Are Apps Still in Vogue or Has App Fatigue Moved Us in a New Direction?

Way back in July of 2008, Apple proudly announced that iPhone and iPod Touch users had downloaded more than 10 million applications from its groundbreaking new App Store. This after only one week on the market, the adoption hailed radical change on the horizon.

App Adoption Uptick

Users quickly embraced mobile technology, and then mobile culture; somewhere along the way shifting the media and tech landscape toward mobile altogether.

With the inception of the App Store, Apple introduced the idiom 'There's an app for that.' Ingrained in the public psyche, people reflexively searched and downloaded apps, filling their phones with programs they might only use once or might use every day.

This rising wave of downloads and adopters spurred businesses into action. Across the board businesses of all kinds were asking third parties to build apps to drive sales and traffic. In many cases, this was a reflexive behavior, aimless. Companies wanted an app but thought little of how it fit into their overall business model. It was digital transformation for the sake of change alone.

Building an app is half the battle, though. The other half is maintenance. And if the app picks up faster than you anticipated, brace yourself for a rough ride. A number of early adopters on both sides of the equation faced the downsides of an unready app.

But by the time business had somewhat mastered the app building and maintenance process, a major social disruption occurred. People grew weary and flocked to their browsers.

So Much to Choose From

Users were soon starting to show signs of app fatigue. A study revealed that despite having hundreds of apps on our smartphones, most of us only use around three on a regular basis. Last year, Walt Mossberg from Verge tellingly revealed he had decluttered his phone by 54 percent after culling 165 of his 305 apps.

Business responded to app fatigue existentially. The founder of Rogue Amoeba, for example, made the brave move of pulling his app Piezo from the App Store. The result? There was an increase in revenue with very little damage to sales, much to the delight of Rogue Amoeba's Paul Kafasis.

TechCrunch spoke with Dash creator, Bogdan Popescu, about Apple having pulled his app from App Store. It turned out to be sheer serendipity. After being cut, cold turkey, for one hundred days, he was shocked by the results. There was nominal change to revenue. It became apparent that his customers did not care from which platform they downloaded the app.

The reality is that users mostly use social media apps. A user will happily consume your content on Facebook, Instagram, Snapchat and Twitter, without the need for a proprietary app. In fact, a downloaded app may inadvertently relegate you to the back of the line.

In Sum

At the onset, the smartphone app was touted as a panacea: direct access to users right from their smartphones. Time has shown us that nothing guarantees the portal will stay open. It’s mobile web, rather than apps, that remains the main entry point for users.

A website that is properly designed mobile is a necessity that can be more effective than an app at engaging users. Businesses and their leaders simply need to start thinking like a user. How do you use your personal phone? Where do you prefer to use the mobile web? And when do you prefer an app?

Once we accept that both our business and pleasure operate in the same way across all digital platforms, maybe we can begin to move away from technology for technology’s sake.

Don't be the person in a meeting suggesting a smartphone app as a solution. Think mobile web instead.