Whilst the app market has, and continues to grow rapidly, how apps are actually used is becoming a key part of mobile app development.

Recent research by Flurry has found a huge increase in both the ownership of smartphones and the use of mobile apps – it’s unlikely that the two are unconnected! What is perhaps a little more surprising is the range of apps which are driving usage. As you might expect, it’s not actually just games or m-commerce taking the lion’s share of usage, instead apps from across the board are seeing regular use, whether that’s productivity apps, lifestyle, social networking or fitness.

What Flurry also found was that apps don’t tend to see much drop off during the day. Whilst you’d expect huge spikes at rush hour and drop-off during office hours this isn’t the case. People dip in and out of apps daylong, with those that don’t work the traditional 9-5 picking up some of that drop off during those times. Even when playing games, mobile users won’t sit and play for hours, like they would on an Xbox or Playstation, they may play for five or ten minutes at a time and then move onto something else or receive an email r text and be distracted.

It’s this dipping in and out that’s important when it comes to mobile app development. Smartphone and tablet usage is unlike any other; the ease of access and portability means there’s no turning on and waiting for them to boot-up or searching through the guide to find out what’s on. It’s a simple case of picking it up (usually from a pocket!) and killing time for a few minutes.

So when it comes to building mobile apps, making sure they work quickly and easily is key. If an app takes too long to start up and navigate it simply won’t cut the mustard, mobile apps are quick and convenient so your app should be too. Storing key data when an app is closed, so that when it is re-opened it is where it was left, is the best way to avoid user frustration. Even when it comes to shopping via an app, users will still get distracted and dip in and out, so storing the shopping basket or searches made is a big appeal.

There are obvious nuances to every type off app, that will mean there is a difference in how users dip in and out – for example GPS fitness apps will be used in bursts at certain times of the day – but regardless of these differences understanding how your audience use apps will give you a great insight when it comes to mobile app development.

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