The smartphone revolution literally changed our relationship with the mobile phone. From being a device that allowed us to communicate with one another over distances without having to be tethered to a landline, the inclusion of the eponymous app store into the modern smartphone meant that humanity now has access to every kind of functionality, information and entertainment available, so long as there was an app for it. In fact, consumers are expected to clock 143 billion apps from the Google Play Store and 38 billion downloads from the Apple App Store in 2026, according to Statista.
In Apple’s 2023 App Store Transparency report1, as of 2023, there are over 1.8 million apps on the App Store. In comparison, the Google Play Store has over 3.3 million apps for Android devices, making it the biggest app store by far. On the surface, this does appear to show that users are spoilt for choice, but once you peek under the covers, the reality is far less appealing. With so many options, it’s not easy for the average consumer to find quality apps to meet their needs amidst the sea of half-baked copies, clones, and even the occasional scam and malware-embedded app or three.
If anything, this abundance of choice has created an app store paradox. Instead of empowering users, they experience analysis paralysis and are overwhelmed by the numerous options available. American writer Alvin Toffler coined the phrase “choice overload” in the book “Future Shock”, which predicted that as industrialisation intensified, the people of the future would suffer from a “paralyzing surfeit” of choice.
With too many options to choose from, decision fatigue sets in, and consumers have a much harder time deciding. At the end of the day, they are more likely to be less satisfied with their choice and regret it later. Similarly, when faced with endless scrolling and dubious app descriptions, chances are that consumers either give up or settle for the next best thing they see. Even a former colleague wrote about having one too many app stores and the consequences. 14 years later, the situation isn’t any different.
It’s not easy for developers, either. Granted, it has become much easier to become an app developer in recent years as they can easily do so without having to be coding experts thanks to the tools and software that they use evolving to make the process simpler and much faster. However, with the current volume of apps submitted for review today (Apple dealt with nearly 6.9 million app submission reviews in 2023 alone1), getting approved is one thing, getting noticed by app store users in any meaningful way is another story altogether. App stores have become hyper-competitive, and smaller developers find visibility more challenging, not just because they don’t have as much funds available for marketing, but also because of the emergence of app farms churning out mountains of poorly-made apps. Prices for paid apps have also experienced a “race to the bottom”, making it harder for smaller developers to make a living, forcing them to compromise on quality along the way.
App stores themselves aren’t helping. While there is some semblance of curation on both Apple and Google’s sides, the success of the smartphone economy has inadvertently created an environment where quantity trumps quality, making it easier for low-quality apps with dubious subscriptions and in-app purchases to make their way onto app stores and in turn, consumer devices. Worse, some of these apps have security vulnerabilities and malware embedded. Apps such as the latter resulted in more than 750 victims in Singapore in the first half of 2023, with losses amounting to at least $10 million.
While anti-scam measures are being rolled out, app stores, whether by Apple, Google, or third-party providers, must do better to prioritize quality control and curation. Stricter review processes and more transparent feedback mechanisms are needed, enabling both platform and developer to collaborate more closely in nurturing a healthier ecosystem that rewards both creativity and commitment to quality.
Of course, consumers must also play their part too. We should all do more to support the developers – both big and small – who create the apps that we get value from in our everyday use. Only by doing so can the developers be more confident in bringing innovation to the table, and at the same time build a more sustainable business over the long run by being fairly compensated for their work.
More importantly, we must demand that our app stores and platforms do better. App stores must be curated marketplaces and not digital dumping grounds for yet another calculator or fart app. A properly curated app store can help users more confidently explore and find apps that enhance what they want to do, whether for work or play.
The current state of app stores does not have to remain a reality. All we need to do is raise our expectations, support the developers doing all the work of making our lives easier and more entertaining, and ultimately demand better from those who control these platforms.
References
1) 2023 App Store Transparency Report 5-16-24 (apple.com) (a PDF file from Apple)
David Chieng
Geek, basketball fan and Editor for HWM Singapore.
