Forem: Mehul Rajput

What Influence will iOS 11 have on Developer Revenue

Mehul Rajput — Fri, 01 Dec 2017 10:52:18 +0000

The iOS 11, the latest release from the Apple Inc. has been the recent development that has taken place in the tech arena. The new operating system is fueled with a number of worthwhile features and is known for its aesthetic pleasing design. It is a revival of the App Store and certainly the end users will be the ones who can reap maximum benefit from it.

On the other hand, if we view it from the developer’s perspective, it will offer a better opportunity to design new apps that are cleaner as well as bolder. The iOS 11 will surely enhance the experience of both the customers and developers. But at the same time it will also be a challenging task for the app designers because it is going to pinch the revenue.

Apple in its official press release has stated that the new app store will actually be categorized into three different categories that include Games, Apps and Today. When the users visit the app store, the first page they will come across is Today, which has been exclusively and dynamically designed to fit within the needs.

The iOS 11 will Bring Changes in the Safari Browser

And with the launch of the iOS 11, one is also going to witness a significant change in the Safari browser as well. This will have an impact on the developer revenue and so it’s important to discuss it.

The change in the Safari browser due to the new iOS 11 will have big influence on the developers, advertisers and publishers. One of the prime reasons is that it always has been a source of revenue generation for the content providers.

The browsers releases cookies that acts as an ad tracker and it helps the developers in marketing. But the iOS 11 will take this opportunity from the developers as the cookies will only last for one day and will also expire after one month.

However, it will not have much effect on those apps that are visited almost on a daily basis such as the Facebook or the Whatsapp. But the sufferers will be those apps that are not very frequently browsed as it will not have the access to the data from the first-party cookies.

Apps with Unclear Approach will Face Problem

Since iOS 11 has divided all the apps into three categories, so the apps having an unclear division will have to face the problem. There are a number of apps which do not have any specific category into which they can fit such as the fitness health based apps. It will become difficult for the developers to provide them a definite classification.

The Impact on User Experience

The User Experience (UX) has always been an essential aspect of the app development that helps in driving traffic to an app. Therefore, it is imperative to know how the iOS will create an impact on the UI.

According to the experts, the newly developed iOS will not have a major influence on UI except for the fact that it will strengthen the user privacy settings; thus making it more secured than before. However, the other side of the picture is that it will also lead to increase in the number of irrelevant ads.

Shortening of the App Name and Subtitle

With the introduction of the iOS 11, the Apple has also decided to curtail the name of the app from fifty characters to mere thirty characters. Having said that it will hurt the developer revenue.

Another change made is the addition of short subtitle that is found below the app name. Besides that, there have been alterations in promotional texts and descriptions, app previews comprising of a 30 second video and five screenshots, app reviews and ratings etc.

Revenue Affects Due to User Drop-off

We have seen since long that top paid and grossing apps have always gained the spotlight in the sub-category of the App Store. Even the redesign aspect of the popular apps is very common; but the problem lies in the fact when the revenue starts having a negative impact due to the user drop-off. This usually happens because the app reaches the brink of 30- and 90-day thresholds.

The Problem with Apple Search

We have already noted that the popular apps will not face any such problems related to monetization as they are already enjoying the user’s attention. But the problem is that Apple is asking for the search pathway and is more focused on offering video tutorials to select the most out of chosen apps instead of asking to choose a favorite app.

This can be explained with an example. Suppose, there is a video on an app VSCO used for editing the images or touchups. This explanation of the video can be used for any photo editing app, but some people may think that this video is applicable only to VSCO.

Difficult to Buy Ad Space for Developers

The iOS 11 has also been launched with the objective of making Siri an important part of the Operating System. It has a stylish header and also a search area will be available in the subtext. The App Store wants to get more and more data for the Siri, which in turn will make the path difficult for the developers to buy ad space.

The Positive Impacts

Like every coin has two sides, the iOS 11 also has some positive impacts. First and foremost, the new OS will not at all support the 32-bit apps from the App Store. Secondly, since Apple’s primary focus is enhancing the search for discovering new apps, the users will get to find some of the best and useful apps.

How Can App Developers Rescue from Revenue Loss

Since the developers are facing revenue loss, it becomes vital to know how to rescue from this condition. The iOS 11 is still new in the market and so it is advisable to first review the monetization structure for a few weeks and take a note on how it evolves.

After the careful reviewing is over, then they should go for framing the various monetization strategies depending upon the device and app. They should adopt the strategies that are more conducive and easy to work with.

Conclusion

It can be rightly said that the new app store offers an array of opportunities for the iOS app developers. The developers will suffer some revenue loss in the beginning but once they get used to the new App Store, things would become much easier to handle. Also they have to find out if the app can be updated on the iOS 11 or not.

Lastly, it must be remembered that Apple’s intention of introducing the new App Store is to protect user privacy, improve the searching abilities and enhance overall user experience.

How to Prevent your App from Getting Uninstalled

Mehul Rajput — Tue, 19 Sep 2017 10:50:36 +0000

There is a fierce and aggressive competition prevailing in the world of mobile applications. According to the latest stats of June 2017 released by Business of Apps, there are over 2.2 million iOS apps and 3 million android apps; battling out there for the paramount position. However, the end users are very choosy and just to inform you, they won’t give it a second thought before uninstalling your app.

According to a report by TechCrunch, a Smartphone owner usually browses through nine apps on a daily average and about 30 apps on the monthly basis. And you are well aware of the fact that every smartphone has a specified storage limitation based on which the users download the apps.

In fact, some of the key reasons why mobile apps face a downfall, soon after their launch include:

Poor Performance such as slow loading, low functioning
Takes a toll on battery life
Unnecessary notifications and frequent updates
User Interface and User Experience not attractive
No proper customer support
Too many bugs

So, if you want your app to stay long and avoid it from getting uninstalled, then follow the vital tips:

1. Keep an Eye on Important Drop off Points

The first and foremost step that you can take for saving your app from getting uninstalled, is keep a close eye on the drop off points. To start with, there are app metrics that informs you where your apps are dropping off and based on that you can plan for the next action.

For instance, in the case of churn rate, you can get familiar as to where and the reasons behind churning to help overcome this problem. One of the procedures include:

Monitoring the Onboarding Procedure

One of the prime reasons why users uninstall your app is due to low onboarding. According to a statistics, 77% of the customers uninstall the app due to poor onboarding. This literally means that the onboarding can be perplexing or not informative at all. The user session recordings can help you out in identifying the customer drop off during onboarding.

It is also important to note the purpose of the users for which they are using your app. And also you need to ensure them that you won’t share the confidential data with any other source.

2. Keep Bugs a Distance and Maintain App

As it has been mentioned that one of the reasons why users get irritated with your mobile app is because it contains bugs. Bugs are like unwanted pests in homes or you can also call it a kind of virus that badly affects the performance of the app. Therefore, it becomes vitally important to keep away these undesirable guests.

One of the ways to achieve that end is to give due importance to the app maintenance. You need to update your app for its better improvement. You must ensure that it is more than a useful product and is highly operational without any snag and the user is able to browse through it quickly. Thus, regular upgrades will certainly help. The update is also essential to add on new features and to also brace security of the app.

By updating you will also be able to identify the common problems propping up and then rectify them.

3. Appealing User Experience

Well, many of the mobile app owners actually don’t get the desired results as they wanted because they fail to provide the attractive user experience. Moreover, it has been found through a CMS report that 57% of the users do not recommend a business because of poorly designed mobile site. So, if you don’t want to lose the ground, then it becomes essential to offer a great User Experience (UX).

It also has some other added advantages. IBM reported that a great UI results in the best of Return on Investment (ROI). Besides that it also reduces the time in developing the app, the users will not require the support of customer services very frequently, hikes the sales and business productivity. Boosts traffic to your app and so on.

4. Stop Sending Invaluable and Frequent Notifications

Nobody in the world likes to get irritated and annoying your users by sending unnecessary notifications. It can be really frustrating and annoy the user. If he gets more frustrated, he may uninstall your app. It is likely that some of the customers do not read the notification at all and delete it as soon as they receive it. For instance, if you send notifications requesting the users to subscribe to your newsletters on daily basis.

Push notifications are a great asset for app marketing unless you add value to it. This means to say that they should be informative and have valuable content. One of the best techniques to employ is choosing the appropriate time for messaging. Secondly, try to keep the notifications as short as possible.

5. Personalized offers to Woo Customers

This battle is all about wooing and attracting the customers to one’s side. One of the initiatives that can be taken in this regard is offering discount coupons. According to a survey, it has been found that 30% of the users do visit the app a second time for their next purchase due to the rebate coupon.

This is a strategy which you need to adopt because of the tough competition out there in the market of apps. However, the apt approach in this regard will be offering customized and personal offers to every single user.

6.Categorize your Customers to Know their Specific Needs

Well, you know that Smartphone as a device has become a common gadget. People of all age groups are precisely using it in large numbers. But every age group or a section of society has a different choice with respect to apps. For instance, the adolescents are more hooked towards gaming or music apps, whereas the older generation prefers information based or medical apps.

So, it is a wise decision to segregate your audiences according to their choices and taste of apps. This will make it easier for you to target your customers and frame strategies according to their demands.

7. Don’t Forget to Test Your App before Launch

Well it is one of the most important step that you should not forget to undertake post app development. You have to compulsorily test your app before releasing it to check that everything is at the right place.

Testing also becomes important to monitor if the app is not consuming a lot of mobile battery. You can consider your app development to be successful only if it consumes less battery power.

8. Give Importance to App Rating and Feedbacks

App ratings are not something just to shy off and take it as easy. Rather they are a kind of report card for your app, which determines whether you have succeeded or failed in getting customers.

So, please take it very seriously and always work on ways to improve it. Similarly, you have the feedbacks from the users which tells you whether they liked or disliked your app and what features need improvement.

Conclusion

The whole gist of the discussion can be summed to the fact that it is the audiences which is the ultimate decider of your app’s fate. Their fingers can press the install button and also the uninstall button depending upon their liking and preferences. Your effort is to offer them venerable services so that they can establish a long term relation with your app.