Nowadays, we lead most of our lives online. New apps spring up like mushrooms every day.
According to statista.com, there are over 3000 apps added daily to Google Play Store. That is quite a number! Of course, we need to consider that most of them never get successful due to various reasons (only around 300 000 apps have ratings above 4.0). However, successful apps can generate quite an income. In today's article, I would like to take a closer look at the business aspect of app creation.
Is Mobile App Development a Good Business Idea?
This is a broader topic that consists of many variables. These are connected to such questions as:
- What is an idea for an app you came up with?
- How do you know if you will have customers?
- Is your app revolutionary or a copy of an already existing app idea?
Since we mention the word 'business', you are probably also interested in the topic of money. How much can you make? Unfortunately, there is no specific data we can give you. Why? Because there is no average available for mobile apps generated profits. However, we can give you some averages from the market of the top apps:
- The top 800 apps generate roughly $35000 a day
- The top 200 apps have a revenue of $82500 per day
Not bad, is it? Of course, the crux is to get to that top! There are usually two paths between which a mobile app development business can choose. These are a creation of a unique app and a creation of a duplicate of an existing app.
Risky unique app ideas
A unique app idea is a mobile app idea that nobody came up with yet. This might also be an application idea that did not get popular for some reason.
Such unique ideas' characteristic is a mixture of brilliancy, and cleverness. Also, very often with an element of surprise involved. A unique app usually solves a long-lasting problem straightforwardly. It may also propose a completely new, sometimes shocking concept.
Examples of unique mobile apps ideas might be:
- food apps
- shop apps
- health apps
- driver apps
- fitness app
- apps for events
You might look at the above list and ask: what is so unique about them? There are thousands of such apps and every day new ones are created! You are correct! It is all about timing. Each of these apps was once among innovative mobile application trends before it became a standard tool on everyone's smartphones. Their creators had to risk proposing something new to the market. They did not know whether their app would be a success. They could not predict or assess product success based on existing data from any other app developer because such data simply did not exist. With limited market research, the release of such an innovative app is a huge risk.
That is why unique apps are rather a minority. As previously said, they can change their status as soon as other businesses recognize the app idea and join the fight about their position on the market. However, if performed and timed correctly, the breakthrough places the initial creator in a leading market position for years, if not forever. Therefore, it may be worth taking the high risk at the beginning.
Creating a unique app is the road less traveled that not many take. In many cases, it also requires having a bit of luck on your side. However, the reward may be worth it.
Safe mobile app ideas
A more popular approach to mobile app ideas is recreating a product that already exists. Best app ideas do not have to be revolutionary. You can still achieve success by creating products based on the business ideas of others.
However, it does not mean being a copycat! The apps idea still needs to have some features that are unique or new. It needs to be innovative in some ways but also familiar in others. All of it comes down to the MAYA principle. According to the Most Advanced Yet Applicable Principle, your product features need to be:
- familiar enough not to startle or confuse the potential client
- innovative enough to make a potential user interested not bored
What are examples of such apps? Let us look at the time-tracking apps and platforms. There are tons of them, mostly offering the same services. However, each time a new one emerges, it offers the most recent innovations to lure potential users. Most of them seem to be doing quite well in the market of mobile applications.
Why Is It Safe to Recreate Already Existing Mobile Apps Ideas?
Of course, the mobile app market is a very competitive place. Choosing an already existing apps idea is a safer option because you can:
- study the competition beforehand,
- see how similar products perform,
- learn from others' success,
- read users' reviews or posts to find out the best things about the app's functionalities,
- learn from others' mistakes and upgrade their great idea before you even release your counterpart.
There are many steps you can take to guarantee your future business success before you start it. That is why this approach can be called the safer one.
However, safe does not equal easy. The competition is strong, and they already make big money on their iOS or Android apps. That is why it is worth going through some basic rules used in setting up an app developer company.
Rules on Starting an App Developer Company
Undeniably, there are many aspects to consider while trying to figure out what apps to build. No matter if you choose a restaurant app, book review app, or even a charity donation app, there are plenty of rules you can find on the Internet. One can get a headache trying to not only remember them all but also successfully use them!
However, I believe there are three main areas you should focus on in the first place.
Analyze the market and the competition
This will always be the number one rule for every business, not only an app developer company. Prepare, learn, and research before you take any action. Before searching for ideas for apps to build, make sure that you know the market well. The market needs to have room for your app. To find out if that room exists, you need to research your competition and your potential users.
KISS - 'Keep it simple, stupid!'
The simple rule of keeping things... simple! Try to find a simple solution to already-existing issues and base your apps idea on them. The more complicated or sophisticated an idea for an app is, the less successful it will be. Simple functions, simple built, simple app design, and you are guaranteed your app will be functional. Simple mobile app ideas rule the world!
RERO - Release early, release often
Once you have your Minimum Viable Product in the App Store or Google Play Store, start releasing updates frequently. Do not forget to gather feedback. After all, this is why you release updates - to reevaluate objectives based on users' needs and expectations. That aids your future marketing strategy as well as a monetization strategy.
Are there still apps to develop in 2023?
You may be asking yourself a question: are there still apps to create in 2023? Hasn't everything been invented by now? You will be pleased to know that even this question has been asked before. Every century, decade, and year of human existence we think we have already seen it all.
However, history shows that mankind creates new goods or products all the time. A voice translation app, a tip calculator, and a brand identifier app are only a few examples. Someone even made a mall navigation app so they can easily find the location of any shop and buy their favourite items. Do you need more proof? Here are more examples of apps created in the past decade:
- digital receipt app
- criminal alert app
- assistance app
- disaster management app
- bridges app
- home security app
- Church app
Have an Idea for an App? Share It with Us!
Do you have a great app idea but you are not an app maker to turn it into a reality? That is a job for us! Schedule a call with Sailing Byte instead of using Apphive, a native app builder, or any app builders. We take care of developing mobile apps for business regardless of its nature. We can create apps for Android, iOS, and web apps, offering you many more than just coding services.
Make a booking by clicking 'Schedule time for a meeting' and we can discuss all the details. We can give you answers to all questions you might have. We can advise what type of app to build (native, hybrid, or web), ideas for apps to create, or whether an app for Android is better than one for iOS.
