How the pandemic has changed app development

Before the COVID-19 pandemic, people were already spending 87% of their mobile time on apps. The pandemic supercharged app usage, with many countries enforcing restrictions and limiting in-person services since March 2020. Businesses who weren't giving their customers mobile access to their companies have had to quickly rethink how they will enhance their consumer connections to weather the storm.

Since then, the pandemic has continued to change the way apps are developed and used. Here are some eye-opening mobile app statistics for 2022:

• 21% of Millennials open an app 50+ times per day.
• 49% of people open an app 11+ times each day.
• The average smartphone owner uses 10 apps per day and 30 apps each month.
• The Apple App Store has 1.96 million apps available for download.
• There are 2.87 million apps available for download on the Google Play Store.

Source: Buildfire.com

Leading app development firms understood the importance of developing more customer-centric mobile apps to help their clients stay ahead in the competition. Moreover, businesses put more effort into their research process after the pandemic.

The race for apps

According to Statista, mobile apps are projected to generate more than $935 billion in revenues via paid downloads and in-app advertising by 2023. In 2018, global mobile app revenues amounted to over 365 billion U.S. dollars. The way apps are developed and the industries that have had to make significant changes - fast, have paved the way for other market sectors to sit up and take notice.

The health and education has been overhauled

Health and education are two industries that have seen the most significant change in how they offer their services. During the pandemic, the healthcare sector played a major part in educating people and saving lives. From online fitness and medicine-delivery apps to telemedicine apps that give people on-demand access to doctors and a range of healthcare services, people now turn to mobile to take care of their physical, mental, and emotional health needs.

According to Health IT Outcomes, 74% of the hospitals using mobile app devices to collect patient data are more efficient than those that don't, 93% of doctors believe mobile health apps can improve patients' health, and 42% of patients say they prefer digitally scheduling an appointment over calling their provider. Facts and Factors estimate that the Global Telehealth Market size & share revenue is expected to grow from USD 62.45 Billion in 2020 to reach USD 475.50 Billion by 2026.

The education industry has similarly been overhauled by the pandemic, with every university and institution being affected. By April 2020, 1.6-billion were forced out of their classrooms due to the pandemic. In May 2020, New York governor Andrew Cuomo publicly questioned why physical classrooms still exist at all, as he announced that the education sector needs to be rethought.

Since 2020, 98% of universities have moved classes online. Before this, only 19.5% of undergraduates took at least one online course. With most students being from Gen Z, education apps are being designed for digital natives who want to learn, grow, and start their careers. With the global investment of venture capital in edtech more than doubling from $7billion in 2019 to a record $16.1 in 2020, it's safe to say that education will never fully return to the way it was.

In 2022, concerns around edutech now relate to schools' ability to keep learners' data safe and private. Whether tech giants such as Google and Microsoft getting into schools at a huge scale is a good thing, as states will become dependent on private companies for education.

Everyone's concerned about security - and rightfully so

As cyberhackers continue to take advantage of weak systems, users have become increasingly concerned about how their information is collected, stored and used. Mobile security has been forced to the forefront during Covid-19. With many mobile apps lacking encryption, there was a spike in the development of encrypted mobile apps. Another change is the use of Artificial Intelligence to make apps more secure. App developers must consistently develop security-first frameworks and apply best practices to protect brands and their mobile revenue streams.

How developers work is changing

In the past, remote work wasn't the primary work culture. Now that developers know that they continue to deliver great work without enduring long commutes and risking possible infection at the office, they don't want to go back to the way things were. The result is the quick adoption of digital tools to collaborate and capture feedback. Some of the most popular remote work apps include Zoom, Microsoft Teams, Skype, Slack, Zapier, Dropbox, and Evernote. While the challenges are still being navigated and the way through them is still murky, remote work - or a mix of remote and in-person work - is here to stay.

Your business' mobile experience has to be perfected

Transforming a business into a mobile model is probably more expensive and will take longer than you expect. With consumers expecting mobile experiences, companies can't afford to roll out apps that aren't secure, flexible, or have glitches. Getting everything right is critical to ensure broad employee adoption.

The most strategic investment you can make is getting your apps done right to achieve better connections with your customers. Contact us to discover the Atimi way.