Month: December 2017

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Why Do Companies Outsource Their Mobile App Development Activities?

It could be because you lack time, money, technical expertise, experience or resources to continue with in-house mobile app development. You may be prompted to rope in an external source to develop a mobile app for your company when you are driven by a desire to save money . You will scout for some cheap resources and strike a deal with the company that promises you “cheap and best” mobile app development services.

Given the fact that the market for mobile apps is growing by leaps and bounds with every financial year, it is for you to establish a working relationship with a technically-strong agency. Your outsourcing partner should guarantee you a professional working environment along with the delivery of quality products. But when you pick up one end of the stick, you are naturally lifting the other end too. Thus, choosing to tread the path of outsourcing a mobile app development team comes with a share of advantages and disadvantages to your business.

Let us now understand and contrast them under their respective heads.

Pros of Outsourcing a Mobile App Development Company

1. A Budget-Friendly Option

Topping the list of advantages of hiring an external mobile app development team is the evident cost savings that can boost your bottom line. When you outsource, you will be billed only for the work that is done by them; be it on an hourly or fixed payment. This provision will come into practice depending on the terms of your agreement with the external entity.

You can be sure of cutting down overhead costs which can work in your favor to bring down your overall operational and business expenditure. Hence, outsourcing comes as an affordable solution when you don’t have to incur additional expenditure to train your workforce. Simply sign up with a reputed mobile app development company and you don’t have to sweat over the constant improvement in the qualifications of your in-house technical team.

2. Technical Resources and Expertise At Your Disposal

When you sign up with an external mobile app development company, you can make the most of the established systems and tools that come with your mutual technical agreement. You can make the best use of their tools, licenses, software, certificates and many other resources that come handy in churning out state-of-the-art mobile apps. It is like all the essential technical and physical resources are offered to you under one roof.

Well-established mobile app development companies vouch for their dedicated teams which take care of your project right from the start till your mobile app comes up in the market. By roping in an external mobile app development company, you can avail the services of industry experts, designers, testers, project managers and marketers; all those professionals who are associated with the outsourced company. That means, through outsourcing, you will benefit from the expertise of skilled people across the globe who are adept at churning out mobile apps for clients like you and me.

3. Capitalize Technology-Specific Inputs

An external mobile app development team will demonstrate a high level of synergy coming from developers who are specialized in various technologies. Bringing to the table a host of technical suggestions, your idea of signing up with an outside party will help you understand the pros and cons of every technology. This way, you will be able to come up with a well-informed decision as to which technology or version suits your mobile app development requirements the best.

4. Do Away with Micromanagement – A Time-Saving Mechanism

Micromanagement, in today’s business-centric world drains a lot of operational time. It is indeed a time-consuming proposition to constantly keep a watch on what your employees are up to when your company is treading the path of in-house mobile app development.

When you partner with an external mobile app development company, you will be saving a great of time with regard to managing your project. It becomes the prime responsibility of the subcontracted company to ensure that your project meets the agreed deadline. It is then that you will benefit with time when you can concentrate better on your business or any other project that is waiting to be launched.

5. Avail the Benefits of a Round-The-Clock Support System

Most of the outsourced teams offer you 24/7 support. The agreement between you and your outsourced company handholds you to resolve any issues that might crop up at any point. Simply get in touch with the technical executives of the company and you are all covered. You will not be left groping in the dark when you are seeking technical guidance coming from the global talent pool that is ordained to fix your problems.

6. Transparency and Complete Control Over the Development Process

After signing the dotted line with an external mobile app development company, you will be able to enjoy the benefits of transparency in everything that the company engages in, coupled with exercising total control over the mobile app development process. There are many outsourcing companies that allow you to access various tracking tools that can become the yardsticks of progress with regard to the job assigned. This can pave the way for better understanding between both the parties, creating a congenial business relationship that is mutually beneficial to both the parties in question.

7. Tap Into the Knowledge Pool of Global Companies

Entrepreneurs always strive to build profitable business models. With this basic idea as the backdrop, they scout for external partners that will offer them an assembly of options that can be weighed against each other in building a competitive mobile app. In doing so, you will be able to tap into the organizational behaviors of various companies across the globe.

Your company will be able to assimilate invaluable information that comes in the form of multiple developmental processes, varied attitudes and lifestyles that are innate to a particular region. This could serve as a purposeful repository for you and your business when you start learning something new with every passing day. Thus, you can tag on to these professional setups to make your mobile app development dreams come true; the simple and profitable way.

Cons of Hiring an External Mobile App Development Company

Let us now move on to the subtopic of this discussion; the cons of signing up with an outside mobile app development team or company.

1. You Can Burn Your Fingers By Endangering Data Privacy

It is your prime responsibility to secure your data. However, when you choose to outsource your mobile app development activities to an external agency, you may run the risk of jeopardizing the confidentiality of your data. There are many freelancers who offer to develop your mobile apps without sparing a thought about maintaining the privacy of your data.

In this context, you can avoid this serious botch-up by having a Non-Disclosure Agreement (NDA) in place even before you assign the project to the agency.

2. Inability to Exercise Total Control Over the Mobile App Development Process

Signing up with an external app development company may lead to a situation when you begin to lose track of what is happening on the other side. When you are not personally overlooking every instance of your mobile app development, you will be compromising on the constant assessment of the day-to-day progress in your project. Remote operations do have their shortcomings.

To ensure that you are in the constant know of things that are taking place at the offshore location, you should hire the services of an adept project manager. He/she will act as a liaison between you and the external agency, paving the way for effective management. In the event you are unable to hire a project manager, you can check out and employ a project management tool that suits you best.

3. Time Zone Differences Cause Communication Gaps

There can be an instance when you and your outsourced team will be working under different time zones. This may lead to communication gaps between you and your outsourced workforce. This time-based challenge can be addressed by signing up with reputed mobile app development companies who will address your language-centric issues. Companies that provide upscale services hire the services of a project manager who will exclusively oversee and report all the happenings of your project to you; surpassing the boundaries of time and language.

Conclusion

After weighing the pros and cons of choosing to tie up with an outsourcing agency to develop your mobile app, it pays to steer clear of certain functional and operations flaws. These flaws can be done away with provided you conduct an in-depth analysis of the company, its reputation in the market and customer feedback that is published online in the form of relevant blogs and reviews. Asking the outsourced company for references is another way to pick the right one so that you can protect yourself from a company initially overpromises but under delivers.

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As the need for Android devices are increasing day-by-day, the demand for apps will only increase. Unlike Android apps, hybrid apps are like any other app on your phone. Hybrid apps are built with a combination of web technologies like HTTML, CSS and JavaScript. The key difference between the two is that hybrid apps and built inside the native app that utilizes the mobile platform.

Android Studio is a free and easy to use integrated development environment.. After using this steps to create hybrid apps using Android Studio, we are sure you will have a good hobby or even a promising career as an app developer.

The main requirement for this is a native shell to hold the app. In other words, you need to use web view in Android. Web view allows you to display web pages as an activity layout.

Step 1: Design your Application:

Before you commit to an approach, it is advisable to make sure you have all the requirements ready so that it can meet these requirements.

For example, if you are creating a pure HTML5 mobile application, then you have access to only those features that are available to the browser.

Also, ensure you have the Pre-requisite: – Cordova CLI and the Android SDK tools, ready. For installing Cordova CLI, you first need to install Node.js version 0.10+.

Next run the following command to install the Cordova CLI:

sumo npm install -g cordova

Next, install the Android SDK tools from

Step 2 – HTML5 Mobile Framework Application

The foundation stone for building an HTML5 mobile application is the HTML5 mobile frameworks. While using jQuery on a website, it allows you to easily create animations, show and hide things, and so on.

Finally, get to adding your website. Edit your index.html page for content.

Step 3 -Testing Application through Browser

The best thing about an HTML5 framework is that, you can test it directly through your local server browser. You will be able to access your application through a local web server by going to:

If you are using the Chrome DevTools, you can even imitate the view by clicking the mobile icon in the top left corner of the screen. From here, you can debug your application to your content using the Console, Network, Time-line etc.

Step 4- Package your Application

Using third party applications like PhoneGap and Xamarin, you can package your application in a native wrapper which act as a bridge between your app and the native API’s.

Third party application loads your app in the web view, which in turn displays your application to the user.

Now we can generate a release version of the APK

Cordova build –release

Your APK file should be located here:

platforms/android/ant-build/MyApp-release-unsigned.apk

To submit it to the App Store, we need to sign in.

Step 5 – Testing Application on a Device

As we mentioned before, the best thing about the HTML5 application is that you can test it in any local browser. To test the application using native API’s, you will have to run it on an actual device.But do you know to debug without your browser debugging tools?

Luckily, there are a few good options to debug directly on your device. One of the few good options is to use the GapDebug. It allows you to install. ipa files for iOS or .apk for Android onto your device and provides a debugging interface that exactly imitates the Chrome Dev Tools. Any kind of changes you make in this interface will be reflected on the live application.

Step 6- Distribute on App Store

Once you have finished with your debugging and ready for the launch, you will first have to sign your application to the Play Store before you can install it on any device.

To sign your application, you will simply need a key store file

You create a keystore with the Java Keytool utility that comes with any standard JDK distribution and can be located at %JAVA_HOME%\bin. On Windows, this would usually be C:\Program Files\Java\jre7\bin

Final Process:

Sign up as a Google Play Developer and prepare your app store listings. Thankfully this is the least tiny hurdle you need to pass the test.

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Inevitable use of internet and mobile apps has greatly inspired enterprises to perform their business operations via mobile apps. Gartner predicts that the worldwide mobile phone sales is likely to reach 1.93 billion units by 2019, which further increases demands for consumer-focused mobile apps. However, not all apps have potential to please customers. Whether or not your app will be a success depends on how good your app is to customers.

User ratings and downloads are key to app success and reflect the measure of customer experience. That is why it is essential for any digital business to invest in mobile app testing and development. Testing of mobile apps with the right tools can ensure that your app is able to deliver personalized and friction-less user experience.

Let’s explore those 5 powerful app testing tools for flawless mobile app:

1. TestFairy

TestFairy is a free app testing tool and contains impressive features that work exceedingly well for mobile app developers and testers.

Features:

Its most compelling feature is its video recording capability. TestFairy allows developers to record a video when the app is being tested. This helps them see what precisely went wrong during the development process and where the problem lies.

In addition to this, TestFairy also offers:

  • Memory logs
  • Crash reports
  • GPS

With such excellent features, it becomes easy for developers and QA professionals to locate the issue through history of occurrences.

TestFairy is one easy-to-operate, hassle-free tool that also keeps you informed of user behaviour through recorded videos.

2. Open Sauce

Open Sauce is another considerable app testing tool by Sauce Labs designed to focus on open source projects. It offers full testing environment to make sure the app is bug-free and has appreciable performance standard.

Features:

  • Users can test the app on 5 parallel virtual machines
  • You can test the app across 700+ browsers
  • Take screen shots of problem areas and errors

The major advantage you receive from Open Sauce is that you can resort to screen shots to check the errors. It also helps improve development process efficiency and app quality keeping its UI intact.

To start using Open Sauce, you can go to its website and get registered using Google code or Github services and add your project URL with a small project summary.

3. EggPlant

This is a unique test automation tool designed by TestPlant for testing Android and iOS apps.

Features:

  • Instead of tapping into apps user interface framework like many traditional tools, EggPlant leverages its intelligent image analysis technology to view the display screen and perform testing tasks.
  • It uses SenseTalk, a simple proprietary scripting language, to achieve scripting of the app.
  • It offers a reliable integrated debugging environment to identify and address problem points in the app.

Users can use one or more scripts to establish test scenario to test app functionality across multiple OS and devices.

The tool is best suited for organizations that intend to develop and launch one or more complex applications.

4. Appium

Appium is a widely popular open source testing tool used to test mobile apps, responsive mobile web apps, and native as well as hybrid apps.

It is a developer-friendly tool and has cross-platform testing abilities. Testers can depend on the same API to write codes for various test cases across both iOS and Android platforms.

Features:

  • Users of Appium tool can test iOS and Android apps using Selenium Webdriver protocol
  • It enables you to write testing codes by choosing your favourite framework from the list of options including JavaScript, C#, PHP, Java, Python and Ruby
  • To provide even more comfort, Appium liberates users from needing any special SDK while testing native apps

Clients likeYammer, Mozilla, salesforce, Zillow, cloud9 turn to Appium to achieve impeccable app quality.

5. Ranorex

Ranorex is a simple automated testing software that allows QA testers to run tests on mobile and web applications.

Ranorex saves you a good deal of time eliminating the need to modify device aspects before starting the tests across chief operating systems.

Features:

  • Users can recognize GUI objects independent of change in their size, colour or shape
  • To help you detect bugs inside the app codes more efficiently, Renorex offers seamless integration with third party tools increasing the speed of app deployment
  • Another benefit Ranorex offers to its users is that they can reuse the same codes to design multiple test cases across different devices

It serves renowned companies such as Adidas, Canon, Siemens etc.

How to choose the most powerful App testing tool?

Passing your mobile apps through a powerful app testing tool certainly contributes to making sure your app is unquestionably a knocker. Checking the app for its quality, performance, speed and usability helps separate the successful app from the unsuccessful one. Important criteria to remember to choose the best mobile app testing tool are:

  • Quick app recognition system
  • Developer-friendly environment
  • Immense testing efficiency, speed and consistency
  • Easy viewing and detection of faults and bugs
  • Ability to run same test codes across multiple devices
  • Minimal time of installation
  • Ability to record and view testing events
  • Seamless integration with different other testing environments

Your takeaway:

As any mobile app developer would agree, testing mobile apps is incredibly challenging and requires immense attention, patience and dedication. This is why you need right tools or a trustworthy app testing partner. Also, automating testing efforts can add speed and efficiency, saving you a lot of time in the process. Make sure your testing partner is aware of the latest trends in mobile app testing. We hope this article will help you pick the tool that can yield the best results.

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The mobile app development market is flooded with countless apps that are designed across different platforms. However, only a few of them could achieve a firm space on users’ mobile screens.

A perfect mobile application is a result of an intuitive interface, speed of loading, attractive features, offline functioning, ease of navigation, and security of in-app data.

With the availability of cutting-edge technologies and widespread use of mobiles, many enthusiasts are funding new mobile applications for their business. Making a mobile app a huge success means overcoming certain hurdles encountered during the development process.

app cost estimation

So, why is mobile development difficult, and how we can overcome that? Challenges can include everything from the basic app performance and productivity, integration challenges to the end-user experience.

The app developers should make a dedicated effort to address the old as well as the unseen challenges to make a long-lasting impact. More importantly, they have to find effective ways to monetize the efforts.

The blog lets you learn about the diverse challenges in mobile app development and the comprehensive solutions to overcome them.

Technical Mobile App Development Challenges

Creative and Natural interactions: The way the internet has offered an interconnected world and how we all remain connected in two-way communication has triggered a lot of interesting discussions.

Read Also : 15 Best Programming Languages For Mobile Apps

In fact, users can interact with their mobile screen with even more speed and ease if in-built advanced sensors of the devices are leveraged. This presents as another challenge as well as an opportunity for developers during the development.

Remedy:

  • To ensure that your app has the best interactive design that is user friendly, make it an essential part of the design strategy
  • Do not place the interactions design in the later phase of the development as it will cost a lot of time
  • Give users more to play with and introduce more than basic (swipe and tap) physical gestures of interactions
  • Improve their app experience by allowing them to play with different motions like tilting, shaking, and flipping

The simplicity of UI: Unlike a fashion house where fancy haute couture is highly appreciated, the mobile app user interface is something where simplicity is expected. Making the UI complicated or confusing will repel users and give them a reason to uninstall your app.

Remedy:

  • Make UI easy-to-understand
  • Create consistency in navigation
  • Utilize a clear and simple structure
  • Avoid adding complexities within functionalities
  • Make the menu titles and content comprehensible

Creating apps with remarkable aesthetics: Your app will have no value and receive a weak response if it does not offer pleasant aesthetics to users. Users tend to choose apps that instantly capture their eyes and compel them to look inside. The pressure of creating noticeable apps, therefore, is high, which poses a big challenge.

Remedy:

Make your app a stunner by introducing the finest visual elements that leave a lasting impression for users. Try to design the kind of graphics and features that seems simple but having the potential to amaze users. To address this challenge, do the following exercise:

  • Research into popular apps
  • Know your target audience
  • Remember the aim of the app
  • Find out the colors of attraction
  • Incorporate purpose with icons, buttons, and navigation
  • Be unique and innovative

Data security: Digital interactions are wireless and offer great convenience though it comes with a price. It creates an opportunity for hackers to breach and steal data of value. Also, your apps could be vulnerable to malware attacks. This could be a serious problem when users engage with your app and give away their personal information.

Also, software or hardware disintegration issues can cost you a lot of money and time to resolve. Unlike iOS, Android has no specific instructions and guidelines for data security which means that developers will have the added responsibility of developing and maintaining a data security approach.

Remedy:

  • It is advised that developers engaged in a project should practice encrypting anything shared by users while interacting with the app
  • It is a good practice to encrypt everything inside your app’s DNA
  • You can also protect the data by developing a backup of the program so that it goes to the archive at regular intervals

Non-Technical Mobile App Development Challenges

In-depth market insight: Before marketing comes the term ‘market.’ If developers are not conversant with what trends and technologies are making rage in the market, it will be a terrible hardship to meet the purpose for which the app is built. Market knowledge also refers to the competition existing in the similar target market you pitch for.

Remedy:

  • Find out the reasons for the popularity of competitor apps
  • Learn about modern trends, techniques, and technologies
  • Gather insight about your audience’s behavior
  • Discover the problem points that only your app can solve
  • Know about features that can touch the lives of users
  • Grow awareness about app store optimization
  • Give a sharp eye to mobile app statistics

Development approach: As we know, the right start always takes you in the right direction and the same is the case of mobile app development. Choosing the suitable from the many development platforms and frameworks available is the key. Lack of proper development approach and development timelines can screw up the whole process.

Remedy:

  • Do a detailed study to decide whether to go for simple web-based development or choose a hybrid or native development.
  • Strategize UI & UX needs before finalizing the decision
  • The nature of the business and the possibility of plans in the future should be considered
  • Integration challenges should be met by handling diverse SQL and back-end databases
  • Know your target audience and the exact purpose for which the app is built

Customer Reviews & Experience: The app design should always be built with end-users in mind. After all, they will be the ones who use the app and do real-life evaluations. With options for customer reviews and experience in app stores, negative reviews and comments can affect the popularity of the app and this can lead to losing potential customers.

Remedy:

  • Make sure to keep your app design as simple as possible
  • Include icons and thumbnails to improve end-user experience
  • Effortless navigation within the app should be given priority

Improving performance: Apart from design elements and interactive capabilities, app performance also plays a vital role when impressing its users. The performance of the app should not be at the cost of draining battery life.

Also, the least expectation of the users is to have an app with no crashes or bugs. Moreover, the app should be using very minimal space on their device. So, the challenge is to create something that is flawless, intuitive, and aesthetic but that consumes optimal power.

Remedy:

  • Always test your app for its general and battery performance.
  • If possible, create a Beta version and run test cases
  • Analyze the results fed by test users to take remedial actions
  • Launch an MVP to minimize the damages

Win the attention of potential users: The reports say almost a million apps got submitted into the app store in the last 3 years. And that is why being a good app and a successful app makes the difference.

There are many good apps that just got vanished from the app market in a matter of a few months or years. Making a successful app is another big challenge faced by mobile app developers.

Remedy:

  • The prime strategy is to win the attention of the potential users
  • Perform good research to know what an end-user expects out of such apps
  • Build good strategies to penetrate the market effectively
  • Make the client understand the importance of app marketing and promotion

Challenge In Mobile Design

Tackling different screen sizes: To surprise and delight worldwide mobile users, makers introduce devices with varied screen sizes. So, developers must develop a mobile app that functions consistently across multiple devices. Screen quality is another major challenge down the path of app development.

Remedy:

  • Responsive design is an ideal solution to this problem as it offers flexible adjustments to fit the screen size
  • The one-size-fits-all solution adjusts itself across a range of device platforms and screen sizes

Compatibility with different handsets: The limitations of devices based on their in-built technologies is one of the biggest challenges for mobile app development. Making sure that the app reaches the end-users despite the type of devices they are using is a big challenge.

Remedy:

  • Like we have already mentioned, the app design should be inclusive of various screen sizes, resolutions, and pixel densities
  • The app should be equally accessible for users with mobile devices, tablets, or other smart devices

Dealing with different operating systems: In addition to all, one of the major problems faced in mobile application development is the efficiency of the app while running on different operating systems. In most cases, they stick to just 1 or 2 common operating systems to develop an app, but it will cost you many potential users.

Remedy:

  • To address OS-related compatibility, it is a good plan to first release a Beta version
  • The bug fixing process needs to be performed in all available operating systems.
  • Make a detailed app design suitable for cross platform development
  • Consider the diverse UI objects and patterns that are specific to certain operating systems.

Challenges In App Development as A Developer Working on A Client Project

The pressure of limited time frame: App development companies are told to provide an estimation on the timeline along with other project essentials. Promising a fixed time frame to complete the project can result in pressure among developers and it can get even worse if some sudden technical challenges come from nowhere.

Remedy:

  • If it is necessary to give an estimation, make it a little flexible. Consider unexpected hurdles and the time it may take to solve them before finalizing on project delivery date
  • If possible, stay away from committing a precise date and try to give a rough month of delivery so that you will have some time to fix the uninvited tech problems

Estimating the proper funding: Building an app is never a one-time investment as it seems from a distant view. To cope up with the competitive apps and to improve the performance on the go, the app should be updated at least quarterly or as and when it needs.

Read Also : Software Development Life Cycle(SDLC)

The client may not be aware of this while deciding on the funding and it can lead to later chaos.

Remedy:

  • The app developer should be able to do a rough estimate of the possible updates needed in the future.
  • Give a clear idea about the extra funding needed for updates beforehand to the client.
  • Make presentations regarding the usual cost needed for regular updates and what you will be doing differently to make it optimal. This move will surely win the confidence of the client.

The difference between concept and reality: There is often a huge divide between the way clients envision the app to be and what developers visualize it during the design. There will be a lot of requirements regarding app design from the client-side and developers can come across many surprises while trying to make it practical. The difference between the concept and reality is a challenge that puts a lot of pressure on developers.

Remedy:

  • Keep your client updated on how the process is going and what resources will be needed to fight the challenges
  • Persuade the app owner to understand the adversities involved in the process, which may require frequent iterations before the app approval.
  • Clarify on points that signal any doubts. Avoid any confusion and find a way to resolve it before it is too late to turn back. Make sure that the product at the end of the work looks the same as discussed at the beginning

Best Tips for App Developers to Be in The Game

Going by the trend in the last decades, technology will only get better and intelligent day by day. So, in order to stay in the limelight, app developers should make serious efforts to grow with the technology.

This simply means to stay updated by learning new skills and do enough research and learning to think differently and be ready to do more than normal. Here are a few tips that might be a great help for developers to stay in the game:

  • Educate others and learn new skills from others
  • Always use healthy, updated, and well-known libraries
  • Always choose from widely used design patterns and not your favorite
  • Make use of all available resources to keep yourself updated
  • Develop a strategic approach to the app development, deployment, and management

Final Words

In a nutshell, before the outset of the mobile app development process, the concept of the app idea always looks practicable. However, as it moves to different phases, mobile app developers begin to encounter unforeseen challenges.

Only the veteran app development firms can invest industry-grade resources, innovations, and creativity required to overcome them in the first place itself.

However, we hope this blog has given even the fresher developers enough idea to anticipate the possible unseen circumstances and make adequate preparation to overcome the various challenges.

More than just the technical skillset and the experience, it is all about how you respond to the different situations. The key is to build a better user experience and app developers should make the best use of the boundless opportunities around them.

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There are a handful of games that have graduated from being ordinary to extraordinary in a short time. Pokemon Go, Angry Birds, Candy Crush saga, Clash of Titans are a few successful games that have made history by becoming the most addictive playtime. Their makers took the whole world by surprise.

If you wish, you can also make an iPhone game that exhibits creativity and helps generate enormous revenue. However, it is certainly not a child’s play to develop an iOS game app. You need to gain in-depth awareness and insight about making an iOS game app from scratch.

It is true that anyone with some programming experience can make an iOS game. Here is what you need to learn:

Have an Original Idea and Fresh Vision

Unless you have nurtured an original idea for a magnificent game, it is difficult to go ahead down the course of development. Pokemon Go did not happen overnight. Its maker contemplated a lot over its like ability, viability and its usability.

The idea combined with a strong vision can work wonders. Research through the app market and analyze some game apps that have similar theme as yours. It may take a few days or weeks or months before you can build a strategy.

Jot down your ideas such as:

  • The type of gameplay
  • Sound effects
  • Unique background theme
  • Unparalleled characters
  • Graphics and art styles
  • Game music
  • Winning actions and score system

If your idea is still not worked on, you have every reason to push it forward to develop an original iOS game app.

Most Important Prerequisite Skills

A great mobile app is a result of many talents working on the same projects, including programmers, graphic designers, project managers and marketers. When you are only one playing all these roles, you will require wide skillset.

You can code only when you have proper understanding of core concepts in computer science. Here is the list of some of the must have areas you need to master:

  • Xcode & Interface Builder
  • Building to Devices
  • Swift
  • Objective-C
  • UIKit
  • MVC
  • Instruments
  • Core Data
  • TableViews
  • Git, Subversion
  • Clean Coding Principles
  • Threading & Concurrency
  • Unit Testing
  • Push Notifications
  • In App Purchase

All of these skills together can ease your way into building a superior iOS game app.

The best way to approach any creative game app is to focus on its design aspects. An iOS game app is all about graphics and not text. So learn in depth how you can make the game design a true winner.

Cull The Right Tools

With right graphic tools, iOS app developers can define and controls visuals of any iOS game. Each tool has its own pros and limitations. Some of them are:

GameSalad: Any aspiring iOS game app developers who has no thorough experience designing a game app can pick the handy game creation library GameSalad. This popular tool allows users to just drag and drop various elements to develop games fast.

Flash games: Although it is good to have knowledge of Objective C, you can write games in Flash, which offers simplicity of coding. Flash can be converted to run on iOS later.

Cocos2D: Like many developers, you can also choose third-party open-source framework like Cocos2D for creating iPhone games. It makes the process of coding the game rapid, efficient and easier and is compatible with both Swift and Objective-C.

Metal: It is an iOS exclusive tool that can allow iOS developers to produce fascinating, high-quality game visuals defying the hardware limitations of the iOS devices. It practically consumes less power than rival tools.

However, it supports developing small, less sophisticated apps and only new iPhone devices. Since it is iPhone exclusive, building an Android version of the game with Metal is an insurmountable challenge.

OpenGL ES: It is the glorious, more mature and cross-platform alternative for building delightful, rich graphics for iOS game app. It works on almost every platform, and is quite versatile (for complex and straightforward gameplays) and constantly updated.

SDL: It is a fast, multi-platform graphic library that supports creating 2D graphics. However, it is not mature and does not support 3D graphics much. It is the viable choice for small, low-level iOS games development where it fulfils all your requirements.

Program and Code

You meet a lot of options in terms of tools approaches for easy and rapid and iOS game app development.

Xcode: It is Apple’s typical free IDE (Integrated Development Environment) that allows developing iOS games on Mac. It can be downloaded from Mac App Store for free. Usually, the languages that go with Xcode games are C++, Objective-C or Swift.

Swift: This programming language had electrified many developers at the time of its announcement. It is quite flexible and as light as lower-level language, also as powerful. It enables developers to build fast-running apps without having to opt for comparatively lengthy and intricate Objective C and C++.

Objective C: this is the old language iOS game developers are very familiar with. They can use to make it function in their favour since they know its pros and pitfalls. A Great number of iOS development tutorials depend on Objective-C to convey the instructions.

Third-party frameworks: If you don’t want to opt for Swift as a programming language, third-party app development frameworks like RubyMotion, Python, Xamarin etc. You can use them without even learning new aspects.

Corona and Phonegap: If you want to use your web app development skills (JavaScript, CSS, HTML) to create an iOS game, Corona and Phonegap can make it possible for you to convert these skills into native mobile game apps.

Sound Effects and Music

If you have ever played any game (which I am sure you must have), you will know the epic role of special supporting music and sound effects. Sound and dialogue enrich the game, bring motions alive and create immersive experience.

Though it is possible to create sound effect yourself using certain household equipment, using technology to do so seems less decent and gives sharp results. A few good public creative sound libraries include:

  • freesound.org
  • pdsounds
  • freesound
  • Audacity
  • soundjay

You can also go to online marketplaces like Fiverr and Upwork where you can ask people to do the sound adding job for you. You will find the variety of talents who are creative and experienced in this domain.

You will also discover incredible voice actors who can imitate suitable voices and sounds for your iOS game.

Test Your Game

The coolest aspect about developing an iOS game app is that the development environment feels easier and more organized compared to Android ecosystem where fragments and devices are in great numbers.

No matter how best you think your app is, you must test your iOS app for performance and bug issues. You can either:

  • Do it yourself OR
  • Hire an app-testing company

Do It Yourself: Of course, you can test the app you built with lots of hope. However, the process could be tedious. Also it is difficult for you to have an honest second opinion as you are highly optimistic about your app being perfect.

Hire a Company: A company that spent years testing different apps know the entire science of testing your app in various environments and conditions. They will use their impartial eyes to test it across majority of devices and deliver honest opinion.

Release the App

If it is for iOS platform, it is worth noting that, unlike Google play, Apple is straightforward and rigorous about placing the app in its app store. Apple follows strict guideline and insists that developers need to first enroll in the iOS Developer Program that charges fixed yearly fee.

Considering this, your app must be clean, original and harmless to get successfully published in the Apple app store.

Just ensure:

  • You carefully read guidelines before releasing it
  • You improve your app before its launch
  • You collaborate with a reputed app publisher
  • You polish the app to match stern Apple standards
  • Your app has iOS specific features
  • You hire professional PR company for app promotion

Key takeaway:

The path to iOS game development is infused with a lot of challenges, and how you surpass them depends on your understanding of the process. It is not every day that you conceive, strategize and build an iOS game app from scratch. Therefore, make sure you have sufficient programming skills and knowledge of iOS specific tools, graphics, various sound effects before starting off. Don’t forget to test your game app for bugs and performance. Hopefully, the steps explained above will augment your confidence.

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In September 2017, Apple launched iPhone X along with other upgrades. The device instantly caught the attention of the iPhone lovers mainly due to its fresh features: new Super Retina display, bigger screen, higher resolution, faster processor, wireless charging and face ID authentication. iPhone X comes with a lot of improvements from design perspective. Even its old iconic home button is changed to a tiny white line as home indicator.

Like all Apple devices, this one also offers challenges to designers and developers in terms of features that make designers work harder on UI and UX of iPhone apps. So what all essential aspects iOS designers must focus on while designing an interface for iPhone X?

Here is the answer:

Unique layout design for larger vertical Space

Much of mobile apps design quality depends on interface design. iPhone X is gifted with 20% more vertical space with higher resolution. iOS Developers will take advantage of better space utility offered by iPhone X. To deliver full-screen experience, they can create edge-to-edge content with enhanced visibility.

Developers should consider Human Interface guidelines to check how to use white spaces and margins for apps to support iPhone X interface. iPhone X Developers should pay attention to the following points:

  • The content should be placed in the central position and in symmetry. Also, the content should not be lost at the corners and should support landscape as well as portrait
  • iPhone X has a tall status bar unlike previous iPhone models, which requires iOS developers to make the placement dynamic
  • Auto Layout will work better with iPhone X UI. Hence, make sure you follow interface design guidelines while designing for iOS apps
  • Ensure that the status bar does not go hidden when using the app as it keeps users informed on various bits
  • It is not advisable to use dark shades (such as black) at the top and bottom of the screen in its rounded corners or home indicators or sensor areas
  • Make the bottom space free from adding any control keys as users use the space to swipe the gestures. It will be worthless to custom gestures there

Design essentials for High resolution Display

The new iPhone X has a display that offers high-quality experience to end users with its high resolution. It has 1125×2436 pixels, which means designers will have to take extra care while designing artwork for iPhone X. They need to consider these points for compatible design:

  • Focus on content appearance and minimize its further retouching while interacting with its interface. They can use 8px-by-8px grid structure that helps make the content crisp and sharp for all sizes
  • For complicated artwork where intricacy (shading, highlights, textures) matters, PNG files seem more suitable. JPG can be preferable for photo images
  • Make use of PDF when it comes to designing flat vector artwork and glyphs with high resolution
  • For PNG graphics, 8-bit colour palette would be a better choice instead of full 24-bit palette
  • Like done in all graphics to achieve balance between size and quality, iPhone X designers also need to optimize JPEG images to establish poise between suitability and visibility. Opt for different compression settings for each image

Unique Face ID authentication

For enhanced security and protection, iPhone X provides Face ID authentication. Users can take to this feature when opening the device or making a transaction using Apple Pay.

Focus on the following aspects:

  • Face ID authentication is a luxury feature that can be used only on special occasions such as for personalized experience, of content, data synchronizing, privileged access, etc.
  • Make sure, as an iPhone X designer, you keep user’s sign in process smooth, fast and simple to deliver delightful user experience
  • Offer secure and stronger authentication process that iPhone X users can rely on especially while integrating Apple Pay or other power features with authentication process

Make The Reality More Immersive and Engaging

To make user experience even more immersive, rich and thrilling, iPhone X offers AR. Apple has blessed iOS developers with Augmented Reality Kit. Using AR technology, users can leverage their surroundings and lay it over the virtual objects to develop a special picture and enhance their visual experience.

This innovation will bring new opportunities and challenges for designers to create AR-enabled apps and game interfaces.

With advanced technology like AR brought open for iOS developers, there is no limit to what they can do when it comes to building innovative, powerful apps for iPhone X.

The Improved System Font

Yes, Apple has also touched this area and introduced a new in-house system font called ‘San Francisco.’ SF font family will be used for iOS and OS X. For Apple Watch, it becomes SF Compact with slightly different design.

To design with new font, Apple recommends:

  • Using SF Pro Text for text of 19 points or smaller
  • Using SF Pro Display for text of 20 points or larger

The best thing – about Apple’s new iPhone X font family is that its OS is intelligent enough to adapt to designer’s choices for SF font. For instance, if you prefer San Francisco font for buttons, headings and labels, the OS system will automatically set in the most suitable variant for you.

The phenomenal 3D Touch

iPhone X has amazing 3D touch function that redefines touch-based interactions and presents users with additional app-specific options. The feature functions based on varied pressure levels applied by users when they touch the screen.

Apps respond to human touch pressure and display a menu with additional action content or play animation. When the Camera icon is pressed, you will be seeing high-value, special options like Selfie, portrait, and other settings.

The 3D touch interaction involves no special gestures from users, resulting in an intuitive experience.

For 3D Touch designers should take care of the following points:

  • Think of frequently chosen tasks and actions and weave them in app options. You can go up to as many as 4 quick actions
  • Make the option titles clear and convincing. They should appear familiar and easy to understand
  • Quick actions should not be for notifications or to provide ease of navigation
  • Keep the quick action icon relevant and identifiable, something that users are used to
  • Use simple system icons instead of emoji to make it less complex and heavy

Conclusion

It is Apple’s special trait, to inspire curiosity with stimulating technology. Apple’s iPhone X is definitely a significant opportunity for iOS app developers as it contains numerous surprise elements for users. This also means a new bar of challenges for designers and developers alike. With significant changes in its screen display and UI aspects, designers can see a chance to show their creativity while building brilliant user experience for iPhone X.

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Mobile app development has become a blazing reality in recent times especially for companies that dream about achieving greater goals. Due to its burgeoning demand in modern times, having a mobile app means a solid boost to business growth. However, not every user will download and use your app. With mobile app development touching the saturation point, app stores are now cramped with plethora of apps, creating a tough competition.

It is a valid argument that marketing your mobile app impacts its success, but does your mobile have ability to attract instant attention? Your app must stand out and look attractive to users. If the app has aesthetic appeal, users will come swarming in to try your app. The following discussion uncovers the secrets of making your app more attractive.

To start with, every UI/UX designer must ask these crucial questions to ensure their app design reflects creativity and beauty.

  • Does the app design appear aesthetically pleasing?
  • Is it created with user-friendly colours?
  • Does UI feel intuitive when tried?
  • Does it offer fluid navigation to users?
  • What about the consistency of design elements?
  • Does it load and open fast?
  • Does it provide smooth transition?
  • What makes it different from rival apps in the app store?
  • How impressive was the user experience?
  • Does it function properly across all the devices?
  • Is your app highly recommendable for wider group of users?

To address all these questions confidently and make the app design look really good, here is what you can do:

1. Titillate Your Users:

Users are in your app to have an extraordinary experience, a kind of journey no other app can offer. You must, as a mobile app developer, understand what users prefer, where exactly the design trends are going and what would trigger their interest. Scour the app market and study some of the best successful apps and learn what you can do to emulate them.

Try to make a list of everything that you find amazing in their apps, including images, typography, colours, icons and navigation techniques, etc. Then make your own strategy as to how you can come up with a brilliant design that has it all. If you have spent good years in mobile app design job, you should have pretty-faced ideas to titillate users with great features and finest functionality. Understand the nerve of today’s rapidly evolving users and what could motivate them to consider your app. The best of designs are prepared mostly in the initial state of conceptual creative planning. Once you finalize your design, don’t attempt to change it now and then.

2. Easy-To-Use Design Model:

Despite the fact that more than half the world is down to using smartphones and various apps, you can still not think that everyone of them is savvy. There are still good amount of people who find using certain features of mobile and apps considerably tedious to use. This is why having a design that provides the ease of use is essential.

Things about mobile app development and its design are changing every day, and so are its features and facilities. Every app differs from another app in terms of gaining access to data or navigation. So there will always be certain people who are not as deft as others might be. Hence, it is a good approach to keep app design model easy-to-use and simple.

3. Offline Functioning Of App Design:

Many informative apps work offline with a strategy of providing more exclusive data when users come online. Nowadays, users tend to choose those apps that allow them to explore it even when their device is not connected to internet. Such apps whose usability remains intact during offline mode are best loved by users.

Offering the consistent users experience online and offline also makes your app emerge attractive among users. Evernote, Google docs, Onenote and many other apps allow users to work on their information even when they are not connected to any nearby Wi-Fi. If you are an entrepreneur or a part of an app design team, you should consider integrating this practice in your next development strategy.

4. Let Users Connect With Its Simplicity:

After you are ready with the UI of the app design, share the rough draft of it with some of your friends or families who are not technically skilled. They are, in this case, more like end users. Give them complete freedom to explore and judge various elements of your app design and see how it goes. If they call it intuitive experience, you can say you have placed your efforts in the right direction.

In order for users to connect with your app, you need to practice keeping things simple. From buttons to menu tabs and call-to-actions, every part of it matters and requires your sober attention.

5. The Grid Logic:

Grids in app works like an organizer and delivers consistent user experience at the moment of exploring different pages of the app. When you switch from one page to another, grids make sure users never lose consistency and visual connection while they engage and shuffle through its pages.

It is advisable for mobile app designers and developers to prepare the sketches of grids for graphic design. This way the user experience will be more organized, visually proper and unified across the entire all the app pages.

6. Magical Effects of Colour

Mobile app design process is incomplete without a thought of colours and their perfect suitable combination for the app. Your choice of colours is vital as it can decide the fate of your app and add magical effects to it. The choice of colours, however, depends on the genre of your app and user base. For productivity apps, light colours make it easy to read long texts. Bright contrast colours appeal most to gaming apps and entertainment whereas darker shades work best for media.

Colours can also be used for highlighting the different parts of the app. For instance, if users hover over an item in a main menu bar at the top, they can see its colour change and glow darker – which indicates they have selected the option.

Colours not only make the app attractive, but it also helps create seamless experience for users.

7. High Resolution from Points and Pixels

While designing, one point one should shift their focus on is space division of display. Points and pixels are the deciders of how the final image of an app is going to appear to users as they play with its interiors on their screen. Points and pixels together determine the overall resolution.

A designer should think of pixels which are the smallest dots on space on the screen, hardly visible yet important. The good density of these pixels creates a finest image. To achieve high resolution and clarity, more number of pixels should be placed in a display. Points are units of space that contain certain amount of pixels, making up a display.

Thus, a mobile app designer should control points throughout the entire design process to deliver high-resolution viewing experience for users. Higher the resolution, more attractive will be your app interiors.

8. Give a Shape to a Beautiful Icon

The app icon is something that creates the first impression on users’ mind. The icon is the first aspect of your app that viewers will realize. Apple uses golden ration grid system in the app store to accommodate the unique elements of the icon’s design in a way that looks gorgeous and fascinating. The main purpose behind creating an attractive app icon is to draw maximum attention from the viewers and inspire them to download the app.

Mobile app designer has ample control over how they would like their app icon to look. There is a technical system that helps them create icons that catch myriad eyes.

9. Champion Responsiveness

People have all different kinds of devices where they expect your app to function consistently. This means that your app must offer proper responsiveness and optimal viewing experience on various screen resolutions of mobiles, tablets, etc. Responsive design of an app ensures the users will have equally delightful experience irrespective of the device they choose. A mobile app development company who has years of experience in building excellent mobile apps would know the importance of making their apps responsive and perfectly optimized to all sizes of screens.

10. Get Just One Thing Right

In an effort to make the app famous and attractive, certain mobile app developers often fall for the wrong design approach. They tend to cram many options and features into one single app which may result into good amount of confusion and complications when used on a small touch screen.

While designing any app, one must remember to focus on the core purpose of the app. They should bear the idea of touching primary requirements of users and integrating features that users will definitely connect well with. Many options can divert users from the desirable user experience. Hence, to make the app attractive, serve them what they would indulge in.

Conclusion:

A great app idea will not do much good until it turns into a great app design, and a great design is every mobile app company’s dream. For cross platform mobile app developers, app design is a primary challenge as it has to be accepted by Google Playstore as well as Apple store. As for Apple, it never approves of a design that looks mediocre through their review process.

If your app development plan also involves generating revenue, the design becomes amply important. Apple is quite punctilious and rigorous about the design standards of every app that gets published in iOS store. Their reviewers insist on having a high-quality design interface that helps users interact with its content.

However, whether it is for Android or iOS, mobile app designer should focus on above guideline to make the best out of their work.

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In the mobile-dominated world, it is hard to survive without an app. This is the reason app development companies and businesses shake their hands to develop mobile apps for Android and iOS platforms. They build apps in order to engage, retain and attract customers, ultimately creating monetization opportunities.

Developers can boost engagement with:

  • Providing feature-rich content
  • Social media integration
  • Gamification
  • Incentivized giveaways
  • Mobile advertising

Among all other means, the one that retains majority of traffic is incentivized temptations and mobile ads.

Though many top grossing apps in app stores are free to download, certain in-app monetization models turn apps into revenue-generating machine. So how can you do well in mobile app monetization space? Here are all the tools and guidance you need to be successful:

Mobile Monetization Models:

Many companies strive hard to overcome app monetization challenges. They dream about making money from the day their app is published in Android, iOS or Windows market. Only a countable number of them succeed in persuading the visitors.

Hence, in order to hit the mobile app market with confidence, you must first strategize impeccable in-app monetization model. Depending on the profit goals, preferences and type of business, you can choose one or the combination of:

  • In-app s
  • Advertising
  • Affiliate marketing
  • Display banners
  • Freemium structure
  • Subscriptions
  • Incentivized model

Dropbox is a good example of successful freemium model while Angry Birds significantly monetize on display banner ads.

It is important to know that no matter what model you choose, your sole motto should be to make it work for you.

The idea of integrating powerful in-app monetization tools can not only automate your revenue generation but also help improve user experience and acquisition.

Here is the list of a few popular benchmark tools in mobile monetization space for you:

1) Google’s AdMob:

Google’s AdMob offers its in-app advertising services to nearly 50,000 businesses that have their own mobile presence.

Specials:

  • Provides wide variety with thousands of app advertisers
  • Developers can pick the ads and formats closely relevant to their product
  • App owners can earn each time the ad banner gets clicked
  • Allows publishers to advertise their products in other apps

In addition to these, AdMob comes with a mediation feature that lets you handle multiple ad networks, allowing you to manage the in-app advertisement on the basis of location, traffic density and ad revenue.

2) InMobi:

InMobi is an easy-to-integrate ad network that uses both SDK and server side API to help developers and publishers to monetize mobile apps.

InMobi’s performance-based ads can maximize app revenue as well as help engage and acquire new customers.

Pros:

  • Increased engagement and connections with target audience
  • Great flexibility of the platform
  • Chance to tap into global market
  • Freedom to choose where to show ads based on categories
  • Supports assorted ad formats
  • Offers conversion tracking system

With InMobi’s ad platform, you can implement the competitive CPM model to engage more traffic. You will be able to enter the market of millions consumers in more than 150 countries.

It supports ad formats such as HD banners, rich media, video content, interstitial ads, etc.

InMobi also leverages its conversion tracking system to ensure users get right ads displayed on their screen.

3) Millennial Media:

Millennial media is believed to be the second largest mobile ad networks platform in the world after perhaps Google’s AdMob. This is a widespread company with offices and staff that extends from Los Angeles to Singapore. Highly popular in US markets,

Founded in 2006, Millennial media offers reliable mobile advertising solutions to publishers and developers. Highly popular in US markets, it provides the following benefits:

  • Easy management of ads for developers inside their apps
  • Use of different formats of ads (videos, banners, rich media)
  • Full range of ad solutions across all OS platforms and devices
  • Self-service solutions for small enterprises
  • Facility of running house ads, third-party and premium ads
  • Used by more than 30,000 apps globally

Developers can choose multiple formats of ads such as video, display banners, rich media, and can run their own house ads as well as Millennial ads, premium ads, third-party ads and client ads.

Millennial media, which is heavily popular in US market, offers mature range of advertising solutions across various devices running on different OS systems.

It is the frequent winner of Mobile Marketing Campaign of the Year awards, and the platform is chosen by more than 30,000 apps worldwide.

4) StartApp:

StartApp offers developers an SDK that allows integration of mobile search engine add-on into their apps. Developers can integrate search engine in merely 3 to 5 minutes and start making revenues using StartApp’s unique monetization model.

Benefits:

  • Developers can earn revenue from user searches.
  • It keeps the users’ app experience intact
  • Doesn’t bother users with annoying ads
  • Users get paid for each download with the add-on

StartApp is quite popular worldwide among Android developers as it has been downloaded 250 million times for the purpose of Android apps monetization.

Its search engine is commonly found on Android devices and is widely used mobile search engine in West.

5) Linkury:

This unique monetization tool offers developers and publishers good number of choices for selecting channels for monetization. Linkury is widely known for its powerful set of monetization tools that enhance engagement and users management.

Linkury offers:

  • Variety of user engagement tools
  • Better ad management approach
  • High level of monetization
  • Better exposure of ads to users’ screens
  • Personalized interactions and enhanced connections

A unique advantage offered by Linkury is that it makes apps reach a user’s home or lock screen for increased exposure.

It allows you to strengthen your monetization strategy with contextual advertising in which interactions are personalized based on user interests and their search behaviour.

6) Chartboost

This mobile only ad platform targets gamers and helps game app publisher monetize their apps. Since it is dedicated to game-loving audience, Chartboost is an attention-worthy in-app monetization tool for game developers.

Chartboost can perform the following jobs:

  • It is good at cross promotion of apps
  • Prompts users to install new game apps
  • Increases user retention and acquires new user base
  • Supports promotion of new apps in existing game apps
  • Provides analytics to gain user data and improve campaigns success
  • Gives excellent control on in-app ads and their performance

With Chartboost, everybody involved wins: Publishers retain their users, can promote their newly developed games to increase downloads while maintaining interest for their existing ones, and attain user engagement.

On the other hand, users gain unusual experience and novel alternatives. Chartboost simultaneously gets small revenue out of these activities.

What is more:

Tool’s analytics help developers get insight into users’ behaviour to improve campaign’s performance.

Chartboost offers a window into on who advertises in your app and where, so that you can control the ads users view inside your app.

7) AdColony:

AdColony is a video advertising platform that helps you generate revenue and increase user engagement with the help of video ads.

The app monetization tool is illustrious worldwide because:

  • AdColony collaborates with brands that appear in Fortune 500 list.
  • It is associated with more than 85% of the world’s topmost app publishers.
  • It is considered to be the most suitable tool for in-app video ads.
  • It serves HD mobile videos run by Instant-Play HD technology.
  • It works across all device types on varied internet speed.
  • It drives appreciable engagement with quality ad content.
  • Offers buffer-free video playback for engaging advertising.
  • It can be neatly managed, slotted and targeted for the right audience

Because of its clean ad management and ability to touch audience across various geographies and demographics, AdColony has earned global reputation and reach in mobile advertising arena.

Conclusive note:

These are a few remarkable in-app monetization tools among the pool of many used by developers and publishers worldwide. The key to success is discovering the one that incorporates all your requirements and business expectations. You can pick the one that you are confident will work for you. If you are struggling to choose the right one, you can do your research and dig deeper into market trends.

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Though mobile apps are often accused of being an addictive distraction, there is no denial that mobile apps are immensely popular, useful and interesting. With cutting edge technology making apps even better, mobile has grown to become healthcare assistant. Earlier, apps were confined to lifestyle habits and fitness tracking (diet, calories management and general health). But over the last few years, new possibilities have entered the healthcare service domain.

why healthcare app development is important

In this blog you will learn how healthcare service-based mobile apps are getting prevalent and transforming the way you manage your personal health. Let’s dig deep:

Healthcare Scenario

Healthcare has grown into a big pool with many segments that revolutionary mobile apps are trying to touch.From diagnosis to medication and even after discharge, mobile apps accompany both patients and doctors alike.

Patients can interact with healthcare service-based apps for numerous purposes such as:

  • Tracking prescribed drug refills
  • Drug dosage reminders
  • Symptoms checking
  • Virtual consultations
  • Self- education patient care
  • Live chat with Doctors
  • Recovery monitoring
  • Professional Medical advice
  • Post-discharge care
  • Insurance claims management

Not just for patients, there are great medical apps that are also targeted at physicians and doctors to empower their practices.

Healthcare app development companies continue to develop user-friendly hospitals-oriented medical apps that are focused on:

  • Patient on-boarding process
  • Staff and supply management
  • Surgery planner
  • Appointment scheduler
  • Reports management
  • Live conversations
  • AR-enabled diagnosis
  • Media sharing
  • Insurance claims management
  • Post-discharge formalities

Digital Healthcare: Facts & Figures

With rise and rise of mobile app technology, the pace at which healthcare industry is adapting digital advancements is becoming more rapid.

Pulse of Online Health 2015 report discovers that as much as 66% of Americans leverage mobile apps to manage their health issue.

The same revelation also says that 79% of them would prefer a wearable device to monitor their health and fitness.

According to Research2Guidance Annual mHealth Report 2016, nearly 100K healthcare apps have been published since 2015 to the leading app stores that were already brimming with 259,000 medical apps.

Resurgent surge of mHealth apps:

Like mCommerce apps, digital healthcare choices have also taken the shape of mHealth apps. The growing prevalence of healthcare service based apps aim at introducing human touch through the means of innovative technology.

Today’s mHealth apps are focused on:

  • Enabling interaction between doctors and patients
  • Maintaining a smooth flow of medical practices
  • Providing hassle-free virtual healthcare solution
  • Bridging the gap between users and service providers

As the market grows thick with technology sound users, mHealth apps allow patients to engage with healthcare providers, building a bridge in the system.

Using the AR (Augmented Reality) in mobile apps, doctors can easily examine and explain complicated surgical processes to their patients and fellow practitioners.

Advantages of healthcare service-based apps

1. Well-Managed Historical Records

Computers might have made the job easier for hospitals/doctors. Still, to keep the records of patient in nice order is a challenging and demanding task. It consumes a lot of time.

Moreover, fetching the record file in a short notice involves speed and efficiency. This is where a dedicated medical record management app helps.

Such special healthcare service-based mobile app accelerates the job of tracking and extracting the patients’ records for reputed hospitals.

2. Cost & Time Saving

Direct interactions between doctors and patients mean the tedious process that contains:

  • Heavy formalities
  • Appointment booking
  • Database management
  • Consultation and associated charges
  • Frequent Personal visits and transportation
  • Patient on-boarding
  • Expensive diagnosis &
  • Post-diagnosis instructions.

Such situations increase expenses and waste time for both hospitals and patients.

mHealth apps help streamline the process and save both time and money.

3. Seamless Communication

We are by now completely used to communication apps like Facetime, Viber, Skype and Snapchat to connect with people across the world.

We can arguably say that we are not too far from using futuristic healthcare service-based apps that would enable patients to talk to doctors practically from anywhere in the world.

Patients could share the screenshots or video of lesions or cuts or other physical symptoms of their body to diagnose the ailments. This can eliminate the need to wait for appointments and consultations.

In future, there will be apps for Android and iOS with paid mechanism that would allow patients to get their health-related queries resolved by a network of licensed doctors.

4. Safe Medical Treatments & Recommendations

Smartphones will have apps that would help capture metrics related to patient’s health. This numbers will show the progress patient has made after starting the recommended treatment.

However, such apps require precise quality of diagnosis and unerring medications. Information passed on to the patient via these apps must deliver the results expected by them at comfortable charges.

5. Improved Emergency Management

In this contemporary time, healthcare app development companies have much more potential than can be conceived. They continue to surprise patients with apps that enable them to track their health, fitness, sugar and cholesterol levels, remind them of pills and water, and even control your sleep.

Some of these are quite essential in avoiding situations of sudden massive risk since users constantly keep themselves updated on their health status. For instance, it is easy for a heart patient to educate himself about his medical situation and avoid life-threatening emergencies.

Examples of Real-time healthcare mobile apps

Some of the apps that are transforming healthcare service industry are:

  • For health monitoring: Eve, AsthmaMD, SugarSense
  • For pharmaceutical aid: Digital Pharmacist
  • For body examination: Insight Optics
  • For interactions with Doctors/Therapists: Talkspace, Medici
  • Drug advice/insight: WebMD, Medscape, Epocrates

Endless Possibilities

What these apps can do seems like the inception of something bigger and better. Healthcare service-based mobile apps are going to surpass present standard and bring more innovations to make doctor-patient engagement more viable.

Looking at how healthcare mobile apps help doctors perform their operations well and enable patients to get exact medical information, we can say mobile healthcare domain is set for tremendous transformation.

Growing Prevalence of Healthcare Service-based Mobile Apps-ad banner

Conclusion:

Presumably, the healthcare sector is poised for innovative mobile apps for medical treatments and communications. With these apps, patients would limit their medical visits to hospitals and gain preventive care from the comfort of their home on their own devices. Thus, present scenario of growing prevalence of healthcare service-based mobile apps promises an interesting future.

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As the world changes, consumers are getting smarter and more selective. The psychology of first impressions still prevails especially in the landscape of mobile apps. More influential than marketing stunts, app store ratings and reviews given by fellow users are something that drives discovery and conversion for an app.

Reviews are trusted more and ratings help evaluate the app quality and performance. Since users rely on app reviews heavily before downloading, ratings and reviews make your app more discoverable, successful and profitable. This is why it is important to learn how to get five star ratings for you mobile app.

Here are 8 great tips to secure five star ratings for your new or existing mobile app:

1. Integrate an automatic rating prompts

The idea of integrating rating prompts in your mobile app can make or break the customer retention. It has ability to either enhance customer experience or disturb users to the extent of quitting the app.

The right use of prompts can, however, keep the users alive and encourage them to boost your apps ratings.

Make sure:

  • Your prompts do not interrupt users’ ongoing in-app interactions
  • You incorporate their sentiments before soliciting reviews/ratings
  • You segment the customers and ask only those who love your app for reviews
  • Set proper intervals for rating prompt frequency
  • Run a survey to learn the points of improvement
  • Resolve the queries of unsatisfied customers
  • Use third party prompts if you don’t have your own

2. Analyse the pattern of customer behaviour

Using analytics helps you learn more about customers:

  • Behavioural pattern
  • Choices and tastes
  • Motives and intents
  • Age group and demographics
  • Expectations from your app
  • Areas of interest
  • Selling points

You can use the data gathered through analytics to make your in-app communications more personalized and efficacious.

You can use third party analytics or your own. Choose the platform based on the type of data you want to pull from customers.

Based on the data, you can build a strategy to trigger rating prompts for target audience.

3. Choose Proper Time to Deliver Rating Prompts

The key to your app’s five star ratings is also delivering rating prompts at the right moment. If you have mobile experience, you must know how right place, time and person make a huge difference.

Do’s:

  • Think of the precise moment to strike with a prompt
  • Wait until the customer is accustomed to your in-app environment
  • Prompt the request when he/she completes the task
  • Use pre-built standard dialogue for prompt messages OR
  • Use your own creativity to form a unique dialogue

Don’ts:

  • Ask to rate the app immediately after the user opens up the app
  • Prompt the customer while he is playing with your app features
  • Deliver the rating prompt before an action is completed
  • Not waiting for the right mobile moment to send the message

Always remember:

  • The most suitable time to prompt is after your customer has accomplished their task. They are ready to open up and share their experience in app store.
  • Create a unique prompt message to go with the app’s flow to offer intuitive experience.
  • Prefer to wait at least 5 days after your app is installed before sending a prompt to increase your chance of getting high rating and reduce app abandonment.

4. Make a Gentle and Creative Approach

Innovate your style in which you approach and ask your customers to rate your app. You can get a little personal and creative while asking a question. For example, “Do you love the experience in our app?” or, “Do you love what you see in this app?”

In case you want to draw feedback from them, you may try, “how do you find this app?” followed by answer choices such as “Good”, “Excellent”, “Average”, or “Could have been better.”

Such questions:

  • Drive segmentation of your customers
  • Determine who is likely to be your ‘fans’ and who will play ‘critic’
  • Encourage users to take action and respond
  • Trigger interactive conversation

Your app will have both:

Fans: People who love it and are likely to rate you high

Critics: People who are not happy and may seek an opportunity to leave negative feedback.

Always offer ‘thanks’ to customers for answering your question and their time. This gesture shows that your brand appreciates both positive and negative comments.

5. Follow the First Question with Careful Prompts

Now at this stage, you know the personal sentiment of your customers. Now you can guide certain segment of them to an app store for real reviews.

To go closer to 5-star ratings, do these:

  • You can expect customers who responded positively to your first question to leave a positive review. You can prompt them doubtlessly
  • Handle the customers with negative feedback carefully. Those who have responded negatively are prepared to rate you low. Direct them somewhere other than an app store for sharing their harsh feedback
  • To retain the high ratings, use rating prompt to lead unsatisfied customers to less harmful communication channel like the one you might have inside the app
  • Start working on their valuable feedback to improve weak points of your app they have experienced
  • Finally, after they have shared ratings, quickly take them back to where they paused in your app so that they can continue to explore more.

6. Your Communication Matters

Your customers can’t hear your tone as you deliver in-app messages. But they can surely judge the language you use especially while asking for ratings.

Make sure:

  • You are gentle, respectful and friendly
  • Your words are not demanding or intrusive
  • You are not much direct and abrupt
  • To keep it short, readable and sweet
  • You never forget your brand voice in all user engagements

Your communicational ability can influence your app store ratings. This is why it is pivotal to sophisticate your language when you reach out to them.

7. Be Patient and Understand User Psychology

In history, no empire is built overnight. Getting 5-star ratings requires some amount of patience after you start working on your strategy. Ratings build up gradually.

In mobile app store reviews, even a fraction of star counts. In a blog post by Mobincube, they have explained how an increase of just 0.1 (i.e. from 3.9 to 4.0) can make a huge impact on your app reputation and its earning.

This is the psychology of app users in modern times. Apps rated 4.1 are more downloaded than apps with 4.0 ratings. Hence, even a slight difference of score can increase or decrease the number of your app’s fans.

8. Manage a private channel for negative reviews

One clever way to keep your rating up is to, gather negative feedback and manage them privately. You will not get happy users all the time. But critical reviews can also help improve your app and offer you new ideas.

It is a good practice to have a separate in-app support channel for having private communication with users who have unpleasant complaints about your app.

This solution keeps their frustration away from the app store, leaving good reviews unaffected. You can think of Uservoice. If customers are happy with their support experience, they can bestow on you bright ratings.

Final note:

Ratings and reviews are the key to increase app visibility and for acquiring new customers. To many users, they are the best way to evaluate the quality of the app and some find it more credible than word of mouth recommendations. To draw more stars for your app, always practice offering pleasant user experience. Hopefully these tips will help bring you five stars and put you on top of the charts.