In Good Company of The Product Folks -The Rise of Apps

Due to COVID-19 epidemic has certainly caught us off-guard. Even if this has occurred unfortunately Mobile Apps still was on the rise due to the following reasons.

After COVID Statistics will be interesting to watch for

1. The Streaming wars will heat up in 2020 and consumers will decide where they will spend their time on. On an Avg, a normal person invests in a maximum of 4-5 hrs on mobile.

Streaming channels or OTT players such as Netflix, Hulu, and Amazon Prime Video, offer movie downloads that start playing before the download completes (streaming)

OTT refers to content from a third party that is delivered to an end-user, with the ISP simply transporting IP packets

The record of simultaneous users watching an OTT event was set at 18.6 million by Disney's Indian video streaming platform Hotstar. 

OTT messaging is defined as instant messaging services or online chat provided by third parties, as an alternative to text messaging services provided by a mobile network operator. An example is the Facebook-owned mobile application WhatsApp, that serves to replace text messaging on Internet-connected smartphones. Other providers of OTT messaging include Viber, WeChat, Skype, Telegram, and Google Allo.

OTTvoice calling, usually called VOIP, capabilities, for instance, as provided by Skype, WeChat, Viber, and WhatsApp use open internet communication protocols to replace and sometimes enhance existing operator-controlled services offered by mobile phone operators.

The competition also comes from social media, where Gen Z goes to fill spare time and find entertaining content. Social apps like TikTok, Snapchat, and Instagram are blurring the lines between social media and entertainment, resulting in more competition for consumers’ time. Twitch — traditionally a video game live-streaming platform — has also branched out into other forms of content. The “Just Chatting” genre, which focuses on streamers interacting with their audience rather than gaming, was the 3rd mostpopular channel by total hours watched on Twitch in the first half of 2019. 

Quibi was launched on April 6, 2020. On April 14, the company announced it had seen 1.7 million downloads of the Quibi app in its release week

Unlike many streaming video platforms, Quibi's content is made specifically to be streamed only on mobile devices and can be viewed in either horizontal or vertical video, with the user able to shift to one or the other within the same video. Instead of typical half-hour TV episodes or two-hour films, content on Quibi is delivered in episode chapters of 10 minutes or less.

2. Apple Arcade & Google Play Pass will result in innovative new games for consumers and new revenue streams for publishers.

By paying for subscription services, consumers gain access to a wider variety of content and services for a fixed fee — something that Gen Z consumers are particularly fond of. Subscription services will also create opportunities for games that haven’t found success with in-app purchases or advertising monetization models. Apple Arcade offers a subscription to a collection of exclusive games at a fixed-fee; however, Google Play Pass provides a subscription to games that are otherwise live on the Google Play store

3. 5G Is the Next Battleground, and Gamers Will Be First to Reap the Rewards

While speed has been the main talking point around 5G, it’s the low latency that excites gamers and publishers alike. There is a demand for mobile online multiplayer core games that rely on better wireless connections. In October 2019, Call of Duty: Mobile was the top-ranked game by global downloads across iOS and Google Play in its first month of release, while PUBG MOBILE and Free Fire continued to rank 5th and 6th respectively by downloads, more than a year after their initial launches

4. Progressive Web Apps Will Become an Important Link in the Consumer Journey

Progressive Web Apps (PWAs) are mobile websites that look and feel like apps — ensuring a smooth user experience — without requiring users to immediately take the extra step of downloading an app. PWAs can help increase conversions by simplifying the user experience. This is particularly important as it allows users to trial or use a more limited version of an app with less friction than a mobile website. It also has the added benefit of speed. PWAs have faster loading times than websites. This is particularly valuable where connectivity is poor and in developing markets where we see the lite version of an app has similar levels of popularity as the full one. In India, for example, Facebook Lite had nearly 90% of the downloads of Facebook in H1 2019.

PWAs form a bridge between mobile web and app experiences. While converting users to download your app is still important to ensure optimal consumer experience and retention, their first encounter with the brand will likely happen elsewhere. In addition, the distribution and functionality of PWAs are subject to guidelines of app stores and browser functionality. This means that native apps should still be the primary focus on mobile. 

Sounds interesting though. Want some more of these insights!!!

On 22nd April 2020, we had a tete a tete with DeepakAbbot (Co-Founder at Flat White Capital) and Suhas Motwani ( from TheProductfolks community) in association with BlumeVentures i.e "In Good Company" series was a must-attend. You may like to catch some of the excerpts here .

How many Clubhouse invites have you received up till now?