Android apps on Windows 11, quick publication of apps on the App Store and sending tweets to Instagram Stories
The most recent numbers: in the first half of 2021, worldwide consumer spending in apps reached almost $65 billion! To compare, it is 24% more than in the same period last year. The industry is blooming, so there is always enough news — all the most exciting things for June are already in our news digest.
Systems and app stores
Apple. Apple’s WWDC21 was held from June 7-11. Here’s some news. Apple has made the App Store app review process much quicker — previously it used to take five days, but for many apps it was reduced to just one day. Apple has announced iOS 15 beta 2 and iPadOS 15 beta 2. WatchOS 8 too.
New Windows 11 + Android apps Microsoft announced what features will be on the updated Windows 11, but they surprised everyone by bringing Android apps to the next version. People will be able to download them through the Amazon Appstore (it’s the new Microsoft Store, which will be included in the updated operating system). You’ll be able to pin apps to the Start menu too. The release date for Windows 11 is a secret, but there are guesses that it will be released on October 20, 2021.
Continuing the Android topic: several new features for the system have been announced. There will be updates to Google Assistant, Android Auto and Google gaze detection, starring text messages and Emoji Kitchen.
Google. On the official Google website, opening the Play Media Experience Program was announced, which helps developers build new user experiences through deep product integrations. How to use it — check the rules.
Social networks and popular apps
TikTok has rolled out TikTok Jump — a new way to share content through partner videos. For now, Whisk, Breathwrk, Wikipedia, Quizlet, StatMuse and Tabelog are first collaborators. This feature expands on current tools that bloggers and creators can use to engage their audience.
Twitter launched sharing Tweets to Instagram Stories. It’s available only on iOS. YouTube (only for iOS too) officially gets picture-in-picture support in the USA. It will allow all users, non-premium and premium subscribers, to close the YouTube app and continue watching their video on iPhone without third-party apps.
Spotify launched new app Spotify Greenroom (a possible Clubhouse’s rival). Users around the world can join or host live audio rooms and turn those conversations into podcasts if it’s necessary. The main difference from competitors (besides audio chats in Telegram) is that conversations can be recorded.
Moonbeam is the discovery of the month. More about podcasts. The amount of podcast downloads has skyrocketed: 2021 year holds the record for hours spent listening to podcasts with 15 billion hours in comparison with 12 billion two years ago. It is estimated that there will be 100 million podcast listeners in the US by 2024. In response to this data, Moonbeam was created — it’s an app for finding podcasts and providing personalized feed. The app also allows fans to tip the creators.
For marketers and developers
Ads on Reels. Instagram Reels, TikTok’s rival, will allow you to advertise products all over the world. As with regular videos, these ads will be vertical and up to 30 seconds. Ads will loop and people can like, comment and save them.
Apple Search Ads in China! Great news, but you need to understand that China is a completely different market and you will need to upload a lot of documents here, including business licenses and other files confirming that your account has been approved. Then Apple can send these documents to third-party databases and government agencies for verification. For now, expansion means only search ads on the App Store.
New ad options on Facebook. Three new features for advertisers were announced: Shops on WhatsApp (in the US), Shops Ads, including AR fitting ads and AI-powered Visual Search on Instagram. It means that users will be able to upload photos to find similar items.
Amazon reduces fees. It’s not the most popular app store, but still — Amazon commission rates for developers will be reduced from 30 percent to 20 percent.
Safety
Apple published a White Paper arguing against any legislation that would force the company to allow apps to be downloaded to iOS or iPadOS devices outside of the App Store.
Brave Browser offered users the independent privacy search function on Brave Search beta, which is available on all platforms. The service doesn’t track and profile users, using its own search index for answering queries.
Enterprise customers using Jamf to control a Mac got access to the new Jamf Unlock app for iPhone, allowing users to unlock the Mac using Face ID on their iPhone.
Numbers and reports
A curious report on the state of payment apps 2021 in Europe has been released: downloads in the Q1 rose rapidly 32% Get insights on trends in mobile apps for digital payments and money transfers and see analysis from leading publishers and markets.
Sensor Tower also posted an interesting top list of the Best mobile games worldwide for May 2021 by downloads — check who got all the credit.
