Custom Marketplace for Agriculture Industry

Mobile matters As reported by Statista, global mobile app revenues are projected to rise to 189 US billion dollars by 2020. The data of the researchers differ, but on the whole one conclusion can be traced: about half of the world population have got smartphones and access to mobile devices to another half is just a matter of time. With the increasing number of smartphone users, the growth spurt in app revenues is sure to continue. The soaring number of smartphone users has naturally led to a staggering increase in the number of apps that customers use on their devices. 2017 saw more than 178 billion mobile app downloads with an upward trend to 258 billion in 2022. Google Play alone currently boasts around 4.1 million apps, followed by its main competitor Apple App Store with around 2 million apps. As user behavior is rapidly changing, companies must also adapt to the latest trends in order to meet the needs of their customers. So what does mobile future has in store for us? Blockchain is the new black 2017 Blockchain popularity skyrocketed with more attention drawn to it than to any other technology. Here is was Statista says for «size of the blockchain technology market worldwide»: And it seems that back in 2016 people were hardly aware of the thing. Now, according to IBM research, “nine in ten government organizations plan to invest in blockchain for use in financial transaction management, asset management, contract management and regulatory compliance by 2018.” Analysts from Research and Markets, in turn, expect that by 2020 around 65 percent of all companies will use blockchain technologies. As a result, Google Play and Apple App Store see a continuous increase in new blockchain-related applications. Today mobile blockchain apps are mostly wallets and currency calculators.  However, some of them are really worth having a closer look: Civic allows you to securely register and confirm personal data to partner websites for account sign up and access. For this, it leverages technologies that no longer require legacy usernames and passwords. It is designed to avoid fraud with credit history and information theft. ‘If Civic was to ever get hacked, your information would never be released because we just don’t have it.’ Vinny Lingham, co-founder, and CEO of Civic  Verisart employs blockchain security to certify and verify artworks and collectibles. It also allows creative people to protect copyright. With the Slock.it application, you can rent IoT devices: find them, locate and monitor them using smart contracts. And we surely could not forget about mining mobile apps. Recently, some Android apps that help you mine cryptocurrency have appeared. DroidMiner BTC/LTC/DOGE Miner, Electroneum, and  ARM Miner Bitcoin are just a few examples. There have been even a few mining apps that managed to sneak to App Store, although Apple hurried to remove them out. Calendar 2 had a crypto mining feature, but because of Apple’s concerns over the app’s power-efficiency, the developers had to get rid of the mining feature. If you are looking to build your blockchain-based app, go no further. We know a thing or two about secure blockchains, smart contracts, and their real-life applications. So contact us for a free quote! Sick of just one reality? The Consumer Electronics Show (CES) in Las Vegas gave an initial outlook that AR and VR could be one of the hottest trends of the 2018 mobile year. Combined, the AR marketplace and gaming MVR marketplace were displayed on the area of 45.000 net square feet of exhibit space. And that’s not really surprising. According to Digi-Capital, the revenues of augmented reality could increase from 85 to 90 billion dollars by 2022. Meanwhile, virtual reality might generate from 10 to 15 billion dollars. The remarkable success of Pokemon GO showed the true potential of generated realities. For this reason, both Google and Apple are actively improving the compatibility and capabilities of mobile devices in this area. In June 2017, Apple introduced the ARKit platform (and ARKit 2 in 2018), simplifying the development of iOS-applications with augmented reality. After a couple of months, Google released a similar solution for Android - ARCore. However, AR is not only a source of fun but a valuable assistant in practical tasks. For example, a popular language-learning app Mondly makes use of AR to bring the virtual language assistant right to where you are. Google Translate has also benefited from adding an AR feature, Word Lens. Now it is possible to turn on the camera mode within the software and make a pic of the lines you would like to translate. The rest will be done by the app. Magic Leap, Microsoft, Meta, ODG, Mira, and DAQRI have already introduced their AR headsets. At the same time Apple, Google, Facebook, and Snap are actively engaged in developing a smartphone-based AR. The market for augmented reality applications will primarily focus on retail, healthcare, engineering, and real estate. The technology’s value lies in the fact that the customer can test the utility of a product or service before making a transaction. It provides a personal experience, which is one of the main drivers of sales. One of the pioneers is Ikea Place, which enables its customers to have a 3D view from different angles of over 2,000 products. As for the virtual reality, it will continue to be widely implemented in the gaming and entertainment fields. The world is looking forward to the new Harry Potter game by the developers of Pokemon GO. 2018 will certainly have us seeing new exciting developments in mobile apps, with the borders between the reality and virtual world blurring further. Staying connected The Internet of Things wave has certainly reached us and placed the IoT apps in a most favorable position. Mobile app experts predict that 2018 will be a breakthrough year for the IoT market. And integration of IoT with automation technology will be the main trend in the development of mobile applications. We cannot appreciate the trend without actually looking at the market perspectives. For comparison: Internet of Things market amounted to $170 billion in 2017 and is projected to reach  561 USD billion by 2022. The number of connected devices is set to rise from 20 billion in 2015 up to 42 billion in 2022, as shown by Statista.   The scope of industries taking advantage of IoT is also somewhat impressive. Source: Forbes.com Yet we still have to control all this. And this is where apps show up. To ease the process of IoT app development both Google and Apple came up with their own toolkits - Brillo and HomeKit respectively. To have a better idea of what IoT apps actually are, let’s have a closer look at some cool examples of them. Nest allows users to monitor all IoT devices at their homes right from their hands with the help of a dedicated app. You can control your thermostat, arm or disarm the alarm system, see what is going in your home with a camera and be aware of whether your protect alarm is triggered. Blossom is a smart-watering system that employs real-time weather data to adapt your watering plan. The system consists of a Bluetooth-powered controller and a mobile app, that makes it easy to install and manage. Pawscout empowers you to track your pet’s whereabouts. The device, namely a Bluetooth Low Energy (BLE) GPS tag is attached to a pet’s collar and connects to the mobile app. Other features include digital pet profiles and medical records, the online community for pet owners or a map with pet-oriented places. The flourishing wearables market is immensely contributing to the popularity of IoT apps.   The interest is in large driven by the latest wearables solutions like Apple Watch with eSim, Garmin Forerunner 935, Xiaomi Mi Band 3 or Google Glasses 2.0. Swapping wallets A good old leather purse can soon be a vestige of the past. About 2.1 billion consumers worldwide will use a mobile wallet to make a payment or send money in 2019. This is a nearly 30% increase from 1.6 billion recorded at the end of 2017 - a new study from Juniper Research suggests. Mobile wallets were first promoted in 2014 with Apple introducing Apple Pay on its gadgets. The example was quickly followed by Samsung Pay, Android Pay, and Microsoft Wallet. As of 2017, these apps made it to the forefront of the mobile payment industry: During CES 2018, Google Wallet and Android Pay rolled into a single platform called Google Play. ‘With Google Pay, it’ll be easier for you to use the payment information saved to your Google Account, so you can speed through checkout with peace of mind.’ Vice President of Product Management for Payments Pali Bhat announced in a Google blog post According to Allied market research, the mobile payments market size is predicted to reach $4,574 billion by 2023. Part of what has stimulated this trend is the inclusion of mobile wallets in the most popular phones, as well as wide acceptance of such software by its users. For companies, this is a great way to collect data and analyze customers, and for customers - a more clear sailing way to pay for purchases. The product you want is just a few taps away. As they say, time is money. Right? Those who have not yet considered mobile wallets as an option for their customers should definitely do so in 2018. Meanwhile, mobile payment and banking apps are also… Going Artificial? With the introduction of AI, customers' expectations concerning individual experience and interactivity have also shot up, making it another craze for the upcoming years. And the market is definitely reaping these rewards: Сhatbots were among the favorite applications of AI in recent years. Now they are making their way to mobile to become a commonplace attribute of 2018. According to Ubised research, over 50 % of the people believe that businesses should be available for them around the clock. So Bank of America is currently rolling out its Erica mobile banking chatbot. ‘Everything we do is based on what we hear from our clients: how they want to interact with us and how we can make their financial lives better. Erica delivers on this in many ways, from making it easy for clients to find what they are looking for to providing new and interactive ways to do their banking using voice, text or gesture. Through Erica, we are also delivering personalized solutions at scale by providing insights, such as how you can improve your credit score or create a budget.’ Michelle Moore, Bank of America Digital Banking Manage The e-learning industry is also gripping the advantages of chatbots. They assist users in a variety of tasks from foreign language study or feedback gathering to improving corporate learning experience. Juniper Research believes that chatbots will result in more than $8 billion in cost savings per year from now to 2022. This is an increase from the $20 million in 2017. AI-powered solutions are generally associated with providing customers with a more personalized experience. For example, Starbucks came up with its “My Starbucks Barista” mobile app. Customers need to just tell what they want and the order is placed for them. Taco Bell went even further and outshined automated ordering. Their new tool Taco Bot recommends personalized menu options by analyzing user purchase behavior. Pure machine learning can be further represented by Netflix, which leverages algorithms adapting to user behavior for perfect personal recommendations. There is also Tinder, that reorders you photos based on their popularity, assisting you in finding your soulmate. Gartner predicts that by the 2018 world’s largest 200 companies will take advantage of AI apps to refine their offers and increase profits. Android Instant Apps Android instant apps were first presented at Google I/O 2016 but became generally available to all Android developers only in 2017. What are they for? Well, look at this: This is a percentage of mobile apps that have been used only once during the first six months of ownership from 2010 to 2017. Android Instant Apps give you the opportunity to launch apps right away, without actually installing them on your smartphone.   The course of action is simple. You just have to choose an app in Play Store and tap “Try it now” button. Once it loads up from an URL, you can use it like any other app. The same is true for any in-app shared links. While it looks like a better experience for end-users, businesses can also benefit from the thing. Just think about the increased number of potential customers who are more likely now to try out your app due to pages sharing option and better discoverability. New phones - new rules The hype over iPhone X  made bezel-less design one of the most relevant trends for the upcoming year. The ending of the physical Home button era, a fundamentally new screen shapes and dimensions offer its users more display space for better content immersion. iPhone X’ "notch" also makes app designers find ways to accommodate it in style. ‘Don't attempt to hide the device's rounded corners, sensor housing, or indicator for accessing the home screen by placing black bars at the top and bottom of the screen.’ Apple guidelines To reinforce the trend Apple issued the following statement: ‘Starting July 2018, all iOS app updates submitted to the App Store must be built with the iOS 11 SDK and must support the Super Retina display of iPhone X.’ GDPR If you are also fed up with hearing phrases like “data leakage” or “hacker attack” then we have good news for you. 2018 takes mobile app security to a whole new level. The EU’s General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR)  took effect on May, 25. It changes the way in which apps are authorized to collect, use, and store personal data and how straightforwardly should they ask for collecting the data in the first place. It also stipulates that users must have access to easily opt-out and remove their data whenever they want to. Make sure you know how to follow the directive’s guidelines by checking our GDPR compliance checklist. Or click here for examples of what a good custom app development company can do.

Responsive and adaptive websites Responsive websites, like any other, consist of a set of interconnected HTML pages that can be opened via any browser. The difference is, they are designed to adapt to the way the content is rendered on a variety of screen sizes with the help of CSS media queries. The idea is to provide a user with a perfect experience regardless of the device they access the website. It saves the need to resize anything manually to view content. One should not confuse responsive and adaptive websites. The latter term is used to name a website that leverages different layouts designed for a certain set of screen sizes. It means that a developer should bear in mind all the possible existing size and resolution options. If the website does not support one of them, it will not be displayed decently. Meanwhile, the former type implies that there is only one layout that is “fluid” and adapts automatically the way it is optimal for the given screen. The animation demonstrates the basic difference between the two. Responsive web design is above, adaptive below. Source: css-tricks.com While both ideas have their right to exist, a responsive website approach is recommended by Google. The history of website adapting its layout to the browser viewpoint width parameters can be traced back to 2001 and Audi.com. The term “responsive web design” itself was coined in 2010 by Ethan Marcotte.  Mashable called 2013 “the year of responsive web design”.   But it was not until 2015 when the “responsive” idea was reinforced by Google. The company announced that it will adjust its search mechanisms to promote the rankings of mobile-friendly pages. The concept was even dubbed Mobilegeddon. Google believes that the measure will lead to better user experience, since “the desktop version of a site might be difficult to view and use on a mobile device”. Google also states, that “61% of users are unlikely to return to a mobile site that they had trouble accessing from their phone, and 40% go to a competitor’s.” Statista claims, that 52.5 % of all website traffic worldwide in 2018 is generated through mobile phones. Percentage of all global web pages served to mobile phones from 2009 to 2018 Thus, well-designed mobile experience is no more a matter of preference, but an apparent need for businesses. Mobile apps One of the pivotal moments that gave rise for mobile apps was a 2007 Steve Jobs Keynote Speech, where the concept of the first iPhone was unveiled. A year later, on July 10, 2008, Apple launched the first ever Apple App Store with 500 apps. A few months later, on 22 October 2008, Android Market ( Google play since 2012) with 50 apps showed up. The word “app” was named as “Word of the Year” by the American Dialect Society for 2010. After almost a decade, apps hold a predominant position when it comes to the share of mobile time. More than 80% of mobile minutes worldwide are spent on apps. There are three main options for creating a mobile app: native, hybrid and cross-platform. A native mobile app is coded in a specific programming language for each targeted platform, such as Objective C and Swift for iOS or Java, Kotlin and C/C++ for Android. Hybrid mobile apps are designed for multiple operating systems. They are written using web technologies (like JavaScript, CSS, and HTML5) and then wrapped into a mobile app with WebView to run on each platform. The most popular frameworks for hybrid app development are PhoneGap, Cordova, and Ionic. Like the hybrid, cross-platform mobile apps are aimed at running on different platforms. However, they do not wield HTML and CSS and talk directly to the mobile OS. Mobile application development is one of Belitsoft’s top priorities. Learn more about why you should choose us for your next mobile app. Do you want to reach a broader audience? Typically, the first move one is likely to do when coming across an unfamiliar brand is google it. While both apps and responsive websites can appear in search results, a responsive website is made for both mobile and desktop browsers and allows to capture a broader audience. Moreover, one generally tends to explore an unfamiliar brand via a website first. The reason is a user does not have to download or install it, thus they should not allocate some treasured mobile storage for an app of a brand they do not know. ‘Mobile web is an acquisition channel, and may be first time people are experiencing our company. Once they have a strong relationship with the brand, we use the app to create personalized experiences that cater to the customer.’ Director of mobile, large US office supply retailer To earn users’ loyalty to the brand, companies cook up all kinds of bonus systems. For example, Starbucks Rewards app enables its users to receive stars for purchases that add up to some free food and drinks later. That is, mobile websites are a good choice for establishing initial awareness and engagement. However, for more personalized customer-user interactions and retention, it is better to go with an app. Another advantage of a responsive website is that it can be accessed via any device regardless of the OS it is based on. The only thing to bear in mind is HTML5 compatibility. In fact, all of the big-league browsers like Internet Explorer, Edge, Firefox, Chrome, Safari, Opera, Safari for IOS and Android-optimized browsers support HTML5, but some features vary from browser to browser. What about time and resources? Responsive website development will have a much lower price tag and time needed than a native mobile app build up. The reason is that instead of one responsive website you have to develop at least two apps from scratch (one for Android and one for iOS) and hire a development team for each version. This, in turn, entails two times more work and resources while bug fixing and adding new features. It also makes maintenance cost higher. Yet, responsive websites can’t provide a full-scale mobile experience (more on it below) and you still have to pay for domain and hosting. However, if you still do want an app, but do not have resources and time for native apps development, you may consider going hybrid or cross-platform. Both approaches require building only one app for all platforms, which means shorter development time (including later updates and new features integration) and efficient maintenance. For example, Ionic 2 code is nearly 100% reusable. Such apps will run seamlessly regardless of the OS. Though some UI components still need to be adjusted to the target platform requirements. React Native and Xamarin allow to retain approximately 90% and up to 96% of code respectively. Read more about how Ionic 2, React Native and Xamarin compare in our blog. By the way, to distribute your apps in market stores it is also necessary to pay the registration fee. The price is one-time 25$ to Google Play and annual 99$ for the Apple Developer Program or 299 USD for the Apple Developer Enterprise Program to App Store. Are you going to update a lot? A website requires fewer efforts and costs for its maintaining compared to mobile apps. For example, you only have to edit your website once and the upgrades will be immediately active across all kinds of devices. Meanwhile, editing a native mobile app is a more knotty procedure. After an upgraded version for each OS type is prepared, it should be approved by the marketplaces. On average, it takes from 24 hours for 50% of apps to 48 hours for over 90% of apps to be reviewed on App Store. What for Google Play, it suggests waiting for at least 24 hours for an update to appear before contacting its support team. Besides, an end-user either has to set automatic updates on or upgrade an app manually after each update to get the changes. Since hybrid apps leverage HTML5, you get an ability to update an app without asking a user to upgrade it on their device. It allows for easier app management by enabling developers to implement updates and fix bugs as needed. In addition, there is no waiting time to get the update approved. Cross-platform apps built with React Native can also benefit from the Over-the-Air update feature. However, for some significant upgrades like adding new features, it is recommended to send out an app to an app store for review. What industry are you aiming at? User’s choice of a means for accessing the Internet largely depends on a type of activity they want to engage in. IAB conducted a Global mobile experience study, where they divided mobile activities into 3 groups: functionality, entertainment, and communications. Consumers tend to use mobile web for utility-directed tasks like searching, booking, and purchasing products. When entertainment and communications come into play, mobile apps are, for the most part, a far more favored alternative. Another research further proves the idea that things like communication, weather, games, music, photo and video, physical activity tracking, and daily management are better off as an app. Imagine that if it were not for an Instagram app, you should open a mobile browser, log in and only then could you see that awesome picture of a friend. All this instead of simple tap on the app’s icon. ‘Though responsive design is much better than having to ‘pinch-and-zoom’, it isn’t an optimized experience for mobile visitors. At its core, responsive design makes the desktop experience look good on mobile, but it doesn’t address the specific needs of mobile visitors.’ Talia Wolf, listed among influential voices in conversion optimization Do you need offline mode? Responsive websites require a constant Internet connection. Of course, you can save a certain webpage for offline reading both on iOS and Android, but for anything else you need to stay online. Apps can work both online and offline. While it may not be such an issue for the “first world” countries, it makes a difference for developing states. So when your users must have access to an app’s data anytime and anywhere, better go with an app. Some examples of apps that provide offline functionality are: Google Maps, that offers offline access to maps and turn-by-turn navigation. However, it's necessary to download the area of interest from Google Maps in advance to use it offline. Spotify - a music streaming app, Premium version of which allows users to enjoy their music offline. A variety of dictionaries like Merriam Webster, Dictionary.com, and WordWeb to name a few. Take a look at our mobile app portfolio to see some examples of apps with offline mode. Do you need mobile native features? Mobile devices earned their popularity not just because they fit in the pocket, but also because they are stuffed with such features as Bluetooth, camera, GPS, contact list, speech recognition and many more. Since native mobile apps are designed specifically for each target platform, they can immediately access all device-specific features. It is also feasible to leverage required mobile functionality in hybrid apps with the help of PhoneGap or Cordova. Cross-platform React Native apps can also access native functionality using native modules. Mobile internet browsers are helping to bridge the gap between an app and a website. However, the user experience may depend on the OS and browser one chooses. While both iOS Safari and Android Chrome can support geolocation, they still lack geofencing functionality. Android Chrome. Source: https://whatwebcando.today IOS Safari. Source: https://whatwebcando.today Geofencing integrated into mobile apps is a powerful tool for mobile marketers to boost engagement. It enables triggering push notifications every time a user enters a certain location. The idea is to drive interaction by targeting the right people in the right places and at the right time. According to a Global Market Insights report, the geofencing market size was estimated at over 200 million in 2016 with a CAGR of over 28% from 2017 to 2024. Walmart was one of the first retailers to introduce geofencing in its app with a “Store Mode”. ‘When you enter the store with the mobile app, say you're in Store Mode, you can search the store, and it can also give you the local ad for the store you're in so you know what's on sale in that store. We were one of the first retailers to do that.’ Ojonimi Bako, director of innovation for Walmart Labs By the way, not every mobile browser even supports push notifications. Android/Chrome. Source: https://whatwebcando.today Safari. Source: https://whatwebcando.today IOS/Chrome. Source: https://whatwebcando.today It means that even if your iPhone or iPad has a browser like Chrome installed, you still will not be able to receives pushes on your device. Android browsers, however, favor the feature. Why does it matter? Leanplum says, that promotional push notifications lead to an almost tenfold increase in purchases and 16 % more money spend with your brand. Neither iOS Safari nor Android Chrome browser won’t be useful if one wants to embrace NFC. Android Chrome. Source: https://whatwebcando.today IOS Safari. Source: https://whatwebcando.today The technology is widely implemented in the mobile payment industry. Apps like Apple Pay, Samsung Pay or MasterCard PayPass are vivid specimens. Yet NFC is not only about payments. For example, InstaWifi app allows to easily share WiFi login information through NFC tag or QR code. EndlessID is a great idea of NFC implementation in healthcare. The app enables sharing of medical and emergency contact information, ensuring the safety of your loved ones. BelitSoft has extensive expertise in healthcare solutions development. Write to us to get a free quote! A responsive website can also strip you of access to contacts, SMS sharing, task scheduling, and wake lock. Android Chrome. Source: https://whatwebcando.today IOS Safari. Source: https://whatwebcando.today Android Chrome. Source: https://whatwebcando.today IOS Safari. Source: https://whatwebcando.today To crown it all, with iOS websites one also will not be able to enjoy the features like speech recognition, VR, AR, fullscreen mode, access to battery status and some others. Android Chrome. Source: https://whatwebcando.today IOS Safari. Source: https://whatwebcando.today Android Chrome. Source: https://whatwebcando.today IOS Safari. Source: https://whatwebcando.today Android Chrome. Source: https://whatwebcando.today IOS Safari. Source: https://whatwebcando.today Android Chrome. Source: https://whatwebcando.today IOS Safari. Source: https://whatwebcando.today What about Progressive Web Apps? Introduced in 2015 by Google, Progressive web apps (PWAs) are roughly defined as a website that looks and behaves as if it is a mobile app. PWAs are built to take advantage of native mobile device features, without requiring the end user to visit an app store, make a purchase and download software locally. Instead, a PWA can be located with a search engine query and accessed immediately through a browser. There is no need to write different code for each platform - one app will do it all. However, its functionality may be still limited by browsers. For example, Firefox adds icon badges to a PWA’s home screen image, while Chrome still does not. Apple, though neglecting PWAs for a long time, has also finally introduced its main components - Service Workers and Web App Manifest - to Safari 11.1. It allows Safari-run PWAs to work offline and be pinned to the home screen, providing more native-like experience. Yet, Apple, unlike others, still does not allow its PWA users to get web push notifications. Brands like Twitter, Forbes, Washington Post, Flipkart Lite and Aliexpress have successfully implemented a new app-style and are reaping the rewards. For example, Aliexpress PWA resulted in a 74% increase in time spent per session and 104% conversion rate growth for new customers. With its PWA, Forbes saw a 43% increase in sessions per user compared to the previous mobile site, and engagement was up 100%. Twitter designed its PWA with the focus on instant loading, user engagement, and lower data consumption. It helped reduce a size app from 23.5MB Android version to only 600KB of PWA. By this, Twitter aims at covering a broader audience, including those of emerging markets. As a result, the number of pages viewed per session increased by 65% and the bounce rate decreased by 20%. Conclusion Choosing between a responsive website and a mobile app is not a black-and-white issue. The decision should be made based on your business’ goals and resources. While apps generally provide a more personalized experience, going responsive can attract a broader audience and save a lot of money. Besides, a mobile approach can reasonably include both options.