MACRA Medicare Update Fails Patients, Doctors, and Startups
The Los Angeles app development community has been cautiously optimistic the past few weeks about the outcome of this year’s long-awaited updates to MACRA (the Medicare Access and CHIP Reauthorization Act). In partnership with ACT The App Association and dozens of other leading tech companies across the country, we submitted detailed comments and research to […]
Anki’s Cozmo Shows the Humanistic Potential of AI Products
When most people think of robots, they think of the tropes played out in popular culture: Terminator war machines, job-guzzling automation devices, and other mostly negative, faceless stereotypes. Even the AI assistants trotted out by Android and Apple app developers have been met with a sense of distrust, especially when it comes to “always-listening” products […]
MedTech IoT Products Prove the Critics Wrong
A popular criticism of the Internet of things (IoT) is that it’s “just not necessary.” (Neither are running water or air travel, but I digress.) Given the poor execution and poorly thought-out market targeting of early IoT devices, it’s no surprise that consumers and critics feel this way. Yes, a cloud-connected toaster is silly and […]
Samsung Note 7, GoPro Hero 4: The Risk of Hardware Startups
Hardware startups are in a unique position. On the one hand, hardware products are difficult for other small-to-medium competitors to imitate quickly due to the high overhead and engineering considerations, leading to big growth spurts for innovative companies like GoPro, Fitbit, and Pebble. On the other hand, as any iOS app developer will tell you, […]
Mobile Forecast: Where Will FinTech Be in Five Years?
FinTech is an exciting place for Los Angeles app developers to be right now. Startups have been disrupting everything from stock trading to credit card payments, translating to big wins for smartphone users and financial institutions alike. Perhaps the best part of the FinTech revolution has been watching how it’s opened up opportunities for lower-income […]
Resumes Fail Developers: Stack Overflow Seeks to Fix It
App developers and the recruiters looking to hire them can agree on two things. One, job hunting is a headache. Two, paper resumes are virtually useless in determining a coder’s relative skill, commitment, and quality of work. Thankfully, Stack Overflow just came up with a great workaround to the paper resume problem. “Developer Story,” a […]
Language Learning Is an Opportunity for Chat App Developers
Duolingo recently launched a new “chatbot” feature that’s been garnering a lot of interest in the language learning scene. The company’s iPhone app developers already hold a place of esteem thanks to their innovative language practice app. Now they’ve created a chatbot for iOS that allows users to practice their casual conversation skills in real […]
Snapchat Prepares for IPO, Drawing Developer Speculation
According to a report from the Wall Street Journal (not to mention the tech rumor mill), SnapChat is starting to close in on an IPO for as early as this coming March. It’s been a great year for tech IPOs, so app developers and investors are cautiously optimistic that the messaging and social media Unicorn […]
The Basic Principles of Good App Design
Design decides if your users stick around. Design determines when your startup will become profitable. Like it or not, design is king in the app economy. So, what does good app design look like? Can the elements of good app design be defined, or is it more of a “you know it when you see […]
For Twitter CEO, A Turnaround in a Cul-de-sac
Twitter stock is up to over $23 at the time of this writing — but that doesn’t mean the road ahead looks bright for the beleaguered social media giant, even under leadership from celebrated founder Jack Dorsey over the past year. Los Angeles iPhone developers tend to see the rising price as more indication of […]