Architecture & DesignTen New Things to Consider When Building Apps Today

Ten New Things to Consider When Building Apps Today

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It used to be that the big decisions centered on whether to do a web application or a desktop application. Today the decisions have gotten crazy. Not only do you have to consider web, desktop, or mobile, you are still left with a variety of devices and form factors your application should support. Here are ten different things that you should consider when building modern applications today. How many of these do you take into consideration?

1Ten New Things to Consider When Building Apps Today

Touch – While touch on the desktop still leaves a bit to be desired, it is core to most mobile devices. Even so, more and more desktop and notebook computers are now supporting touch as well. As such, considering and enabling touch in applications is becoming important.

2Are you considering mobile versus “mobile”

If you are building a mobile app or an app that can run on mobile devices, then you should make sure you support the various styles and sizes of mobile devices. Many people consider mobile to mean smart phones with small screens, while others include tables, slates, and even netbooks and notebooks into the mobile definition.

3Is your apps’ interfaces responsive?

Responsive design for interfaces has been a feature for modern web applications for a while. Responsive interfaces are not just a web thing! For example, if you are targeting a phone app, you still need to consider a responsive design to address the different screen sizes and resolutions that are available. Additionally, your app should degrade smoothly if expected sensors or input devices don’t exist.

4Are you prepared for HD Monitors?

The previous slide mentioned responsive at touched on web and mobile. This will even become more important on the desktop and notebooks as higher resolution (4k) displays start to take over. You’ll want to have your applications adjust to take advantage of the increased high resolutions that are coming to monitors. This is in the early stages now, but the deluge is coming.

5Are you ignoring televisions?

Similar to the previous two items, are you considering alternative displays such as televisions. With most new televisions including Wi-Fi support and with Wi-Fi now being built into many processors, it is only a matter of time until your mobile apps can easily connect to a local television to use as either the primary or secondary monitor.

6Similar to televisions, are you considering consoles?

While the television can be used as a display, gaming consoles are evolving to be full-fledged computer systems. The Xbox runs the Windows kernel. With Universal apps, it will also be a target for Windows Apps. With millions of consoles on the market, are your apps positioned to tap into the potential market of new users?

7Will voice work with your app

Voice is not new. Most people wrote voice input (and output) off due to the lack of good control. Voice input has drastically improved over time. While you might not have used it in the past, it might be time to consider enabling voice in your applications to give yourself an edge.

8Have you added motion detection?

Not every application will integrate motion detection in a logical way. Even so, many will. With the Leap Motion sensors now being built into some computers and with new updates to Microsoft’s Kinect, motion detection is moving towards the mainstream.

9Are you sensing various form factors?

The styles and variety of computers is changing. Mobile, slate/tablet, desktop, and notebooks have been mentioned as have various screen sizes. These are just some form factors. There are also systems such as all-in-one and 2n1 devices, which are gaining popularity. These add addition issues for you to consider.

10Are multiple operating platforms supported?

Due to the variety of platforms and app styles, Windows no longer dominates the world. You now need to consider what operating systems and/or browsers are going to run your application. Will Chrome systems run it? Linux? iOS? Android?  You need to consider what platforms might need to be supported as it could impact your approach to building the application.

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