#AppDevelopment Archives - Page 10 of 16

Startup or Mobile App Idea In Pandemic- Is It The Right Time?

Posted on 07/06/202005/06/2021 by Anteelo Master

These are really desperate times if nothing more. The COVID-19 pandemic was as unanticipated for the world as a bolt of lightning striking the earth. Since most of the influential countries are on complete lockdown while others are preparing for the possibility of the worst, its domino effect is putting the world economy in absolute shambles and welcoming the recession which was already due. Amid all this chaos and unforeseen, lies the future of many existing startup businesses paranoid to the core they might not see the sun of the booming economy.The conundrum that most entrepreneurs must be in right now has to be – whether this precarious Coronavirus winter is the best time to start a business or similarly, invest in developing a idea for a mobile app.

Multiple sources may state the obvious speculation that the economy is on a downfall leading to a mass loss on a global level; nevertheless, there is always a silver lining for some and we are going to bring it to you.

So, without any further ado, let’s embark on the road to the startup advantages of startup app development or starting a startup ideas during pandemic.

Why should entrepreneurs build a mobile app or go ahead with their post pandemic startup ideas?

1. You may just be the only fish in the pond

The ambivalence of the current situations has believed to scare-off the wantrepreneurs from the market. They only initiate when the situations are in favor of the possibility of earning money readily. This gives enough space to the entrepreneurs like you who are ahead of the curve and believe in running opposite from the crowd (pun intended).

Like Salmon fish, it is the ones who swim the opposing current towards upstream, jump waterfalls and do not stray from their goal irrespective of exogenous conditions, that would come out stronger once the pandemic is over and the economy starts to become stable.

2. An MVP now can make your business stable for future

A true entrepreneur knows that the best income source for any startup is the pocket of customers and not capital ventures. Since Sequoia Venture Capital has announced COVID-19 to be the ‘Black Swan’ of 2020, companies who were expecting to fundraise are in a pickle now. This is one of the obstacles or rather effects of recession on startups and markets in general.

Ipso facto, it is not ideal for startups to be utterly dependent on these fundings in a recessionary economy. This is what answers the question of “why do we need MVP” . Developing an MVP at this point is your best bet to generate revenue and ensure self-sustainability.

{To know how do you develop an MVP, refer to this extensive article}

Since an MVP is not an over-engineered solution, it takes less development time on top of the cost of development that’s easy on the pocket.

3. If these apps are bagging big, so can you

Let’s look at some niches and their applications that are the most in-demand right now and are truly capturing the business opportunities during recession as they come.

Entertainment and Streaming apps

Recent events have limelight that people are now more willing to spend on streaming subscriptions. Since the world is on lockdown, people are reaching out to these entertainment mobile applications to pass the time.

Although, things might not be as smooth for Netflix on the production front, according to Yahoo reports, applications like Netflix in this niche are really profiting since the app downloads and subscriptions are on the peak. Meanwhile, people are spending more average hours of streaming.

Not that more hours spent, in any way, will benefit the company anymore; it is something startups like you can benefit from if you plan to develop an app like Netflix.

This popularity has not left entertainment apps like Tiktok from the picture. You can see many celebrities using the application for various purposes be it for educating people and spreading awareness or the subtle joy of doing everything and nothing on the app. If you unleash an MVP of the app like these in the market now, you’ll be one step ahead of the competitors.

Video conferencing apps

Since most of the organizations have implemented work from home, the app stores have seen a huge surge in the downloads of video conferencing apps like Zoom. It is currently number one free application in the App Store

Mental Health and meditation apps

According to Adweek, Breethe a meditation app has secured 41st spots in the health and fitness category ranking by skipping 31 spots over the last week itself and BetterMe, another meditation app, jumped 70 spots up to 26th position.

Moreover, the Ginger app and other mental health platforms that are offered by employers to their employees have witnessed a surge in usage since employees have turned to online tools to manage their anxiety. Moreover, in stressful times like this, people are reaching towards such mental health and meditation applications to maintain their calm.

Food delivery app segment

Due to the on-going social distancing and lockdown, people have turned towards the food delivery applications. In fact, on comparing the average daily downloads from February to March 15, it was noted that apps like Instacart, Walmart Grocery, and Shipt have witnessed their daily downloads surge by 218%, 160%, and 124%, respectively. This surge might be owed to the “contactless delivery” initiative which was first implemented in China.

There are many pandemic proof business ideas like these that are taking the most advantage.

4. Can get a hold of brimming talent for less value

This is one of the many positive effects of recession on start-ups. Once the lockdown situation has passed and recession finally hits the world economy, the high unemployment rate will prevail – something you can, fortunately, benefit from as a startup.

Instead of professionals, you can hire fresh talent with a lot of potential to offer. As dismal as it is, in recessionary times, people are more willing to do the work for below-market salaries in return for benefits and equity-based recompense.

Moreover, a market headed towards the downfall also produces many refugees from big companies. They can really help startups with their expertise and experience.

5. Chance to mold value proposition as per market demand

Unlike established organizations, you can easily modify your startup’s value proposition to make it more suited to the market slowdown and minimize any adverse impact of recession on business. After all, ‘a bend in the road is not an end of the road as long as you take the turn’.

To make this scenario clearer, let’s say the product you developed enhances productivity. Then, when the times are good you can market it as a ‘revenue generator’ whereas, in situations like these when the market is down, it can be portrayed as a ‘cost-saver’ – something which is more promising.

For instance, meditation applications were used by people to get away from work stress and get a little detached from it; however, now it’s working as a great tool to increase mindfulness and productivity.

6. More time to measure your steps

The saying “if you fail to plan, you are planning to fail” is apt when it comes to initiating any mobile app startup ideas.

Because of the slow pace of the market economy, you have an upper hand to plan out everything related to your startup and the mobile app you are planning to develop. This would not only give you a chance to point out any mistakes or scope of improvement, but also innovate ways for cost-cutting, something which you cannot afford to do in the time of economic frenzy.

7. You can get resources in cheap

This is certainly not a brainer that the prices of resources will significantly drop in the coming recession. So, you can easily hire experienced and fresher personnel. Moreover, everything you need to fuel your business startup will cost you less in times like these.

As an entrepreneur, the two most valuable resources are time and money. During the down market, companies are made to negotiate below the list prices and in fact, even barter for in-kind services. Such situations enable you to make deals reducing the costs and conserve the cash.

8. Endure now for prosperous future

If you wait for the tides to mellow down, you may not reach the heights of success you can reach by riding these perilous tides. The point is – do not remain on the sidelines and wait for the uncertainties to perish. Business is all about taking the risk. The bigger the risk, the bigger the success.

If you can manage to survive this COVID-19 and recession winter, you will definitely emerge as a successful startup as opposed to those businesses starting at an economic turnaround.

Apart from these genuine and incredible advantages of starting a startup or developing an app during COVID-19 and recession, there are other things that may play in the favor of tech startups and also validate the fact that recessions are the perfect time to start a business.

The fact that the U.S. government has decided to spend $8 billion to fight the outbreak. This would include not only the states, hospitals, and other medical providers but also the tech startups and companies in the healthcare space, like those innovating mHealth med and self-diagnosis apps, among many other things. So, if you are a startup interested in targeting this industry, you can surely benefit to a great extent.

Although this is not the world’s first recession and neither the last and the same goes for the pandemic (unfortunately), these might be just a great time to start a business and help it flourish. If you have left a scope of confusion, reach out to our team of android app developer to get the answer.

Dark Mode Designing: A 2020 Guide for Mobile App Designers

Posted on 03/06/202004/06/2021 by Anteelo Master

While operating in the market for a long time, the talks and then the official launch of Android 10 and iOS 13 brought Dark theme User Interface in the limelight. Both Apple and Google have been dedicating their resources and attention to the dark mode since the past one year.

With several ophthalmologists too getting on board with the dark mode initiative, the general user perception is also now inclined towards the adoption of the theme in their digital experiences.

Delivering the users what has now become a norm for them is something that the mobile app designers has to keep up with.

In this article, we are going to look into how the mobile app designers can get started with delivering a dark mode UI design experience to their users.

Table Of Content:

Why should you pay attention to dark mode?
What makes up for an unhealthy dark mode?
How to design dark theme for Android app?
How to design an app for iOS in dark mode ?
Tips for efficient dark theme design

Why should you pay attention to dark mode?

1. An In-demand Trend

Any trend-focused mobile app design company would tell you that for an app to be in trend, it is necessary that it is designed according to the recent market demands. Dark UI is the one design element that has been in-demand since the past one year. And seeing the present situation, it is only going to grow.

2. Health & Wellness

We all have in one or the other point in our life faced the shock of opening an app in a pitch dark night. The light that is emitted is too high and too sudden for eyes. Prolonged use of these apps have resulted in several instances of dry and itchy eyes among users.

Benefits of the dark mode comes into the picture by making it relaxing for users’ eyes to open and work on apps in the dark. It helps solve these persistent health and wellness issues, thus answering why is dark mode popular.

3. Saves Battery

Dark mode app design helps in prolonging the device’s battery life. Google confirmed that dark mode on OLED screens has been a game changer for the device’s battery life. YouTube, at its 50% brightness saves upto 15% more battery life in dark mode compared to flat background.

The benefits surrounding the holy dark mode are too popularized now to be ignored. But what is less talked about are the ill effects of dark mode UI – one that is UNHEALTHY.

What makes up for an unhealthy dark mode?

When reading a white text on black background, iris opens up more and gets in more light and lens deformation develops a fuzzier focus at eyes. This is called Halation or Fuzzing Effect, a.k.a one of the biggest dark mode app design challenges.

Unhealthy dark mode tends to be very harsh on the eyes because of the high contrast and can strain them very quickly.

If your phone or laptop is on highest brightness, you would have felt how straining it is to read the text on the left image.

But isn’t dark mode supposed to help with extending the battery life? Well, to some extent, Yes. However, it only impacts the devices having OLED and not ones with LCD.

In OLED, every pixel gives out its own illumination meaning to show darkness, the pixel must not light up at all. But since most of the OLED panels are limited to 60Hz refresh rate, scrolling makes the pixels light up and because of the slow refresh rate, a jiggly effect is caused.

Users, when exposed to this effect, end up feeling tired and worn out of their digital experience very soon. This event is what brings in the need and prevalence of design for dark themes.

How to design dark theme for Android app?

Google comes with an extensive documentation support that helps designers get started with understanding how dark theme operates on the Android ecosystem.

The tech giant has established four principles that defines the dark UI design and gives a starting point for how to design dark mode –

1. Dark with grey

When designing a dark mode, use grey color instead of solid black for showing space and elevation in an environment with wide depth range.

2. Color with accents

Apply limited color accents in dark theme UIs, so the majority of space is dedicated to dark surfaces.

3. Save energy

When designing the dark mode in products that require efficiency (such as devices with OLED screens), conserve battery life by reducing the use of light pixels.

4. Enhance accessibility

Accommodate regular dark theme users (such as those with low vision), by meeting accessibility color contrast standards.

There are different properties they have fixed in the Google Material Design Guidelines for Dark color scheme and overall mode –

Elevation: In the process of designing dark theme, the components retain the same default shadow components and elevation levels as in case of the light theme. What differs is the illumination of the surface of elevation levels.

The higher a surface elevation, the lighter would be the surface. The lightness is shown through a semi-transparent overlays’ application. Overlays also make it possible to differentiate between the components and see the shadows.

Accessibility & contrast: The background in dark theme UI design should be dark enough to show white text. They must use a contrast of a minimum of 15.8:1 between the background and text. Doin this ensures that the body text passes the WCAG’s AA standard of 4.5:5:1 when added to surfaces at highest elevation.Colors: The dark theme UI must avoid saturated colors for the induce eye strain. Instead, designers should focus on using desaturated colors for they increase legibility. The choice of primary and secondary colors must also depend upon the consideration of both light and dark UI themes.

Light text on dark backgrounds: When a light text comes on dark background, it must use these opacity levels:

High-emphasis text has an opacity of 87%
Medium-emphasis text and hint text have opacities of 60%
Disabled text has an opacity of 38%

States: States communicate the status of interactive elements for dark theme layouts or components by using the overlays. In dark theme, states must use the same overlay values as the default light theme. There are two containers which inherit the state overlays: Surface and Primary.

Surface containers which use the Surface color must apply an overlay which match the color of text or icon. For the surface containers which use the Primary color, the state overlay must be white.

How to design an app for iOS in dark mode?

With dark mode, Apple has revisited the meaning of UI styling and colors in iOS. Let’s look into the changes that Apple has brought to help you with designing for dark mode on iOS 13.

Semantic colors

For standardising the look and feel of the iOS apps in both dark and light mode, Apple has come up with semantic colors for the commonly applied UI elements. These colors do not come with an absolute RGB value, they directly adapt to iOS interface style.

They have also introduced semantic colors for handling the text and overlay color in the dark mode.

System colors

In addition to the semantic colors, Apple has also come up with 9 predefined system colors which are dynamic and supportive of dark system-wide appearance. This means that these colors adapt to selected interface styles like the semantic colors.

Vibrancy and Blur Effects

With iOS 13, Apple has introduced 4 blur effects and 8 vibrancy effects, which automatically adapts to the iOS interface style.

Here are the blur effects in the dark and light mode:

Apple has also introduced 4 vibrancy effects in iOS dark mode typography suite, 3 in overlay and 1 for separator. Here they are:

SF Symbols

Apple, in their Human Interface Guidelines, offers a collection of more than 1500 symbols for Product developers and designers to use in their applications. They automatically look amazing in the Dark Mode for they have been optimized for both light and dark UI.

Tips for effective mobile app dark theme design

As you must have reckoned, the preparations to provide the users a healthy UI experience is something that both Apple and Google is focusing on through their dark mode design principles.

But as shared above, not giving dark mode design theme its fair share of attention can do more harm than good.

And thus, it is important to know the effective tips for dark theme design.

1. Avoid the pure black color

A dark theme must not be of white text on black background. In fact, it can be difficult to look into a high contrast screen.

When you add dark mode to your app, it is safest to use dark grey as the primary color for the dark mode components, as it lowers the eye strain and also it is a lot easier to look at shadows on a grey surface compared to black.

2. Avoid the use of saturated colors on the dark themes

The saturated colors that look great on the light surfaces can vibrate against the dark background, making the text extremely difficult to read.

You should use light tones for they have better readability and they don’t make the UI unnecessarily expressive, which saves unnecessary eye strain.

3. Consider the emotional side of your app design

When you design a dark theme for your app, chances are that you must be aiming for translating the same emotional feel of your light theme design in the dark theme as well.

But it is unwise to do so. Because, ultimately different colors project different emotions. As a result, your dark mode colors will evoke a different feeling. This is why it is necessary to find a common ground emotional set for both your theme UIs.

4. Test the design in both the appearances

Just like how your users would toggle between both the theme UIs at different times of the day, it is necessary to test the app two times of the day to see how it is functioning in different light conditions. And to ensure it meets your criteria.

5. Incorporate dark theme into animations and illustrations

If your app contains animations or heavy graphical elements, you will have to prepare for their adoption in dark theme as well. In case the illustration contains a subject and a background, it would be good to fully desaturate the background colors to help keep the attention on the subject.

With this, you now know everything there’s to know about designing the dark mode version of your app. The next actionable step is to talk to a team of experts who have implemented the UI in applications. You should see this as a way of getting closer to achieving your intent to offer a healthy experience to your end users.

Best Practices To Ensure a Hack-Proof App: Mobile App Security

Posted on 13/05/202016/06/2021 by Tushar

Building a revolutionary mobile application is only the first step in mobile app development. Once you’ve built an app, there are thousands of mandatory processes that follow app development. One of those many crucial steps in mobile app security.

In this article, we will explore what are the essential mobile app security practices that you ought to implement after the development is finalized.

Over the last decade, we all have witnessed how the mobile app development industry has grown but so have cybercrimes. And these crimes have led us to a stage where it is not possible to submit an app to Play Store or App Store without taking certain measures to secure it.

However, getting towards what the security measures entail, we first need to understand why there is a need for taking these actions and what are the potential app security issues that plague the mobile app development industry. For a real-life estimate, let us look at the facts:

There is still more to mobile app security than safeguarding them against malware and threats. Let us first identify some of the OWASP mobile app security threats to understand the security measures better.

Why do we need Mobile App Security: Potential Threats & Their Solutions

The threats that present themselves in the app development world although are malicious, can be solved with simple steps to securing a mobile application. Let us take a look at what are the major mobile app security issues.

1. Faulty server controls:

The communications that take place between the app and user outside the mobile phone device happen via servers. And such servers are primary targets of hackers throughout the world. The main reason behind the vulnerability of a server is because sometimes developers overlook the necessary server-side security into account. This may happen due to a lack of knowledge about security considerations for mobile applications, small budgets for security purposes, or the vulnerabilities caused due to cross-platform development.

Solution:

The most crucial step in safeguarding your servers is to scan your apps with the help of automated scanners. These scanners can, otherwise, be used by hackers to dig out vulnerabilities in your apps and exploit them. Automated scanners will surface the common issues and bugs which are easy to resolve.

2. The absence of Binary protection:

This is also one of the prime OWASP app security issues to address because if there is a lack of Binary protection for a mobile app, any hacker or an adversary can easily reverse engineer the app code to introduce malware. They can also redistribute a pirated application of the same and inject it with a threat also. All of this can lead to critical issues such as data theft and damage to brand image and resultantly revenue loss.

Solution:

To safeguard Binary files, it is important to deploy binary hardening procedures. As a part of this procedure, binary files are analyzed and accordingly modified to protect them against common mobile app security threats. This procedure fixes the legacy code without involving the source code at all. It is crucial to ensure security coding for the detection of jailbreaks, checksum controls, debugger detection control, and certificate pinning while working on mobile app security processes.

3. Data Storage Insecurity:

Another big loophole that is common in Mobile app security is the absence of a safe data storage system. In fact, it is common for mobile app developers to rely upon client storage for internal data. However, during the possession of a mobile device by a rival, this internal data can be very easily accessed and used or manipulated. This can lead to several crimes like identity theft or PCI (external policy violation).

Solution:

One of the app security measures to consider here is to build an additional encryption layer over the OS’s base-level encryption. This gives a tremendous boost to data security.

4. Inadequate protection for Transport layer:

The transport layer is the pathway through which data transfer takes place between the client and the server. If the right mobile app security standards are not introduced at this point, any hacker can gain access to internal data to steal or modify it. This leads to severe crimes like identity thefts and frauds.

Solution:

To reinforce transport layer security, you should incorporate SSL Pinning in iOS and Android apps. Along with this, you can use industry-standard cipher suites instead of regular ones. Additionally, avoiding the exposure of user’s session ID because of mixed SSL sessions, alerting the user in case of an invalid certificate, using SSL versions of third-party analytics are common practices that can savethe users from a dangerous breach of security.

5. Unintended Leakage of data:

Unintended data leakage happens when critical mobile applications are stored in vulnerable locations on the mobile device. For example, an app is stored where it can easily get accessed by other apps or devices which ultimately results in the data breach of your app and unauthorized data usage.

Solution:

Monitoring common data leakage points such as logging, app background, caching, Browser cookie objects, and HTML5 data storage.

Besides these 5 mobile development security threats, there are some other commonly occurring roadblocks in the way of building secure mobile apps. Here they are:

Absence of multi-factor authentication – The process provides multiple layers of security before letting a person inside the application. It could be answering a personal question, OTP, SMS configuration, or other measures. The absence of multifactor authentication can lead to several issues which makes it a crucial part of answering how to make an app secure.
Inability to encrypt properly – A important element of mobile application security best practices is ensuring proper encryption. The inability of it can lead to code theft, intellectual property theft, privacy violation, among multiple other issues.
Malicious code Injection – User-generated content such as forms is often overlooked as a threat. Suppose a user adds in their id and password, the app then communicated with the server-side data to authenticate the information. Now the apps which do not restrict the character a user inputs open themselves to the risk of injecting code to access the server.
Reverse engineering – It is every secure mobile application development nightmare. The approach can be used to show how an app works in the backend and reveal the encryption algorithms while modifying the source code, etc.
Insecure data storage – insecure data storage can happen in multiple places inside an app – cookies, binary data store, SQL database, etc. If a hacker gets access to the database or device, they can alter legitimate apps to take out information to the machines.

After seeing the general threats which plague all the mobile applications and some of the Best mobile app security practices to follow for avoiding these issues, let us move on to the specifics about the Android and iOS mobile application security.

How to Make Android Apps Secure?

Some of the effective Android app security best practices to opt are:-

Encryption of data on External Storage –

Generally, the internal storage capacity of a device is limited. And this drawback often coerces users to use external devices such as hard disk and flash drives for safekeeping of the data. And this data, at times, consists of sensitive and confidential data as well. Since the data stored on the external storage device is easily accessible by all the apps of the device, it is very important to save the data in an encrypted format. One of the most widely used encryption algorithms by mobile app developers is AES or Advanced Encryption Standard.

Using Internal Storage for Sensitive Data –

All the Android Applications have an internal storage directory. And the files stored in this directory are extremely secure because they use MODE_PRIVATE mode for file creation. Simply put, this mode ensures that the files of one particular app cannot be accessed by other applications saved on the device. Thus, it is one of the mobile app authentication best practices to focus upon.

Using HTTPS –

The communications that take place between the app and the server ought to be over an HTTPS connection. Numerous Android Users often are connected to several open WiFi networks in public areas and using HTTP instead of HTTPS can leave the device vulnerable to many malicious hotspots which can easily alter the contents of HTTP traffic and make the device’s apps behave unexpectedly.

Using GCM instead of SMS –

In the time when Google Cloud Messaging or GCM did not exist, SMS was used in order to push data from servers to apps but today, GCM is used largely. But if you still have not made the switch from SMS to GCM, you must. This is because SMS protocol is neither safe nor encrypted. On top of it, SMS can be accessed and read by any other app on the user’s device. GCM communications are authenticated by registration tokens which are regularly refreshed on the client-side and they are authenticated using a unique API key on the server-side.

Other major mobile app development security best practices can include, Validation of User input, Avoiding the need for personal data, and usage of ProGuard before publishing the app. The Idea is to secure app users from as much malware as possible.

How to Make iOS Apps Secure?

Some of the iOS app security best practices to follow are:-

Storage of Data –

To greatly simplify your app’s architecture and improve its security, the best way is to store app data in memory instead of writing it on a disk or sending it to a remote server. Although if storing the data locally is your sole option, there are multiple ways to go:-

Keychain:

The best place to store small amounts of sensitive data which doesn’t need frequent access is Keychain. Data that is stored in keychains is managed by the OS but is not accessible by any other application. – Caches: If your data does not need to be backed up on iCloud or iTunes then you can store the data in the Caches directory of the application sandbox. – Defaults system: The defaults system is a convenient method for storing large amounts of data.

Networking security :

Apple is known for its security and privacy policies and for years, it has worked to reach this level. A few years ago, Apple had introduced App Transport Security which enforces third-party mobile apps to send network requests over a more secure connection, i.e., HTTPS.

Security of Sensitive Information –

The majority of mobile apps use sensitive user data such as address book, location, etc. But as a developer, you need to make sure that all the information that you’re asking the user for is, in fact, necessary to access and more importantly, to store. So, if the information you require can be accessed through a native framework, then it is redundant to duplicate and store that information.

We have now seen both Android and iOS mobile app security Practices for a Hack-Proof App. But no development can be so easy as it is written about. There are always certain challenges that are faced during a process. Let’s move forward and learn about the challenges which are faced and solved by almost every top app development companies in USA.

Challenges Associated With Mobile App Security

There is a proven record of how vulnerable mobile apps can be if not enough measures are taken for their security from external malware. Following are the challenges that can arise anytime if the mobile app security testing is not completed as per the requirement.

Device Fragmentation –

There are essential processes to be followed before the release of an application on the app stores. It is necessary to diversity of devices that cover different resolutions, functionalities, features, and limitations into your mobile app testing strategies. Detection of Device specific vulnerabilities can put the app developers one step ahead in app security measures. Not only devices but different versions of popular OS’s is an important step to cover before the app release to cover all the possible loopholes.

Weak Encryptions –

In the case of weak encryption, a mobile device is vulnerable to accepting data from any available device. Attackers with malware are in constant search for an open-end in public mobile devices and your app can be that open end if you do not follow a strong suit of the encryption process. So, investing your efforts into strong encryption is also one of the finest ways to make a hack-proof mobile app.

Weaker hosting controls –

It happens mostly during the development of a business’s first mobile app, which usually leaves the data exposed to the server-side systems. Therefore, the servers which are being used to host your app must have enough app security measures to avoid any unauthorized users from accessing important data.

Checklist for Mobile Application Security Guidelines

There are a number of things that every mobile app development company follows when they build secure applications. Here is a checklist that we commonly follow –

Use server-side authentication
Use cryptographic algorithms
Ensure user inputs meet check standards
Create threat algorithms to back data
Obsfucation to stop reverse engineering

There are many ways to make a hack proof mobile app, through a mobile app security audit, against the attacks from unknown sources and no amount of security measures can ever be enough. Looking into mobile app development security best practices is one way to go about it. Today, the digital world is out in the open for everyone’s use and no user is ever safe enough from malware and security breaches but these measures ensure that your personal data is safe in your digital devices.

What Are App Containers, and Do You Really need Them?

Posted on 20/04/202015/06/2021 by Tushar

App containers have helped transform the way companies run their software, but despite being around for almost a decade, for many people, the term ‘app container’ remains one of those obscure pieces of IT jargon. Here, we aim to give you a clear understanding of what app containers are, what they’re used for and whether they might be a solution that’s useful for your business.

What are app containers?

An app container is like any other form of container, it’s what you put something in to keep it separate from what’s around it and to move it from place to place. In IT, what you put in a container is software. The idea is that putting an application in a container prevents it from conflicting with other applications or not working properly when move to a different environment.

How are containers useful?

One of the biggest benefits of a container is that they enable the software within it to work independently from the environment in which they are located and this prevents issues from arriving when they are moved from one environment to another.

A typical example is an app developed using one version of an operating system (OS) and then moved to an environment with a different version. Without a container, the app might work flawlessly in development but when moved might hit problems that prevent it from working as expected. It’s not just operating systems that can have this effect, so too can programming languages, PHP versions, SSL libraries, network structure and various other differences.

A container prevents this from happening by placing the software in a self-contained environment of its own where it can be moved without issue. In other words, a container is a complete runtime environment for the software and contains all the other things it is dependent on to run. In a sense, it works like a submarine or a spacecraft, supporting the life inside regardless of what alien environments they travel to.

Additional benefits of containers

Virtualisation can be used as an alternative to containers as applications and their operating systems running on virtual machines can also be easily moved across different hardware. The key difference is that containerised applications usually require smaller storage, enabling a company to host more containers than virtual machines on a server. This can help reduce the costs of running applications in a cloud environment. Another advantage containers have over virtual machines is that they can be booted almost instantaneously, whereas a virtual machine takes several minutes.

From a development and management point of view, another benefit is that applications can be separated into their individual parts (microservices) and each of these placed in their own container, for example, the front-end in one container and the database in another. This approach is useful as it enables each microservice to be modified independently without the developer having to rewrite the entire software. It also means companies can save money as they don’t need to run the full application at all times. By providing instant availability, containers can be used to turn different microservices on and off as and when the application needs them.

A well-established technology

After almost a decade, containers have become an established part of the IT landscape and some prominent organisations are helping to develop them. The Open Container Project (OCP), run by the Linux Foundation, is the key initiative in the field, with the aim of standardising container formats and runtime software across different platforms so that they can benefit everyone. In addition, this open-source approach has led to improvements in container security and management systems and the development of freely available container management systems, such as the well-known Kubernetes that was kickstarted by Google. The OCP is supported by industry giants like Google, Microsoft, Amazon, IBM, VMware and many others.

Would app containers be useful for my company?

The fact that containerised applications tend to use less storage and because individual microservices can be turned on and off as needed so they use fewer resources means their adoption could help companies reduce the cost of their cloud services – especially because cloud services are charged for on a pay per use basis. Whether this could be a significant saving depends, of course, on the size of the overall application and the extent of the resources it uses.

Another value is that containers help prevent vendor lock-in. In the past, companies have felt tied to a vendor because they have been concerned that moving their application to a new provider with a different environment might cause their applications to falter. Containers prevent this from happening. They also make it far less problematic to move applications across environments for any other reason and make it easier to modify microservices in isolation from the rest of the application.

Conclusion

Today, many companies use containers to house their applications in the cloud and, with most platforms being free to use and their formats standardised, they look certain to remain part of the cloud landscape for the foreseeable future. Hopefully, from reading this article you’ll now be aware of what app containers are, what they are used for and how they could benefit your business.

Know which Platform is Better for Mobile Startups-Android vs iOS

Posted on 06/04/202015/06/2021 by Tushar

Starting a mobile app centered business is tough. There are so many questions and doubts that you, in your role as an entrepreneur, have to answer and find answers to. Although things do get a lot easier once you get the support of a partner-like sound mobile app development company, there are a number of factors that you still have to get a grasp on your end for android vs iOS.

While we have curated a mobile app development for startups guide to help you get started with the complete A to Z process of getting your idea on mobile, in this article, we will help you get an answer to the question that worries every entrepreneur who is new to the app industry – android vs iOS for startups.

But before we get on to that, let us give you some ideas and tips on mobile platforms that startups should choose in 2021.

Let’s begin with why one should opt for mobile by joining either Android development or iOS development.

Let’s start looking at the smartphone (iPhone or Android) and app market scenario by first looking into the basics of each – number of users, downloads, revenue, and user retention scenario.

Graphs indicating each of the pointers will help give a clear idea of how both the app stores are performing on an individual level – something which will help businesses take a sound decision.

iPhone or Android? Smartphone Users Graph

These numbers are a clear indication of how big the smartphone industry has been and how it is only going to grow both android and iOS in demand and acquisition number in the coming time. With the number of projected mobile users about to reach 5.7 Billion in a matter of two years, it is beyond time for startups to make a decision related to iOS versus Android and a presence on mobile and reach these billions and then some more users.

Android vs iOS: Market Share

The android and iOS market share division factor when making a choice of iOS vs Android for startup is calculated in terms of total number of users on both platforms. While the graph above shows the obvious – Android development has a greater market share than iOS development, let us still throw some light on it. With the number of Android devices being 10X more than Apple flagship devices, the number of users are by default inclined towards Android as compared to iOS app development.

This difference in market share makes Android a preferable choice for Startups that are keeping visibility above any other business-y factor.

iOS vs Android App Revenue

One of the biggest deciding factors when it comes to Android vs iOS for businesses is the revenue that each of the avenues is able to generate for the startup. As a startup that is about to make an entry in the mobile domain for the first time, it is almost a necessity to base the platform choice on the basis of the potential of revenue they would be able to generate.

While iOS has over time positioned itself as the platform that businesses head to generate revenue, Android developers are soon catching up with their monetized app. But overall, Play Store will still take up more time to come up to App Store level.

Android vs iOS: User Retention

For an entrepreneur struggling to find the answer to which one is correct in iOS vs Android for startup, it is very important to maintain a good user retention number; as it will be the only sign to judge whether or not your app is performing good and is liked by users across the world.

There are a number of factors which contribute to soaring app uninstall rate. Reasons which mostly revolve around the kind of experience you are able to offer through your mobile app.

But in spite of what reasons there are behind growing app uninstall rates in the industry, the fact that users behave differently between one platform to another remains. While Android users are more loyal, Apple users are less forgiving and tend to leave app very soon after a bad experience – something startups need to plan in their incredible & result-driven mobile app design and development in much detail.

Now that we have looked into the market scenario of both the platforms, it is time to attend to the question that every startup willing to make a presence on mobile is seeking answer to – Android vs iOS development for startups.

Android vs iOS: Which Platform Should Startups Go with as Their First App Choice?

The answer to which platform should startups choose out of Android and iOS development is in no way a Yes or No type (and yet, the wrong answer can turn out to be one of the most deadly mobile app development mistakes). There are a number of factors that startups will have to consider when making the choice.

Let us see what those factors are which help decide the platform startups should go with for their first mobile app launch – iPhone or Android.

Where is your audience

Even though 80% of the world’s mobile app market is dominated by Android, some of the most presumed revenue generating nations like the USA or Australia come under Apple’s dominance. So if your audience belongs to the western nations, take help from iPhone app developers but if the world is your audience, go with Android developers.

Who is your user

The choice of app platform goes beyond geographical borders. There are a number of traits that separates iOS vs Android demographics.

iOS users usually have a lot higher income, come with greater education levels, are more engaged with the app, and lastly are willing to spend a lot more on the app.

Android users on the other hand, come with their own share of characteristic traits. They usually belong to the 25 to 45 age range, are more spending conscious, tend to be late technology adopters, and in general are more impatient as compared to Apple users (something that has changed in the recent time).

In-app purchases

If your app’s business model has in-app purchase at the center, it would be preferable to go with App Store instead of Android Play Store. While the average per user in-app purchase per app in the case of Apple is $1.08, in case of the same number gets reduced to $0.43.

Talking of in-app purchases, the difference can be seen on a geographical level as well.

On a global level per user app spending is $0.50, in Asia the number is $0.70 and in North America, Europe, and Latin America, the numbers are $0.61, $0.26, and $0.16 respectively.

Fragmentation

Talking of fragmentation in terms of the variety of devices your app would be able to reach, the one platform that emerges as an unprecedented winner is Android. Because Google has partnered with a number of device manufacturers, there are now thousands of devices under Android umbrella as opposed to Apple.

If you are looking for a platform that would help your startup become a household name by taking it to the masses minus any specific demographic challenge, Android app development will be your answer. But if making a presence among an elite concentrated group of users is what you are aiming for, go with your team of iOS developers.

Ease of design & development

The question on which is the most preferred choice for startups – Android vs iOS, has a solution that is different on both Android and iOS development front.

While in terms of designing, Google Material Design has a greater impact on user experience, mobile app developers feel that when it comes to coding mobile apps, Swift is a much easier language to get started with as compared to Java.

However, design and development is one factor that depends less on the platform and more on the skill of your partnered mobile android app development company. When you associate with a brand that specializes in the development of both Apple and Android apps, it doesn’t matter which platform requires less developmental efforts as both are done within equal efforts.

Release cycles

Talking of Android release cycle vs iOS Release cycle, the updation of apps in case of Android is generally restricted with the partnered OEM devices and the OS versions that they support- an issue that Apple and its concentrated list of iPhones and iPads never have to face.

What this means is that while with iOS you can focus on giving the support of new OS version in your present app with much ease, the level of fragmentation that Android comes with makes releasing new OS versions very difficult.

Now that we have seen the factors that would help decide which platform to go with for your first mobile app, the sad truth remains – There is no yes or no answer to which platform should startups go with between Android and iOS.

But while it will be difficult for us to get you an answer to ‘Android vs iOS: Which platform should Startups Choose’ let us get you the answer to the Why and When.

Difference Between iOS and Android Development

There is obviously a comparison between iOS and Android app development that is generally seen by developers during the process toward creating mobile applications. Let’s have a look at these differences

Programming language

The Android and iOS development operating systems are each customized in various programming languages. This is actually the greatest difference where iOS applications run on Objective-C/Swift, while Android applications run on Java.

The programming in iOS and android platforms utilize different technology stacks. The former vigorously depends on Java or Kotlin as an alternative, while the latter one has an exclusive language intended for application advancement – Swift.

Now you must be thinking which stack is quick and easy to dominate? Most of the app developers discover that an iOS application is simpler to make than the Android one. As the Swift coding involves less time than getting around Java since this language has high clarity and readability.

As Kotlin grows further, in future it is considered to be a prospective Java replacement due to its natural, current, and easy to read features.

Thus, programming languages utilized for iOS have a shorter learning curve than those for Android and are, hence, simple to dominate.

Testing

Every application’s QA testing phase is important for the mobile application development process. The same applies to games and different sorts of software. One should make sure that the application he is creating works perfectly. The iOS simulator and the Android emulator are examples that are frequently used to test this.

A definite difference is that the iOS simulator is a lot quicker than Android. In any case, the Android emulator has the near benefit of being a powerful virtual machine including CPU, which makes it more practical than its iOS equivalent. The iOS simulator often neglects to deliver precise and realistic portrayals of Apple devices.

Therefore, it is important to complete several tests on real smart devices to see the application’s interaction flow and detect potential bugs.

Interface

This is where we come over the visual contrasts when we develop an application for an Android or iOS user. At the technical level, the app developer will assemble XML documents onto Android interfaces. These are basically the same as iOS’ XIB documents.

The nature of iOS animations is superior to the one from Android. Google has attempted to fix this through the preview of Android L and by building up an application design pattern known as Material Design. Meanwhile, Apple has consistently been focusing on delicate, complex, and amazing animations by taking care of its user experience cautiously. Google, on the other hand, chose to fcus on the hardware rather than these perspectives.

Design

For Apple, the content of the application has importance over design. Therefore, clearness and the wide utilization of white space is advisable. The most widely recognized tools utilized by UI designers are shadows and gradients. All things considered, the application’s design ought to convey a feeling of depth and multi-layers.

Android designs come from real inspiration and motivation. Thus, colors and motion are two characterizing factors. Android designers work with a more extensive scope of tools such as light, motions, shading, color, etc.

When Should Startups Choose iOS?

You should place your startup’s first mobile app on iOS by investing in a sound reputed iOS app development company if you wish to come in the sight of the app store’s target demographics. Also, if you are not convinced of an app’s ability to be liked and moved to the home screen, the less fragmented world of Apple might come in handy as you won’t have to invest time in preparing your app for multiple devices.

The benefit of concentration and high revenue-generating capability together makes iPhone app development advantageous for businesses.

When And Why Startups Choose Android App Development?

You should go with Android first if your audience is not concentrated on any one specific location. Also, if there are a good number of customization elements in your mobile app, go with Android. The benefit of reach and customization that the platform offers, makes it almost necessary for Businesses to have an Android app.

When And Why Startups Choose IOS App Development?

You have to remember that in the debate between Android vs iPhone: Which Platform should Startups choose for First Mobile App have a third option as well, one which ends the confusion between iPhone or Android – Launch app on both Android and iOS.

While the option should be chosen as a solution by companies who have enough monetary and time resources, you should invest in mobile app development companies that specialize in Cross Platform app development to grab the opportunity to enjoy the best of all.

Now that we have seen it all – The factors that affect the Android vs iPhone choice for startups and the situations when one is deemed preferable than the other – it is now time to answer a very futuristic, logical question – When should a Business Move from one Platform to Another.

When Should Your Startup Extend from One Platform to Another?

The answer to this lies in – When your app has taken all the advantage of the current platform it is on. If your app has reached a position where it is now getting constant revenue from the App Store, expand it to the Play Store to get greater reach.

If your Android App has gained enough followers on the Play Store, increase the scope of monetization by taking it to the App Store.

Hopefully, our little pocket guide was able to help you get an answer to which platform your early-stage startup should choose. If we have left a scope of confusion, reach out to our team of mobile app strategist and our iOS and android app development company in USA to get the answer.

Determine the Cost To Develop A Newspaper Mobile App

Posted on 05/04/202015/06/2021 by Tushar

The newspaper sales have gone down ever since the media decided to have their own news mobile apps. To be precise, 7% drop in sales in 2015 and the percentage is predicted to be even more in the present. According to a survey, an average user spends 2 hours on phone to check news updates.

Mobile phones have been around for a while now but mobile apps have taken over the human lifestyle. In America, only 2% of the population said they read printed newspapers and find it useful. The majority of the population either don’t read the news more often or reads it on a digital platform.

In India, the readership of print media has decreased as per May 2017 reports from the Audit Bureau of Circulation (ABC). Same is the case with countries such as UK, Germany, etc.

The stats above shows the readership of some popular news channels such as Buzzfeed, CNN, Fox News, etc. All these stats prove how fast the newspaper mobile apps are becoming a choice over the print media. However, for some news channels, the cost of news app development is often a matter of concern. To clear any doubts and to learn how much does it cost to build a newspaper app, we have curated this blog.

The ROI From News Apps

Whether you are going to make your own news app or get it developed by news app builder, you have to know the benefits you will get from the news app. It does not matter how much money you have put in the news app development as long as it gives a good return on the investment.

Subscription

Just like you have a subscription for your printed newspaper, you can apply the same method to deliver quality content to users in exchange of a fee. News apps like NYTimes have this method where they offer a certain number of free article to readers and if they wish to read more than that, they have to get a subscription.

Businesses have spent more than $100 billion on mobile advertisements. For any news company having a mobile app, this becomes a great source of income. Having personalized ads for businesses will get you started. It will also be a good option to choose the ads as per the reader’s interests to increase the possibility of viewing the ad.

Campaign for Sponsors

Running a personalized campaign for sponsors on your news mobile app is another way of revenue. Tickets to shows or events can be sold on the app. This can also be done for a specific location or a particular group of people having similar interests.

Which is a better choice, Android or iOS?

This is the most common yet the most crucial question when it comes to news app development. The debate between Android and iOS is ongoing ever since both of these became the top platforms in the development world. When it comes to the security of the app, iOS has been a more secure platform. But Android has a larger audience so if you are going for news app development for the first time and want to get more audience immediately then Android is a choice.

There is also an option to go for a cross-platform news app development which will expose you to a larger audience. Cross-platform app development will not only reduce the cost of developing a news app as compare to news app development cost for two separate apps but also decrease the time of newspaper app development.

But if you wish to go for one platform only, a newspaper app for iOS will be cheaper as compared to Android news app development. If you are wondering how to make a news app for iPhone, then you can contact our team for any assistance.

Since we are talking about news mobile app development, location plays a key role. Locals are likely to be more interested in your app than far-off readers. Choosing the platform that most of your local readers are on is the best choice. To make things more simple, just go for a platform that is the most popular among your readers.

What Features Should Be Included in News App Development?

Assuming that you are a first timer while getting a news app developed, we shall discuss what features contribute to making a successful newspaper app. If you are planning to build the app yourself, this 76 point checklist for app development will answer all your ‘how to develop news app’ questions.

Before we head on to news app development cost, let us see the features a news app must have:

Login or Registration

This feature is very important. The users must be able to create a profile by logging in through their email address or their mobile number. Users should also be allowed to log in using any of their social media accounts such as Facebook, Twitter or LinkedIn. Allowing these social media accounts to link with your app is a wise choice as the users can easily share any news on such socials.

User Profile

A user profile needs to be filled by the users that will include data relevant for you. When a user has a profile it becomes easier to suggest content according to their interests and past search results. These profiles can also be used to create engagement on any of the news content, eventually increasing the reach.

Filter Search Option

This feature is seen on many apps and has been loved by users. Having a filter in the search bar allows users to search specific news as well lets you know what kind of content your readers are looking for. A search can be filtered according to location, keyword, date, or latest trending news.

Push notifications

As per the graph above, 6 out of 10 people like to read news on their mobile phones. So, to keep your readers up to date about when a news a posted or what’s the latest news update, push notification can be used. This feature sends a notification the mobile devices of the readers, letting them know what’s up in a fraction of second. This feature is also said to be one of the marketing tools as it helps in user retention.

Filter the Feed

Filtering helps in what the users want to see and do not want to see. Usually, this is done by having a ‘Don’t show this to me’ option on every news post. The more optimised feed a user will have, the more time they will spend on the app.

Offline Reading Option

Most users prefer saving an interesting piece of content for later and for the same offline reading option should be used. This feature allows users to save content to read in an offline mode. This feature helps when there is no internet or the internet connection is slow.

All Types of Media

Words are not enough to make a piece of content interesting and that’s when images, videos, and audios come into the picture. The app should support all types of media including GIFs, PDFs, Slides, etc. This gives more flexibility to deliver the right message and express properly.

Like, Comment and Share

This is the most common feature in any social media app and should not be eliminated in a news app. The option to engage and the ability to share a piece of news makes the whole user experience a fun one. The share option should also allow sharing on other socials like Whatsapp, Facebook, Twitter, etc.

These were some of the features that a news app must include. Now we come to the most awaited section of the article and that is the cost of developing a news-based mobile application.

How Much Does It Cost to Build A Newspaper Application?

News app development cost depends on certain factors. These factors are:

A choice between Android and iOS
Development type: Native or Hybrid
Number of features added
Hiring a development company or a freelancer
Outsourcing or in-house news app development

These points affect the news app development cost. However, the general MVP cost estimate for news app ranges between $18,000 to $20,000 for a basic app.

If you wish to add any additional features, the cost may rise. A high-end news app allowing more user action costs around $35,000 to $45,000.

This is not as scary as it sounds because the better the app, the more the ROI on the app.

However, if you know how to develop news app for Android or iOS then you shall only pay for the tools you will be using. There are some app development cost calculators that can give an estimate of the development cost.

Our team of developers knows well how to make a news app for Android and iOS. Contact our mobile app development agency to get yourself a brilliant news app.

Impact of 5G Networks on Mobile Apps- Read

Posted on 04/04/202015/06/2021 by Tushar

We are just 2 months away from entering the age of next technological revolution – the onset of a wireless network which will help combine data computation with million of devices in a matter of a few seconds. Imagine it like this – Till the time you blink your eye, millions of data would have transmitted from your system to millions and millions of connected devices in the world. The facility that will make it possible – after being talked about and dissected at great length – is finally here. The powerful technology that is on the brink of altering mobility that we are going to talk about in much detail in this piece is 5G Wireless Networks.

Seeing the potentialities that 5G technology comes powered with, it will be naive to call it just a network. 5G will be the underlying fabric for a complete ecosystem that is made of completely connected devices and is capable of overhauling business and economic policies 180 degrees – The reason why 5G has found its place in the list of Top 10 tech trends that will go mainstream in the near future.

The transformative technology has seen interest coming in from not just businesses but also in the charts estimating a number of subscriptions. The paradigm shift that 5G technology is poised to bring is going to having a lasting effect across a number of industries in ways that are going to open doors of innovation and transformation to an extent that things that were always assumed to be too far fetched or ones belonging to a Steven Spielberg sci-fi movie. A shift that will be faster than the time you take to get 5G technology explained.

We are going to look at the impact of 5G on a number of different industries in this article. But since the most direct impact of a high internet connectivity can be seen in a mobile app economy (and because mobile app development economy is our expertise) we will be majorly focusing our attention on the 5G impact on Mobile Apps.

But before we move on to the 5G impacts on Mobile Apps, it is imperative to get you acquainted with the power of 5G – something that you will only be able to understand when you know how different 5G is from 4G or through a comparison between 5G vs. LTE vs. 4G

How is 5G technology Better Than 4G?

A lot faster fiber comparable sped minus wires
Lower latency – meaning lesser delay and interference
Greater wireless power to allow more devices to connect on an IoT network
A uniform experience with a greater variety of coverage option and condition
Greater opportunity for wireless connectivity

But what do these benefits mean for mobile apps?

Let’s Find Out.

What Does 5G Networks Means for Mobile Apps?

1. Greater Speed

The high download speed that will now be tagged with 5G technology will not just make it easier for the users to download apps in a few second irrespective of what the MB size your app is of.

Apart from taking benefits in terms of high app download speed, the speed factor seen in mobile apps with 5G will also come in handy for mobile app marketers who are relying on in-app download based monetization plans as one of the ways they can earn from mobile apps.

While this is about the perks that mobile app market will enjoy because of high download speed, there is another category of speed that affects mobile app retention to a huge extent. In fact, in the world of entertainment apps, it is one of the main reasons behind users abandonment after first app visit – App Streaming Speed.

5G mobile apps will remove the mere concept of streaming lags.

2. Faster File Transfer

With great speed comes faster transfer of files, money or simply anything transferable. The power of 490 MBPS browsing speed and 100 MBPS download speed ripples down to speedier file transfer.

The revolution that 5G mobile app is going to bring in the file transfer feature is going to advance a number of mobile app categories that have based their business model around transfer of data or money from one account to another.

3. Low to Zero Latency

There is nothing more annoying for a mobile app user than an app that takes ages to respond to their one action.

Latency is something that the mobile app development economy is not a stranger to and a victim of. But with 5G mobile apps, the time it takes to react to the users’ prompt becomes even more faster than real-time. An event which comes in very handy in AR/VR based mobile apps.

4. Greater User Experience

While the three factors mentioned above are sufficient in themselves to improve the user experience to a huge extent, one of the biggest perk of high 5G internet speed is clarity.

You must have noticed the difference between watching a video or hearing music on 2G network over streaming the same over an LTE Network. It is only going to advance now. The effect of app UI gets elevated to a very huge extent when used or streamed on a 5G network.

Now that we have given you a sneak into the myriad of benefits that your mobile app is just a few months away from availing, it is now time to look into the industries that are most likely to be touched from this revolution called 5G.

Industries That Are Going to Witness the Maximum Benefit from the Onset of 5G

5G wireless networks will be unleashing a massive amount of revenue opportunity – approximately $12.3 Trillion globally – across a wide spectrum of industries, according to IHS Economics. An amount that is equal to consumer spending of all of the USA in 2016.

5G is expected to create millions of jobs universally, with the mobile app developers being identified as the core career groupings who stand to benefit, in addition to the content and infrastructure providers.

While there is not even a single industry that is going to go untouched by the advantages that the higher than ever seen before internet speed is going to bring, there are some industries that will show the first sign of adoption and innovation. Industries that will in many ways become the torchbearer of 5G Power adoption in the mobile domain.

Let us look at some of those industries that are going to be the fastest recipients of the 5G benefits in the mobile domain.

Internet of Things (IoT)

The faster than real-time communication speed and long battery life – the two benefits of 5G wireless networks are perfect condition for Internet of Things growth

According to a recent survey by Gartner held between several representatives of different economic sectors, it was found that over 57% respondents considered IoT the most promising 5G mobile apps niche.

5G will allow the mobile app developers to work in those IoT areas which makes it crucial to keep a difference between 4 milliseconds and 40 milliseconds.

Smart Cities

With 5G finally here, creation of smart homes and heck, Smart Cities a reality now. A reality that is equipped with millions of sensors working in real time.

Smart Cities are undoubtedly a unique platform for businesses as they will now be able to connect multiple devices with a single mobile app.

The perks will most be enjoyed by someone who own multiple businesses as Smart City will help them offer every single sphere of their service offerings to the user of tens of connected devices in one stroke.

Even if you keep the profit and business side away, imagine what 5G powered Smart Cities would do to city’s safety quotient.

AR/VR

The time when AR/VR used to be an upcoming trend will now finally stop. Now, users will see the advent of Augmented Reality and Virtual Reality in almost all phases of life around them.

From attending a live event in LA while being at home in Canada to seeing the history of every room and turn of the monument, AR/VR will now finally go mainstream with 5G.

While the examples that we gave above are more inclined towards entertainment, there are a number of other industries – Healthcare, Education, Army, etc that will witness the benefit that the platform where Reality and Virtual surrounding is same.

Logistics and Production

Use of 5G mobile apps will help in improving remote control of the machine in complex industries. Stability of the automation system will grow and alongside an enhancement of the product quality.

Three-dimensional printing along with 5G and robotics even allows designing of smart plants. Remote controlled machines significantly reduce risk factors for people who are working at difficult production facility.

Healthcare

All the various healthcare obstacles will cease to exist once 5G comes into the picture. Challenges like remote patient monitoring and doctors not being able to attend to patients on time are ones that would not exist once 5G meets healthcare applications.

Along with this, wearable devices connected with medical apps will be able to keep better details of the patient’s records and then give reports in real-time as well.

So here were the industries that are going to get affected with 5G onset. But, is the soon to be true future really that perfect?

Well, no.

Like at the beginning of every technology, implementation of 5G also comes with its share of challenges. Let us look at what they are –

Challenges Associated with Implementation of 5G in Mobile Apps

1. Security Issues

With greater speed will come a greater increase in the number of connected devices and networks – something that will create loopholes in terms of security.

2. Establishment of 5G Based Business Model

The network speed which 5G is anticipated to be launched with, will demand business models that make the most of its potential, something that the mobile app strategists will have to give a lot of thought to. It is not just the strategists but also the OS ecosystems like Android 11 which are looking to help businesses adapt the 5G technology.

3. Multiple App Versions

With 5G coming into practice, the app audience will be get divided to poles apart. There’ll be those who have devices fit for 5G and then those who are still working on 2G or LTE version devices.

Want to find solution to these challenges? We have them. Get in touch with our team of Mobile App Strategists to know how to prepare your app to be a part of the 5G race even before it’s here.

Business Needs A Mobile Application for Growth: Reasons

Posted on 03/04/202015/06/2021 by Tushar

In this age of mobility, it is not only difficult but also impossible to live without our smartphones. The reason behind this dependability is the mobile apps that have made human life so simple. These apps are changing the very way we live our everyday lives. And in order to get things done, we need lots of mobile applications. This has resulted in pressuring mobile app development companies to build more useful enterprise mobile applications. According to research conducted by Gartner, it was said that by the end of 2017, the market demand for enterprise application development shall outpace the need for the organizations to develop the apps. Also, the sale of mobile phones is expected to surpass 2.1 billion units in the year 2019. The numbers are huge and will keep getting bigger and bigger. This only shows how beneficial having a mobile app, be it iOS or Android for your business will be in the future. There are numerous advantages of mobile apps for industries, be it small or large.

These app development services are utilized for the promotion of services that an industry provides, therefore, the app must have an innovative approach for targeting potential customers at the earliest. Increased revenue, the growth of industry and brand awareness are some advantages of having a mobile app. All of these added to the other key everyday advantages makes mobile apps not just important for businesses but also makes them a necessary part of the modern day lifestyle.

Industries that Benefited from Mobile Apps

According to research, industries are putting most of their investment in going mobile, the reason is quite obvious. Going for app development services, many industries have seen growth and an increase in profits. Here are some of the industries that used their mobile apps for business and got amazing results:

Healthcare Industry

The healthcare industry has been using mobile apps for a long time now and the impact of apps on the healthcare industry is huge. Apart from quick checkups and storing patient information in one tap of the screen, there are many other ways apps are benefiting this industry. Virtual assistance of doctors, identifying the disease through images and much more has been made possible because of mobile apps.

Travel Industry

The travel industry is using apps to get more customers and also using it to provide better services to them. The travel apps are revolutionizing the travel industry by giving special services to customers, allowing apps to check in and check out without ease, getting combined bookings done and much more. All this is changing the face of travelling and apps are becoming the best travel companies for travellers.

Restaurant Industry

Restaurants are one of the most successful industries of all times and with the help of mobile apps, they have been able to excel at their services. Restaurants need well executed mobile apps to allow customers to reserve seats, place orders, find good places to eat and anything else that enhances user satisfaction. The apps are even used to showcase restaurants based on the review given by previous customers. And the biggest benefit of mobile apps for restaurant industry is that they gathering a massive audience through apps which increases the profits.

Entertainment Industry

The entertainment industry is no longer limited to a TV screen but has rapidly shifted to mobile phones and tabs. The reason for this rapid shift is an increase in mobile users. Mobile apps let viewers view any type of show, at any time of the day and at any place. From live streaming to news updates, everything is available on apps. They say mobile is the new TV and it has become possible only through apps.

All these examples show the benefits of mobile apps for business. However, these are not the only industries that benefited from their mobile apps. There are others such as social network, e-scooter, etc. that have gone mobile and are seeing an immediate increase in their business revenue. Some restaurant businesses like DoorDash have a business model that’s completely based on mobile apps.

Why Does Your Business Needs a Mobile App?

Ever since mobile apps have become a lifestyle necessity, the apps are constantly improving in ways to provide the most out of them. Every mobile app development company that develops apps for industries is bringing changes that benefit the users as well as the business. However, there are already many advantages of mobile apps for industries:

Audience building

With the increase in mobile app usage, industries are taking the benefits of mobile app application development to increase their customer base. Interaction with users becomes easier with the help of mobile apps. Audience building is one of the most important benefits of mobile apps for small businesses in the industry. Since they are just starting, gathering customers through a mobile app is a great strategy.

Creates brand awareness

Mobile apps are a one-stop point for getting all the relevant information related to the brand as well as showcasing the products and the services. Newer products and services are showcased on the apps and promoted via ads. This will increase the sales of the product while keeping the promotion cost lower.

Analytics for business strategies

With the help of mobile apps, businesses can track important analytics such as the number of visitors, users most viewed product, time spent on each section of the app, and a lot more. Analytics are crucial for marketing and advertising as it makes sure that the targeted audience is right.

Competitive advantage to businesses

There are still many companies within an industry that don’t use their mobile app’s full potential and there are some companies that don’t even have a mobile app yet. This certainly plays the benefit card for businesses that are working hard with their mobile apps for business. Although the competition is still quite low in this area yet it is a big advantage.

Helping small businesses in the industry

Mobile apps for small businesses can be a godsend keeping in mind the fact that using apps as a tool for growth is extremely cheap. Most businesses are skeptical because they don’t know how much does it cost to make an app and eventually assume it costs a lot. However, that’s not the case. Once it is developed, a mobile app for business is the best tool for growth.

Ease of payment

Industries like eCommerce, travel, etc. often require online payment for their products and services. Secure payments are one of the reasons why your business needs a mobile app. Apps can be developed with secure payment options gaining the trust of customers who find it hard to trust websites for making payment. Secure payment option is the most profitable benefits of mobile apps for small businesses.

Sales and Business Growth

The industries are usually focused on exploration of newer avenues in the marketplace for the implementation of mobile application development strategies for their campaigns. With the increasing number of mobile users, there must be an increase in sales while satisfying the user requirements. The mobile apps are very effective in ensuring progress levels within a short span of time.

Retaining Loyal Customers

Another useful advantage of mobile apps for business is that it offers a hassle-free experience on the customer support request. Businesses can retain their customers with the help of attractive offers such as discount coupons, vouchers, etc. Uber’s business model allows it to offer discounts to mobile app users and so far has been proved to be the best strategy.

Deliverance of Powerful Messages

Powerful messages are delivered to the customers at the best possible rate so that the business organization saves money. These messages are effectively delivered for the conversion of the visitors into potential customers. An irresistible offer, when notified with the push notifications message of the mobile app, is an effective way for business promotion.

Mobile apps are supremely beneficial in fulfilling user expectations. Customers are usually happy when they discover an app that is easy to connect and offers customers the necessary tools for an easy use of the apps.

How to Get Started with Getting Your Mobile App Developed?

The desire to get a mobile app developed becomes easier if employing an app designing company. The mobile app development companies will first and foremost try to evaluate the business requirements of the clients while working closely with them. This is done to understand what the client is looking for in the app, in the best way possible.

Apart from proper functioning, the mobile apps that are developed must also have an attractive look. Multiple programs can be integrated easily with the affordable rates offered by the app-developed services. Before developing an app, one must be absolutely clear on the purpose that it has to serve.

However, most of the time the cost of the app becomes an issue. Majority of small businesses are unable to find how much does it cost to make an app and that prevents them from getting mobile apps for small business.

It is a common practice to find an app development company near to the location of the business to have a proper meeting. Other avenues to find and hire the best app developers are through the internet, meeting their essential needs, for striking a perfect match for their business.

If you are willing to get a mobile app developed for your business then contact us at Anteelo. We have an exceptional team of mobile app developers that build apps for clients to increase their revenue as well as business reach.

Top 10+Mobile App Development Frameworks in 2019-2020

Posted on 02/04/202015/06/2021 by Tushar

One common question in the minds of the app developers is ‘What is the right framework for mobile app development?’ and that is exactly what we are here to discuss in this article. It has been a while since the first set of frameworks were introduced in the tech world and today there are numerous mobile app development frameworks.

The doubt arises when it comes to choosing one of the best frameworks for your mobile app in this pool. Quite often, the app developers need to transform an iOS application into an Android application. So it becomes crucial to choose the right frameworks which enable them to convert an application in one ecosystem into another. The purpose of choosing any of the cross-platform mobile app development frameworks is to make the work of an individual developer or a mobile app development agency, easier and the experience much more flexible.

So without further delay let us look at the top 10 Most Popular Mobile App Development Frameworks for 2019 to 2020:

1. Adobe PhoneGap

The PhoneGap framework for mobile app development enables people to see changes instantly. Moreover, it is a cross-platform development framework which allows app developers to develop in Javascript, HTML5 and CSS. This is the reason why it is one of the first choices for those developers who are interested in building hybrid apps.

The apps that are developed using Adobe PhoneGap not only ensures high-quality performance but also allows mobile app developers to develop apps without any hardware limitations. Other than the usual Android and iOS platforms, it can develop apps for Windows, Blackberry, Mac OS, Ubuntu and Firefox OS. Additionally, the developers can extend its functionality by adding plugins that are associated with this framework.

2. Ionic

One of the 3 Of The Best Frameworks For Mobile App Development in 2018, Ionic is the best framework for mobile app development and also it’s free. It is quite popular among the app development frameworks. Ionic is basically a front-end network, which helps to build native-like mobile apps with HTML, CSS3 and Javascript. It works in an optimized manner on the latest mobile devices available and provides the best possible environment for the app to hit the market in the desired way.

An Ionic market is an online place where templates and projects developed by other developers can be downloaded. The Ionic lab components makes sure of it that you test your app in the most popular among the platforms, Android and iOS.

The mobile app development framework has other advantages such as working with powerful SDK called Angular. Because of its ability to build native like mobile apps, Ionic is a great framework for PWA development. It works well in combination with PhoneGap, Trigger.io and Cordova projects along with the accessibility of efficient core architecture, fitting simple to complex types of apps.

3. Xamarin

Xamarin is owned by Microsoft and is based in San Francisco. With the help of C# codebase, app developers can use Xamarin tools to develop for Android, iOS and Windows apps. These codes can be shared across multiple platforms including Windows and Mac OS.

In fact, it is also one of the 5 Must-Try Open Source Mobile App Development Frameworks, even when the React Native vs Xamarin comparison is in the picture.

4. Intel XDK

Intel XDK is a cross-platform mobile app development framework for every app store. It helps you build apps with plugins, responsive apps, interactive apps and web services for any device. This mobile app development framework helps developers with development, testing, emulation, debugging and finally publishing the app. They have been making developments in the framework lately and now they have software support for IoT apps and Node.JS.

Intel XDK provides you with a live preview of the changes you are making while app development. There is also an option of drag and drop to create apps which is easy although it does create numerous unnecessary codes.

5. React Native

React Native is one of the best frameworks for mobile app development and is giving competition to Xamarin and Native Scripts. It was developed by Facebook and is used by Airbnb, Instagram, Tesla, Walmart and many other Fortune 500 companies. It uses the same UI building blocks that Android and iOS do. This is why it becomes difficult to differentiate between an app built using React Native and an app build using Objective-C.

There has been debates on React Native vs Ionic quite often since both are top preferred frameworks. But one of them is more liked. Because of its rich UI, React Native framework gets so much attention by the developers. It helps you build an actual app with great performance using JavaScript framework which has changed the scenario of the development world.

6. Flutter

Flutter came unannounced and made its place as one of the best hybrid mobile app development frameworks. What makes Flutter app development unique is that it uses 2D rendering engine known as Skia to create visuals. These visuals are made to look like Material Design and Cupertino style widgets but in reality, they are not. The framework allows ease of testing to developers without restarting the project if any error occurs.

Flutter, even though backed by Google is not just a Popular Android App Development Frameworks for Mobile Apps it is also for iPhones. This framework lets you build cross-platform apps for iOS and Android that can be run on any device. It uses the programming language, Dart.

7. Corona SDK

Corona SDK provides 10 times faster development than any other mobile app development framework. This is because Corona backend is supported by Lua which is a light-weight programming language that focuses mainly on speed, flexibility and ease of usage.

This framework for mobile app development will be great for those who want to code fast and still maintain the quality of apps. The framework is absolutely free of cost and can be used to build in all platforms supporting Windows and Mac OS X.

8. Mobile Angular UI

Mobile Angular UI is a great hybrid mobile app development framework. It is especially good for those who prefer Bootstrap and Angular. Mobile Angular UI is a combination of Bootstrap and Angular framework that lets you build using HTML5. In one of our previous blogs on React vs Angular: Which is The Best JavaScript Framework we discussed why it better to use AngularJS over react native when it comes to performance boost. Angular gives a good server side support and supports complex apps with ease.

This framework for mobile app development allows developers to use fastclick.js and overthrow.js for a smooth mobile experience. This framework is free and available to be used under the name of MIT.

9. Native Scripts

Listed among the best Android framework 2020, Native Scripts is backed by a Bulgarian software company, Telerik. It was originally created by Progress. The apps built with Native Scripts use the same APIs as if they were built using Xcode or Android studio.

The official website of Native Scripts continuously provides resources and tutorials for budding developers so that they can learn to work in this framework like a pro.

10. JQuery Mobile

JQuery is an HTML5 framework for mobile app development. The greatest advantage lies in the fact that just one version of the code is developed and it can run across all devices. Irrespective of whatever is built using this framework, either website or app, it runs not only across all devices but also runs in a variety of Operating System such as Android, iOS, Blackberry, Windows and Firefox Mobile as well as Kindle, Nook and MeeGo.

It is possible to download JQuery either as a custom download or the latest stable version. JQuery was listed in the top 15 JS frameworks prediction for 2019 which proves it to be an ideal choice when there is a need for rapid development of apps with the plugins that come with the app.

So, these were the top 10 mobile app development frameworks but that is not all. There are many other frameworks that are being used to build great mobile apps. Let us look at them briefly.

11. Framework7

This is a free framework for mobile app development which can be used to develop hybrid apps for Android and iOS. It uses HTML, CSS and JavaScript with ease during app development. It provides some extraordinary features such as supports multiple viewing, library agnostic, native scrolling, caching, browser history, etc.

This framework also helps in building a quick prototype for an app. This comes as a great advantage to mobile app development companies when they have to show the clients a rough idea of the project.

12. Appcelerator Titanium

Appcelerator Titanium uses a mix of both PhoneGap and Xamarin. This framework uses JavaScript to write codes and supports Android and iOS platforms. However, it does not come with CSS and HTML. To use Titanium start with the Titanium studio which comes with its own Titanium SDK and platform-independent APIs.

It uses Alloy to develop faster. This also makes it easy to reuse the apps which reduces time and cost.

13. Sencha Touch

Sencha Touch is usually preferred by enterprises as it has a wide range of products to work with. ExtJS is the main JavaScript used for development and gives a rich look and high performance to the apps. It has ready to use tools for all platforms including Android, iOS, Windows and Blackberry. For ease of development, Sencha Touch also provides a drag and drop option for visual app builder. It is one of the best frameworks to achieve a high performing app with great visuals.

If you wish to learn more about frameworks that mobile app development companies are using today then contact our team at Anteelo and we will guide you through the entire app development process. We will be more than happy to provide you feedback on your app ideas.

What makes Ionic Framework Great For PWA Development?

Posted on 01/04/202015/06/2021 by Tushar

The ionic framework was created by Drifty Co. in 2013 and by 2015 Ionic developers had reportedly created over 1.3 million applications with the SDK. Two years of time and Ionic frameworks rooted itself among the developers of the entire world as a breakthrough technology and it never went back. But what is the ionic framework and what was it that made it such a such a big hit in the PWA development industry such a short span of time?

As the definition goes – Ionic is an absolute open-source (100% free) SDK for hybrid mobile app development. Ionic app development suite provides tools and services for the development of hybrid mobile applications using technologies such as CSS, HTML5, and Sass.

Any kind of mobile applications can be built with these web technologies and later distributed through all the native app stores. The best apps made through Ionic framework are progressive web apps which are, as their name suggests, truly progressive.

So what are progressive web apps which have been continuously called the saviours of mankind and a lot more? In case you still don’t have a clue about the concept, head on to our article – This is What Google Wants You to Know About Progressive Web Apps

We know about Native apps which look and feel like Apps – they load offline, send push notifications, so on and so forth.

We also know about Mobile web apps, which are basically restricted by the properties of the browser and they do not do things like running offline and sending push notifications but they are smaller in size and do everything else a native app does, but only being online.

Progressive web apps, the concept coined as future of mobile apps, bridge this gap created between Native mobile apps and mobile web apps.

On the whole, a PWA provides a collection of technologies, design concepts, and web APIs which work in tandem to give the user an App-like experience on the mobile web.

Progressive web apps are proving themselves to be the future of mobile apps, standing right beside Native apps. In fact, in many ways, PWAs are points ahead in the PWA vs Native Apps comparison.

Now that we have looked into the concept of PWAs, let us get in-depth of what makes Ionic framework the best choice for a team of progressive web app developers, starting with the detail of what Ionic framework is.

Heads up: The answer to this goes beyond the fact that Ionic app development use the technology of service workers. They power the offline functionality, push notifications, background content updating, content caching and lot more.

To explain it more technically, a service worker is a worker script that works in the background, independent of your ionic web app or Progressive web app and runs in response to the event like network requests, push notifications, connectivity changes and much more.

What makes the Ionic framework awesome is that until the introduction of the framework, mobile app developers had to use Native coding to build Android, iOS or Windows apps. And each of these platforms required an independent, dedicated development. With the coming of Ionic, developers could build almost native-like mobile applications which worked on all technology stacks and different platforms alike, these were called the Hybrid apps.

What’s more is, in a survey taken from Ionic in 2017, it was revealed that the hybrid approach to developing mobile apps had gained ground over Native coding of apps. What’s unbelievable was that, according to the report, in a span of two years, the percentage of developers building exclusively with Native development tools dropped to 2.9 percent from 20 percent. Let us try to unravel the reason behind this popularity of the framework in making Ionic app development mainstream.

What is Ionic Framework?

We have already established the fact that Ionic is an open-source SDK for Hybrid mobile app development, but what makes it so popular among the mobile app developers is the plethora of features it carries along with it.

Ionic app developers work with over 120 native device features such as HealthKit, Fingerprint Authorisation, Bluetooth, along with Cordova plugIns and typescript extensions, it allows mobile app developers the utmost ease of developing advanced applications.

To list down the key features of the framework –

First and foremost, it provides all the functionalities that found in native mobile development SDKs. That simply means that the developers can create their own apps and easily customize them for any OS – Android, iOS or Windows, or deploy them through Cordova.
Ionic comes loaded with a very powerful CLI, providing the developers with the ability to build and test Ionic application on any platform
It provides the ionic app developers elements and ways for interaction using Angular.
The collection repeat feature is Ionic Framework’s smoothest solution for scrolling huge lists without any performance hits. It creates a scrollable container with which the app developers can interact by using a native-like delegate system.
It is based on SASS and thus it provides a load of UI components for creating really advanced, robust applications.

Now that we have looked into the features of the Ionic framework, let us get back to what we gathered here for – To know what makes Ionic the best choice for PWA development.

Progressive web apps with Ionic – Why?

Let us start with some stats here,

The best western river north hotel reported a 300% increase in revenue with their new PWA.
Tinder Cut load times from 11.91 seconds to 4.69 seconds. Also, The new PWA is 90% smaller in size than Tinder’s native Android android app.
Facebook, after expanding to PWAs witnessed a steep rise in its engagement rates and download count.
Uber’s PWA was designed to be faster even on a 2G network. The main app is only 50K gzipped and takes less than 3 seconds to load on 2G.
Pinterest’s new PWA saw them an increase of 60% core engagements along with a 44% increase in user-generated ad revenue and an increase of 40% in the average time spent on their site.
BookMyShow’s PWA takes less than 3 Seconds to load and increased conversion rates over 80 %. On top of that, their PWA is 54 times smaller than their Android native app and 180 times smaller than their iOS native app.

Yes, you have seen some big names mentioned in the above-written pointers. All then switched to PWA with ionic frameworks. There are also names like, Starbucks, Lyft, Twitter and Forbes who have seen a significant increase in the user engagements with their progressive web apps.

Why should one use the Ionic framework?

Ionic allows the mobile app developer to use a combination of programming languages such as CSS, HTML5, and JavaScript for ionic mobile app development. The unification of these three languages is potentially potent enough to make any ionic app development company deliver you with the best user interface for your targeted Audience. So, if you have got a very visually appealing App assignment to take on, go for Ionic. (combination of CSS, HTML5 and JavaScript)

Secondly, it is very easy to move platforms. That’s it. Unlike in the case of native applications where you need to code separately for all the platforms and operating systems, the Ionic platform provides the liberty of easily deploying code on any OS or platform. (Easy to move platforms)

Thirdly, the ionic framework is supported by Angular, the most common framework that is used for developing highly interactive mobile apps. In fact, the component API of Angular is the foundation of the Ionic framework. Besides, HTML’s sentence structure extensions given by Angular.js makes it very easy to incorporate user-friendly advanced features to the app. (Fully supported by Angular.js)

For the pool of Cordova plugIns. For those who are new to this, Cordova is a set of command-line tools and plugin bridges and it helps the developers in building native applications by calling the native code from JavaScript, adding platforms, running and building applications. And since Ionic is an HTML5 framework, it requires a native partner like Cordova to ensure its own functioning as a native application. And since Ionic framework comes equipped with Cordova plugins, it becomes easier for ionic app builders to access native features such as camera, GPS, Bluetooth, etc. (Flooded with Cordova native app plugins)

Finally, for the Ionic platform’s powerful CLI (Command-line interface). The ionic framework comes with CLI which makes it possible to create, code, test and deploy Ionic apps to the platform of your choosing. The CLI gives the ionic mobile app builders, the functionalities that are found in native SDK, which includes a built-in development server and debugging tools.

Moreover, this new CLI installation reduces over 90 MB of dependencies and thousands of legacy codes and even allows a much faster installation time in addition with a smaller footprint. This means an overall better speed and performance and more guidance and feedback during app development. (Powerful command-line interface)

What are the alternatives to Ionic application development service for PWA Development?

Xamarin: It is a Microsoft-supported framework for cross-platform mobile app development that uses C# and native libraries that are wrapped in the .NET layer.

React Native: It is a framework that allows the building of close-to-native mobile apps using JavaScript and React.JS.

Summing up, progressive web apps have rooted themselves among big brands and are running smoothly through ionic framework building. So much so that along with their native apps, they’re facilitating their users with an Ionic web app which can smoothly run on slower networks.

Although, many others continue to successfully use it for developing “native-like” apps and deploying them on app stores without any glitch. This is a testament enough that people are liking what they’re getting and there is no stopping them.