The lines between digital, mobile, technology and apps are blurring in today’s world. We at Robosoft are keen followers of developments in this arena. Here’s a quick summary of what’s buzzing:
Pokemon Go: what’s the secret to its insane popularity
Available only in select countries on iOS and Android, Pokemon Go, launched last week, lets players catch Pokemon in the “real” world using augmented-reality. The game is currently the top-ranked free app on US iTunes store. Keeping aside its roaring success at the app stores, what’s noteworthy is the unbelievably high app retention rate Pokemon Go has even after few days of download. Some credit this success to augmented reality while some to the character’s popularity. Looking at the various crime reports and injuries it has generated in such a short span it’s difficult to predict whether the app can hold on to its top spot for long.
Indian app market: Should you invest?
In a recent report, App Annie, has ranked India as the world’s fourth largest mobile app economy behind China, United States and Brazil. It further predicts that app downloads in India are likely to reach 20.1 billion by 2020. It also observed that the time spent on apps has doubled in the past 2 years. The report also notes that time spent in retail apps like Flipkart, Myntra, Snapdeal and Amazon have hiked by 11.5 times. A similar growth of 7.4 times from 2014 is evident in case of video streaming app like YouTube, Hotstar and Voot. The remarkable growth of both downloads and app usage cements India as a critical market for app publishers.
Snapchat: adapting with time
In an effort to broaden its appeal to users above the age of 25, Snapchat has added a new feature called “Memories” to the app. This new feature lets users save snaps and stories indefinitely on Snapchat’s server rather than their camera roll, unless they choose to do so. ‘Memories’ has an additional feature called “My Eyes Only”, which keeps your photos locked away from prying eyes. With the new feature on board, will Snapchat continue enjoying its rising popularity over the years or will it upset its dominating user base of people aged 18-24, remains to be seen?
Facebook Messenger to get encrypted messages
Facebook is testing end-to-end encryption for Messenger that will allow users to have private conversations with others within the app. Unlike WhatsApp, where the same feature is turned on by default, Messenger users will have the liberty to turn it on when needed and even set a duration for which the message would be visible. The encrypted messages would be seen or read only on one device. The company has been testing this feature for some time now and would soon make it available to others. With large number of chatbots surfacing on Facebook Messenger, a feature like this could make them highly secure and much more useful.
