MobileWays | Blog

The Technology giant Apple has released its new version of Mobile Operating System iOS11 which includes additional features like multitasking, improved camera performance, safety features added & new control center.

The version is still in development and could be bumpy before its release by the end of September this year. The company has advised its users to back up their storage before upgrading to the new version of iOS.

Here are the few devices for which iOS 11 could be available for

iPhone: 5s, 6, 6 Plus, 6s, 6s Plus, SE, 7, 7 Plus

iPad: 5th generation (2017); Mini 2, 3 and 4; all Air and all Pro Models

iPod Touch: 6th generation (2015)

How to create back up: 

To create a backup of your storage follow the below steps :

Connect to iTunes and select your device. 

Select backup now.

Make sure you have ticked the box encrypt your backup.

Go to preferences in iTunes menu and find devices.

Find your recent backup right click and archive it which will help you not to over write your new backups.

Installing iOS 11 beta : ( How to install iOS 11 right now ) :

Getting the software on your device takes a few steps, but isn't too difficult.

Sign up to Apple's beta testing programme by visiting beta.apple.com from your device from the Safari browser.

Hit Sign Up and enter your Apple ID. You'll have to agree to the beta software agreement.

Make sure you're on the iOS tab and select "enroll your iOS device" in the "Get Started" section.

Select "Download Profile" and then "Install". It will prompt you to restart your device.

If you go to Settings, then General, then Software Update, it should show the update downloading. Once it's done click "Install Now" and it will restart

It will take a few minutes to install iOS 11. When it restarts, you'll have to log in with your Apple ID again.

What features could be available in iOS 11 : 

1.     New Screenshot mode: By pressing the Home button and Lock button you can take a screenshot of the screen you are in and can edit or doodle them. 

 2.     Screen Recording:  You can now add it in settings and can be activated using new control center, this feature enables you to take a short video of your screen activity. 

3.     New app switcher (iPad): When you double press the home button on your iPad you can now get a better view of most recently used apps with all windows at one place and not one above the other as in previous versions. 

4.     Drag and Drop Feature (iPad): If you are split screening apps you can drag photos, links, and contacts between them. For example, you can drag photos from your photos app to your email app. 

5.     Redesigned app store: The app store has undergone some changes where the games and apps are in different tabs and they have edited recommendations. 

6.     New iMessage effects: There are two new effects introduced in iMessage such as “ECHO” and “SPOTLIGHT”. For example, Echo effect repeats your message across your screen.

 7.     Emergency SOS (iPhone): Pressing the Lock button 5 times in quick succession allows you to slide for emergency SOS which dials 999 and send a message to your emergency contacts (which can be edited in the health app) with your location. Not sure if this feature will be available in India but sources say that they might roll out in future. 

8.     Hand writing recognition (iPad): You can write something or scribble to find out the kind of words you are looking for. This could be useful for kids’ education and many other purposes. 

9.     Quick Flicks on keyboard (iPad) : Typing on iPad is Made easier. Flicking down on words, types out the grey punctuation marks above the letters.

 10.One handed keyboard : (iPhone ): This feature is especially useful for iPhone Plus users due to the wide screen holding the Emoji Button allows you to skew the keyboard to the right or to left of the screen. 

11.The new file system on iPad : Apple has designed the File system with the ability to integrate cloud services like drop box and Google drive makes iPad users to less rely on PC while on the go. 

12.Edit your SIRI messages : You can now edit your messages if SIRI gets it wrong rather than speaking it twice. This could be very handy for users who struggle with SIRI. 

13.Persistent Notifications: You can now change notification settings of your apps so that certain ones having persistent notifications will remain on your lock screen until you get rid of them. These Type of notifications could useful for something like Office Emails which you do not want to miss. 

14.Document Scanning : There is no need for third party apps to scan your documents you can just press the plus button and scan and edit the area, turn them black and white and add signatures. 

15.Siri Translation : Siri can now translate Foreign languages and help you the understand the exact meaning of the word and sentences in other languages. 

16.Apple Pay in iMessage : Apple pay is now integrated into iMessage where you can send payments instantly through messages. 

17. ARKit : Augmented Reality Kit has been introduced which enables iPhone users to experience the AR world. 

18.Animated Emoji : New feature in iMessage where emoji can mimic your facial expressions, thanks to the same sensors that power Face ID. 

19.FACE ID : Apple is using a combination of infrared cameras and 3D depth sensing technology to recognize a user’s face, or what it’s calling Face ID. Face ID will be used to unlock the phone. 

As many of us know 150 countries across the globe have been infected by Ransomware attack and chaos has spread across the world. Though there could be preventive measures being taken to control the spread but it would take some time to understand the type of implementation the hackers have used.

What is this WannaCry Ransomware Threat? :

Wanna Cry attack is a .exe file which upon click locks your desktop and asks for a ransom to restore your files. This taskche.exe file may come as an attachment or any form such as automatic downloads from unknown links.  Ransom could be in the form of Bitcoins and many are vulnerable to pay the ransom which is not recommended.

You will not be able to open, modify files and folders in your local drives and desktop. This causes loss of data and which could be of transactional importance.

Who will be targeted by this attack?

Those desktops and laptops which use Windows operating system are vulnerable to the attack. However, reports indicate that OS versions of XP and Windows 7 have been attacked. Windows 8 and 10 are yet to be confirmed.

How can  I prevent this?

It is clearly not known the kind of audience that could be affected by this malware. It could be anyone ranging from corporates to individuals.

Follow the below steps to prevent this attack:

Have a good Anti-Virus in place.

Set automatic backup (Regularly or daily) of your Computer to ensure you restore to the previous point if there is any such attacks.

Install all updates from the Operating system.

Use only licensed software / Operating system.

Use cloud storage to sync data always.

What should I do if was attacked?

Backup to your previous restore point.

Report to your ISP.

Disconnect your LAN as it spreads easily through the network.

Here are the reasons why every healthcare business needs a Mobile app :

1.    Growth In usage of Mobile phones:

Adoption of Smartphones has risen to 200 million users every year and is a greatest way to communicate with your users. Every individual has a smartphone and you can reach him directly over his phone. This numbers will increase in future giving more scope for users to do their daily activities over the phone.

2.    Portability – On the Go

Mobile phones are Portable devices that can be used always on the go. Nowadays with Data packs becoming cheap People are connected with the internet even while outside. Hence it is important for Hospitals and Business to make use of the opportunity and target you customers through mobile apps. Apps can become handy if the Hospital operations such as booking, pharmacy delivery, Ambulance booking can be availed on the phone as user in this case your customers feel irritated to stand in queues and long waiting hours.

3.    Hardware interactions:

Assume you have some QR code reader or Any Time Reports machine at your hospital by which the user can Pull Digital health records on to his phone. He need not wait for Long hours to get the reports as soon as the reports are uploaded into the database you can enable him to interact with any hardware using his phone to get payments done, reports pulled and other feasibility options. 

4.    Accurate results

There will be a Minimal possibility of human errors and always a proof of record is maintained to keep track of all the happening in the process. There will be Accuracy in the results obtained the prime motive of any software to be introduced in to the Operations. These results may increase productivity and quality saving you lot of time, thereby may more patients can be attended.

 5.    Save time

Time is an important factor as every patient is equally vital for any hospital based on the emergency and complexity of the problem. By apps you can easily estimate the status of the disease without patient attending the doctor Ex. Somebody has a stomach-ache and waits 4 days to see the doctor if he already had an app where he could send records to the doctor and doctor approves the lab reports and prescribes medicine the complexity would have been reduced. He need not purely wait in the line and his turn could be easily populated over the Phone using push notifications similar to the traditional token system.

6.    User experience enhanced

        Be it Employees or Patients the user experience by which the hospital services are used will be enhanced over the Mobile app. Traditional burden to see Papers and Validation is eliminated, by this process user feels happy about it and will be forced to revisit the hospital if there is any future need. Since there will be thousands visiting every day the process can be defined by the Mobile apps. Ex. Take Appointment at desk, then go to reception, then pay at the counter...etc

7.    User Satisfaction

For the any Business ultimate success is defined as the customer’s satisfaction. For him to recommend your hospital or business he needs to be satisfied in the first place. There may be many methods to satisfy the patient but Operations on the Mobile app is one such way to ease the Pain that he takes to visit the hospital.

8.    Doctor / Patient / Pharmacy Modules

There can be Modules such as Doctor module in which the operations can be eased for the doctor saving him a lot of time or patient module which makes the patients organized while consulting the doctor. There is also possibility that a pharmacy module can be introduced to make Pharmacy available to the patient handy. Ex. Patient receives notification of the Medicines that are waiting for him at the Reception and home delivery of the Medicines post consultation for second round of medications. 

9.    Digitizing of Medical records

Health care business have a lot of paper work to attend and if it’s a recurring patient the amount of records has be maintained to get the reference of the history of the patient. It is always painful for the doctor and the patient to carry Physical records to every visit and time is consumed for each doctor to understand the Synopsis of the treatment. Digitizing of the records in an App that has all the documents will help both the parties to make the Consultation as smooth process

10. Appointment bookings

Limited number of Doctors attending unlimited number of patients having limited amount of time makes is difficult for the hospital to attend every patient in on day. Time management and Appointment booking feature can help Doctors to manage their time easily. It is easy for the doctor to list his specified available time for the patients which can be seen in their apps and visit the hospital or book and appointment accordingly

With tremendous transition in the way users interact with businesses form mails to messages apps have been a great time saving and productive interface in all the industries.

There are two types of app basically  :

Consumer apps :

Those apps which are used for interaction between Business and Customers for Operational, informational and transnational purposes. These apps are for Business development and increase in user satisfaction as it strives in eliminating operational hurdles  

Enterprise apps :

These apps are used to coordinate work for internal employees there by increasing productivity and performance of the employees for a better service to the customer. Though these are for internal purposes it aims to save a lot of time for the Employer in turn effecting manual errors and saving money as time is money.

Time has been the biggest enemy as it keeps moving faster and we are already in the end of Q1 of 2017.  Let us now understand trends in Mobile development for Q1 2017. Although those mentioned here are not much effected the user but however have impacted widely the industry. Few elements such as IoT and Enterprise apps are in the verge booming due to their widely acceptance form the IT industry.

Clear indications of these below trends state that there would be a significant change in security, Performance and sustainability of technologies across the all platforms.

Few notable events that happened in Q1 2017 were :

1.      AWS crash :

Amazon has been offering Hosting for a long time now and was reliable due to its up time, but recently due to Human error S3 systems had stopped working which led to crash of thousands of websites.Though it was a human error Amazon had fixed the issue very soon and is now focusing on automation and backup servers. The company also created new safeguards to ensure that teams don’t take too much server capacity offline when working on maintenance issues like the S3 billing system slowdown. This affected a lot of apps as well.

2.    Whatsapp New feature

Whats app has released a new update by which you can update your status in the form of Photo, Video and can be sent to all your contacts. Though this feature was already available in other apps like Snapchat, Whatsapp intention to create stories pattern for the status was welcomed by few and trolled by many. This isn’t a useful feature as of now but can be modified in future to make it much more beneficial.

3.    MongoDB attacks

Recently MonogoDB databases have experienced a ransom attack and a of few bitcoins was demanded to have the files returned. This has affected about 99,000 installations and almost all of them were exposed. As its not the first time that a ransom attack like this has happened but there has been a tremendous learning to close firewalls and enabling double authentications for databases. Leaks are clearly detected by this attack and Mobile solutions using MongoDB are now looking for alternatives.

4.    Nokia Launch :

We are aware that Nokia has launched its first set of Smartphones enabling Android OS and has been a greatest comeback of our times. It will compete with giants like Samsung in the Android market. This launch will benefit most fans of Nokia’s Durability. It clearly shows how Pre- bookings were closed in seconds making Nokia to be the strong competitor in the Smartphone Market.

5.     IoT : Smart homes, Ac controller through app, Car apps

Internet of things was alien few years back however today IoT is enabling the hardware to communicate with the users using software. IoT will have a trajectory outcome when it comes to Smart homes which had already stared to show some results. Mobile Development will surely be benefited as IoT  needs mobile apps having a greater impact in replacing traditional Remotes.

6.    Enterprise apps : Swiping apps in place of Badges, Workplace apps for employees

Enterprise apps have also been popular in the recent times with Employers making mobile apps for employees. Though Microsoft has made all its office products into mobile apps, but there are some of the workplace softwares that are yet to turn to mobility. We will see a day when Employees swipe their phones to enter workplace. These enterprise Mobile apps will not only tend to increase productivity but also will enhance Employee engagement on the go.

“Our Idea is going to create a revolution in the industry”. “We are going to be the Uber of our industry”.

“People are already crazy about our Idea”.

These are the most common sentences you hear from start-ups at any pitching event. But there are certain words that must be avoided which may deviate the investor from your Idea.

Though there are many Psychological aspects that must be keenly noted before approaching any Investor, but the words that are used in the conversation will play a vital role as they portray your perception and foresightedness.

Over enthusiastic about your Idea and not knowing the consequences of it may portray your ignorance, while subtle and less expressiveness will give the investor benefit of doubt on your confidence.

Perception of each person is different towards the other and is based on his behavior and words that he/she uses in the conversation.

Ever faced a Job Interview and was rejected based on behavioral parameters, though you had all the requirements needed for the Job ??. This is similar to that.

The right kind of words will create a fair impression.

Here’s the list of words you may avoid :

1.No one can beat us : Never be overconfident enough to say that you are unbeatable. Though you might not disclose your competitors very often these investors research about your product and your competitors if any. You have to understand that Investors hear tons of Ideas and few may be even similar to yours. And remember no one is ever writing you a check without knowing about you and your competitors.

2. Guaranteed market share : Do not promise about the Market share that you have in mind as those percentages you had assumed may change in the future due to several factors. “Accept the facts and they are Bitter always”. When you promise a market share, the Investor may look at you as an underdog who is still  not aware of the industry.

3.We have already pitched this to : Refrain yourself from mentioning that you have already pitched the Idea to ‘X’ investor or a Person. By this statement Investor will start focusing on why were you not been funded and conversation take a turn, seeking reasons for your rejection. The discussion may sometimes will arrive at a point when someones asks “What are the changes have you made in your product since then ?? “

4.We will be valued at X$ in future : The word “Valuation” might be distracting and you create a perception in the investor;s mind that only you care is about money. Portraying monetary terms could be replaced with your passion towards your product by explaining your effort & sacrifices you made. Investors always looks at the time and effort you can give in order to make the business a successful one.

5.May be or Might be :  Reduce the rate at which you use “May be “ word as it would create an impression that you are not clear about the Idea or confident enough. These words may be replaced by “ If everything goes well “, “ Hoping so”..etc  which will give a positive attitude for your statements.

6.Profits : Do not just jump into profits or numbers at this stage. Numbers are very agile and are tend to be compared with outside sources. There is no perfect way to express your profits however profit sharing and numbers will always display your hunger for money and your passion towards your start-up is not perfectly portrayed.

 With the recent developments in the industry and predominantly acquisitions that are worth Billions, everyone is eager to build their own billion dollar dream. But there has been always a Myth that the Idea might be stolen if the development is outsourced and end up making others rich.

It is important for anyone to understand that for any Idea to be implemented that are many factors that depend upon like.

Time

Passion

Feasibility

Competitors …etc

For any Idea to turn into reality it takes couple of months or even years based on its complexity.

At times Entrepreneurs tend to drop the Idea at several stages in their development phase, as they face many challenges in due to the process. However some wish not to take all the headache and will be forced to outsource their Idea to a Development company in this case a Mobile App Development company.

Now here the question arises if the company is really trust worthy and will it not steal your Idea ??

Let us understand why companies do not steal your Idea.

Since any other service company is built on the values to serve its customers or Clients on a long run and expect more business from them, they usually stick to the Idea of improving the customer experience. Their reputation also matters which may effect any future referrals, if they wish to steal your Idea. No company will stake their reputation for one single Idea. Even though if its worth billions they wouldn’t be willing to take the effort to market the Idea as they do not have the same passion as you have.

Idea with a prototype is still not enough to succeed there are several other parameters by which the Idea has to go through like marketing, networking, sponsors and updating regularly to match the technological and industry standards.

What if they are Large firms ?

Assume that they have all the money to do that !! In the first place Why would they be running a company with you as a Client. If it’s a Big firm they will not be able to allocate time for you, since they have agreements signed to deliver products in time. Eventually there is a law of the land that everybody has to abide and company will not take the headache of wandering around courts for years if you have Sued the company and they know the consequences better.

Let us now understand what can be done to avoid such problems in future.

1.Sign an NDA - Non Disclosure agreement is a document signed by you and the company stating that neither the idea nor the information has to be disclosed to anyone other than the parties involved and a clause can be included that it shouldn’t be used for self purposes.

2.Patent  : Intellectual Property rights - Getting the Idea patented under Intellectual property rights if its really worth and avoid refraining yourself from spending a couple of dollars. This will not only provide a valid right for you to fight for Justice but it’s also recognized all over the globe.

3.Research about the company – It is utmost important that proper research is done about the company while outsourcing like knowing their past and offensive history, if any. It is much advised that the development is outsourced to some one who are more serious about their work.

4.Meet a Lawyer – Know the Laws : It is recommended that you meet a good lawyer and  get educated about the Laws, which will not only help you in gaining confidence but also prepares you for the consequences.

We know that your Idea matters a Lot. And we wish to your future endeavors.

These days editing photos and selfies has been a daily procedure for many. It seems that we take close to 6 photos on an average to select one to be uploaded on Social media.  Due to constraints in camera pixel we often tend to use editing apps to beautify the picture taken on phone.

There are many apps in the play store and app store , but one such app called Meitu selfie has been circulated and its ads are highly promoted in Facebook and Instagram.

What’s wrong ?

This app takes multiple permissions and forces user to give more data than what is actually required for a photo editing app.  The Android version of Meitu can access information about what other apps users are running, their precise locations, their unique device identifier numbers (IMSIs), call information, carrier information and Wi-Fi connections.

iOS version similarly takes information about your cell carrier, is the phone Jail broken or not. These information could be handy to form analytics to the company.

In comparison Android is prone to more risk than iOS due to constraints over the OS. Though there are lots of apps which take unnecessary permissions Google failed to strictly monitor the relation between Core functions and the permissions while iOS has strict guidelines and more rejections if there is no proper usage to the permissions. iOS too is not spared at times and is only partial secure.

Why do I have to worry ?

In recent times there were rumors about Xiaomi using data of its users for unaccepted purposes which lead to huge downfall of its Smartphone sales. If the data is given to any other company user will be proned to receive ads and relevancy is killed while looking for information online.

Other side of the Story

An article written in Businessinsider states that the App is trending in United States due to its features such as adding filters, enlarging eyes & cartoonistic elements.

We do not know what’s true, hence everyone has to wait until a probe is done to help users get to understand the facts.

What do I do now ?

Its better that we do not use apps that asks for unrelated and unnecessary permissions which are not actually used in the core function of the app.

These days world has seen some sudden overnight billionaires like makers of Pokémon’ go or Prisma app that has made people go crazy. Who doesn’t need money and that too in billions. We always hear from others that they have a billion dollar app idea, but how do validate that its worth billions or will eventually lead to that giant leap.

If you have to create a Billion dollar app Idea these are the things to be kept in mind.

1. User engagement – Time user spends on your app

Let’s think that you are developing an app to create a solution for communication, for entertainment or just a simple game. Estimate what is the time the user actually spends on your app in a day of 24hrs, based on the time what user can spend design your idea around it. Facebook was successful only when it was able to engage its users through games, videos, news and also has a search engine to avoid  the user to leave the platform for any content. Your app Idea or business model should be in such a way that user should at least spend couple of minutes every day.

2. Target market -Whom are you targeting ?

It must be clear for any entrepreneur to know his market and target market. Market is a wide aspect, however your target market must be defined before building an app or Idea. Ask yourself who are the users that are likely to use your app ?? Is it local ??  Is it confined to a country ?? or could be globally used. Generalize the app content so that it could be used and understood by any user all over the world. Provide Customization if needed only based on parameters such as Language and Location.

3. Be a Solution provider- Don’t just solve one problem or part of it

Any app that you  build has to solve a problem or provide entertainment to the user giving user the essence of the app. If your app is a solution provider, it should not just solve a single problem or a part of it. Remember customer needs more more and more…. Thus a Bundle of all the solutions or whole solution provider is expected. It’s difficult to understand each and every customer’s requirement or even develop a Combination of all solutions into one app as customer expectation is a continuous learning process. A small observation you can make whenever you visit any of the app page in the  reviews section of the Appstore. The user requirements are clearly mentioned there like “I wish this app had this feature ….” These comments are your next billion dollar ideas or even help you inculcate them into your app features.

4. Simple design

Whenever you are targeting a huge market or huge audience there is a possibility that not all the users are tech savvy and not every one is interested , has the time to go through all of the features in your app. Features should be displayed in a simple manner easily visible or accessible giving user a hassle free experience. TINDER is one such example where you can just swipe left or right. WhatsApp also has simple design with just three segments Call, Chats, Contacts.

Lesser the complexity to easier for the user to understand.

5. Stand out of the Box or Innovative- Has to be a Crazy idea that nobody has tried before 

Don’t ever try to copy the design or the Ideas from already successful ones. Ensure you just don’t try to create another Tinder, users have already have seen one and will not be interested to see another Tinder. Create something that is purely innovative and never attempted before “Let others Follow you and not the other way round”.

6. Ensure its a Free app - Avoid ads (don’t be greedy)

There are billions of apps in the app store and every developer wishes to make money though ads. These ads may kill the user experience and also irritate the user. Though you can make money by Inapp-purchases but it is evident that  Free apps are much referred than others. Your will be only be successful when you have large amount of active users. Ensure that your revenue & Business models doesn’t evolve around Inapp-purchases or ads.

7. Keyword research

The right amount of keywords are necessary for every app to grow up the ladder in the app store. Have a list of keywords listed in your app description or in the name visualizing what user might search in order to reach to your app page. Estimation of the words might be difficult but will be understood by the industry that you are in.

 8. Option to share

Always give an option for the user to share either content or a refer your app to his friends that may help in getting more users on board. Referrals are the most trusted channels as they produce quick results. You should avoid too many sharing options to avoid clumsy look. Ensure that there is liberty for the user to customize his sharing options. You can add them as a hidden feature and only pop up when required.

9. Enhance user experience - Minimal Bugs & Regular updates

Avoid bugs after the release through testing can be done to fix bugs and do not wait for the user to write a comment in the user ratings about the bug which effect your app ranking. As new users always tends to read the rating comments before installing the app. Negative reviews can make hesitatant to install the app. Also ensure that you give regular updates to enhance the user experience.

10. Hire experts

Though all the above given aspects are kept in mind, you always need an expert team to design & develop your Idea into a reality. Imagine you do it yourself you end up consuming a lot of time and thus loose the race in implementation. Hence outsourcing it to a Company is advisable as you can find time take care rest of the activities such as marketing.

With the increase in usage of Mobile phones, 2016 has experienced a lot of advancements in the Mobile technology from Bots, Daydream in VR to Instant apps. 2017 awaits to introduce many advanced features to make users equipped with modern technology on their phones.

This year Bots had a tremendous uplift by the introduction of Allo from google and VR from Facebook. These technologies, though are still in beta stages will be available sooner in early 2017.

Technologies that are likely to take a trajectory in the coming year :

1.      Augmented Reality : Though AR was used in Pokémon go and other apps, it is yet to reach a focused usage in all industries. AR likely to be used in manufacturing, education and health care to making it much more feasible in daily usage, identifying virtual objects. AR can solve many problems such as 3D holograms of internal body parts can make medical education much easier. Imagine a manufacturer designs an object and can see if it can fit the machine in real time using AR. AR also can help 3D printing and apps have a larger role to play for user visualization.

2.      Drones : Drones have to be monitored, operated from a mobile app, as it easy and handy at any place or situation. These phones must be built with more compatible hardware for easy handling. The apps for drones will become popular in coming years as each person will use drone in some or the other way. Hardware and software of the phone must be improved much more for the scale at which they will be used in future.

3.      Wireless and fast charging :  Though Software has not much to do in terms of increasing the charging capability of the phone. It is important that Hardware like QUALCOMM fast charging chips are being introduced in the phone enabling them to full charge in 30min. Researches have already found the ways to charge phone in less than 5 min, however its introduction into the market may happen by the end of 2017. Wireless charging has already been a move by large corporations like Samsung and must be embraced by every other manufacturer making it affordable to all.

4.      VR apps  : VR is already a familiar topic for people who are into technology, but the experience is still limited to only entertainment purposes. Imagine a Medical student understanding the flow of blood from right auricle to the left auricle of the heart by AR. That is the stage where VR can be incorporated. Day dream is a tremendous move by google to provide platform to develop VR apps. Many foresee that the next year will have more apps, making users thrilled by VR experience on their phones. There will be much more amazing & creative apps from developers across the globe.

5.      Instant apps : Google instant apps will have a shift form full-fledged native app development to light weighed apps that do not require installation in the phone. This will help the user to buy, checkout, experience the app built by a developer/company without even installing it. Only the required elements are coded and through Instant Apps making user easy to open and use the app as per his need.

Whenever you have a requirement for a Mobile app development for your business or Idea, you might end up at the cross roads during your research process. It is much confusing about whom to consider and why ??

Software development in terms of mobile has become cheap these days and there are as many as freelancers to consulting firms. Many questions arise as to, Should I hire people in-house ? or outsource the project ? or just look for a freelancer.

There are several factors that may affect your decision :

1.   Cost of the Project : It’s a Major factor as to decide whom to approach. If your budget is low you will always be forced to find a freelancer. However there are few startups that operate and build projects at similar cost, but could be difficult to find one.

2.   Time to be delivered : If there is an urgency and immediate delivery expected perhaps in a couple of weeks a consulting firm can be approached as they are quick while freelancer would need more time managing all the activities as a single person. In house team is also an Option but recruiting process might kill some time.

3.   Value addition services : When considering that product delivery is sufficient, freelancer would be a good option. However many other elements such as strategy planning , Long term association , regular support and branding are some of the additional services that might be offered only by a Consulting firm. In house team can also be helpful for regular modifications in SDC( Software Development Cycle) but time is consumed in-order to understand the strategy.

4.   Long term Association : If there are several products that have to be built for your business,  consulting firm or in-house team would be a good option. As freelancer would be busy with other clients and can only serve each client at a time.

Based on these above factors your decision can be made.

However which one is the most preferred one and why ??

 First Preference : Consulting Firms or Outsourcing it to Mobile Development companies

Mobile app Development companies are  the most preferred choice  as they breathe Mobile apps everyday.  They are specialized, precise and focused on the work they do, with perfection.

They have few advantages

Long term association

Previous experiences, Diversity

Constant updates and support

Faster delivery

Aligned with industry standards

Higher quality

Second Preference : In-House team or Your own employees

Some businesses or firms are likely to maintain an In-house Mobile app development team that can deliver mobile apps only for the firm. These developers will be given handsome salaries along with additional benefits. This is profitable if there are constant products required for the firm. But its hard to find Mobile Developers in your city as they are limited of them & most of them would prefer to freelance . Additional cost would be involved in training them and their salaries are quite higher.

They have few advantages

Customizing whenever required

Dedicated team

No limitations in number of products

No External cost involved

Long term perspective

Innovation

Third Preference : Freelancer

Freelancers are easy to be approached and easy to work with. Since there is no hassle of complex agreements and a lower cost availability makes them the last preference. As they are the only ones to be relied on having limited knowledge and lack of team would result in low quality of the product. Time for delivery is also high as the resource is single.

They have few advantages

Easy documentation

Lower price

Informal way of approach

Easily available

Slack was a great boon for Start-ups in exchanging information and collaborating at work place, besides Microsoft LYNC and Skype in the recent times. Most of the small businesses and start-ups are bound to use free or open source platforms in regards to budget limitations. However, Microsoft has introduced Teams a workplace software quite similar to Slack also adding Chat Feature.

Teams will be available soon with all the Microsoft products integrated such as Skype, Outlook, Office and Chat inside the company's Office 365 service. This could be handy for the Large Businesses with Human resources spread over different nations as shifting to other tools like Skype for single time conversations will always be a pain in the user’s mind.

See how Microsoft teams looks like :

How & When did this Cold war start ?

It all started  soon after the unveiling of Microsoft Teams at an Event in New York. Slack wrote an open letter in its Blog ( Read here ), also published the same as a full back-page ad in the New York Times.

“We've spent tens of thousands of hours talking to customers and adapting Slack to find the grooves that match all those human quirks," says the Slack team.

Is Microsoft Teams a threat to Slack ?

Not really, Start-ups and Small businesses would always prefer using free/ Open source platforms. But the question here is the Slack paid version is for 8.00$ while Microsoft Teams may be available at 0.99 $. This cost is only applicable for “Teams” and other tools are independently charged deriving the biggest disadvantage for small businesses. 

Who would be beneficial ?

Daydream is a virtual reality (VR) platform developed by Google. It was announced at Google I/O 2016 and will be released this year while some sources indicate a November 2016 release. With this platform, you can experience many Daydream apps like VR games, 360 degrees environment and using controllers we can control the motion of objects.

The platform is to be built-into the Android operating system starting with the release of Android 7.0 Nougat, and includes both software and hardware specifications, identifying compatible phones as "Daydream-Ready". It will be the successor to Google Cardboard.

Hardware compatibility:

Daydream will work only on phones having specific components. Google announced at I/O that eight hardware partners will make Daydream-ready phones: Samsung, HTC, LG, Xiaomi, Huawei, ZTE, Asus and Alcatel. The first "Daydream-Ready" phone was the ZTE Axon 7, which was released on July 27, 2016. Google has designed a sample headset and a controller which will act as a reference for these hardware partners along with Google’s own Daydream headset coming up in future.

Software needed:

Google will be adding a new feature known as Android VR mode in the latest version of Android. This mode will give VR apps exclusive access to processor cores while they are in the foreground, reducing latency. Both the Unity engine and Epic's Unreal Engine will support Daydream. However, only phones with Android N or higher will be able to support.

Which means that only the above-mentioned hardware compatible phones having Android N can be used to experience Daydream. Hoping it will also be rolled out to all other phones as well in future.

Utilities required to make it possible:

   1. Smartphones with above hardware and software compatibility    2. VR Headset and controllers    3. Daydream apps

Alternative solutions:

Google has introduced Nexus 6P until the Daydream ready phones are readily available. Cardboard can be used in place of VR headset. Android phone running KitKat or above can be used as a controller in case you don’t have one.

Developer Overview

Google VR SDKs let you build experiences for Daydream-ready smartphones and headsets on the Android OS. Users can interact with apps using the Daydream controller.

Google SDKs further simplify common VR development tasks enabling you to focus on building new immersive experiences.

Google VR SDK for Android Used to build apps that display 3D scenes with binocular rendering, spatial audio, track and react to head movements.

Google VR SDK for Unity With this SDK you can easily adapt an existing Unity 3D app for virtual reality or build your own VR experience from scratch.

Note : For now, the ability to publish Daydream applications to Google Play will be limited only to developers in Daydream Access Program (DAP). Developers in DAP get a first look at updates in Daydream’s developer tools where they can interact with daydream team and DAP community throughout the development process.

DAP developers can provide feedback to Daydream team that can benefit the broader Daydream developer community. They will also be able to submit their Daydream apps to Google Play even before app submissions open to all developers early next year.However, to be part of the DAP one has to apply and get approval to access the tools. Click here to apply

Get started to experience.

Considering that Nexus 6P has Android N installed, let us understand how to enable Google VR and connect controller using the following steps:

Enable USB debugging on your device by going to Settings > Developer options.

If Developer options is hidden, go to Settings > About phone and tap Build number seven times. Return to the previous screen to find Developer options.

Enable Google VR Services by installing an app for Daydream. If you need an app to install, you can build one of the sample applications of your choice.

Reboot your device for all changes to take effect.

Turn on Google VR Services permissions.

Select Settings > Apps, press more_vert in the upper-right, then select Show system.

Select Google VR Services from the list of apps, then select Permissions. Turn on all the permissions options there.

Turn on special access for Google VR Services.

Select Settings > Apps and press settings in the upper-right to open the Configure apps menu. Scroll to the bottom and select Special access.

For each of the following options, select it and turn on Google VR Services:

          · Do Not Disturb access           · VR helper services           · Notification access

Enable Bluetooth and Location Services.

Select Settings > Bluetooth, and turn on Bluetooth if needed.

Select Settings > Location, and turn on Location if needed.

From the Location menu, select Mode and choose High accuracy.

Pair your headset phone to your controller phone via Bluetooth.

On both phones, go to Settings > Bluetooth.

Optionally, rename your controller phone in order to make it easier to identify. To do this, press more_vert, then Rename this device. Change its name to, for example, (Your Name)'s Controller Phone

Confirm the pairing, then return to the home screen on both devices

Demo Videos

At Google IO 2016  & Daydream, Google's vision

References :

https://developers.google.com/vr/android/

Having waited for these updates for a while, we are as much excited as you are - a new version of Xcode is now out alongside Swift. Xcode 8 is bundled with SDKs for iOS 10, watchOS 3, tvOS 10, and macOS Sierra.                                                       To work with Xcode 8 make sure you have macOS Sierra 10.12 or OS X El Capitan 10.11.5 or later.

The major consideration for you in this update is, Xcode 8 came up with new version of swift language, which also has Swift 3 migration process specified while opening your existing projects(built using Swift 2 or previous versions of Swift). There is no need for you to worry, because Xcode has migrators that help you in the due process and we suggest you to look at the every code change that the migrator is trying to do as that's one way to identify some of the syntactic differences in Swift 3. Xcode 8 also supports Swift 2.3, however If your code is in Swift 2.2, you need to make it to Swift 2.3 using Swift migrator in order to work with Xcode 8. And be ready, as Apple said, Swift 2.3 will also be removed in future update of Xcode, hence ensure you shift to Swift 3 as soon as possible.

1. Xcode 8

We have learned few highlights of Xcode 8 from Apple:

Security: The security in the 'Xcode.app' has been increased. It will provide the more secured development environment eventually avoiding Malware in iOS.

Readability: The code editor also was improved for the best readability.

Downloading: This time Xcode has smaller download size and faster installation for App Store downloads. If you want to download Xcode as a distributable package other than from App Store, you should check "https://developer.apple.com/download/more/"(Login is required). This time Xcode file has an extension .xip(extract in place) rather than regular (.dmg). Xip file is similar to a zip file but it has digital signatures in addition, it is to ensure more security. When you download 'Xcode.xip' file and open, you'll see the app extracted in the same downloads folder. You should now move it to the application folder if you want to do so. But we suggest you to keep the previous version of Xcode also as it is flexible for some of your existing projects until you completely migrate them to Swift 3.

Accessibility: It's been said that accessibility is also enhanced in core Interface Builder workflows, and throughout the Xcode in this update.

Usability: Xcode and Interface Builder improvements are made to increase the performance and to make them work faster.

Reference: Includes Documentation improvements.

Modules:

Certificates Signing

'Capabilities' module in Xcode targets

Asset Catalogs

Source editing

Debugging

Instruments

Testing modules

Source control

Xcode server

Sometimes, we face some crashes with Xcode while working in projects. Users feel irritated when any app crashes while using the app, as developers we feel the same when IDE crashes. But we have to understand that unfortunately every software has its own bugs. So, we have a great hope ahead in Xcode 8 interms of its stability and look forward to work with it. Download Xcode 8 from App Store and try it on.

2. Swift 3:

As you aware, Swift is open source, and it has a great community of developers, So we always tend to get the best in every latest version of Swift programming language. Check Apple's ' The Swift Programming Language (Swift 3) ' To explore more on Swift 3.

Important frameworks such as 'Core Graphics' and 'Grand Central Dispatch' have been upgraded to native swift interfaces in Swift 3. Its good to know that improvements in API naming to enhance the code's consistency and clarity are done. Swift 3 also has many new features added. To know more about the language changes check Apple's Swift 3 language changes. The best way to experiment with Swift 3 is by using Apple's Swift Playgrounds app for iPad.

3. iOS 10:

Not long ago we have updated our devices to iOS10. It seems, that updating iOS software in our devices is a two step process now. When we initiate the iOS update in our devices from the version iOS 9.3.3(or lower), first we get updated to the version of iOS 9.3.5, then we need to again initiate the update explicitly to get the version iOS 10.0.1. We are not very sure if the same flow happens with your devices, but this is what happened to us.

To elaborate more, iOS 10 SDK has come up with new APIs and services. And the major thing we have observed is, your apps can now communicate with some of the default iOS apps to do certain functionalities as per the requirement.

For example your apps can engage with the following default iOS apps or services such as:

Messages

Siri

Phone

Maps

Lets now try to understand the interactions with some of the apps mentioned above :

Interaction with Messages app:

Using the new Messages framework introduced in iOS 10, you can create an app extension which helps the users to interact with your app directly within messages app.

Two things can be done here.

1. Stickers:

    By simply placing your images in Xcode, you can create packages of stickers which can be used by the users directly in iMessage app. However no code is required to create such a Sticker pack.

2. iMessage Apps:

   You can create an app extension which can be seen in iMessage app, which enables the users to gain access to your apps directly from iMessage app without leaving the conversation.

Interaction with Siri:

        We now have the privilege to work with Siri in iOS10. Users can interact with your app using voice command and access certain services like ride booking and personal payments. Siri Kit will help you to achieve this. We are truly exited to step into this implementation.

Following are the supported domains by SiriKit:

Audio or video calling

Messaging

Sending or receiving payments

Searching photos

Booking a ride

Managing workouts

Adjusting settings in a CarPlay-enabled vehicle (automotive vendors only)

Making restaurant reservations (requires additional support from Apple)

Interaction with Phone app:

If your app is VoIP related, you can interact with iOS default phone app. Calls can be directly displayed on the lock screen. You need to use CallKit framework to make this implementation.

Interaction with Maps app:

If your app has the implementation related to maps, you can create an extension with your custom content which can be injected into iOS default Maps app, enabling users to directly communicate with your app from Maps app. 'IntentsUI.framework' will help you do that.

Let's now look at some more services that we can make use of, in iOS 10.

User Notifications:

We have really enjoyed this framework in iOS 10, as it redefines the way notifications look and behave in iOS devices. Following are the two new frameworks that you can effectively make use of:

UserNotifications.framework

UserNotificationsUI.framework

Using UserNotifications.framework you can handle local and remote notifications. This framework is used to schedule the delivery of notifications based on specific conditions, such as time or location.

UserNotificationsUI.framework will you give you the privilege to customize the appearance of local and remote notifications when they appear on the user's device. You can use this framework to create an app extension which can receive the notification data and provides the corresponding visual representation. Your extension can also respond to custom actions associated with those notifications.

Speech Recognition:

iOS 10 has new API that can recognize speech and convert it into text. It can be used in both real-time and recorded audio. You need to use Speech.framework for this. User permission is required to perform speech recognition. To request the user’s permission, you must add the NSSpeechRecognitionUsageDescription key to your app’s Info.plist file and provide content describing your app’s usage.

App Search Enhancements:

Using Core Spotlight framework in iOS 10 you can do several enhancements to app search:

In-app searching

Search continuation

Crowdsourcing deep link popularity with differential privacy

Visualization of validation results

Widget Enhancements:

You can observe few UI changes on lock screen of iOS 10, meaning widgets can be displayed on top the lock screen which was only accessible in the notification drawer. However now you can directly swipe right so see widgets. To ensure that your widget looks good on any background, you can specify  widgetPrimaryVibrancyEffect or widgetSecondaryVibrancyEffect. Displaying mode can be specified using NCWidgetDisplayMode allowing the user to choose either compact or expanded view.                                                  

In addition to the above services, iOS 10 included many other features, along with some additional framework changes. Please refer Apple's iOS 10 Document for more details.

We know the tagging feature has been introduced recently in WhatsApp Groups by using @name or number.

We were able to find few bugs in this feature. 1. You can open your own contact to chat and even block yourself. 2. Using @name will give suggestions only if there is a contact in your phone 3. @name sometimes gives only number to yourself and not your name in group chat

1. You can open your contact to chat and even block yourself: Whenever someone tags you in the group, and you click on your contact name or number, it pops a chat window to message yourself and even has a feature to add yourself to your contacts. That doesn’t end there… you can even block yourself or call…!!

2. Using @name will give suggestions only if there is a contact in your phone @name is used to tag someone in the group, however sometimes you cannot find people with their profile names if you haven’t saved them in your contacts and its even more annoying to find the exact person with their phone numbers.

3. @name sometimes gives only number to yourself and not your name in the group chat Whenever somebody tags you by your name or number, it is observed that you can only see your number and not your name. You cannot easily identify if the message is really for you or not. When clicked on your number you again can chat with yourself…!!

Google nowadays is releasing more interactive products, with the introduction of Google duo video calling app it has proved its presence. Allo is an another interactive messaging app released today 21st sep 2016 which not only acts as your assistant but also can make messaging experience even more exciting.

Google has made this introduction of chat feature to prevent users from moving to another app or platform to communicate.

Allo cannot be compared with G-talk or Hangouts as its far more ahead in terms of messaging service. It is similar to any messaging app with options to chat personally with a contact or converse in a group. It also has an incognito mode which enables the user to hide conversations and also automatically delete them after a certain time.

Allo includes some unique capabilities such as smart reply which suggests you stickers and photos, based on the conversation with your contact in way that is more expressive and understandable.

For example : It can help you easily send your location or place with selfies to your contact.

Google Assistant :

We have been used to speech conversations with Google mic as “Ok Google” but now with Google assistant we will be able ask for any information over the chat. We can also include Google assistant in your private conversations with the handle “@google” to derive information via Google.

For example : Person A and B are planning to go to movie in their private chat, @google can be included in the conversation to derive the movies available in your area. Which means you can indulge Google assistant in your conversations to derive search results.

Google on the other hand uses the information from your past activity in the search engine and gives you relative suggestions such as restaurant and brunches near you.

How is it different ?

Its an intelligent bot that virtually understands user’s behavior and provides relevant content based on their search history.

1.    Multi-window.

Multi window support has been introduced in Android starting from Android Nougat. Two apps can be used at once by the user. For example, a user could split the screen, viewing a web page on the left side while composing an email on the right side.

Manufacturers of larger devices can choose to enable freeform mode, in which the user can freely resize each activity. If the manufacturer enables this feature, the device offers freeform mode in addition to split-screen mode.

Configuring your app to multi-window mode: 

android:resizableActivity attribute should be used in the manifests <activity> or <application> element to enable or disable multi-window display.

android:resizableActivity = “true” for enabling multi-window mode and                                                                               android:resizableActivity = “false” to disable it.

However, if your app targets API level 24, but you do not specify a value for this attribute, the attribute's value defaults to true.

From API level 24, the <layout> manifest element supports several attributes that affect how an activity behaves in multi-window mode. Following code shows how to specify an activity's default size and location, and its minimum size, when the activity is displayed in multi-window mode:

<activity android:name=".MyActivity">     <layout android:defaultHeight="500dp"           android:defaultWidth="600dp"           android:gravity="top|end"           android:minHeight="450dp"           android:minWidth="300dp" /> </activity>

Description :

android:defaultWidth

Default width of the activity when launched in freeform mode.

android:defaultHeight

Default height of the activity when launched in freeform mode.

android:gravity

Initial placement of the activity when launched in freeform mode. See the Gravity reference for suitable values.

android:minHeight, android:minWidth

Minimum height and minimum width for the activity in both split-screen and freeform modes. If the user moves the divider in split-screen mode to make an activity smaller than the specified minimum, the system crops the activity to the size the user requests.

If your app targets API level 23 or lower and the user attempts to use the app in multi-window mode, the system forcibly resizes the app unless the app declares a fixed orientation. If your app does not declare a fixed orientation, you should launch your app on a device running Android 7.0 or higher and attempt to put the app in split-screen mode. Verify that the user experience is acceptable when the app is forcibly resized. If the app declares a fixed orientation, you should attempt to put the app in multi-window mode. Verify that when you do so, the app remains in full-screen mode.

Note: In multi-window mode, an app can be in the paused state and still be visible to the user. An app might need to continue its activities even while paused. For example, a video-playing app that is in paused mode but is visible should continue showing its video. For this reason, we recommend that activities that play video not pause the video in their onPause() handlers. Instead, they should pause video in onStop(), and resume playback in onStart().

Testing checklist

To verify your app's performance in multi-window mode, try the following operations. You should try these operations in both split-screen and multi-window mode, except where otherwise noted.

Enter and leave multi-window mode.

Switch from your app to another app, and verify that the app behaves properly while it is visible but not active. For example, if your app is playing video, verify that the video continues to play while the user is interacting with another app.

In split-screen mode, try moving the dividing bar to make your app both larger and smaller. Try these operations in both side-by-side and one-above-the-other configurations. Verify that the app does not crash, essential functionality is visible, and the resize operation doesn't take too long.

Perform several resize operations in rapid succession. Verify that your app doesn't crash or leak memory.

Use your app normally in a number of different window configurations, and verify that the app behaves properly. Verify that text is readable, and that UI elements aren't too small to interact with.

If you have disabled multi-window support by using android:resizeableActivity="false", you should launch your app on a device running Android 7.0 or higher and attempt to put the app in freeform and split-screen modes. When you do so, ensure that the app remains in full-screen mode.                                                                                                                 Ref: https://developer.android.com/guide/topics/ui/multi-window.html

2.    Doze

 Any time the screen is OFF for a period of time and the device is unplugged from user activity, Doze applies a subset of the familiar CPU and network restrictions to apps. This means users can save battery while carrying their devices in their pockets.

Doze can affect apps differently, depending on the capabilities to offer and the services they use. Many apps function normally across Doze cycles without any modification. In some cases, you must optimize the way your app manages network, alarms, jobs, and syncs. Apps should be able to efficiently manage activities during each maintenance window.

Doze is particularly likely to affect activities that AlarmManager alarms and timers usually manage, because alarms in Android 5.1 (API level 22) or lower do not fire when the system is in Doze.

To help with scheduling alarms, Android 6.0 (API level 23) introduces two new AlarmManager methods: setAndAllowWhileIdle() andsetExactAndAllowWhileIdle(). With these methods, you can set alarms that will fire even if the device is in Doze.

Note: Neither setAndAllowWhileIdle() nor setExactAndAllowWhileIdle() can fire alarms more than once in 9 minutes, per app.

The Doze restriction on network access is also likely to affect your app, especially if the app relies on real-time messages such as tickles or notifications. If your app requires a persistent connection to the network to receive messages, you should use Google Cloud Messaging (GCM) if possible.

3.    Support for Java 8 Language Features and APIs

Android supports a subset of Java 8 language features that vary by platform version. Support for Java 8 language features requires a new compiler called Jack. Jack is supported only on Android Studio 2.1 and higher. The following features are available when developing apps targeting Android 7.0 (API level 24):

Default and static interface methods

Lambda expressions (also available on API level 23 and lower)

Repeatable annotations

Method References (also available on API level 23 and lower)

Type Annotations (also available on API level 23 and lower)

To enable Java 8 language features and Jack for your project, enter the following in your module-level build.gradle file:

android {   ...   defaultConfig {     ...     jackOptions {       enabled true     }   }   compileOptions {     sourceCompatibility JavaVersion.VERSION_1_8     targetCompatibility JavaVersion.VERSION_1_8   } }

Ref: https://developer.android.com/guide/platform/j8-jack.html

With some other additional features like emoji’s , drawing tool and front flash for selfies.

With recent addition of voice calling feature in messaging apps telecom companies are complaining about the less usage of voice calls, however the quality wasn’t good enough in messenger apps. WhatsApp now is on the verge of introducing video calling as Facebook has already implemented some time back.

But as of now you can now add emoji’s, text or just scribble on your photos or videos while sending to your loved ones.

To send a picture to any contact or group on WhatsApp we click on the camera Icon in the chat as below and a camera interface screen pops up as shown.

Soon after we click a picture or record video we get four options on the top right side corner - to draw, insert text, Emoji’s and crop the picture.

And this is how we can crop the picture if required.

Hence expressive emoji’s, scribbling or text on your photos and videos can be more handy via WhatsApp

We tried doing some crazy stuff . Try yours

These features are not available to all users, as WhatsApp is offering only the BETA version in android.

To enable these features :

Step 1 : Go To Play store

Step 2 : Go to WhatsApp messenger page

Step 3 : Scroll down until you see “Become a beta tester”

Step 4 : Click on “I’m in” button

                  Generally it takes 10-15 min to get you to the beta version screen.

Step 5 : Install the Beta version

Your ready to go.!

Hope WhatsApp satisfies its users with this features. However video calling is in the pipeline and they are working on it. It may even support gif image sharing which is the most awaited feature to many. This beta version 2.16.264. also has a new feature called front-facing flash which enables a white flash-like effect on the screen while taking selfies for a better low light photography. It is to be noted that these features are only available in the camera used within WhatsApp.