The top few apps dominate our mobile usage , YouTube, Facebook, Google, Facebook Messenger, Instagram, Snapchat, Google Maps...
Have a look at your smart phone, I'd guess these are the apps that fit onto your home screen. Add in your email, calendar, contacts, photos, app store and settings - that doesn't leave much room for others.
Personally, I have a some sports news (BBC, Reading FC, Gloucester Rugby) and music apps (Spotify, Songkick, SoundHound), then some business apps (Linked In) and some comms apps (Skype, WhatsApp, FB Messenger) and my music and podcasts. How often do I go to the second and third screens? Not very - to play a game if I am bored whilst travelling, or maybe to use the valuable apps that I use occasionally (Trainline, BA, BBC Weather, Sky Go, KIndle). There are countless others that I have and if you really pushed me, I don't think I could name that many of them: snapchat, Pinterest, Soccerway, Netflix.....
What can you conclude? The data (and my own screen) tells me that if you are trying to cope with the top apps, then you have to provide genuine utility, even if it is something that is only used occasionally. Trainline is a great example of an app that I only use every now and then, but is invaluable when I do.
So, bare this in mind if you are to embark on designing a new corporate app:
- Will it make me put it onto my home screen?
- If not, will it still be invaluable when I occasionally use it?
- Or will I download it once, use it and then never refer to it again? That may not be a bad thing for an event app (Uni open day, Olympics etc), but thik before you start.
The ones that I use often also use the functionality of the phone (GPS, camera) or interact with my data (contacts, music etc).
Some food for thought hopefully.....
