Choosing An Engine For Your Mobile Game, AR, Or VR App

Whether you’re making a mobile game, an AR, or a VR app, you’ll need to choose the right tools for the job. You may prefer to develop your own custom tools or opt for off-the-shelf solutions to save money and time. We’ll focus on the latter and reveal the game engines that can bring your app ideas to fruition. 

1. Why You Need A Game Engine For Developing Interactive Experiences

Creating interactive experiences such as games, AR, and VR apps is usually a lot harder than developing standard applications. Developers often spend thousands of hours developing, debugging and testing their interactive applications before deployment. With the right tools, they can reduce their costs and time to market (TTM) significantly. And the most suitable tools for making interactive applications are game engines. 

What a good game engine brings to the table is a suite of tools that properly integrate with one and another and third-party tools. These tools may include an animator component, audio mixer, content management system, scene graph, shader graph, scripting language, level editor, mesh editor, and tilemap editor, to name a few. While any talented development team can custom develop all these tools themselves, it’s a costly and time-consuming process. 

But what makes modern commercial game engines so compelling is their ability to export projects to all the most popular platforms with a single click. Thus, it’s no longer necessary to use multiple programming languages and toolchains when targeting more than one platform.

2. Not All Engines Are Created Equal

The two most popular game engines on the market at the moment are Unity and Unreal Engine. And there’s a good reason for this, as both offer the most comprehensive and robust suite of tools than their competitors. Furthermore, the companies behind these engines, namely, Unity Technologies and Epic Games, are well-funded and invest heavily in their respective flagship tools.

However, the game engine development space doesn’t stand still, and there’s a growing number of alternatives in the market. In recent years, the open-source Godot engine has made significant inroads in this space. It’s a more lightweight alternative to Unity that offers comparable features and tools, especially for developing 2D games. Yet, it doesn’t quite match Unity’s 3D, AR, and VR capabilities and export to as many platforms.

3. Costs Of Using Commercial Engines

The game engine market is incredibly competitive, and that’s forced companies to rethink their pricing policies in recent years. Both Unity and Unreal Engine have a free tier aimed at indie developers that operate on a shoestring budget.

With Unity Personal, an individual or small team development team doesn’t have to pay a cent if they earn less than $ 100,000 in 12 months. And if they make more than that amount, they’ll have to upgrade to the Plus or Pro tier. Unity Plus requires that the developer pay $ 399 per year for one seat, and Unity Pro costs $ 1,800 per year for one seat.

On the other hand, Unreal Engine has an entirely different licensing and pricing model. Developers can choose either the Creators or Publishing License, which are both free to use. Those working on custom, free, internal, or linear projects should choose the Creators License. And for those developing off-the-shelve interactive experiences should opt for the Publishing License. The latter requires that developers pay 5% royalty if their products earn over $ 1 million gross revenue during their lifetime.

4. Cross-Platform Considerations

Most modern game engines make it possible to export to a wide variety of platforms. Both Unity and Unreal Engine development teams work closely with all the leading platform holders. When new game consoles, mobile devices, AR, or VR headsets hit the market, Unity and Unreal Engine will almost always support these from the get-go. So, if you plan to target multiple platforms and future-proof your upcoming project, then you can’t go wrong with either engine.

5. When To Choose An Open Source Engine Over A Commercial Game Engine

In most cases, you’ll want to work with a commercial engine vendor, as they’ll regularly provide the features, updates, and support you’ll need. But an open-source engine could have certain unique features and tooling that’s more suitable for your project. Ultimately, you’ll want to complete your project quickly and efficiently, so choose the right tool for the job. 

An open-source engine also allows you to view and change its code, which isn’t possible with most commercial game engines. For example, Unity feels like a black box to most developers because they don’t have access to its source code and can’t comprehend the engine’s inner workings.

6. Why Unity Is The Most Popular Mobile Game Development Tool

Unity has gained a reputation for being a beginner-friendly engine and attracts many would-be mobile game developers. And with the Unity Asset Store, it’s easy for developers to download free and paid 3D models, game kits, sprites, sound clips, scripts, and various other assets to complete their projects quickly and cost-effectively.

Nowadays, over 50% of mobile games have been made with Unity, solidifying the engine’s dominance in this market segment. Furthermore, Unity makes it easy to integrate a wide variety of ad APIs and monetization components and distribute Android games worldwide via a single hub.  

7. How Unreal Engine Can Bring Your AR & VR Ideas To Life

Now, Unity’s an adequately powerful engine that should meet the needs of most developers. And the Unity development team has made great strides in improving its performance in recent years. However, it doesn’t quite match the performance and visual fidelity of the Unreal Engine, which is used extensively by triple-A game developers. 

If you’re planning on developing an AR or VR app that requires photorealistic 3D visuals, then Unreal Engine is your best bet! And since Unreal Engine users have access to the Quixel Megascan library, it’s a relatively quick and painless process to get hold of various high-quality 3D assets. Moreover, the engine’s versatility makes it a great choice for developers working on architectural, automotive, broadcast, film, and simulation projects.

8. What Development Environments Are Available For ARCore?

With the growing popularity of AR, both Apple and Google have released powerful technologies to help developers. In Google’s case, they’ve released ARCore, which facilitates the creation of compelling AR applications. It’s designed so that developers don’t need extensive knowledge of OpenGL or rendering to bring their applications to life. Furthermore, ARCore seamlessly integrates environmental understanding, light estimation, and motion tracking components.

But what’s of great interest to developers is how ARCore works with their favorite development environments. It fully supports Android Studio and Android NDK and interfaces with Apple’s ARKit to provide iOS support via Cloud Anchors and Augmented Faces. Also, Google provides an ARCore plugin and SDK for Unity and an ARCore plugin for Unreal Engine.

9. Why You Should Work With A Development Partner

It’s no easy task creating an engaging mobile game or a trailblazing AR application. Thus, you’ll need the expertise of a development partner that understands the intricacies of custom development. The right partner will choose the right engine and tools to complete your project as efficiently as possible. And advise you throughout the planning, development, and deployment phases of your app to ensure its success. Contact us today to learn how NS804 can help you create exciting interactive experiences using the latest technologies.

Mastering and Understanding the MVP

Mastering the MVP: Elevating Development Strategy

In every industry and marketplace, there are historically proven and tested tactics and tools. Looking to these proven tactics and tools, then, is helpful in painting a pathway to success in the future for new players in the industry. In the context of app development, one such proven tool, is the MVP. MVP, in app development, stands for minimum viable product. In other words, this is the smallest version of the product your team can produce while accurately representing the functionality of the concept. This sounds relatively simple, but understanding the full breadth of the MVPs role in app-development is vital to creating a strong reputation.

While it may not seem incredibly intuitive at first, the MVP is often what makes or breaks an application. This is because MVPs often act as an introduction to the application concept for any interested parties external to the development team. Therefore, the MVP is extremely weighty in forming opinions about your application prior to its launch. Furthermore, though, MVPs also leave a mark on your reputation as a developer; doubling down on the important role that they serve.

Defining The MVP

As was mentioned above, MVP stands for minimum viable product. This serves an important purpose as providing a universally accepted term for essentially small-scale versions of applications. Having said that, though, there is value to further defining what constitutes an MVP for your specific firm or development team. By further expanding what an MVP looks like for your specific team, everyone should be on the same page.

This type of team and vision alignment builds value into your firm, and will help you in producing more consistently high-quality MVPs that attract, and retain, attention. Further still, with your team aligned to the vision of the project; and everyone on board with what a finished MVP looks like, there will be a reduction in miscommunications.

Develop A Process

Like with any business practice in your organization; once done a few times successfully – it’s time to replicate the process, and the resulting success. This is the same principle behind developing a process for your MVP development. Once your firm or team defines their standards for a finished MVP, then you and your team can reverse engineer the process from there. Standardizing the MVP development process weaves consistency and quality assurance into your application development lifecycle.

A standard MVP development lifecycle is multi-faceted and contains more than a few steps. Commonly, the process begins with the birth of the concept. From there, the driving concept for the application gets nurturing and brainstorming between colleagues until a value-proposition is born. Now, with a driving concept and a value proposition, the real design work begins. This is where designers, developers and programmers start working on the general framework of the application.

These first lines of code, that will eventually compose the MVP, act as the foundation for the application and its entire future. Investing in a strong team of programmers, developers, and designers will ensure that your MVP comes out high-quality, with the important features on display and some level of user-experience design included as well.

The Importance

As should be obvious, the role of the MVP in app development is a robust one. Since the minimum viable product often acts as the introduction to the application-to-be, prioritizing its development leads to higher-quality results. Well, you may be thinking, if the end-user doesn’t ever interact with the MVP; does it really matter how strong it is? The answer is a resounding yes.

While users and players may never interact or even see the MVP, potential investors, advertisers, and partners will all want to see your MVP; before making any sort of decision toward partnering with you or your application. Therefore, its vital to present a strong minimum viable product that accurately showcases the value proposition and core functionalities of your application.

Not only this, but MVPs should also contain a thought-out design and user-experience element. These don’t need to be nearly as thought out as the value proposition or the core-concepts need to be; but their presence will elevate your MVP greatly, and indicate that you’ve thought about these various important features and factors.

Who To Go To For MVP Development

Some appreneurs, however, come to the game without the technical savvy or coding know-how. This though; should never act as a deterrent from entering the application-development industry. Especially with the explosion of the mobile and web application markets over the past year. the opportunity is as bountiful as ever. For the appreneurs who fall into this category; there are plenty of options for you to pursue and launch your application.

There are, of course, freelance options who will come with relatively cheap development rates, and promises of quick turn-arounds. However, working with freelancers, especially on application development projects, always comes with a relatively high-risk. From missed deadlines, to projects that completely fall-through, or finished products that are low-quality or bug-ridden. Before signing on a freelancer, be sure you know the risks involved.

On the other side of the development wall are agencies. Agency developers usually come with a slightly higher price-tag, but their quality and deliverable guarantees are much stronger. Plus, with an agencies support, you will usually have additional support-options that assist you in taking your application all the way from MVP through app-store launch, and even updates and reiterations.

The Benefits of Strong MVPs and Presentations

MVPs are clearly a huge part of the application development world. Their role is expansive and they serve a myriad of purposes. So let’s explore a few more of the benefits that yield from prioritizing a strong MVP presentation. Having a well-developed and well-designed minimum viable product is half the battle; presentation is the other half.

Making sure that your MVP presentation does the value-proposition justice, emphasizes the core-concepts of the application, and brings its main features into the limelight is just as important as having an MVP in the first place. By prioritizing the MVP development, your application will start its journey with a leg-up on competitors. This advantage stems from the interest that strong MVPs garner from external parties, prior to app-launch.

Financing, Investors, and Interest

Financial support, investors, ad partners, and a generally bolstered level of consumer interest in your application all start with a well-developed and thoroughly thought-through MVP. The MVP is arguably one of the most important aspects in application development because of it’s direct correlation with building, generating, and maintaining financial interest from partners, sponsors, and investors.

Therefore, by prioritizing the MVP development in your firm by defining the standards of an MVP for your team, building an MVP development process, and properly packaging your MVP proposals, your firm will be well on its way to long term success with a strong reputation and a formulaic process.

Wrapping Up

There are many tactics and strategies that app developers use to garner support for their projects. The minimum viable product is by far one of the most powerful and impactful tools that developers and designers can produce. This is especially the case as a proper MVP showcases the value proposition and the main features of the application.

For more information on how to begin your app-development journey, or the importance of a strong MVP, keep browsing NS804’s content library. NS804 is the proud mobile app developer of the everyday person, more than happy to help.

How Much Does It Cost To Build A MVP

Ever wondered how much it costs to build a MVP? We answer that question in more detail below and demystify the process of developing a compelling app MVP. Furthermore, we provide a few tips on some of the pitfalls you should avoid.

1. Why The DIY Option Costs More

You’ve decided to build an app MVP but still pondering whether to do it yourself. You may think it will cost you nothing or very little if you forego freelancers or professional development companies. But have you thought about how much your own time is worth? Do you have the technical skills to build a MVP efficiently and complete it on time? And have you considered all the costs associated with designing, developing, releasing, testing, and analyzing data of your MVP?

A competent freelance developer will likely charge you between $ 4,000 to $ 6,000, while a development company will charge you between $ 5,000 to $ 35,000, depending on the complexity of your project. It’s unlikely that you’ll finish your project at a lower price, especially if you don’t have any prior experience.

2. Why Build A MVP Using Professionals

Even if you’ve built an MVP before, you benefit immensely by working with a professional development team. Not only will you have peace of mind that your project will be completed on time, but your MVP will comply with best practices. However, you’ll need to be vigilant about your user testing and quality assurance (QA) processes.

Ensure that your development team is fully collaborating with you throughout the entire development process. And ensure that they’re regularly testing your MVP and that they’re consistently collecting and analyzing data. The last thing you want is the unfortunate scenario where users lose trust in a technology that seemed promising.

3. How To Scale Back An App MVP 

You’re likely targeting a niche market with your app MVP. And users in niche markets tend to be early adopters looking for solutions that solve specific problems. Thus, you won’t need all the bells and whistles to attract these users. Instead, focus on the bare minimum of features that your users will find beneficial to save on development costs. 

4. How Long Does It Take To Build A MVP

It usually takes between two to four months to develop an MVP. But it can take longer if you’re creating a more complex application. And in most cases, you’ll spend the bulk of your development time building all your back-end systems. Therefore, ensure that your development team has the necessary skills to handle such tasks to avoid unforeseen delays.

5. Why An App MVP Saves You Money Overall

Developing and marketing a mobile application costs a substantial amount of money. But it’s always a huge risk releasing such an application, especially if you haven’t ascertained if it will be successful. That’s why building an MVP makes sense since it allows you to test out your ideas and gather user feedback at a fraction of the cost of a full-fledged application. If your MVP gains traction and receives positive feedback from users, you can entice investors to help you scale your app. 

Contact us today to learn how NS804 can help you build a MVP that engages users and impresses investors.

Pros and Cons of Freelance Development

Taking a Closer Look at Freelance Development

Despite the past year, our economy still retains pockets and niche markets that are extremely active and lucrative. One of these markets, for instance, is the app market and mobile app market. Since our economy, and our whole society, is becoming more and more virtual by the day, applications present a rich opportunity. In a world where more and more people are working from home and connecting with one another through smart devices; strong applications that users love find booming success. As such, many first-time appreneurs are entering the marketplace, making this an extremely exciting time. However, first-time appreneurs should be cautious in building and launching their first app, specifically in deciding whether to choose agency or freelance development.

Deciding between agency and freelance development is one of the first decisions you’ll make after fine-tuning your app concept, and it’s an important decision to make. Freelance developers are often attractive to appreneurs on a budget, as they often have lower rates. On the other hand, agencies often have a whole team of designers and developers with professional resumes and expertise. Understanding the differences and pros and cons will help you make the choice that’s right for your app.

Opening The Curtain of The Agency

There are a lot of misconceptions when it comes to agency development. For instance, it’s often misconceived that an agency might not be as flexible in designing and developing your application as a freelancer. However, that simply isn’t true. Contrary to this belief, most agencies have a wider range of flexibility with access to more resources and a wider breadth of personnel and professionals.

Additionally, another popular misconception of an agency development team is that there’s no value in the higher cost. While it’s true that an agency may cost more upfront, building an application is an investment. As such, you can still apply the age-old principle, “you get out what you put in.” Where an agency costs more upfront, the yield on that cost is a quality guarantee, projected deliverables, and an assured project completion timeline.

The True Cost of Freelance Development

Similar to the above, the true cost of a freelancer is higher than their upfront rate. Since freelancers generally cost less to hire than an agency or firm; they also bring with them a myriad of potential red flags. With a lower hourly rate, there’s a chance that a freelance developer takes on more projects than they can realistically complete to make up that wage difference.

In another example of poor freelance management, a freelance developer may exaggerate their experience and technical expertise. This could lead to a ‘finished product’ that is riddled with bugs, errors, and other technical issues.

A Quick Summary

There are a lot of considerations to make before choosing an agency or freelance development route. With an agency, your project has a quality guarantee; plus you can rest assured that your project will be finished and delivered on time. For more information on agency vs. freelance development, or anything else mobile app development, keep browsing NS804. NS804 is the proud mobile app designer for the everyday appreneur.

Native Vs Hybrid: Should You Ever Choose Hybrid?

Native Vs Hybrid – Making The Choice

There are a lot of choices that go into creating an application. Whether you choose a freelancer or an agency. Which language you want to code in, how you want the app to look and feel, and so much more. Added to this list is native vs hybrid. This is one of the first choices that you’ll need to make; taking into consideration a variety of factors that relate to your mobile app specifically.

Before jumping into some of the factors you’ll want to consider when making this choice, it’s helpful to have a clear understanding of the distinctions between native and hybrid apps.

What Is a Hybrid App?

A hybrid application is a tool that packages web applications into a format that is digestible and usable by smartphones and mobile phones. This is helpful for certain companies, but not necessarily the right avenue for all appreneurs. A native application, on the other hand, is simply an application that is designed specifically for a smartphone.

While it may not seem like it’s significant, whether your application is native or hybrid, but there are actually only a few instances in which choosing a hybrid application platform makes sense.

Value of Going Native

One of the biggest values of going native is that it almost guarantees a more smooth and positive user experience.  Native applications have an advantage over hybrid applications because of the way they function. With programming specific for the platform, native applications have stronger performance ratings and fewer technical issues overall.

The only real instance that a hybrid application makes sense is if a companies main user interface is their existing website. In this case, they would then be looking at the hybrid application as a way to further engage their existing userbase and continually funneling traffic toward their website.

A Quick Summary

Having an understanding of the many choices and options that you have in mobile app development; will help you pave a path toward building successful and long-lasting applications that users flock to for generations.

What An App Development Company Offers Over A Freelance Developer

Are you thinking of hiring a freelance developer for your upcoming app? While this may seem like a good idea, there are several pitfalls that you need to consider. Moreover, consider the benefits of working with an app development company. We delve deeper into why this may be a better option for your app development endeavors.

1. The Difficulty Of Finding The Right Freelance Developer

With a big project coming up, you’ve decided to trawl the web to find freelance developers. And, you may feel confident that you’ll find the right people due to all the freelance and gig websites available. Sites such as PeoplePerHour, Toptal, and Upwork make it possible for recruiters to hire a plethora of talented individuals. And yes, many of these individuals have impressive portfolios and skill sets that make them seem very promising.

But are these freelance developers the right candidates for your project and enterprise? Well, that largely depends on how seriously you take app development and the stature of your organization. After all, your app represents your company, and a shoddy app can hurt its reputation. 

Freelance developers can potentially handle smaller and simpler apps, but seldom can they pull off more ambitious projects. Moreover, many freelancers only work on projects within a set timeframe and then move on to the next gig. If you run into problems with your app, these freelancers may not be available to fix these issues.

Another problem you may encounter is that many freelancers only specialize in popular programming languages and frameworks. If your company uses niche or in-house development tools, these freelancers can’t assist you in any meaningful way. Thus, it’s a massive risk relying on freelancer developers, especially if you’re creating apps on a professional basis. But you can mitigate risk and achieve positive results by working with an experienced app development company.

2. Work With An App Development Company That’s A Good Fit 

While you may have eschewed that potentially promising freelance developer to work with a development company, this doesn’t mean that you should rest easy. You may have tracked down a renowned studio that’s made several impressive apps that have done well in the app stores. But this doesn’t mean that this app development company will be a good fit for you!

For example, this renowned studio may specialize in mobile games and have little experience developing enterprise apps. Therefore, if you’re planning on making an enterprise app, it’s better to look for a development company that has actually developed enterprise apps on a long-term basis. 

We advise that you practice due diligence before hiring a development company by doing your homework. Start researching companies by visiting Clutch.co, which is a B2B directory of IT businesses and developers. Moreover, read tech blogs and journals to learn more about existing and up-and-coming development companies making waves in the app world. 

Create a shortlist of companies you’d like to work with, then gather referrals, request demos, and conduct interviews with all of them. These procedures will give you adequate information about which company will suit you best.

3. Software Development Best Practices Are Important

Work with an app development company that adheres to software development best practices. A competent developer will ensure that your app works flawlessly across devices and doesn’t put user data at risk. Also, they’ll be well-versed in both Android and iOS development and capable of meeting all criteria set by the platform holders. 

Keep in mind that apps can be rejected after being submitted to Apple and Google Play if they don’t meet their respective standards. And such a scenario will only increase delays and drive up development costs.

4. Why You’ll Get Better UX Design From An App Development Company

The average freelance developer will only have a limited amount of skills. Most likely, they’ll know several programming languages and frameworks but lack adequate design experience. They may be able to handle some rudimentary UX design work but won’t deliver the kind of design that will make your app truly stand out. Therefore, you’ll also need to hire an experienced UX designer to ensure you’re making a well-rounded quality app.

Now you’ll have to coordinate both your developer and UX designer, meaning that you’re creating more work for yourself. But if you’ve hired an app development company, they’ll handle all development and UX design. Thus, leaving you free to focus on other aspects of your app business. Moreover, a competent developer will deliver cohesive UX design on all target platforms and screen sizes.

5. Tackling Both Android & iOS Development

Ideally, you’ll want to work with someone that can handle both Android and iOS development. It’s not uncommon to find freelance developers that only focus on a single platform. Even if they develop for both platforms, they’ll usually have more experience developing for one over the other. And they may even cut corners by using frameworks that make it easy to target both platforms with a single codebase but lack native-like performance and UX.

An experienced development company, such as NS804, delivers native apps for both Android and iOS. Our know-how, skills, and tools allow us to squeeze out maximum performance from both platforms.

6. Developing Complex Apps

Complex apps require a highly skilled developer to make them come to fruition successfully. Hiring a solo freelancer developer to handle such an endeavor would be a big mistake. Any app with a significant amount of complexity requires a lot of code and content, which is way too much work for a single developer. An app development company will have enough staff on hand to complete a complex app on time.

7. Scaling Your App

Perhaps you’ve hired a freelance developer to create a simple app or minimum viable product (MVP). But you need to scale and turn it into the app you’ve always envisioned. However, your freelancer has moved onto other projects and isn’t available to help you grow our app. And even if they were available, it’s unlikely they can handle projects beyond the scope of a solo developer.

You’ll need to hire several freelance developers or work with a development company to handle such a monumental task. But you’ll have more peace of mind working with the latter since a company can offer further assistance even after you’ve scaled your app.

8. Meeting Goals And Milestones

Never lose sight of your most crucial goals and milestones. When working with freelancers, you can never be sure that they fully comprehend these. And if these freelancers work remotely in different parts of the world, this only complicates matters. But if you work with a development company that operates as a registered business, then you’re dealing with a more accountable entity. Moreover, they’ll help you meet your goals since they’ll want to build an ongoing business partnership with you.

9. Assurance Of Quality And A Smooth Development Process

Ultimately, you want your app to be a testament to the quality that your company can deliver. While it’s possible to achieve adequate results by hiring freelancers, it’s not the smartest choice. You’ll achieve better results and enjoy a smoother development process by working with an app development company. Contact us today to learn how NS804 can help you develop outstanding mobile apps that never fail to impress.

An Appreneur Guide To The App Store

Understanding The App Store Leads To Stronger Appreneur Performance

In every industry, there are techniques, tools, and tactics that form the foundation of operations within that industry. Therefore, any professionals starting a journey into a new career need to learn the applicable fundamentals. For instance; in the world of app development, the app stores and various markets that connect developers to users are beyond vital.  The app stores are important for an aspiring appreneur to understand because it’s where users find your app. Even apps with the strongest designs need to be positioned properly, and if they aren’t, users simply won’t find them.

This is important to realize because of the simple truth that no matter how good your app is; it still needs users to thrive. By understanding the app stores you, as an appreneur, can leverage stronger marketing techniques, speak directly to user needs, and ultimately climb the metaphorical leaderboard.

Key Distinctions To Note Between the Apple Store and Google Play

Now, before moving too far along, it’s important to know the differences between the Apple app store and the Google Play store. These two marketplaces have a lot of the same offerings to present to appreneurs. However, they also differ in distinct ways that alter the strategies and tactics successful appreneurs apply.

One of the most important differences between these two markets is the programming languages. In the Apple app store, applications run on a programming language, Python. Python is the language of the Apple operating system and is most well known for its rigid rules and strength in security. By creating an entire app store with a universal coding language; the applications that exist within that market come with a bolstered level of security. Additionally, this makes it easier for users to get an idea of the function and feel of your apps before they’re even downloaded. By standardizing the programming language, developers also benefit.

Developers benefit from the standard programming language because it creates universal understanding. In other words, programmers and developers working in the Apple app store have a slight advantage as they only need to learn and work with one programming language.

Getting Into Google Play

The Google play store comes with its own set of advantages as well, though. For instance, while the defining feature of the Apple app store is a universal coding language; the exact opposite is true of the Google Play store. The Google Play store thrives on creativity and flexibility. While this is often positive, it also brings with it a few drawbacks. One drawback in particular when it comes to the Google Play store and its flexibility in the programming language is that it opens up the door for a much higher percentage of faulty, bug-ridden, and less secure applications.

Since the coding is so much more flexible in the Google Play store, appreneurs don’t have to follow as rigid of programming rules. While this acts as a catalyst for innovation, technological exploration, and creativity in design; it also opens the door to higher security threats and a higher rate of finished apps that are full of bugs.

The App Store and Niche Markets As an Appreneur

The Apple app store and the Google Play store both represent app markets. By that, these are full marketplaces with a wide spectrum of industries and fields of practice. Think for a second about the wide range of apps that are available; from health and wellness applications to budgeting apps, to apps for pure entertainment, there’s an app for almost everyone doing almost anything. This means that as these markets continue to grow, advance, and evolve, applications will emerge for every niche market available.

For an appreneur, this is great news. As society further integrates technology into more and more aspects of everyday life, more and more opportunities for appreneurs will exist. However, it’s important to realize that, just like with traditional stores; the game changes completely when it comes to niche markets in mobile app stores.

When it comes to marketing your application in a niche market; it’s absolutely vital to conduct your due diligence in order to gain some insight on successful trends that already exist within that niche market. By discovering and implementing successful marketing tactics for your niche market application you’ll put yourself a step above the competition before you even launch.

Learning From The Competition

Watch, listen, and learn. This is a basic principle that applies to almost every aspect of life. By being still and observing carefully, you can learn mountains of helpful information without the risk of making mistakes yourself. Learning from the competition isn’t a new concept, not by any means. It’s a long-standing strategy that business professionals and innovators use to re-create success seen by other entrepreneurs.  By borrowing successful tactics and strategies from a wide range of sources you and your team have the ability to create a comprehensive launch and marketing plan that’s fast-tracked toward success.

Address App-Store Reviews

In the same vein as learning from the competition, another huge resource pool for appreneurs is app-store reviews. In today’s virtual world, consumers have more access to better information all-around. This puts a lot more pressure on sellers because consumers hold such a low tolerance for negative experiences. In other words, after a single negative experience with a company or application, most users are more likely to switch providers or companies altogether, rather than give them a chance to make it right.

As such, app store reviews are a rich reservoir of consumer insights: both good and bad. As a crafty appreneur, then, you can mine app store reviews for potent insights to apply to your own applications under development. You can see what features excite users about applications they love, and reviews will also pinpoint areas of failure and aspects desperate for improvement. All-in-all leading you down a pre-paved path straight to the top of the app store.

App Stores, Appreneurs, and Algorithms

It’s no secret that app stores run algorithms constantly. These algorithms, while seemingly random, are actually extremely precise. However, even the algorithms that the app stores themselves are using undergo rapid evolutions and reiterations. As such, it’s incredibly difficult to get an accurate reading of how these algorithms are built and run. However, you and your team can track patterns.  The patterns illuminate what types of apps are continually reaching the top of the charts. This information can then be used to inform the development process of applications you and your firm are working on launching.

A Brief Overview of An Appreneur Guide To The App Store

The world of application development is busy and bustling. Over the past year specifically, our society rapidly advanced into an era dictated by technological integration. Each and every day there is new technology and new innovation happening all around us. As a determined appreneur, understanding the app stores, how they function, and how to make them work for you will bring you a significant advantage in building and delivering top applications across markets.

For more information on app development or mobile app development specifically, keep browsing the NS804 content library. NS804 is the one and only proud application developer for the everyday appreneur.

Mobile App User Retention: How iOS And Android Users Differ

How To Optimize Mobile App User Retention

When it comes to mobile apps, one of the main priorities of developers and programmers alike is user retention. Mobile app user retention is incredibly important to building a long-lasting application that generates continual success for your agency. Therefore, finding ways to boost and optimize mobile app user retention is a constant endeavor. Mobile app users are extremely finicky. This is because of the hyper accessiblity and super saturation of the mobile app market. In other words, when a user is unsatisfied with a mobile app experience, they’re highly likely to move on from that specific application. Then, they’ll replace it with a comparable one. In fact, user experience is one of the most vital factors in determining whether mobile app users will continue to use your app or not.

Understanding and accepting that the mobile app market is so volatile in terms of user retention, will help you to identify tactics and strategies aimed at boosting and optimizing mobile app user retention.

Different Device; Different Features

In talking about the mobile app market, it’s important to distinguish between the various marketplaces. For instance, the two most common are by far, the Apple app store, and the Google Play store. This is important to separate because the devices and operating systems of these two categories differ wildly, offering the users an almost entirely different experience. One of the main differences between iOS and android programming is the flexibility. Android prides itself on providing a platform in which users have nearly endless possibilities and complete customizability.

This is an absolutely stellar feature for some, especially the more technically savvy, as they essentially get an open-sandbox type experience. The drawback here is that unfamiliar or amateur programmers or developers have a higher level of risk exposure. slightly less security built into the software innately, and a higher rate of applications in the store that are bug-ridden, clunky, or simply incomplete.

Apple, on the other hand, provides slightly less creative flexibility in their software and programming. However, they make up for this lack of unending possibility with bolstered security. Additionally, there is a much lower rate of bug-ridden applications found in the Apple App store.

Understand Your Demographics

Another important realization to make when working on mobile app user retention is that the demographics differ. Not only between devices, but also between niche-markets in the mobile app space. The reason this is so vital to understand is because different demographics of consumers often showcase varying consumer behavior habits. For example; there’s a general trend that iOS users are more likely to make in-app purchases and spend money on applications in general.

Equipped with this knowledge, your team can choose how to most appropriately monetize your application. With an iOS app, including a robust in-app marketplace where users can make purchases will yield a higher result than it would in an Android version. On the flip side of this, an Android app benefits from other monetization techniques, like selling ad-space.

A Quick Summary

Mobile app user retention is the name of the game, no matter what your application is. And in such a super saturated marketspace, user retention must be made a priority.

For more information on mobile app user retention, or development in general, keep browsing NS804; the proud app developer of the everyday appreneur.

How To Create A Better iOS Ecommerce App

Developing an iOS eCommerce app that keeps users engaged takes time and work. But to achieve desirable results, it’s best to work with an experienced iOS development agency. And if you follow these handy pointers, you’ll increase your chances of releasing an app that truly shines. 

1. Why You Should Study The Competition

For many enthusiasts and tech industry insiders, the Apple Worldwide Developers Conference (WWDC) is a yearly highlight. Developers, in particular, follow this conference to keep updated about the latest developments concerning the iOS app platform. And the media wait with bated breath to hear announcements from keynote speakers, such as Tim Cook and Craig Federighi. These announcements clarify the direction of Apple and how that affects developers in the foreseeable future.

While developers can learn much about the Apple ecosystem by following WWDC, it’s not enough. They must continue researching and studying the market segment they are targeting. If an iOS development agency plans on entering the eCommerce space, then it should study its competitors. After all, this market segment is highly competitive, and developers must do their homework to find success. And with eCommerce app use growing by 36% between April and July 2020, competition will only get tighter.

2. How To Optimize For The iOS App Platform

Apple wants developers to release polished applications that showcase the iOS app platform to existing and potential users. That’s why it’s crucial to optimize your app by closely following Apple’s guidelines.

Your app needs to be lightweight and responsive for the best user experience. Therefore, you should implement the most efficient file and video formats and reduce the size of updates. Then, take things further by leveraging app thinning and utilizing on-demand resources by shipping these as separate asset packs.

However, your work doesn’t end there, as you’ll also need to do App Store Optimization (ASO). Ensure that your store page has the following: app name, subtitle, the app’s URL, all relevant keywords, ratings, reviews, listing CTR, and the category of your app. Furthermore, you should insert high-quality images and videos, an apt description, and design an eye-catching icon. 

3. What Ecommerce App Features Are Most Important

Keep users engaged by providing them with the features they want and a seamless experience. So, ensure that your eCommerce app has the following features: 

  • Hassle-free customization
  • Simple onboarding process
  • Intuitive and responsive design
  • A frictionless process from registration through to checkout 
  • Analytics measuring all applicable user behavior 
  • Push notifications for promotions and call to action (CTA) 
  • Engaging and relevant content

4. Why You Should Hire An iOS Development Agency

It may seem tempting to hire a freelancer to develop your upcoming eCommerce app to save on development costs. However, that may not be the wisest choice, especially with what an iOS development agency brings to the table. An agency is more accountable, likely to stick to deadlines, work within the budget, provide maintenance and support, and stay on top of trends.

5. How To Keep Users Coming Back

You’ve invested heavily into your new eCommerce app and hope that users will keep coming back. But to ensure this happens, your user interface (UI) and user experience (UX) should be excellent. Moreover, prepare a minimum viable product (MVP) and conduct regular testing to determine whether or not your app’s engaging users. And update your app regularly with features that delight your users and help keep it in the spotlight. 

In Conclusion

When targeting the iOS app platform, it’s best to go in prepared with a clear strategy. Start by studying the competition, then optimize your app and add the most important features. And don’t forget to implement great UI/UX design and regularly roll out updates. But to create an outstanding app, work with an experienced iOS development agency, such as NS804 today.

On The Other Side of COVID-19

The State of Things Post COVID-19

While the COVID-19 pandemic isn’t completely behind us, we’re certainly close to coming out the other side. It definitely hasn’t been easy, as the road forward hardly ever is, and the last year will absolutely have a lasting impact. One way in which the pandemic impacted the world was through a swift acceleration into digitalization. With stay-at-home mandates, and health risks everywhere, much of society embraced a virtual expansion. Despite the sudden onset of the pandemic, a lot of the world was already prepared for a digital age. During the last few decades, society made giant technological strides. From the birth of the internet, smartphones, mobile apps, VR, AR, and so much more. Correspondingly, this technology already prepared many businesses to allow for remote staff and a work from home environment.

As the world reopens, though, the effects of the COVID-19 pandemic won’t simply just disappear. In fact, the pandemic may have changed the world forever.

Impact on the Application Market

One of the few markets that saw a boom during the majority of the pandemic was the application market. This boom resulted from the intersection of a few key variables. The first; timing. This isn’t the first pandemic that’s swept the world. However, it’s the first pandemic to sweep the world since the birth of smart-tech, loaded with capabilities. This presented opportunity. The second variable; accessibility. In recent years specifically, there has been a push of creating accessible technology. In this same push is the shift to a more technological basis for education that includes coding, script writing, and programming. Finally; free time and isolation.

With smart technology an integrated aspect of everyday life, and the push for more accessible technology all around, the last pair of variables that led to the app market boom were free time, and isolation. With the surge in unemployment, more and more people were looking for a way to spend their days. Not to mention, social interactions were kept to a bare minimum, and stay at home mandates were implemented all over the country. Enter smart, accessible technology, paired with the college of YouTube, and other free avenues through which to learn programming, and suddenly a whole new pool of programmers and developers hit the scene.

That’s only half of the coin though. On the other side of this same perfect storm is the influx of user-base, for all the same reasons the app market saw an increase in developers. New users flocked to applications all across the market, from enterprise, to gaming, to meditation. It was truly a gold-rush.

Spreading The Word

While the surge in app developers, programmers, and users isn’t going anywhere in the post-pandemic wake; applications certainly helped to encourage users to get the vaccine. Organizations in today’s economy have higher expectations to participate in the social atmosphere than they have in previous decades. Corporate America isn’t perfect, by any means, but some of the players are at least trying. In the context of the COVID-19 pandemic, applications specifically, helped to encourage users to get the vaccine. Many applications used advertisement slots on their own dime to inform users on where to get the vaccine for free. Even large name applications like Tinder, and others, offered vaccinated users an incentive, like a free premium trial, date-night specials, or other in-app incentives.

Beyond Spreading The Word

Applications and technology helped us through the pandemic in more than one way, though. Applications also saw a boom in usership as they worked to bring people together in dire times, unlike any technology has before. Video conference applications like Zoom saw unprecedented growth as families relied on it to commune with one another, long distance relationships only survived because of it, and businesses got by with it. Gaming applications became a way for communities to develop even while individuals dealth with physical or mental isolation.

Enterprise applications were another market segment to see an influx during the COVID-19 pandemic. As businesses and organizations of all industries had to adapt to the virtual economy; many sought the help of enterprise applications. Business oriented applications designed to facilitate communication and collaboration between remote employees.

Beyond spreading the word, and bringing communities together, the technology available even helped in the actual creation and distribution of the vaccine itself. Discovering optimal distribution channels, running algorithms, and elevating scientific processes, the technology of today is, at least partially, responsible for the availability of the vaccine across the globe.

Looking Ahead

Moving forward, there is some question as to what the lasting impacts of the COVID-19 pandemic will be. However, there are some trends that certainly seem stickier than others. For instance, it’s quite possible that the majority of the workforce remains remote, as there seems to be little-to-no evidence that professionals were less effective working remotely. On the contrary, many studies found that the individual professional was more proficient working from home than they were in the office for a variety of reasons, and largely attributed to quality of work-life balance. Additionally, the lack of a commute to and from work, proved significantly beneficial to workers mental and emotional health, which ultimately led to stronger overall performance.

The application market as a whole, is also likely to remain in a ‘boom’ period. While a large percentage of amateur programmers and developers might begin to drop off from the scene, there are bound to be a few who fell in love and stick around. Not to mention, the influx in the userbase is likely going to see a much softer dropoff. Therefore, there will ultimately be a higher user-to-developer ratio in the application markets than we even saw during the height of the pandemic.

The Virtual Economy

In addition to the trends that are likely to stick around, the virtual economy is likely here to stay. Permanently. Businesses and organizations of all shapes and sizes faced a sobering reality during the pandemic. Supply chains all over the globe disintegrated into thin air, as a tragic number of smaller businesses closed their doors. The organizations that successfully pivoted from in-person operations to remote or virtual operations are the survivors. Larger organizations that took a financial hit also had to make the pivot from brick and mortar to remote operations. This is a lesson that won’t be soon forgotten. In fact, current and future businesses are more likely to offer remote services and virtual operations now, and moving forward, than any type of in-person services. If it’s possible to be digitized, it will be.

Of course, the entire world won’t stay virtual forever, with live-performances opening back up, and bars and restaurants inviting customers back indoors, a portion of society will always be personable.

A Brighter Future Beyond COVID-19

The last year+ of the COVID-19 pandemic really flipped the script in more way than one. Between the massive influx into the application market, and the push for a more digital economy; some of these soceital changes and trends are going to remain long after the last case of the COVID-19 pandemic.

For more information on the application market as it stands, or help planning out your next mobile app venture, keep browsing NS804. NS804 is the proud developer of the everyday appreneur.