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Everything you need to know about app development

What is app development?

Apps are applications developed for mobile devices, i.e. mobile phones, tablets etc. that are either pre-installed or downloaded via an online app store – for example Apple App Store or Google Play

For example, the camera app is pre-installed on an iPhone, while the Facebook app must be downloaded and installed from the App Store before it can be used.

The alternative to these is a so-called web app, which is basically an app that operates via the device’s browser. Here you can read more about the different types of apps: hybrid, native and web app.

App design

Closely related to app development is design, as a good app is supported by a user-friendly and intuitive UI (user interface).
The design must take into account many parameters – for example, user abilities, screen size, purpose of the app, etc.

For example, it is not appropriate to design a complex, detailed app with many navigation options if the purpose of the app is for the user to report accidents while driving. For this, a very simple UI with few options and clear buttons would be preferable.

Historical development of the app

When smartphones started to become commonplace and app development took off accordingly, it wasn’t long from idea to download.

For example, most people here at Makeable remember “pouring” beer out of their phone, even if it was only on the screen, and the fascination of being able to extinguish an animated candle just by blowing on the phone. In other words, it wasn’t hard to impress a dinner party in the early days of app development.

Today, the demands on speed, graphics and usability are completely different. If one running app doesn’t meet the user’s needs, there are 20 others just around the corner ready to be downloaded.
In the next few sections, we’ll give an overview of how apps have become what they are today and predict what we can expect in the future.

The app as a work tool

In the early 90s, apps were available on the hottest work tool of the time: a PDA or Personal Digital Assistant.

Applications such as word processing, spreadsheets and calculators were typical and the PDA’s appearance resembled a mini computer with a keyboard and small black and white screen.

In 1996, electronics manufacturer Palm developed an operating system for their PDAs. Garnet, as the operating system was called, was touch-based and, in addition to pre-programmed apps, also had the ability to integrate third-party applications programmed in C/C++.

The third version of the OS also included a WAP browser (Wireless Application Protocol). With a touchscreen, browser and the ability to add more apps, it could be said that the PDA of the time was a predecessor to today’s smartphone.

Memories from a bygone era

An old favourite around the office is the Qtek 9100 with Windows CE as its operating system. Described as a “Pocket PC Phone”, it was one device in a long line of Windows OS devices.

In addition to the built-in apps for mail, calendar, browser, etc. you could also install apps from providers other than Microsoft. For example, our CEO Mads Erichsen had a TomTom navigation app installed on the Qtek models he owned between 2002 and 2006. This, along with the ability to make calls and send SMS messages, really starts to resemble smartphones as we know them today. Qtek was later rebranded to the manufacturer behind it – Taiwanese HTC, which many know as a manufacturer of Android smartphones.

Symbian

In the late 90s and throughout the 00s, the world’s mobile phones were primarily equipped with the Symbian operating system. Symbian was developed through a joint collaboration between Psion, Ericsson, Motorola and Nokia. In 2009, a total of 250 million devices worldwide were running Symbian OS.

However, Symbian was defeated in the battle against the up-and-coming competitors, Android and iPhone, which we’ll look at in a moment. Especially on the development front, they had several major problems that ultimately led to their downfall.

Initially, their problems were rooted in the complexity of the only programming languages available at the time, OPL and C++. Later, it was due to poor conditions for small and independent developers, who were faced with sky-high prices for development environments and tools.

Nokia acquired Symbian in 2008 and in 2010 completed what it describes as the most extensive migration of source code to open source to date. However, the effort was in vain – partly due to the popularity of its competitors at the time and partly because there were still essential parts of the OS that were not available because they were developed by third parties.

In April 2011, Nokia withdrew Symbian from the Open Source Network and on 1 January 2014 all support for Symbian software ceased.

One man’s need, another man’s bread

As described above, one of the reasons for Symbian’s downfall was its unwillingness to embrace Open Source from the start. In contrast, since its 2008 launch on the mobile phone ‘HTC Dream’, Android has always been built on Open Source code and has been widely praised for it.

Open Source enables not only the world’s developers, but anyone with an interest in app development to contribute to the operating system and develop new, functional and creative apps.

With Android 1.0, users were given an operating system full of features that still exist in Android today, such as widgets, a “drawer” with notifications that are called up as needed, etc. Not least, Android promised that they would not only provide users with an operating system. They would also make services and apps available for free, in order to get Android into the hands of as many users, and not least developers, as possible.

The revolution begins

However, in terms of design, Android phones struggled to keep up with the times. On 9 January 2007, Steve Jobs presented the first iPhone, which revolutionised the mobile world with its large touchscreen and only one physical button on the front.

The iPhone was connected to iTunes when the iPhone App Store was launched in June 2008, allowing users to download countless apps to their iPhone. In addition, it became possible for app developers to develop and sell apps through the App Store.
With the spread of new technology came new standards, and soon Android phones were also dominated by touch technology.

Apps of the future

Since then, apps have evolved to extend far beyond the edge of mobile phones and include smartwatches, fitness wristbands, Google Glass and plenty of touchless controls – including in the home.

The future also paints a picture where a whole new type of apps may dominate – progressive web apps. Progressive web apps are a blend of the best features of today’s native apps and web apps, so progressive web apps will run through the device’s browser, thus being compatible across operating systems, while being able to send push notifications, work offline and generally look and behave like a “regular” native app.

In the example below, the Paper Planes game can be accessed via the browser while utilising the phone’s haptic feedback and motion sensor capabilities, sending and receiving virtual paper planes.

Here you can experience the game from your mobile device.

Benefits for the end user

According to Rasmus Christoffer Nielsen, one of Makeable’s developers, the end user in particular will benefit from progressive web apps:

This has the great advantage of blurring the line between web apps and native apps, making it even easier for the end user to download and use apps. For example, it will no longer be necessary to go through an app store. You can access an app through your device’s browser – with one click it will be added to your home screen, it has access to your phone’s features, can send notifications, etc. It’s really smart and very user-friendly.

For us as developers, the new possibilities are also really cool.
The only challenge I can see is that the app must be accessed via the user’s browser, as is the case with web apps today. As long as browsers don’t work the same on all devices – for example, Chrome doesn’t work the same on an Android device and an iPhone – compromises will still have to be made to ensure that the app works equally well for all users.

However, the possibilities are increasing across browsers, so hopefully the same features will eventually become possible and pave the way for this new type of app.

How much does an app cost?

The cost of developing an app is impossible to give a clear answer to. When we are asked the question, we are tempted to ask a similar counter-question: “What car would you like to drive?”

Depending on the purpose, desired functions and, not least, the budget, the cost of your car or your app will vary greatly. For us, it’s important that we work together to determine the expectations, ambitions and goals for the app as well as the available budget.

At Makeable, we believe that anything is possible – even without a big budget. Read more about app pricing here or contact us for a chat about your app idea.