Mobile Trends & Insights

Ken Baldauf

Software Engineer @ Acorns
Organizer @ OC Android

• Android vs iOS
• Cross platform development
• Instant Apps/App Clips
• Biometric technology
• AR/VR
• IoT & Wearables

Android vs iOS Overview

• Android
  • Android Inc. founded in October 2003
    • Originally targeted as OS for digital cameras
  • Bought by Google in July 2005
  • Launched in September 2008
  • Latest: Android 11 (September 2020)
  • Native apps written in Kotlin & Java
• iOS
  • Owned by Apple; internal development began in 2005
  • Launched in June 2007
  • Latest: iOS 14 (September 2020)
  • Native apps written in Swift & Objective-C

US Market Share

Global Market Share

Android: Free vs Paid Apps

iOS: Free vs Paid Apps

Cross Platform Development

• Shared codebase across Android & iOS
• Pros
  • Can reduce development time and/or cost
  • Enforces consistency across platforms
  • Can reduce barriers in terms of language expertise
• Cons
  • Difficult to build complex UIs
  • Reduced code performance 
  • Slow adoption of new platform features
  • Potentially less developer tooling

Cross Platform Types

• Legacy
  • Apache Cordova, PhoneGap & Ionic
  • Xamarin
• React Native
  • Developed by Facebook
  • Uses Javascript with React framework
• Flutter
  • Developed by Google
  • Written in Dart
• Kotlin Multiplatform
  • Developed by JetBrains
  • Business logic only; can't be used for UI

Cross Platform Statistics

Instant Apps/App Clips

• Concept
  • Mini apps ran without installation
  • Offer limited subset of a standard app's functionality
  • Native UX instead of dealing with mobile website
  • Work well with Apple/Google sign in + digital wallet
  • Option to download app for full functionality
• Instant Apps
  • Android
  • Announced in 2016; launched in 2017
• App Clips
  • iOS
  • Announced/Launched in 2020

Instant Apps/App Clips Usage

• User opens a link on their phone
  • Full app opens if it is installed on the phone
  • Mini app streamed to device if link supports it
  • Fallback to opening link in browser if all else fails
• Example: Mobile parking payment
  • Scan QR code on parking sign
  • Launches native app experience
    • Enter parking space number
    • Decide how many hours of parking
  • Launch Apple or Google Pay to process payment
• Example: One level demo of game

Biometrics

• History
  • First fingerprint sensor: Motorola Atrix (2011)
  • Touch ID with iPhone 5s (2013)
  • Iris Unlock with Samsung Galaxy Note 7 (2016)
  • Face ID with iPhone X (2017)
• Face vs Fingerprint
  • Face unlock is generally faster
  • Fingerprint unlock is less battery intensive
  • Security is still up for debate
• Global mobile biometrics market
  • Projected growth of $15.63 billion from 2020-2024
  • According to market research company, TechNavio

AR/VR

• Augmented Reality
  • Adds digital elements to live view of the world
  • Often done with smartphone camera
  • Examples
    • Google Glass
    • Face filters: Snapchat & Instagram
    • Games: Pokemon Go
• Virtual Reality
  • Complete immersive virtual experience
  • Shuts out physical world
  • Can cause motion sickness
  • Types: standalone, phone powered & pc powered

Future of AR/VR

IoT Sales

Wearable Shipments

Recap

• iOS still on top in US; Android is king globally
• Hard to make money from app store outside of games
  • Most popular apps are a mechanism for getting a product to a user base
• Look for Instant Apps/App Clips to simplify the mobile web experience.
• Native apps still dominate the marketplace
  • But cross platform solutions keep getting better
• Biometrics, wearables & IoT will continue to improve the link between our phones and the world around us.
• AR/VR is the hardest to predict, but has the most potential for revolutionary changes.

Questions?