What is Mobile App Development?
Mobile app development generally refers to the development of applications for portable devices, including mobile phones and tablets. These applications are developed, keeping in mind the small screen sizes of these devices compared to computers and laptops. They can accommodate the small sizes, and they retain their functionality no matter how small the screen is.
How is Mobile App Development Different from Web Development?
Traditionally, development catered solely to website users. The use of personal computers was more prevalent than that of mobile phone users. That is why there was no need to develop mobile phone friendly applications. However, with the increase in the number of cell phone users over the years, the dynamic has shifted entirely.
Today, development has to cater to these smaller devices first before it considers larger devices. Many developers prioritize mobile phone users and go for the mobile-first approach when it comes to app development. Any app development is complete when the app is available for website and mobile application users at the same time because only by doing so can it reach out to the maximum number of users.
There are several minor yet significant differences between web and mobile app development. In the case of applications, the layout is different because it has to fit every bit of information on a small screen. The interface is also different because users generally have touchscreen devices instead of keys or buttons. The size of the application differs so that it does not take up too much space in the device and slow it down.
Mobile App Development is Deteriorating and Not Dying
When it first started, mobile phone applications were different in their features and even in terms of quality. Today there are millions of apps both in Google’s Play Store and the Apple Store. The growing number of apps automatically implies that not all of them are of quality. Over the years, the increasing demand for mobile apps has caused their quality to deteriorate. It often raises questions about whether the demand for such apps and their development will eventually die. Here are some significant reasons behind it:
Too Many Apps: The app stores have millions of apps in different categories, including games, motivation, productivity, and education. Each category has several applications under it. More and more apps are being developed and put on the store every day. While some of them are time-tested and popular, others are not. That is why not everyone can have a successful career in mobile app development. The competition is so huge it is difficult to cope with it and create something out of the box for the users.
Poor Quality Apps: The most popular apps in the store are usually the ones with highly exciting features and top-class quality. It takes a user only a few minutes to determine whether the app quality is good or not, whether it has speed, and performance. Poor quality apps do not perform well and fail to impress the users. They are easy to spot because they have low ratings compared to the others and do not have many downloads.
Free V/S Paid Apps: Every app store has both free and paid applications. The average user tends to download free apps over the paid ones. Some free apps have certain paid features or premium plans. But not all users who use free apps opt for these paid features or switch to premium. The paid apps tend to suffer. Many app developers do freelance work. When they do not earn from the apps they make, there is hardly any incentive to create new apps.
Existing Applications: There are many existing popular apps that people prefer. These apps are widely recommended, which encourages people to download and use them. People download new apps only when they are better than the existing ones. Further, they also need to be aware of all the latest releases. All these factors often discourage developers from working on new apps and so their production goes down.
Cost: The cost of developing an application is high. And to have the app on the Apple Store requires a developer to pay a certain amount. Google allows them to have it on the store for free. Many developers prefer to develop iPhone apps because of its worldwide popularity. So if the total cost spent on creating and publishing the app is more than what a developer earns from it, s/he does not benefit from its development. That is why many developers prefer to work on websites that have a higher chance of success.
Why Do People Think It is Dying?
Developing applications is often more difficult than developing websites because it is challenging for developers to fit so many features and elements in a small application. It is easier to do it on a website. Many large companies have both a website and an application, but the app is nothing compared to the website. The app is limited in its capacities and functionalities. For instance, Coursera certificates can be purchased only from their website and not the application. That is why companies like About and Alison have expanded their business through their website, and it is more profitable for them.
Further, with the emergence of responsive designing, many companies prefer not to create a separate application for mobile phones because it adds to business expenses. Creating an app for a large company requires a talented, dedicated team with the right kind of expertise or specialization. Hiring such a team is expensive, and the revenue from the app may not be enough to cover the expenses.
It is also easier to hire a web developer who is comfortable with building responsive web applications and is proficient in the programming languages required to do so. In general, there are more JavaScript and C# developers than there are Swift or Kotlin developers. So companies can easily hire a team of JavaScript developers to target the iOS and Android market.
So they opt for a progressive website or web application that has a responsive design that adjusts to the smaller screen size when a user changes his device. There is no need to create another app because the website is flexible enough to work across all commonly used devices. Usually, such sites are made on frameworks that can be repurposed. The same codes can be modified and used to make the site mobile-friendly. Doing this saves much time and also makes it cost-effective.
Progressing web applications are perhaps the future of web development. Due to the limitations faced in creating native applications, it often becomes feasible to extend the capabilities of a website. Technology has progressed so much in the last decade that mobile sites have come to be more usable than before. Browsers have managed to accommodate many of the features that were initially meant for native apps. So the need for native apps has gone down.
Moreover, most smartphone users do not download even a single app a month, which severely affects their market. Even when they do install several apps, they end up uninstalling some of them in the long run either because they do not use it or because it takes up their device space. Some mobile apps remain in the device, but users do not open them for months, which makes them useless.
Considering all the factors, we cannot say that native applications or mobile application development is dying. There are some applications whose popularity is almost unlikely to go down in the years to come. Facebook’s native app, for instance, is the most frequently installed and used application today. Other such apps include Google’s Gmail, Google Maps, etc.. Mobile app development may not be as successful today with technological advancements; it may one day succeed in competing against websites. Further read about, how to handle increasing costs during web development.
