8 Most Popular Types of Mobile Apps

People are inseparable from their smartphones these days. It wasn’t so long ago that a phone was only a phone and no more. The modern smartphone has far more to offer than simply calling and texting. Earlier cellphones offered some extra features such as internet access and a simple game or two. Smartphones have a wide variety of apps that offer an equally wide variety of services.

The opening of mobile app development to parties other than the phone manufacturer has led to a boom of diversity on app marketplaces. Here are some different types of mobile apps you can find:

1. Lifestyle Apps

Lifestyle apps are one of the largest sectors in the mobile app market. These apps allow you to support and enhance your day to day activities. The category encompasses many types of apps. Fitness apps, dating apps, apps that help you find the best food or music, and travel apps. These apps often integrate seamlessly into the user’s lifestyle and are among the most commonly used apps. They have a significant impact on how people live their lives and have changed society in many ways. It’s hard to imagine life without Spotify, Uber, or Tinder today.

2. Social Media Apps

When people say that we are too engrossed with our smartphones today, it’s likely social media that they are referring too. Social media is a huge part of some peoples’ lives. It’s difficult to comprehend how such a recent development in the way people interact has grown at such a rapid rate. Social media predates the smartphone by a few years and was moving along quite alright on its own. The pairing of the two has accelerated this even further. Think about how much time you spend checking your Facebook, Instagram, or Snapchat throughout the day.

3. Utility Apps

In the earliest days of smartphones utility apps were the most notable features. In many ways, the applications are obvious. They often stem from earlier versions that were present on even simple cellphones. This category includes apps like the calculator, flashlight, calendar, and weather reports. They put to use the computing and connectivity power of the smartphone to a simple and concise use. All of the functions that these apps serve were available before the smartphone in some form or another. The smartphone just made them a lot quicker and easier

4. Gaming Apps

The previous generation of simple cellphones offered a variety of simple games to play. Many of us probably remember playing Snake, Sky Diver, or Bowling. With the significantly enhanced computing power and displays of smartphones, mobile gaming has evolved at a rapid pace. These new games are miles beyond what was once though possible on a mobile platform. Some mobile games are complex and rival PC or console gaming titles. Most are somewhat simpler, made to be played on the go. Some mobile game classics include Angry Birds and Clash of Clans.

5. News Apps

News apps are another application of the smartphone that seems fairly straightforward. The media have provided news online for some time before smartphones came around. It wasn’t long before they started to offer their services directly through apps. Every major news outlet has their own app. These apps allow you to browse through various stories or watch videos at your leisure. They typically also supply notifications for breaking news stories. You can also customize your experience by selecting what categories or key words you’d like to be kept up to date on.

6. Business Apps

Business apps are the second most popular mobile apps today. These apps streamline many business processes, supplying a valuable service to today’s busy professionals. Many companies have their own internal apps that they use for communications or other internal matters. This category also includes apps used for booking, billing, buying, tracking work progress, or even creating forms apps that streamline business processes. The business world was one of the first to adopt cellphones and this is equally true of smartphones. Many of the advancements we know today have been driven by the demands of business.

7. Educational Apps

Self-education is considered by many to be a great and noble pursuit. Before smartphones were around, it could be difficult to get into. Even during the brief era where the internet existed and smartphones didn’t, self-education was a confusing and arduous task. Those who wanted to learn something without taking some sort of in person course on it could find themselves bogged down in irrelevant material. Today there are a wide variety of education apps available that solve this problem. You can learn language, math, photography and many other things.

8. Travel Apps

Many people find themselves enamoured with the idea of travel. Tourism is one of, if not the, major source of income for countless locations around the world. Mobile apps have, of course, developed a variety of services in this broad and rich category. In day to day travel, we have apps like Google Earth that allow us to find our way. These apps are equally valuable in new lands where we’d otherwise rely on paper maps. Major airlines offer apps that simplify booking and boarding. Apps like Airbnb help people find lodging during their trips.

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