A few weeks ago I participated in a panel at DIGIDAY’s Mobile Apps conference focused on the HTML5/Native Apps debate. (If you missed it, check out Mobile Marketers coverage of the event here). My fellow debater, Adam Broitman of Circ.us, made a rather bold statement during the course of our discussion – that by 2015, the traditional “app store” will look significantly different when compared to the app stores that we see today. The driving force behind this shift, hypothetically, will be the widespread adoption of HTML5.
How likely is complete, industry-shifting adoption? In my opinion, not that likely. In the grand scheme of things, we’ll be more likely to see a combination of both HTML5 and Native development serve as the next generation of apps.
But nevertheless, the discussion spurred some thoughts. What would this new app store model look like? What would it mean for publishers, advertisers and handset/OS makers? It’d mean more competition, and that’s not always the best for consumers.
If we remove the current restrictions in place by Android, iOS and Blackberry, we’ll see the rise of more independent app stores. From there, we may see some changes that benefit the consumer – better sale prices, package deals on apps, and so on. But there may also be some changes that hinder the consumer’s overall experience. One of my biggest fears from the consumer perspective? That app stores may adopt the current models in place for the sale of certain popular video games.
When a gamer goes to purchase a title today, they’re faced with multiple versions of the game which they can purchase from a number of different stores. With popular titles, no matter where gamers go, they don’t get the “full” game. Rather, they get a version of the game that features a piece of content exclusive to the store from which they purchased the game. This leaves gamers with different, incomplete, versions of the game.
App developers could do this just as easily with game launches within individual app stores to entice these stores to provide them with prime placement. This wouldn’t happen with every app – productivity apps, for instance, would be safe. But nonetheless, it raises an interesting concern for the consumer looking to have a complete experience at launch.
If these stores could offer competitive pricing for in-app purchases (which is where assumingly this special content would originate), then it’s still possible that we may see individual app stores rise. But as it stands, it’s more likely that app stores will maintain restrictions for now. And to be perfectly honest, I don’t know that it’s the worst thing in the world.
How likely is complete, industry-shifting adoption? In my opinion, not that likely. In the grand scheme of things, we’ll be more likely to see a combination of both HTML5 and Native development serve as the next generation of apps.
But nevertheless, the discussion spurred some thoughts. What would this new app store model look like? What would it mean for publishers, advertisers and handset/OS makers? It’d mean more competition, and that’s not always the best for consumers.
If we remove the current restrictions in place by Android, iOS and Blackberry, we’ll see the rise of more independent app stores. From there, we may see some changes that benefit the consumer – better sale prices, package deals on apps, and so on. But there may also be some changes that hinder the consumer’s overall experience. One of my biggest fears from the consumer perspective? That app stores may adopt the current models in place for the sale of certain popular video games.
When a gamer goes to purchase a title today, they’re faced with multiple versions of the game which they can purchase from a number of different stores. With popular titles, no matter where gamers go, they don’t get the “full” game. Rather, they get a version of the game that features a piece of content exclusive to the store from which they purchased the game. This leaves gamers with different, incomplete, versions of the game.
App developers could do this just as easily with game launches within individual app stores to entice these stores to provide them with prime placement. This wouldn’t happen with every app – productivity apps, for instance, would be safe. But nonetheless, it raises an interesting concern for the consumer looking to have a complete experience at launch.
If these stores could offer competitive pricing for in-app purchases (which is where assumingly this special content would originate), then it’s still possible that we may see individual app stores rise. But as it stands, it’s more likely that app stores will maintain restrictions for now. And to be perfectly honest, I don’t know that it’s the worst thing in the world.
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