By Staff Writer: Jerri Clewis
Open a smartphone, and there are bound to be more than a few apps. Most phones come preinstalled with several, and an update might even add some more. Originally designed to help provide conveniences for users, apps are growing every year in number to the point that there is almost an app for every and any possible need.
Take a look at an app store, and there’ll be countless apps. Fast food apps for specific restaurants, payment apps for different companies, and more than a handful for just texting friends and family. Apps can track menstrual cycles, sleeping habits, exercise, calories and schedule your days. Apps connect to the television, appliances, and lights. They can control your house. Act as a second brain.
In 2022 alone, there were some 3.5 million apps on the Google Play Store, and nearly two million on the Apple Store, according to Statista. That’s a whole lot of apps for people to download, and they are not just a bunch of games like Candy Crush or Raid: Shadow Legends.
Almost everything can be “appified”. The doctor’s office or the nearby dentist might have an app to book appointments or schedule visits. Hotels and airlines have their own apps, as do most fast-food places these days. Apartment buildings and laundry services come with apps, and restaurants can require QR codes, yet another app, just to see a menu.
The options are endless in the world of apps, but at what point do those apps become inconveniences rather than helpful additions to everyday life?
A lot of these apps are forced downloads—required to purchase or enjoy some brief convenience. The issue is that this leads to astronomical abandonment rates, according to Vox. A user might have to download an app to get a discount or use a service, and then never use the app again. In the Vox case, the writer was unable to purchase wine on a plane because it required both an app and putting credit card information into said app to complete the sale. All that despite the app likely going into the darkest depths of the phone files to never be seen again.
Does everything really need an app?