Types of mobile applications & popular App categories

Mobile applications industry is large, growing daily, endless in sight. Mobile apps numerical strength has reached new frontiers, having become more focused and targeted. Innovations in application ecosystem were done to implement more useful and utility tool for every situation and any purpose in social practices.

Native Applications

Native apps are completely built by using a specific Objective C, Java programming languages, platform’s SDKs to exploit UI, excellent functionality. Fast performance, a high-reliability level are provided within the app. There is an access to the phone’s various devices, like camera, contacts, microphone, etc.

Key takeaways:

• Native APIs using for making the tightest connection to the platform.
• Easy learning curve and high performance.
• High language requirements for platform-specific APIs usage.
• Highly effortful, not cross platform.

Web-based Applications

Web-based apps have an illusion of native apps with an exception of being designed to fit device screen size. Javascript, HTML, CSS technologies are applied to develop web-based apps.

Key takeaways:

• Easy updating and maintaining.
• Unrequired to be installed.
• Cross platform.
• Native APIs access denied.
• Required keyboard loading.
• User-friendly interface is limited.

Hybrid Applications

This type uses skeleton native apps, loads web content that can be static or dynamic, runs on the device. The functionality like camera or contacts can be applied due to the skeleton native apps.

Key takeaways:

• Easy building, effortless for multiple platforms deployment.
• The same skills applying as for developing whether web apps or websites.
• Accessible to all available native apps’ device features.
• Fast, easy to develop, with no need to rebuild all time to be previewed.
• Web view limitations: dependence on the platform's browser quality.
• Access to the native APIs requires an additional building to make a plugin to be supported.
• No native user interface controls.

The app categories

Based on ownership:

Based on Payment Models:

• Free. An application is downloaded for free. The company usually pays for in the form of advertisements. They are willing to spend on app advertisements more than users.
• Freemium. Apps are provided as free of charge to allow users to test it out in order to decide whether they are interested in or not. Proprietary features, functionality, virtual goods can be bought at an additional charge.
• Paid. This category of apps is purchased by hesitant users. The money is charged for app downloading and using on a regular basis.
• Paymium. An app that is paid for primarily, with additional revenue being generated by charging for extra functionality or features via In-App Purchase or IAP.

Based on Utility:

News apps. Keeping up on current events and getting the latest updates about selected subject are great. The news can be delivered in time for being kept up-to-date by downloading, setting up notifications.

SmartNews is the widely used, trendy, bringing the thrilling stories with the ability to classify them depending on the subject. The app is easy to browse and good at delivering fresh content.

Features of the SmartNews application:

• Smart Mode.
• Offline Reading.
• Easy usage by flipping through categories and scrolling news articles.
• Customised by setting categories and adding news channels for specific blogs, newspapers, magazines.

Calculate apps. Useful for different kinds of converting and estimation. Just download an app and calculate square footage, keep up with monthly payments, or find international codes to call.

HiPER Scientific Calculator is an app with fast emerging downloads and great user feedbacks.

Features of the HiPER Scientific Calculator application:

• Fifteen digits of significant, three digits of an exponent supporting.
• Detecting the repeating decimal number and supporting the input and output fractions.
• Multiple layout formats supporting to be suitable for various screen sizes.

Sports apps. They are used for viewing latest news about sport, learning the public ping pong tables available worldwide, discovering how many calories you burned during your last workout, etc.

Travel apps. This category of apps is targeted to make the tourists digitally-savvy while travelling in easy, more comfortable, fun, informative way. They are used to guide through unknown destinations abroad, to turn the device into universal travel diary, to provide translation assistance, etc.

Hipmunk presents a fast, all-in-one travel planning and booking solution with hotel search engine and a powerful flight.

Features of the Hipmunk application:

• Fast and easy flight and hotel booking directly within the app.
• Finding the lowest airfare.
• Viewing the flights sorted by ‘agony’ to save time by minimising duration, layovers and price. Tonight deal on a last minute hotel room booking.
• Reviews, star ratings, easy comparison shop hotels viewing.
• Showing the shopping, dining close lodging.

Weather apps. Convenient, useful apps for receiving a daily weather forecast, discovering what the weather will be next days for any city.

Based on Productivity:

Business apps. This category of apps is applied to help to communicate effectively, to hire faster, to generate more revenue for business. The main idea is to get things done efficiently every day by equipping with the right digital tools.

Slack is a widely-used app for team collaboration and communication. There is no matter whether a large enterprise or a small business apply an app as it is easy to get work done better.

Features of the Slack application:

• Communicating and organising the conversations.
• Messaging or calling any member/members within the team.
• Documents sharing, editing.
• Tools, services integration into your workflow.
• Easy searching due to its customizability.

Educational apps. This category of apps is suitable for those who provide an education or those who still want to get knowledge long after school graduating.

My Study Life is a planner for students, teachers and lecturers designed to make your study life easier to manage. Classes, homework and exams are stored in the cloud with an access to any device.

Features of My Study Life application:

• Tracking the tasks, storing in the cloud.
• Managing, supporting, and integrating the tasks.
• Get notified.
• Sharing.

Search Tool apps. This apps category is applied to get any accessible information from the device by using search tool apps.

Task-management apps. It is a simple choice between using a notebook, legal pad, or stack of post-it notes to manage your personal to-do list.

Google Keep is a to-do list app, having a note-style interface to arrange the notes and tasks together.

Features of Google Keep application:

• Notes and lists creating, time and place reminders setting, completed tasks checking.
• Adding a collaborator to your notes and lists, photos and drawings, dictating the thoughts.
• Easy search, scanability.
• Accessing to the notes on any device synced automatically.
• Using “Ok Google” voice commands.

The Bottom Line

Explosively-driven growth of mobile solutions is not stopping. Although increasingly keen competition within mobile sphere continues, engineers do not finish creating thrilling, useful digital solutions to make life easier.

There are a lot of categories and types of mobile apps in the digital world. Hundreds of travel, sport, educational and entertainment apps are used to simplify people’s life daily. The most popular apps categories, types of apps are highlighted; top rated and highly downloaded apps are presented in the article above.