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The smartphone industry has been ever-transforming in the past couple of years. It has been observed that there has been tremendous growth in the development of newer applications that supports new features and makes communication easier and efficient. There have been many apps that are present in the market, each catering towards solving a particular technological problem. There has been the sale of over 2 billion smartphones in the past year 2018. Companies are competing with each other to bring out newer features and functionalities. There are several challenges that come when the question is about app development.
Here is a look at some of the latest challenges posed to mobile application development.
Challenges in Building Mobile Applications
1) Platform Compatibility
There have been many platforms developed for the Mobile application market. However, the two most common ones that have been successful and prominent for the Mobile smartphone market is the iOS platform from Apple and the Android platform from Google. There have been instances where the applications used on smartphones need to seamlessly integrate with our other devices such as tablets and laptops or desktop PCs. You might have a tablet that is manufactured by the same smartphone company that you have a phone for your personal use.
There have been only 50% of users who have the latest Android or iOS platform updated and installed on their smartphones. The people who own a brand of smartphones may also be the users of tablets and laptops manufactured by the same company. Users of multiple devices prefer to have a system using which data can flow easily and seamlessly through multiple devices. The apps that we use need to ensure backward and forwards compatibility with multiple such devices, as well as with different screen sizes and OS versions. Platform compatibility is essential to make sure that the app that has been developed conforms to standards.
2) Limitations in Performance and Memory
A major challenge that is faced by many app developers is to be able to balance the applications performance and device memory constraints. Many smartphones do not come with the ability to have a garbage collector function, as the Android platform does. A garbage collector function ensures that any memory is not consumed by unused objects for the smartphone application. However, this feature is not present in the iOS apps platform. The Garbage collector helps to release unused objects from memory thereby increasing the free space the available memory for other applications or objects.
In spite of this limitation for iOS devices, there is a workaround. You need to ensure that your provider of iPhone application development services uses the objective-C language for writing the code or programming the application. Programs developed in objective C comes with remarkable memory management model as well as it makes the task of the iPhone app development easier. There may be different limitations that may be encountered in memory usage. All of these limitations would pose a threat to the app under development.
3) Beta Users Testing
What is the major thing that can impact the application development process when the app is released? It is getting negative feedback from users which stems from the developer’s point of contact when the app is not validated properly and thoroughly to identify all the weak spots in the various use cases. It is important for the developer to visualize all the user interactions with the application, and this can be achieved during the beta testing phase which is a kind of external user acceptance testing that is done to ensure the app is up to specifications and does what it is intended to do.
This is the second phase of the software testing that is done in the real world environment by the real users of the app in order to check the application’s functionality and identify any bugs and possible breakdowns. The app needs to undergo several beta tests and user conformations so that it address the problems faced by the users.
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4) Poor Network Conditions
Any kind of application development that is to be performed needs to be done with super-speed internet connections to ensure that the data seamlessly flows to and from the app. We as developers need to ensure that cuts on the internet connectivity do not hamper the performance of the application. The apps should work even when there is poor network connectivity.
5) User Interface
To create an experience for the user that is engaging and worthwhile, it is critical for developers to focus on a good and efficient UI/UX design. Apps have been involving dramatically over the years and so have their design and navigation. You can always rely on hiring an iOS or Android developer in order to create an attractive user interface for different screen sizes. The user interfaces should be seamless and simple to use and understand.
6) Solving Real World problems
Apps are developed in order to enable the user to solve a real-world problem. Developers need to ensure that the app that will be used by people is able to help them to solve a problem that bridges a gap in the real world problem scenario. Whatever be the problem, the application only becomes successful when it is able to provide ease to the users and helps to simplify and provides a solution to the technology problem that was existent before. The app should be designed to solve the real word problems faced by users.
7) Play Store and App Store approvals:
It is likely that if the app is able to garner the attention of the users and solve real-life problems. The app should be made available on the App Store for Apple apps and the Play store for Android apps. It should happen that the performance and usage should be similar. This goes without any noticeable difference for its Android or iOS versions of apps. Developers need to follow the guidelines that ensure the apps are not rejected. Because if the app does not conform to the App Store or the Play Store’s standards, it will be rejected. The app should conforms to the standards approved by the appropriate app store or play store platforms.
8) User Satisfaction
It is quite important that the app that has been developed is capable to provide user satisfaction. Otherwise, the concerned user may regard your app as bloatware or freeware that is incapable of any use. For any application to become successful it is important that the app is able to solve the real-world problem. You need to satisfy the user of the app usage. The app needs to have a high degree of user satisfaction.
9) Security
Security is the main concern when it comes to developing mobile applications. Hackers can gain access to your confidential data such as your address, email list, contacts, messages, pictures. Data like stored credit card numbers and important passwords can come in the hands of hackers. It is paramount for any developer to manage and deal with security issues. Thereby make the app foolproof for any kind of intrusion to happen. The app needs to provide adequate security for the users data.
10) Promotions and Marketing
These activities are useful after the app has been developed. The app has been available for the masses on the respective stores. Then comes the job of promoting the app to make it popular and user aware. Organizations should set aside a certain budget for app promotions. Any kind of premium features to be made available for free use. This helps project attractive offers to the user so that he can use the app. It all depends on how much the user likes the app and uses it in his daily life. If he likes the app then he is sure to do promotion. These promotions to his friends and family members by word of mouth will helpful.
You may also know more: 10 ways cloud computing can change web app development
Conclusion
It is worthwhile that you develop your smartphone app through a third party company. In order for your app to conform to the standards set by Apple and Google. You may also look forward to a mobile app development company that will take charge of developing your apps. If you are looking forward to getting certified in a mobile app development course, we suggest you have a look at Nimap Infotech for all their expert course materials. Hope you like this blog on Challenges in Building Mobile Applications.
