“A new media narrative is unfolding, replete with statistics all seeking to provide evidence that Apple’s success with native apps is over. There’s no clear agreement on what exactly will take over — Chat Bots, Voice Assistants, the Web, Augmented Reality or some new and unknown successor — but it is clear that the loser must be Apple,” Daniel Eran Dilger writes for AppleInsider. “It has to be, because it’s desperately needed by Apple’s rivals.”
“Last month, Peter Kafka gravely warned via Recode that ‘the app boom is over,'” Dilger writes. “The main data point surfaced by Kafka was that users — wait for it — are not still downloading apps they already had last year, such as the widely deployed Facebook and Messenger.”
“In a world dominated by native apps, Google’s core competency in search and paid placement fades in relevance. Google knows that because it sees this every day in the mobile market. Google’s contempt for apps shows up in every Android screen shot where third party apps play second fiddle to the Google search bar, widgets and other chrome,” Dilger writes. “[Conversely], Apple is expanding the potential opportunities for third party developers with App Extensions on the platform that’s already the best for doing business. If there’s a Bot War coming, it sure looks like Apps are going to win it.”
Much more in the full article here.
MacDailyNews Take: Yes, despite the narrative, Apple, the App Store, and iOS apps aren’t going anywhere but up.
I got rid of Facebook and I’d never had messenger, because they are crap apps!
FB has about a billion users, most on mobile, and one guy shows up in the comments to say he’s dumped the apps.
The media (leftist, naturally) has to invent stories to keep the hits coming and this is exacerbated by corporations’ need for relentless movement, even if it’s sideways.
I know lots of people who have deleted the FB app. Talking to some kids on the weekend and they all consider FB to be something for old ladies, their words, not mine. They all use Instagram and Snapchat. I also know many users my age, who have deleted the app and just log in via Safari.
Kafka turned into a roach after his prediction. A species that is commonly hired by microsoft, Samsung, and LG to bad mouth Apple.
Nah, Apple isn’t stupid. Facebook just keeps looking for relevance in an age of snapchat and all the flashy new pic messengers. Unfortunately, these messengers aren’t open at all. I’m not on my phone all the time, and I hate it when people assume I am or should be just because it has Kik or whatever. Crossplatform or open networks are what’ll get me on board nowadays.