Study Shows Half of App Store Growth From Chinese Users
2016 was a stellar year for app sales—especially on Google Play. Bay Area app developers saw record-breaking statistics quarter after quarter, leading into the strongest holiday sales season of all time. (Or at least, the ten years of the iPhone era.) According to a new study from analytics group App Annie, we might have a […]
London Startups Show the Bright Side of Mobile AI Technology
London has a problem. It’s a problem that is probably familiar to anybody who’s rented an apartment in a major city: rising rents, obscure housing laws, and difficult landlord-tenant relations. London app developers at RentersUnion might have a solution to this problem. And that solution comes in the for of a small, inconspicuous chatbot, with […]
Could Tech Automation Disrupt 50% of the Job Market?
50% of jobs, wiped out in twenty years. That’s the figure that pundits have been pushing lately — and while it’s largely based on speculation, the fact is that we’re already losing jobs to automation. Quickly. While it’s often presented as a negative thing or a sign of American failures, let’s be honest: if tech […]
2017’s Unicorn Startups Could Be in “Brick-and-mortar” business
“Brick and mortar” or employee-reliant tech companies often face an uphill battle in Silicon Valley. The costs are high. Investors are suspicious. But if Amazon’s strategy has anything to teach us, it’s that so-called “traditional” businesses could be some of the hottest tickets for new entrepreneurs in an increasingly crowded, competitive app store. Does that […]
App Development and Ethics at the Crossroads Post-Election
In the past five years, the effects of the app economy on the social and financial structure of America has grown far beyond what anyone expected. The Ubers and AirBnBs of the app store have revolutionized how we rent, buy, and even think about property. Social networks like Facebook have connected us in ways we […]
Ringing in the New Year with the Promise of Mobile Tech IPOs
Expectations were low for tech IPOs in 2016 — driven in large part by the slow plateau and declining userbases of former stars like Twitter and GoPro. While the tech sector as a whole continued to thrive, public companies floundered, driving a general suspicious outlook on publicly traded mobile app companies on Wall Street. But […]
Trump Tech Summit to Include Apple, Facebook, and Amazon
It’s no secret that relations between Trump and the tech industry are, well, “strained.” The media mogul and now president elect has blasted the tech world repeatedly throughout his campaign, ironically using Twitter for many of his most serious allegations. Those allegations have included accusing Sandberg of being too concerned with her ego, pushing a […]
How to Build a Successful Startup From App Idea to IPO
When the founders of AirBnB pitched their idea to Paul Graham at Y Combinator, he wasn’t initially impressed. On top of being late, the applicants had an idea that sounded, in his Graham’s own words, “weird.” But at the last second, he decided he saw grit in the group, and offered to help them turn […]
Facebook Encourages AI Students to Focus on Mathematics
Facebook’s Yann LeCun is a leading figure in the artificial intelligence (AI) community, and responsible for much of the heavy lifting the company has done in the AI arena for iPhone app developers. When he speaks, developers listen — and he has some sage words for young aspiring AI developers and established tech educators alike […]
How Mobile App Developers are Making Livestreaming Take Off
Livestreaming has had a rough road to the mainstream. Apps like Meerkat and Periscope have struggled to maintain consistent growth. Even when integrated with Facebook via Facebook Live, mainstream app users have generally been bewildered by the concept of livestreaming. Part of the reason for that speed bump has been the constant pressure on app […]