Post-App Era: Where are we going next?

There are...

... massive limitations in the current app world. Smart phone native functions do not normally cross over in to our favorite apps and they lack the ability to link certain tasks together. These limitations have people wondering, what’s next?

There is no argument that apps are being downloaded at a fervent rate. In 2014, IOS apps reached a high of 7.8 million downloads per day. (appleinsider.com) That number climbed to a staggering 10.3 million by January, 2015. (venturebeat.com) There are two major theories that exist to explain this flood, or massive increase in app downloads. Could it be that people simply enjoy having an app for everything, speaking to the trend of single app experience? Or is it rather, that the apps being downloaded initially don’t quite meet the expectations of the users? This would lend to more and more app downloads, until finding the one that suits their exact desire. Whatever the case may be, app use isn’t going anywhere.

With around 5 million apps to choose from, (across all platforms including Google Play, Apple App Store, Amazon Appstore, etc) you would think it would be easy to find something that suits your needs. (www.statista.com) You can find an app specializing in almost anything. Categories range from entertainment, lifestyle, personalization, music, and travel, to education, business, books, and references. So, where are the pitfalls, the shortcomings? While it may appear you have an endless list of choices, your search drastically narrows when trying to find apps that can co-exist and share data. We have done little in the way of improving app communication, until recently. The desire for features, rather than products (or apps) has skyrocketed. This lent way to what some are calling the post-app era. While many believe this means the end of apps and app stores, it is certain, given the numbers and continual use of app functions, this demand for features isn’t stopping the app market anytime soon.

This distinction between apps and features famously played out before the public, in an interview between Steve Jobs and Drew Houston. Jobs quoted Dropbox as being “a feature” and not a product. This meant that he wanted to have Dropbox natively installed on the IPhone as a sync feature, rather than a stand-alone product you could download at the app store. The time wasn’t right, however, and instead Dropbox pulled out, soon after becoming one of the most widely used products across smart phones and PCs alike.

Needless to say, change is coming! Does this mean that the time for a new generation of smart phone technology is in order? The answer is yes.