BusinessDay 12 Apr 2018

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28 BUSINESS DAY C002D5556 Thursday 12 April 2018
Apps released on Apple
Store drops in 2017
FRANK ELEANYA
Google Play
Store appears
to be winning
the favourite
app store contest,
as the amount of apps
released in the Apple App
Store fell for the first time
in 2017.
A new data released by
Appfigures showed that
both Apple’s App Store and
Google Play Store were
growing consistently all the
way up to 2017, when the
former began to drop.
The data found that
the amount of apps released
on Apple’s App
Store in 2017 was 755,000,
representing a 29 percent
decline from 2016, when
the number hit one million.
It is Apple’s first drop
since the App Store was
launched in 2008.
Meanwhile, the Google
Play Store saw a surge of
over 1.5 million new apps,
about 17 percent rise from
2016 – the largest growth
since 2014.
According to Appfigures,
the decline is a result of
stricter enforcement of Apple’s
review guidelines, as
well as a technical change
that eliminated many old
apps that were not updated
CALEB OJEWALE
In this part of the world,
many things that could
still look like magic or
at best, science fiction,
are realities in advanced
nations increasingly leaving
us behind. While this may
not be new, it also shows
the urgent need for African
countries like Nigeria to stop
admiring technology from
afar, but also actively engaging
in usage.
Ericsson showed some of
these possibilities for a digital
future in its ‘10 Hot Consumer
Trends’ 2018 report
which during a presentation
by Olivier Vandermoten,
country manager, Ericsson
Nigeria, showed the world
is about to move ahead with
even more sophistication
than previously thought.
For instance, if you find
yourself thinking of the possibility
to “re-live” certain
to support 64-bit architecture.
In June 2017, Apple had
sent a notification to developers
that new iOS apps
and updates submitted to
the App Store must support
64-bit.
“Support for 32-bit apps
is not available in iOS 11
and all 32-bit apps previously
installed on a user’s
device will not launch.
If you have not updated
your app on the App Store
to support 64-bit, we recommend
submitting an
update so your users can
continue to run your apps
on iOS 11, which will be in
moments from the past, this
just may be possible within
the next five years, provided
you have pictures from that
event. Still seems strange?
Well, not according to Ericsson’s
report which from its
findings showed consumers
in the next five years
will amongst other things,
be able to walk through
pictures from events, using
virtual reality gears that
make it possible to interact
‘with the past’.
As more advancement
are made in robotics, it
has also been suggested
that those not so inclined
to work, though lazy may
sound ‘judgmental’, could
have robots doing their
work, earning income for
them, while they take all
the leisure time they desire.
The possibilities seem endless
from the very desirable
ones to those perhaps, not
so desirable.
The 10 trends for 2018
the hands of hundreds of
millions of customers this
fall,” Apple stated in that
notice.
Apple’s stance has seen
the number of apps overall
inside its App Store shrink
by 5 percent, falling from
2.2 million to 2.1 million,
whereas, Google Play, is
home to 3.6 million apps,
continuing a steady 30 percent
rise also observed last
year over 2015.
Appfigure also disclosed
that during the period, the
number of apps being ported
from one platform to
the other – also known as
‘porting’ an app – increased.
10 technology trends about to change how we live
and beyond as contained
in Ericsson’s report include:
1. Your Body is the User
Interface: More than half of
current users of intelligent
voice assistants believe that
we will use body language,
expression, intonation and
touch to interact with tech
devices as if they were fellow
humans. Some 2 in 3 think
this will happen within a
mere 3 years.
Olivier Vandermoten
Porting an app refers to taking
an app that was built
for one platform and building
it to run on a different
platform.
In 2017, over 25,000
crossed from one platform
to another. More than 16,000
of those apps went to Google
Play in the same year.
“According to our algorithm
that maps apps that
cross platforms, roughly
450,000 apps are available
for both iOS and Android.
This is a failry decent
amount, but when we
look at the bigger picture, it
amounts to just 8.5%,” Appsfigure
stated.
2. Augmented Hearing:
63 percent of consumers
would like earphones that
translate languages in real
time. 52 percent want to
block out a family member’s
snoring.
3. Eternal Newbies: 30
percent say new technology
makes it hard to keep their
skills up to date. But it also
makes us instant experts.
46 percent say the internet
allows them to learn and
forget skills faster than ever.
4. Social Broadcasting:
Social media is being overrun
by traditional broadcasters.
But half of consumers
say AI would be useful to
check facts posted on social
networks.
5. Intelligent Ads: Advertisements
may become too
smart for their own good.
More than half of augmented
reality (AR)/virtual reality
(VR) users think ads will
become so realistic they
will eventually replace the
Takeaways from Organic
Lagos startup workshop
FRANK ELEANYA
Starting and building a
successful business in
a country like Nigeria is
a journey that only the
brave and committed undertakes.
Several statistics have it
that many small businesses in
Nigeria never see their third
to fifth birthdays. Choked by
insurmountable pressures,
they die and new ones spring
up from their ashes.
On Saturday, 7 April, 2018,
Organic Lagos, a non-profit
organisation organised the
maiden edition of its startup
workshop aimed at equipping
small businesses with the tools
for entrepreneurial success.
The workshop themed ‘Let’s
Talk About Starting Up and
building Successes’, was also
an avenue to train start-ups on
accessing funding.
Muyi Olaitan, founder of
Organic Lagos said the goal of
the workshop was to expose
start-ups in Nigeria to new
trends and innovations to scale
their businesses in a difficult
environment.
The various facilitators at
the workshop shared from
their experiences in business
and dealing with start-ups –
whether in the tech ecosystem
or SMEs segment. Below are
some of the takeaways from
the workshop:
Passion is everything
Kola Kuddus Yusuf, chief executive
officer of Kola Kuddus
Couture, an African inspired
fashion brand, said starting out
as an entrepreneur will require
passion and commitment.
products themselves.
6. Uncanny Communication:
50 percent think not
being able to tell the difference
between human and
machine would spook them
out. 40 percent would also
be spooked by a smartphone
that reacts to their mood.
7. Leisure Society: 32
percent of students and
working people do not think
they need a job to develop a
meaningful life. 40 percent
say they would like a robot
that works and earns income
for them, freeing up leisure
time.
8. Your Photo is a Room:
Imagine being able to walk
into a photo and relive a
memory. 3 out of 4 believe
that in only 5 years they
will use virtual reality to
walk around in smartphone
photos.
9. Streets in the Air: City
streets may be choked with
traffic but the skies remain
free. 39 percent think their
Team: Frank Eleanya, frank.eleanya@businessdayonline.com; Caleb Ojewale, caleb.ojewale@businessdayonline.com
Recalling the early days of
his brand, Kola told the audience
that he was largely driven
by the passion to make his client
look unique always.
Social media is not all it
seems.
People are always pretending
on social media platforms,
hence small business owners
have to be careful about
the ideas they get from there,
according to Shade Ladipo,
executive director of WE-
Connect.
Integrity breeds trust
Businesses built on dishonesty
will not last long. Customers
would always be loyal to a
brand they can bank their
words, says Precious Ubah,
assistant manager of Robert
Taylor Limited.
“Your focus should not be
to build a business for the now,
but one that can be transferred
when you are gone. You have
to put in the work and be part
of something great,” she said.
Funding only meets planning
Funding is one of the issues
many start-ups are always
complaining about, however
only a few actually are ready
to access it. To be ready,
Adeola Olowe, partner at
The Anavo Institute, said
start-ups need to know their
numbers off their finger tips.
For instance, what will the
venture cost? What is projected
cost for the next project the
startup is embarking on?
Knowing these numbers
and being able to articulate
them comes very handy in an
elevator pitch situation.
city needs a road network for
drones and flying vehicles.
But almost as many worry
that a drone would drop on
their head.
10. The Charged Future:
The connected world will
require mobile power. More
than 80 percent believe that
in only 5 years we will have
long-lasting batteries that
will put an end to charging
concerns.
The insights in the 10
Hot Consumer Trends for
2018 report are based on
Ericsson Consumer Lab’s
global research activities
over more than 22 years, and
draw on data from an online
survey of advanced internet
users in 10 influential cities
across the world, performed
in October 2017. Although
the study only represents
30 million citizens, their
early adopter profile makes
them important to understand
when exploring future
trends, says Ericsson.