Are you one of those who feel that the mobile app market is already mature, and is slowing down? If yes, well…there’s news for you! On a YoY basis, the total number of app downloads is set to go up by >15% (205 billion in 2018 vs 178 billion in 2017) this year. Fast forward to 2022, and we will be looking at annual app store revenues in excess of $68 billion – with cumulative downloads going past the 255 billion mark. In terms of app availability, Google leads the way – with ~3.8 million applications available for download by the end of 2018 Q1 (Apple App Store, with 2 million apps, comes in at a distant second – with the Windows Store and the Amazon Appstore further behind). On average, 6100 Android apps and ~1450 iOS apps are launched every day – and there is no dearth of applications showcasing innovative ideas, and using the latest technologies. In today’s discussion, we will highlight some new app ideas for 2019:
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App for smarter cooking ideas
Online recipe portals and cookbooks are all very nice – but don’t we often come across otherwise interesting recipes, which include ingredients that are not available at the time? This new mobile application will take away that bit of inconvenience – by suggesting recipes on the basis of the stuff already available in the kitchen. All that the users will have to do is provide a full list of the cooking ingredients ready at hand – and the app will display multiple nice and tasty recipes using ONLY those ingredients. People will be able to vote recipes up and down, and there will also be a special ‘Recipe of the Day’ section (guess what…that will also be according to the ingredients you have!).
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App for staying safe
This one will be more in the form of a personal bodyguard app. There will be two options to register – either as a ‘general user’, or as a ‘security provider’. The latter would comprise of ex-policemen or military officers or retired army stuff, set to ensure that the civilians in their locality do not face any hooliganism or crime. Instead of pressing an SOS tab and waiting for the authorities to arrive, a general user – as and when confronted by a problem (thieves, eve-teasers, goons, etc.) – will only have to tap a button, to send emergency notifications to all the ‘security providers’ in the locality (say, within a 20 km radius). One of the ‘security providers’ will take up the job and arrive at the spot to deal with the problem. For women in particular, and anyone in an unknown, lonely neighbourhood in general, this app will offer just that extra level of safety assurance. The app should be made for both iOS and Android platforms.
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App for finding quality home service supplies
From pest control services and home heating & cooling equipments (HVAC) to gardening, home cleaning and furnishing services – there are a lot of things that homeowners need to keep an eye out for constantly. What’s more, these services are often not particularly inexpensive either. This new mobile application will look to build a community of local homeowners – who will be able to search and look through discounted home service offerings (posted by local, verified sellers). An individual homeowner will also be able to put up something (or some services, for that matter) for sale. There will be a real-time chat option as well, for users to participate in home decoration and maintenance-related discussions. Think of it this way – you need some plumbing done urgently, and you do not have to tag along to the plumbing store. A few taps on the app will bring you in contact with plumbing service providers, and that too at heavily discounted rates!
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App for managing money (lent and borrowed)
Personal finance management is tricky business. Different bills have different due dates, at times we have to borrow money from others (banks & individuals) – while keeping track of the money we lend is also important. Wouldn’t it be just great if there is a digital platform where all these details could be neatly organised and kept updated? That’s precisely what this mobile app (a web version would also be handy) will serve as. Users will have to enter the names of the borrowers and lenders, the respective amounts of money they owe or are supposed to get from them, the installment options, and the due dates. Changes, as and when they occur, have to be updated in the app. This innovative money-management application, on its part, will generate alarms as payment due date(s) approach (both for repayments as well as money receiving) – and will constantly give you an integrated picture of your finances. One glance at the app will tell you how much in the red, or green, you are at any point.
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App for measuring crowd density
Going to the coolest pub in town on a Friday night, only to find it overcrowded, can be a huge bummer. However, with the help of artificial intelligence capabilities and smart IoT sensors, we can easily have an app that would do away with such uncertainties. Before visiting any restaurant or pub, or any particular public place, users will be able to check out both the seating arrangements at the place, as well as the live crowd density over there at that point in time. For security purposes though, the faces of the people at that place will not be shown. Armed with the knowledge of how crowded (or deserted!) a place is at any time, the user can now take a call on whether (s)he would like to go over there.
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App for prioritising tasks
At home and at work, being able to prioritise tasks efficiently is a must-have quality for anyone. While this comes easily to some, there are many people who need a bit of help for this purpose. There are a few ‘task prioritisation apps’ on the Android platform – but since none of them are quite up to the mark yet – there is an opportunity to come up with an entirely new app (on both iOS and Android). On this app, prioritisation will be done on the basis of pairwise comparison. In other words, a user will have to list his pending tasks in pairs – compare them – and then decide which one is to be given higher priority. Once this is done for one pair of tasks, the next pair will be up for comparison. If a new task comes in, it will be compared pairwise with all the other existing tasks. The priority ordering can also be changed if the opinions of the user change. Once a full priority list is ready, an individual will be able to go about completing tasks systematically.
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App for dressing up correctly
All guys would love to dress up like Leonardo diCaprio, and every lady would die to get that Emma Watson look – but that does not always work out (or is even feasible!), right? What we CAN do is doing the best with the clothes and accessories that we already have in our wardrobes. This iPhone application with built-in AI capabilities (can also be made for Android) will serve as a helpful dressing guide. There will be a provision to store pictures of all the dresses a user has in the app (i.e., picture of clothes have to be imported in the app) – and on the basis of the occasion chosen (a business meeting, a cocktail party, a birthday celebration, and the like) – the perfect dress suggestions will be displayed. A user will also have the option to check out a virtual version of him/herself in the suggested dress combination. Instead of having to fumble through clothes and being uncertain about what would go with what – people will be able to rely on this app as his/her new fashion advisor!
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App for thought reading
This will be an attempt to take social networking to the next level. Once a user puts in whatever he is thinking of at any moment in the app – (s)he will be instantaneously be able to see whether there are others (fellow app-users, obviously) who are thinking along the same lines in the locality (say, within a 15-25 meter boundary). After finding like-minded people with the same thoughts, the user can send along a friend request to him/her, chat with him/her anonymously, or even schedule an actual face-to-face meeting. Of course, the other person will have the option of rejecting any incoming friend request. Security might emerge as an issue – and app developers have to make sure that users have to complete their profile information – in order to be able to register on the app.
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App for keeping pets healthy
There are pet care apps by the dozen in the stores, and we are not proposing to build just another clone of those. This one will be different – since it will only focus on the health parameters and activities of your beloved canine or feline buddy. The quantity, type and intervals of food intake will be tracked, along with heart rates and the amount of time walked or spent in other activities (via GPS). Pet-owners can also get in touch with professional vets instantly through the app, and seek help in case of emergencies. There will also be an option to upload HQ images of dogs and cats on the app, and sharing them with pet-doctors, to get a quick health feedback. Apart from these, there can be a dedicated section for curated, highly informative pet care articles from leading journals. Keeping our pets happy is our responsibility – and this all-new application would help us in fulfilling that better.
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App for getting the lyrics of a song
Yes, there are hundreds of sites where you can look up for the lyrics of songs. However, it is pretty common for a tune to just sit in our head – and we can’t help but hum it along. In such cases, not knowing the lyrics – and not being able to search for it (for example, if the tune just comes while driving or while traveling in the subway) – can be distinctly irritating. This iPhone music app will offer a quicker, better solution. The user will have to launch it, move to the ‘Hear Tune’ screen’, and hum the piece of music. The app will identify the tune (by matching it with the huge collection in its database) – and instantly display the lyrics. There can also be a daily challenge section – where the lyrics of a song will be displayed, and users have to sing it in the correct tune.
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App to plan weekend with buddies
Let’s take a pause and think – how many of our ‘besties’ and ‘BFFs’ do we actually manage to keep regularly in touch with, once college is over (‘Hi’-s over Facebook do not count)? Not many – and that can’t be helped – given the busy lifestyles of each one of us. The only time to meet up is during the weekends, and an app can be made to sync the fun weekend plans of close, long-term friends. To start off with, a user has to invite friends and create a list of buddies (a community of old friends, so to speak). Once that is done, people can start sharing their weekend moods and plans. Friends who are looking to do something on similar lines can fix up meetings and plan outings, or meals, or games, together. In life, we keep losing friends – and this app will look to ensure that will no longer be the case.
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App to become an expert in dating
There is no dearth of mobile dating apps out there. But what if a user looks for a date, finds a very nice person of the opposite gender, fixes a romantic dinner – but then feels stage fright, simply because (s)he is not a good conversationalist? These are the situations that cry out for ‘wingmen’ (as Barney Stinson of HIMYM would refer to them!) – people who can advise on what to say and what to avoid during a date. Simulated conversations on a variety of topics during a date can be viewed (these will be like case study videos!). An individual will also be able to ask specific questions to the experts, and be guided accordingly. Records of a date can be uploaded for feedback. This won’t be just another dating app where singles look for partners – it will be a digital assistant to help users put their best foot forward during those long-anticipated dates.
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App to make the best use of time
This will be an iPhone self-help app with a twist. For all the good points about social media and video-streaming applications – the fact of the matter is, many people tend to spend way too much time on them. The new app will serve as a tool…a constant reminder…to get rid of such addictions. It will be able to record the number of minutes a person spends on Netflix or Facebook or Snapchat or Instagram – and then list out a series of alternative things (more productive activities) that could have been done in that time. In terms of economics, the app will help users realise the ‘opportunity cost of time’ that they often fritter away. In the 120 minutes of sitting through an unremarkable movie – a person could have done some yoga, done a bit of cooking, read a book, or even caught up on some sleep. That’s precisely the sort of information this app will deliver.
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App to keep track of expiry dates
People buy more stuff than they need to at any time – there’s no two ways about this. Now, these things have certain expiry dates – and if they are not fully used up by that time (so often, they aren’t) – these go to waste. Here is an idea to minimise such wastages, and keep track of all the things that a particular user buys. (S)he has to scan every item with an expiry date (medicines, sauces & ketchups, creams, and others) – for storing the information within the app. As the expiry dates come close (say, from 20 days before the expiry date), the app will generate alarms – indicating the date AND the item under question. Two potential problems will be handled by this app – neither would too many things be wasted, nor will people face the dangers of using any product after its expiry date.
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App with AR capabilities to scan people
How much do you know about the person sitting across the table from you? Only the bits (s)he decides to tell you – and maybe the information you manage to gather by ‘Googling’ that person’s name. It would be decidedly more convenient if there is an augmented reality-powered application – that can scan people’s faces, and aggregate all the information available on them on a single screen. Once again, security can be a potential pain point – and only authenticated users will be allowed to use the app. The process is simple – launch the app, point your device at the other person’s face, and get all the information about him/her at your fingertips…in a matter of seconds!
There can be a cross-platform social app for all the grandparents out there, eager to stay in touch with their grandsons/granddaughters (with real-time chat and file sharing options). A dedicated communication app for researchers would allow professionals from across the world – with differing climatic, geographical and economic/political conditions – compare and exchange notes. For tourists, there can be an iOS/Android app for connecting them with verified tour guides – saving them from falling in the clutches of fraudsters.
We are continually moving towards a ‘XXX-as-a-Service’ world – with the benefits of on-demand service apps more evident than ever before. As such, we can reasonably expect more such apps – following applications like Uber and Swiggy and Grofers – to be launched in 2019. New app ideas – with interesting uses of cutting-edge technologies – are being floated, and we can look forward to many innovative mobile applications hitting the stores next year.
Apps slowing down? Not a chance!
Hussain Fakhruddin
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