This month in the world of App Commerce – August
This month we take a look at what the giants in mobile technology have in store for us this autumn, and what this could mean for the world of app commerce.
Apple:
With the release of iOS 11 rapidly approaching we’ve been eagerly keeping an eye on the announcements. iOS 11 beta 5 has been released for developers and everyone is gearing up for the autumn release.
Probably the biggest impact that iOS 11 will have on app commerce is the completely redesigned app store. The app store ‘homepage’ tab will now be called “Today” and provide a real-time feel displaying newsworthy updates in the world of apps. This tab will also provide ‘how to’ articles, exclusive premieres and an ‘app of the day’ feature. If in the top charts, you’ll be able to see an apps’ ranking on the product page, while more videos offer you a chance to display the best features of your app and provide more insight to encourage downloads.
Recently, Apple has enabled developers to answer reviews on the app store and provide assistance and gain more knowledge about app issues. Streamlining the app rating system on iOS 11 means that when a developer answers a question everyone can easily see the response. Additionally, all notifications will now be accessible from the lock screen, enabling you to pull down from the top of the screen to see both recent and missed notifications.
Finally, the quick type keyboard will enable users to type with one hand by shifting the keyboard closer to your thumb, so those who are shopping on the go can easily type and search within your app.
We’re excited to see how these improvements enhance app discoverability and the app shopping experience simultaneously.
Google:
So what’s happening with the other mobile goliath? In July, Google released the final Android Oreo developer preview and remains on track for release later in the summer (expected September 22nd). Let’s take a look at the confirmed Android Oreo features so far.
As you may already know, Google has strict guidelines for developers to create a unified style across apps. With Android Oreo, Google will be introducing adaptive icons. These new launcher icons will adapt according to the device and support a variety of visual effects.
Picture-in-Picture mode will enable users to watch a YouTube video whilst they carry out other tasks like send an email or browse a shopping app.
Google has also been ramping up the pressure on developers to create better performing and more stable apps. Those that fall within the bottom 25% risk being warned and removed from the Play Store, placing the emphasis firmly on reliable and effective user experience.
Notification channels will be introduced to enable users to manage notifications easily. Developers will need to implement one or more notification channels in order to be able to display notifications to users. Notification channels can be created for each type of notification needed. Users will be able to modify the behaviour of notification channels such as; importance, sound, show on the lock screen and more.
These features have the potential to provide valuable improvements in the app shopping experience at a fundamental level and we look forward to seeing the updates roll out.
Just in case you missed it, you can read last month’s app commerce news here.
To read more about adapting to changing consumer expectations, check out our post which provides some pretty compelling reasons to offer your customers an app.
Reported by Samantha Rigg
