on a tight budget. Cross-platform hybrid frameworks make app development cheaper and faster but not necessarily better. And by better, we mean that hybrid-developed apps seldom reach the quality and performance levels of native apps.

However, if you’re targeting a single platform, especially Android, there’s little to no reason to opt for hybrid app development. And the best part is that Google offers exceptional native development tools to create engaging Android apps. 

They offer the Android Studio integrated development environment (IDE) and several robust tools free of charge. Furthermore, these include well-written documentation, tutorials, and even training videos to help anyone commence their app development journey. 

Therefore, there’s no excuse not to take advantage of all these free resources. But if app development seems too complex or beyond your capabilities, consider partnering with NS804 to complete your Android project. Our deep knowledge and expertise of Google’s entire Android development stack put us in a position to deliver apps according to your exact specifications.

Creating The Perfect Android User Interface (UI)

There are considerable differences between the UIs and gesture navigation systems between Android and iOS. Yet many cross-platform mobile app developers attempt to make them similar when targeting both platforms. Unfortunately, this is a massive oversight that worsens the experience for users in the general sense. 

That’s why we continuously stress the importance of native app development, as it impacts the overall quality of an app. It’s not just about performance but also how the app looks and feels. That’s why it’s crucial to have an experienced UI/UX designer on the team with intimate knowledge of Android’s native UI. 

Moreover, this designer should feel at home with Jetpack Compose — the official Android UI development toolkit that integrates fluidly with several Kotlin application programming interfaces (APIs). And what makes Jetpack Compose so powerful is that it helps designers make engaging UIs for small and large screens. 

Let’s not forget that the Android ecosystem is larger and more varied than iOS. When targeting Android, you must consider the multiple screen sizes of smartphones, tablets, foldable devices, smartwatches, smart TVs, notebooks (Google Chromebooks and Windows 11 PCs), and vehicle dashboard systems (Android Auto). 

But the most experienced Android studios know how to create responsive UIs that work with any device flawlessly. They can foresee when and where issues may arise while working on an early wireframe UI or prototype. Then, implement the solutions to deal with any bottlenecks to avoid costly and time-consuming workarounds that may occur later on.

 

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Working With Firebase

Without any doubt, you’ll likely need a backend developer for your upcoming Android project. You may need to store client credentials on a database, authenticate users, or even keep track of scores on a leaderboard if you’re creating a mobile game. In most cases, you’ll use either an SQLite or NoSQL database and work closely with the backend developer.

But you may want a more elegant cloud-based solution that minimizes the need for a backend developer. In that case, you may opt for Google’s Firebase solution, which includes several powerful analytics tools. Therefore, you can spend most of your resources working on and improving your app without worrying as much about the backend elements. 

Another reason why you’d want to use Firebase is for its Crashlytics feature, as it’s a lightweight crash reporting tool. It will give you real-time reports with in-depth insights into the health of your app. And it’s possible to conduct A/B testing and remote configurations via Firebase, which means you’ll cut down on tools for these additional tasks. 

Of course, if you’ve partnered with one of the leading mobile app developers in Charlotte, you won’t have to go it alone. You can rely on NS804 to integrate Firebase into your app development toolchain.

Making Mobile Games For The Massive Android Market

In 2023, Android ranks as one of the largest and most important gaming platforms. It also overshadows iOS significantly, even though Apple Arcade has made great strides as a game subscription service. Nevertheless, Android dominates, with 75% of all smartphones and tablets in the world powered by this operating system (OS).  

Then, there are Android gaming smartphones available in the marketplace, such as the Asus ROG phones. And devices such as the Nvidia Shield Android TV Pro gives gamers a console-like experience at an affordable price. Moreover, Microsoft’s Windows 11 OS can run Android apps and games from the Amazon Appstore. Thus, there’s no shortage of devices capable of running Android games, making it a truly all-encompassing platform.

And the world’s most popular game engines and tools vendors have responded in kind. Construct, GameMaker, Godot, Unity, and Unreal Engine all offer Android export modules. And Unity takes things several steps further by having the capability to run and export to Chrome OS (Google Chromebooks). A key benefit of Chromebooks is that they can run Android, Linux, and Windows apps and games. 

Making games is hard enough, but supporting all these devices requires the expertise of a professional studio. While an Android game should run on all these devices without issues — this seldom happens. It’s not uncommon for mobile games to run great on specific devices and perform poorly on others. However, the most effective Android studios know how to optimize mobile games for a wide range of devices, even those not commonly used.

In Conclusion

There are several mobile app developers in Charlotte, yet NS804 stands apart due to experience and reputation. Furthermore, we’re one of the top Android studios in Charlotte but also have a notable presence in Denver and Richmond. Contact us today to learn how NS804 can help you create Android apps that engage users on Google Play and beyond!