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App Store Services & Subscriptions on the Rise
Posted on December 15th, 2016
Subscription-based services are growing on the App Store, and Apple has made no secret of their wish for more developers to start offering them. In an October earnings call, CEO Tim Cook detailed the company’s record-breaking Services growth in the fourth quarter front and center. “We’re thrilled with the customer response to iPhone 7, iPhone 7 Plus and Apple Watch Series 2, as well as the incredible momentum of our Services business, where revenue grew 24 percent to set another all-time record.” Those Service revenues contributed to “a new record \[in operating cash flow] for the September quarter” according to CFO Luca Maestri. In other words, App Store Services are here to stay, and they’re only going to become more commonplace as the market matures. The success of Services on the App Store has already led Apple to incentivize their inclusion in apps. Earlier this year, Apple announced they would begin taking a smaller revenue split from Service subscriptions as long as customers maintained their subscription for over a year. After one year of consistent subscription, the traditional 70-30 revenue split will lower to 85-15, incentivizing more developers to offer quality subscriptions through their apps. Some developers are already taking advantage of the change. Major services like Netflix and Spotify are no doubt anticipating the benefits of a massive increase in revenue from a loyal subscriber base. However, subscriptions are no longer limited to services. Just look at Supercell’s Extra Builders service for Boom Beach. To quote their app description as of this writing, “Extra Builders is a monthly subscription service that allows you to build or upgrade two buildings at the same time. Extra Builders cost 2.99 USD/month (or local equivalent”. At a low cost of $2.99/month, it’s a relatively harmless buy for hardcore fans of the game that offers a real, tangible in-game benefit. Expect to see much more of this spreading to games in the future as developers attempt to incentivize users to start up a subscription in addition to (or even in place of) paying for individual in-app purchases. It’s not hard to see subscription-based shopping networks, dating apps and other services flourishing as Apple continues to incentivize subscription purchases, too. As the App Store continues to mature, consider the market your app services and how your app can best approach monetization. If a subscription makes sense for your app, it could open you up to a growing new alternate revenue source.
App Maker - Google Introduces New App Creation Suite
Posted on December 2nd, 2016
Yesterday Google revealed App Maker, a relatively low-tech way for developers to compile simple applications for Google Play. With the goal of simplifying the iteration process and opening app development up to a wider swath of creators, App Maker seems poised to do for Google Play what Apple’s investment in Swift has done for the App Store. App Maker boasts “features like built-in templates, a drag-and-drop UI editor, and point-and-click data modeling \[to] accelerate app development”. In other words, Google is attempting to democratize app development. This raises several questions for app developers and hobbyists alike. How will the introduction of App Maker help want-to-be developers who have been turned off of development by the complexity of programming? Will existing developers see a shift in competition on Google Play? Let’s start by addressing new creators looking to get into development with App Maker. While the promise of a code-lite, drag-and-drop creation suite is certainly exciting, it’s important to take into consideration the limitations of such a program, too. App Maker supports coding languages such as HTML, CSS and Javascript, so depending on how simple your proposed app is, there’s a good chance you’ll still have to dip into some coding. That said, the simple interface may expedite prototyping for simple apps. The development environment is cloud-based and intuitive, making it easy to sync with your data from G Suite applications, Google Maps, Contacts and Groups. You can also plug in other APIs to easily expand functionality. Google’s goal here is to make it simple for teams to handle development of specific, simple apps in-house without bringing on an outside developer. Yes, there is a relatively deep IDE that lets developers tool around deeper with code, but ultimately the main target is companies looking to expand into the mobile marketplace without bringing on a whole new team. On that same train of thought, App Maker likely isn’t going to become the go-to for developing complex games or other feature-dense applications. For existing developers, however, App Maker will likely mean a slight increase in competition on Google Play. A lower bar to entry for developers means more developers will be able to create high-quality apps that can compete in the Play store. With Google targeting enterprise companies, those who already have such apps in the store can expect more competition around related search terms. It will be necessary to monitor the Google Play store more closely, tracking trends that may be influenced by an influx of new apps. Just as in a standard optimization, app descriptions and creatives should be adjusted slightly to cater to these new trends, without completely reindexing your app. Use your current title, description and short description as a base, and make edits from there. With App Maker, Google is attempting to lower the bar to entry for corporate developers on the Play store. How successful they will be, and how many apps will come from this effort, remains to be seen, but App Maker is certainly worth keeping an eye on for both new and experienced developers - especially companies in Google’s target market.
iOS App Titles - Apple Cracks Down
Posted on September 3rd, 2016
For the first time since in its eight-year history, the App Store’s title field will be shortened from the previous 255-character limit to a new, concise 50 characters. Apple made the announcement to developers early on September 1st, sending shockwaves through the development community as many apps will be forced to alter their titles.
Mobile Recap Of Facebook’s Developer Conference F8
Posted on April 19th, 2016
Facebook's annual F8 developer conference has grown tremendously in just a few years to become one of the most highly anticipated tech events of the year. This impressive growth is due to two main reasons:
Reports Worth Reading For The Latest Mobile App Store Data
Posted on April 8th, 2016
Although there are many sources reviewing and opining on mobile app data, there are a few exceptional
Making Sense of the Recent Apple and FaceBook Results
Posted on February 11th, 2016
Allocating budgets and prioritizing projects are primary concerns for marketers and executives. We rely on industry conferences and chatter, what competitors are doing and what is working internally to help guide these decisions. Two of the biggest and most influential companies in technology - one being the biggest company globally, ever - released
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Parse Migration and Alternatives
Posted on February 3rd, 2016
In a surprise to much of the community, Parse is folding up shop and will now be available only as an open-source Node.js project. A quick bit of history - Parse is a BaaS or Backend as a Service, making it easy for developers to build a database of assets for mobile apps, as well as add services like authentication and push to their mobile apps. Facebook acquired Parse in April of 2013,
Enterprise Mobile Apps and Mobile's Move into Business
Posted on January 8th, 2016
In Tim Cook’s introduction of the new iPad Pro during Apple’s fall event, and in subsequent interviews - the message was clear - the iPad Pro is to be a business laptop replacement. Apple makes the majority of their revenue from selling hardware. Public partnerships with IBM, Cisco and other enterprise app publishers support the narrative - Apple is aiming to sell more hardware in the enterprise and they are driving demand for their hardware via apps. The implication for mobile app publishers and marketers is the potential for a much larger audience for your apps as Apple leads the charge of the mobile ecosystem replacing the WinTel environment represented by the desktops and laptops used across the enterprise today. Apple and IBM announced their unlikely partnership mid-year 2014. 18 months later IBM is showcasing 100+ iOS apps. SAP has 67 published to the Business > Enterprise category of the app store alone.
Our Favorite and Top Posts of 2015
Posted on December 31st, 2015
It has been an amazing year in Mobile, Apps and Mobile Marketing for our clients and all of us here at Gummicube. Let’s take a look at some of the most impactful, enlightening and actionable posts from 2015.
Mobile App Retention Metrics
Posted on December 29th, 2015
We have written extensively on this blog about acquiring organic traffic, mobile app visibility and converting app store views to installs and users. One of the key drivers of the value of these users is how long a user keeps using your app - mobile app retention.
The Mobile Impact on Holiday Shopping
Posted on December 23rd, 2015
As we leave for our holiday vacations, let’s take a look at how mobile and mobile apps have not only nudged their way into retail, but how mobile shopping is now leading much of the shopping experience. We are not talking about mobile or apps taking over only ecommerce (which they are), but the huge impact mobile is having in “brick and mortar” - meaning the impact of mobile on all retail sales. Until recently, there was a clear divide between ecommerce sales and “in store” sales.
How Mobile is Changing Everything
Posted on July 1st, 2015
In 2011, Marc Andreessen released an essay in the Wall Street Journal proclaiming "Software is eating the world". The "internet bubble" had occurred 10 years prior and Andreessen was trying point out that the market hadn't recovered emotionally as many tech stocks were widely undervalued. Andreessen is one of only 6 people in the World Wide Web Hall of Fame, the creator of the first