Technology makes the world go round, and it can also make you nostalgic. Remember when you had a dial-up internet connection and lost contact with the online world when someone started talking on the phone? Since then, we’ve come a long way to say the least. Why don’t we go a little deeper and take a look at the evolution of mobile applications?

Because technology is constantly evolving, our mobile devices are becoming more powerful and incorporating newer and newer features. Your devices now have AI-controlled personal assistants; you can speak to them and use them to manage your daily tasks.

Mobile applications have become a popular way for people to communicate, shop, organise their lives, play, and even work. Not only are new mobile apps constantly being launched, but companies are also constantly revamping their apps to stay ahead of the game. Whether that’s a social media app, news app, or games app. Especially in the gaming industry, huge companies invest large investments to provide the best gaming experience to their customers. The gaming industry is a very competitive arena in which each company wants to make sure its app is top rated. Within the gaming industry, a special mention should go to online gambling platforms, like 888 games, or like these apps, which are pioneers in the way they market their casino apps.

Mobile marketing allows marketers to engage with customers and prospects at any time and from any location. The ability of marketers to be ‘constantly connected’ has been made possible in large part by the proliferation of mobile applications.

Our lives nowadays revolve around mobile applications. Whether we need to get up in the morning, do a quick meditation, find our way to a client’s office, or reserve a dinner table. Everything is now just a click away, thanks to apps. That is one of the primary reasons for the app industry’s success.

Everything started when the innovative company IBM released the first smartphone for general use in 1993. It included a calculator, world clock, calendar, and contact book, all of which were written in Java. The release of the first iPhone—back in 2007—marked the most significant milestone in the history of applications. This was a big deal for the majority of us. The iPhone marked a watershed moment in mobile and mobile app history. At the time, most people decided to abandon physical keyboards in favour of the new multi-touch screen technology.

Apple trademarked the famous phrase “there’s an app for that” in 2009. However, in 2010, the term ‘app’ became the most searched term and even the ‘Word of the Year’. Apple’s jargon is now used all over the world to describe applications on a variety of devices, making it an undeniable tech giant.

Mobile users today are primarily divided into two groups: iOS users and Android users. While Apple was the first company to introduce the concept of a modern touchscreen smartphone to customers, the iPhone’s market share has steadily declined since its introduction. Android surpassed iOS in market share in 2010, becoming the world’s most popular mobile operating system.

Today, Android controls more than 80 per cent of the global market, making it the most popular mobile operating system. There are two significant marketplaces where you can download apps based on the operating system on your phone. Both the App Store and Google Play were first introduced in 2008, and they both contain a large number of apps that allow their users to use their smartphones in a variety of ways.

When compared to the first apps that were released, it is understandable why we previously stated how today’s apps have come a long way—we are spoiled with great experiences and freemium models in exchange for the historical value of our data. The most popular apps are free, but we prefer to pay for meditation apps that keep us centred and music apps that allow us to skip ads and listen to our favourite songs wherever we go. Whether it’s for entertainment, communication, or business, mobile applications have become our assistants, providing a way to escape reality from time to time.

According to statistics, we spend an average of 3 hours and 35 minutes per day on our smartphones. We spend 90 per cent of our time on Facebook, Instagram, Pinterest, and other social platform-related apps. We’ve created apps to help business owners manage their inventory more efficiently, and we’ve even created apps for hospitals.

To capture users’ attention and persuade them to use your app, top mobile app development company must create a trending app with a user-friendly interface that meets the current digitisation bar. To do so, one must be well-versed in the technologies that can aid in developing a user-friendly and robust app. With the proper understanding of mobile app development technologies, app developers can create unique apps that can do well in the market. There are five main programming languages behind mobile apps, and they are:

It is a popular object-oriented language that employs a three-layer model to develop web applications and innovative mobile apps. PHP programming language works exceptionally well for applications that require database integration.

This is the language that developers prefer to use when creating apps for Apple products. The programming language has advanced features as well as minimal coding that can be easily maintained.

This is one of the best technologies to use, especially when developing front-end web apps for smartphones and other mobile devices.

This programming language serves as a solid foundation for other languages. Furthermore, C++ has tremendous power for developing dynamic and innovative apps. It provides a compiler-based and straightforward approach, making it a versatile tool that can be used on multiple platforms. C++’s sister, Objective C, was once widely used to develop apps for Apple systems, but this is no longer the case.

This is the most popular programming language among Android platform developers. The object-oriented language is simple to learn and apply. It has a large number of open-source libraries that users all over the world can use.

Without a doubt, the app industry has experienced rapid growth in recent years. With the advancement of technology and ever-increasing end-user expectations, developers must become more innovative and continue to think outside the box. Voice-controlled speakers installed in smart homes, chatbots in electronic commerce, and augmented reality are some of the trends that may shape the future of the industry.

The future is largely unpredictable, but there is no doubt that the app industry is moving in a user-centric, dynamic, and fast-paced direction. As a result, app developers and other stakeholders must work hard to exceed customers’ expectations.

On 3 March 2021, President Joe Biden announced new strategies to counter the declining pace of immunisations and reach his goal of partly inoculating 70 per cent of American adults by 4 July. In a series of efforts that followed, the White House essentially highlighted the benefits of a COVID-19 vaccine without actually mandating one. Now joining vaccinated baseball seatings and free Uber rides to vaccination sites is an incentive seeking to promote a ‘hot vax summer’: dating app perks.

Hoping to reach over 50 million users based in US, the White House has teamed up with nine of the largest dating apps—including Tinder, OkCupid, Hinge, Bumble, Badoo, BLK, Chispa, Match and Plenty of Fish—to offer perks to those users who have gotten their COVID-19 shot.

“Social distancing and dating were always a bit of a challenging combination,” said Andy Slavitt, a senior adviser on the COVID-19 response team, during a virtual briefing with reporters announcing the incentive. Highlighting how vaccination statuses are proven to boost matches by 14 per cent, Slavitt equated vaccines to a “universally attractive quality” when it comes to dating. “These dating apps will now allow vaccinated people to display badges,” the adviser said, roughly sketching up the incentive. “It would show their vaccination status filter specifically to see only people who are vaccinated and offer premium content like boosts and Superswipes.”

Conceived over several weeks of discussions with the apps, Slavitt also added how the promotional push is a “response to the President’s call to action” rather than an official partnership with the nine apps.

All the nine apps involved in the push would offer a wide variety of features to vaccinated users. In the case of Tinder, White House officials have suggested the adoption of a popular incentive the app used during elections, which allowed users to attach stickers to their profiles if they had registered to vote. Similarly, Tinder users will be able to promote their vaccination status with stickers like “Getting Vaxed” and “Vaccines Save Lives.” Users who add these stickers between 2 June and 4 July will also be gifted a ‘Super Like’ that helps raise their chances of receiving desired matches. The platform is also set to add resources from Vaccine.gov to help users figure out the nearest vaccination centre.

As for vaccinated users over on OkCupid, they can choose to add an “I’m Vaccinated” profile badge, get a free profile boost and choose to be paired only with users who have been vaccinated. Hinge, on the other hand, is all set to gift vaccinated users a free ‘Rose’—a feature that sends users to the top of a person’s ‘Like You’ feed. Match, Bumble and Badoo will also enable users to add relevant badges and avail premium features such as Spotlight and Superswipe.

BLK, a popular app for black singles, will add a new “Vaxified” profile badge and give free boosts to its users while Chispa, the largest dating app for Latino singles, will allow users to add an equivalent badge that spells “Vacunado.” Lastly, Plenty of Fish will feature “I Got My Shot” badges starting early June with the incentive of 20 ‘Live!’ credits users can spend on the platform’s streaming feature.

Governments and businesses all across the world are engaging in creative, considerate and non-coercive measures to encourage people to get vaccinated. In terms of locations, such pushes have previously converted museums, public transport, football games and even strip clubs into vaccination centres. On the entertainment front, vaccination efforts have roped in an entire girl group named SNH48 as ambassadors. Don’t even get me started on the list of vaccine freebies. From Krispy Kreme doughnuts to free beer and concert tickets, freebies have essentially opened up a realm of debatable possibilities.

The mix also includes other vaccinated citizens with the aim of curbing anti-vaxxer misinformation while encouraging those on the fence about getting vaccinated. Vaccine selfies, merchandise and online factions like ‘Moderna mafia’ and ‘Pfizer fam’ are all efforts coupled with various TikTok trends on this front. In terms of dating, the industry initially witnessed an influx of self-initiated, pro-vaccine trends—with keywords like “covid vaccinated” and “fully vaccinated” dominating Tinder bios as early as September 2020.

Conversations about proper sanitation were already a turn-on for dating app users since the beginning of the pandemic and the latest trend of vaccination bios seemed to further add on to a user’s oomph factor. Not only did vaccines become the biggest talking point on these apps, but it also quickly evolved into a huge deal-breaker—with insights collected by OkCupid suggesting 40 per cent of millennials and gen Z users cancelling dates with someone who refuses to take the vaccine.

With all of these factors taken into account—coupled with the eagerness of users to get back on the market—the White House’s move is undoubtedly an essential one tapping into all of the right cultural trends and conversations. As major dating apps roll out such vaccine-friendly features, users would also expect other platforms to catch up, in turn fostering a new normal altogether.