It’s amazing to think that just under 10 years ago only around 30% of Americans owned a smartphone. Today at least 77% of Americans now own smartphones, and in most other countries, the numbers are just as high or higher. And like our phones, our smartphone apps are also changing. In past years, apps were designed to perform a specific task or fulfill some sort of need. But today, app developers are realizing that customers want and expect more from their apps — they want multi-functional apps that can do more than just one thing.
Because of this, multi-functional apps have started to become the new norm. No longer can an app get away with just doing one or two things if they hope to be competitive. To help developers achieve multi-functional apps, there are now lots of developer toolkits with pre-built options. Take a look at companies like AerisWeather, who provide developers with a way to integrate a mapping platform into their apps. It’s a whole software development toolkit.
Multi-functional apps top picks
If you’re looking to up your app game and start getting more bang for your buck, here are a few popular titles that are multi-functional apps:
Floating Apps
The Floating Apps tool is meant to help you be as productive as possible. It allows you to open a number of apps at any one time and have them all floating so that you can multi-task. you’ll be able to do things like take notes while watching YouTube videos, use the calculator with a translator also open, and view a number of PDF files at once. The whole idea is that you don’t have to leave or close one task down just because you want to be able to do another one at the same time.
There are 41 floating apps that are included in the download include a Wi-Fi manager, music player, Twitter, YouTube, Facebook, notes, Google Maps, games, and more. You can get Floating Apps in Google Play.
Wunderlist
Wunderlist is a powerful list-making and productivity app for iOS and Android that has really made a name for itself in the industry. Again, the focus is on allowing you to perform a number of tasks in one central location, to help you to be productive and organized.
The Wunderlist app lets you create and edit lists that can be shared with others in your work or personal contacts. But Wunderlist isn’t just for simple to-dos or shopping lists — it’s also meant for things like creating tasks and sub-tasks, adding reminders and milestones. Anyone who you have shared the list with can check things off in real-time. You can get Wunderlist in Google Play and Apple’s App Store.
Facebook Messenger
If you’re new to Messenger or only a light user, you may only think of it as an easy way to message and chat with your friends or family. But that’s just scraping the surface of what the app is capable of. You can use Messenger for video chats, voice chats, creating groups for group messaging, playing games with friends in real-time, sharing photos, sharing files, sending money, and more. To that end, Messenger can be helpful in your personal life, as well as for business use.
Watch for ever more multi-functional apps this year and in future years — as developers start to get more and more creative and inventive.
