
By Amy Derksen on in Strategy
It’s app update season. Have you budgeted to stay current?
Around this time every year, a few things are certain. Pumpkin spice aroma will pervade the air surrounding 15,000+ US Starbucks. The sun will set earlier (or later, depending upon your hemisphere). And your phone will get a new update—in this case, iOS 15 or Android 12.
New operating systems often mean a few surprises—especially for publishers who didn’t realize that an app requires constant care and feeding. Launching an app is kind of like adopting a pet—you shouldn’t do it unless you’re ready to make an ongoing commitment.
Launching an app is kind of like adopting a pet—you shouldn’t do it unless you’re ready to make an ongoing commitment.
Breakthrough features—or just broken?
When you create an app, you’re playing by Apple and Android’s rules. And even if you follow this year’s rules to the letter, they make no promises about what will happen next. New phones’ display sizes shrink, grow and fold. Authentication and permissions evolve to tighten privacy and security. And support for older features or code may simply go away.
Even if you don’t want to take advantage of new features and upgrades, your app may no longer work as needed. One app provider we know woke up to find that after building in fingerprint and face recognition capabilities, this functionality was no longer compatible with the new Android OS, and has had to revert to manual sign-ins. Sure, it’s not the end of the world, but nobody wants their user experience to go backward.
The razor-and-blades model
Think of your app as a razor and updates as new blades. Or use whatever analogy works for you. The point is, blades get dull and need replacing or your razor is useless. (Not to mention that by the time you replace your triple-blade head, the world has moved on to five. Seriously. When will it stop?)
Large brands and providers anticipate these regular upgrades, often building about 15–20% of the original development budget into annual maintenance.
After all, it’s not just about keeping things from getting broken. In order to continue to support your users (the reason you created the app in the first place), an up-to-date app requires:
- Quality assurance testing to ensure compatibility with new devices, as well as determining which devices to no longer support
- Making sure any third-party integrations are still solid
- Taking advantage of new features that relate to your offering
- An honest look at whether your design or interface is starting to feel out of date
Fall behind far enough, and the Apple App Store and Google Play each have policies for removing apps that are out of date or don’t function as expected.
It should never get to that, though. If people are using your app or if it’s core to your business, you need to stay out in front with a maintenance plan and budget to keep them signing in. Need help with your app? Let’s talk!