things
4
sponsor content by
THE MOBILE APP SPACE HAS BECOME
EXTREMELY COMPETITIVE
Want to play a game? Chat with your friends? Mark up a photo? Organize your life? There’s an app out there for almost anything. These days, given the reliability of today’s high-speed mobile networks — for example, the SIMPLE Mobile lightning-fast 4G LTE network — it’s never been easier to download an app on a whim and start using it immediately.
Not every app succeeds right out of the gate, though, or at all. What causes some mobile apps to become wildly popular, and others to fade into obscurity? The most successful apps all have a few things in common.
Whether you’re looking for a new favorite app, wondering why you’re addicted to the ones you have, or have an app you’ve always wanted to develop yourself, it’s useful to break down which qualities the best apps share.
Unless you live in China, you’ve probably never heard of the app that takes the top spot. TikTok, which lets you shoot and edit video clips and add music and special effects, had 45.8 million downloads in the first quarter of 2018. This shows that there’s incredible potential for apps to succeed — and that today’s technology and network speeds are giving rise to apps that are increasingly powerful and complex.
You probably know about YouTube, WhatsApp, Messenger, Instagram, Facebook, and Google Maps. WeChat is for messaging, social, and mobile payments; QQ is for online games, music, and shopping; and iQiyi is for video streaming.
THE
MOST DOWNLOADED APPS OF 2018
ARE
SOURCE +
Power thESE popular appS with
a lightning-fast 4G LTE Network
The average
number of apps
people use
DAILY
MONTHLY
9
30
So what do all
of these apps
HAVE IN COMMON?
IT STARTS WITH A
GREAT IDEA
IT HAS A
GREAT
DESIGN
IT
UNDERSTANDS
IT RESPONDS
QUICKLY
ITS USERS
IT STARTS WITH A
GREAT IDEA
IT HAS A
GREAT
DESIGN
IT RESPONDS
QUICKLY
IT
ITS USERS
UNDERSTANDS
IT STARTS WITH A
GREAT IDEA
Every successful app is inspired. Let’s use TikTok as an example. User-generated content has taken off – YouTube and Instagram are also in the top 10. But that space has been lacking an easy video editing mobile app, one that includes music and special effects with a user-friendly interface and exciting features. The most-loved apps entertain or make life easier. TikTok does both.
IT HAS A
A great idea needs to look great, and it has to be easy to use and navigate. Most people don’t want to have to learn how to use an app. They want to understand it intuitively. For example, Google Wave was meant to help people communicate quickly without resorting to group emails. But it failed when users couldn’t figure out how to use it. An important takeaway: The smartest app developers never skip the MVP (minimum viable product). They start with something beautiful, simple, and intuitive, and build from there.
GREAT DESIGN
IT RESPONDS
It’s 2018, and people aren’t waiting around for apps to load. They want increased capabilities and immediate response times.
QUICKLY
users abandon a mobile app after only one use.
SOURCE +
1 in 4
IT
The old saying “If you try to please everyone you’ll end up pleasing no one” is particularly true for app design. The most successful apps are built with a deep understanding of who the potential users are and what they want. The inventor of a fantasy football app, for example, might target an audience of college-educated men in their 30s and 40s, then think about what would appeal to them. Yes, many other types of people do play fantasy football. But it’s important, especially early on, to learn everything possible about the people most likely to use the app. Apps that try to cater to multiple demographics end up losing their focus and purpose.
UNDERSTANDS
ITS USERS
HOW DEVELOPERS CAN UNDERSTAND THEIR USERS
HOW
CAN UNDERSTAND THEIR USERS
IT UNDERSTANDS ITS USERS
Ask people what they want.
And listen closely.
DEVELOPERS
SURVEYS
Release an MVP version to select testers, and tweak as needed.
BETA TESTING
Look at the trends, and design accordingly.
SOCIAL MEDIA DATA
Census data can be particularly helpful for economic insights.
DEMOGRAPHIC DATA
THE TAKEAWAY
A successful app needs than a good idea.
The ones you use the most were designed to consider the user’s needs and experience, and developed to be super responsive in any situation. If you’re dreaming of building the next great app, realize that you need to meet all those requirements to attract an enthusiastic audience — and keep it.
more
The SIMPLE Mobile powerful 4G LTE network makes it easier to download and use today’s most sophisticated apps, with no long-term contract required.
See our Nationwide Coverage
To get 4G LTE speed, you must have a 4G LTE capable device and 4G LTE SIM. Actual availability, coverage and speed may vary. LTE is a trademark of ETSI. Please refer always to the latest Terms and Conditions of Service at SimpleMobile.com
THE MOST
SUCCESSFUL
APPS HAVE
IN COMMON
Apps are at the mercy of the user’s mobile network. If it’s a high-speed network, even a bloated app can potentially perform well. If, however, the network is slow and an app fails to load quickly, users are likely to give up on the app and move on to another one. They probably won’t blame the network for the lag time — they’ll blame the app. A good app needs to compensate for any situation and be extra responsive, even on slower networks.
See our Nationwide Coverage
Sponsor content is produced in collaboration with advertisers by Insider Studios, the branded content team at Insider Inc. Business Insider's editorial staff is not involved in the creation of this content. Copyright © 2018 Business Insider Inc. All rights reserved. Registration on or use of this site constitutes acceptance of our Terms of Service and Privacy Policy. | Disclaimer | Commerce Policy | Made in NYC
Photography © Getty Images | SIMPLE Mobile
SOURCE +
Perez, Sarah. "Report: Smartphone owners are using 9 apps per day, 30 per month." TechCrunch. 2017.
Hartmans, Avery. "The most downloaded iPhone app in the world right now is one you've probably never heard of." Business Insider. 3 May 2018.
Perez, Sarah. "Nearly one in four people abandon mobile apps after only one use." TechCrunch. 2016.
