What do grocery shopping, performing a banking transaction, avoiding traffic congestion, booking a restaurant and hailing a ride all have in common?
If this question was asked a little over a decade ago, the simple answer would have been a resolute “nothing”. After all, it was only in July 2008 that the entire mobile industry began to revolve around apps. Fast-forward to 2020, and now there is an app for almost anything and everything.
With approximately six million apps available in the market today, consumers have uninterrupted access to a richer, hyper-connected experience. These apps have shaped the way we live our lives and are used so prolifically that we no longer pay any attention to what came before.
The rapid entrenchment of both smart devices and mobile apps in our daily lives throws out some staggering numbers. German statistical analyst, Statista, estimates that consumers worldwide will download 258.2 billion mobile apps in 2022. Statisa research also indicates that the average consumer is now spending more time using apps than watching TV. This suggests tipping of scales in support of the expectation that global revenue from mobile apps will hit R2.9 trillion in 2020.
This explosion, together with the insatiable demand for smarter, more intuitive apps points to a tremendous opportunity for app developers and has driven the development process into hyperdrive.
Not to be left behind, a global provider of ICT infrastructure and smart devices, Huawei’s official app distribution platform, Huawei AppGallery, is already available in more than 170 countries to 600 million global users, including more than 15 million in Africa.
“We are continuously working on increasing the range of top apps that have become a staple of our users’ digital lifestyle,” explains Likun Zhao, Vice President of Huawei Consumer Business Group, Middle East & Africa.
“Huawei AppGallery features many apps that Huawei users are familiar with, and is simultaneously global and local, as it provides intelligent recommendations for users.”
Huawei’s app distribution platform segments applications across 18 categories. Some examples include news, social media and entertainment, all of which are searchable with a simple and smooth browsing experience. Huawei has also added a ‘Wish list’ to allow users to identify desired apps that are not yet available. Once this app goes on-shelf, the user who submitted the request will receive a notification.
Our growing familiarity with the use of mobile apps and the convenience of an at-your-fingertips experience has propelled some big names to charge ahead with platform development. Huawei, for example, has invested in more than 3,000 engineers on app ecosystem engineering.
Huawei doesn’t plan to start small either; this multinational tech company has committed to investing 1 billion USD globally to provide key support for app developers, including those in South Africa.
But opening the app floodgates cannot take place without assurances of safety and reliability.
“‘Privacy, under your control’, has always been at the heart of our philosophy,” remarks Huawei’s Zhao. “We place privacy protection and cybersecurity as the top priority of all our business operations and strictly implement this in all phases of our products.”
Huawei AppGallery comes with full-cycle security and protection, including developer real-name verification and four-step review processes for secure app operation. All of their apps go through a stringent verification test to prevent developers’ apps from malicious activity. In addition, an age-rating system creates a safe environment for children by filtering out apps that are not age-appropriate.
It is no longer simply a matter of convenience for mobile users; the revolutionised mobile experience has resulted in a level of user dependency that has laid a solid foundation for creativity and innovation, once beyond our wildest dreams.