Text Messaging Featured Article

When apps like Whatsapp and WeChat broke into the smartphone apps market, people thought they were seeing the future of instant messaging and communications. Who needs to pay for texting, when they can download an app that can send instant messages and has fun functionality? Sadly, for app developers, texting isn't likely to go away any time soon, as a recent report has revealed a bleak future for smartphone apps.

According to a Deloitte (News - Alert) report, the number of people not downloading new apps has taken a turn for the worse. In 2013, the number of smartphone users not downloading a new app every month was only at 20 percent, but the report shows that this number has increased and one out of three people are not downloading new apps.

“We are reaching a limit in the UK in the volume of app store downloads,” said Paul Lee, head of research for technology, media and telecommunications at Deloitte.

Even among those who do download apps, the amount of apps they are downloading is dropping. Deloitte reports that the average number of apps downloaded have dropped from 2.32 to only 1.82. For those who are looking to make money off app development, the outlook seems much worse, with Deloitte reporting that 90 percent never pay for their apps.

One possible cause of this is that apps being developed today are of a much higher quality than they used to be. With high quality comes less of a need to download multiple apps trying to find the right one, or even needing to switch over when a popular app becomes outdated. The major players are often frequently updated.

Age also seems to play a major role in the app download numbers dropping. Older age groups are just not as interested in apps, and as younger crowds age up it seems they too lose interest. Only younger groups are interested in messaging apps like WhatsApp and WeChat.

The drop in app popularity is evidence that texting, thought to soon be a thing of the past, is in fact staying strong. The convenience of simple texting, built into a phone and not requiring data access, is winning out against apps. Texting does not require the other person to have the same app, and traverses age groups. While some more senior citizens may not understand texting, older age groups are still often using texting.