- Mobile App Development Stats, Trends, and Costs
- Popular Mobile App Platforms
- Popular App Security Features
- App Data Storage Preferences
- Login Features for Apps
- Popular App Media Features
- Popular Utility Features in Apps
- Popular App UX Features
- Popular App Features
- App Design Preferences
- Average Number of Expected App Users
- Familiarity with the App Development Process
- Conclusion: Start Your Next App with App Development Cost
You know what’s not going away? Smartphones. Or the apps on them. Interest in apps continues to increase. In 2017, there were 178 bill app downloads and that number is expected to hit 258 billion worldwide downloads by 2022.
If that estimate is true, or even if it is partially true, many apps still need to be developed. And that will take money and resources to make it happen.
That’s where the team at App Development Cost comes in. Thousands of users turn to App Development Cost each month for app cost estimates and to find resources to help them price, build their app, and receive app developer recommendations.
We have tracked the popularity of feature requests and budget estimates through our popular app development cost questionnaire. In this article, you’ll find up-to-date app development statistics and the trends we’re seeing, along with which app features interest our users.
Popular Mobile App Platforms
The largest number of our visitors are interested in hybrid apps, ones that will function on both Android and iOS devices. The high interest in hybrid apps has remained consistent over the past few months. The platform is where your app can be found and downloaded. Most of our users are interested in developing an app that works on both platforms.
Building an app for iOS had the lowest amount of interest, which reflects global trends. Apple devices have on average 25 percent of the global market, while devices that use Android operating systems have approximately 75 percent of the market.
Popular App Security Features
Most app developers are interested in providing basic security measures for their apps, such as authorized APIs and password protection. The percentage of users looking for those features in their apps has remained steady. However, a sizable portion indicated that they do not need protection, though it is recommended.
App Data Storage Preferences
Consistently throughout the few months, most users would like to store their data via a cloud database rather than an internal solution. Services such as Microsoft Azure and Amazon Relational Database are leaders in cloud databases for apps.
Login Features for Apps
Every app needs a way to sign in and verify users. The most common ways are with emails and passwords, but a single sign on with other social networks can also be a convenient way to quickly sign on users in a secure format. Most users developing new apps still prefer an email user login instead of connecting and verifying with social networks.
Popular App Media Features
Though many prefer several media features, the most popular is integrating the use of a camera into an app, along with video playback. The most interesting increase however is with audio playback, as the percentage of users investigating this feature has increased over time.
Popular Utility Features in Apps
What features are needed in your mobile app? The App Development Cost users are focused on user profiles, search bars, and messaging within the app. Those interested in building an app for their business do not seem as interested in Bluetooth or usage data.
Popular App UX Features
The most popular app user experience feature that users want are push notifications, with more 60 percent of users across all months interested in that feature. The next most popular is a rating system to let users rank their experiences with products or with the app itself.
Popular App Features
The most popular general feature for apps are forms within the app, such as for registration or to complete information, such as services, such as an appointment or background information.
Back-end features such as user administration are very among those pricing app development costs. User administration will help you with setting up user permissions, keeping track of new account sign-ups, monitor the number of active users on your app and check any other usage statistics. Having this information is key for knowing the quality of your app performance and the features that draw the most attention from users.
A high percentage of users are also interested in supporting multiple languages so a broad swath of users can have access.
App Design Preferences
There are many templated app designs that app developers could easily implement, but most visitors to App Development Cost want something more customized and professional. Using templates is a great way to build out your MVP and initial project vision, and to test features. But for more robust apps, consider customized and professional apps for easier maintenance and more control over your app.
Average Number of Expected App Users
What is the average number of users most app developers are expecting? Though the numbers are fairly diffuse, most are expecting 1000 to 10,000 users indicating that the apps being explored are local or niche, perhaps for a dedicated user base, small-to-medium-sized businesses, or even for inter-company use.
Familiarity with the App Development Process
Users come App Development Cost with all levels of experience, from those with only a vague app idea, to experienced developers and product managers who want to provide reliable cost estimates to their leadership teams. App Development Cost wants to customize its recommendations to users of all types.