With so much competition out there in the market, it has become very difficult to get your app that much coveted ‘favorite’ tag. Android holds the largest percentage of mobile users across the world. With such a massive percentage, it makes sense to make and market your app for Android.
But wait, everyone thinks just like you! So, how does one shine out amongst their competitors to get their app across maximum users? The answer is simple, making your app more user-friendly by improving the user interface design.
Unlike iOS, Android has a very lenient approval standard and this is the reason, why so many apps are getting flooded in its app store. To excel in a competition such as this, the following tips will surely help your app emerge a winner amongst the crowd.
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Become The Master of Material Design
Material design is the call for today, not just because Google has developed it but of its high performance and quality designs. It is a design language from Google that focuses on key elements like responsive animations, grid-based layouts with the impactful depth affect such as lightning and shadows. Google was very confident of the way the Android operating system would look and perform, with the effect of material design.
When it comes to flat designs, it focuses more on removing the unnecessary components from the app design. On the other hand, the skeuomorphic design focuses on dropping down shadows with the help of realistic textures to give that perfect virtual 3D reality effect. The problem with the flat design is that it lacks the usability factor despise being visually appealing to the eyes. Similarly, the skeuomorphic design is great when it comes to usability factor but gets too complex to handle visually.
This is where Google has worked out, combining both the qualities of flat and skeuomorphic designs into one i.e. Material Design. Treating each and every element as a unit, text boxes and infoboxes seem to react to wight under dragging and stretching conditions, similar to real-world laws of physics. Predictable speed, beautiful design, 3D feeling all in one, makes material designing a must for the future Android world.
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Its Time To Pay Attention Towards Fragmentation
With so many Android operating systems around the world, it gets very difficult for the developers to focus on a single OS. Moreover, there are too many modified versions of these Android OS. This makes an Android UI designer’s task even more difficult as all have different specifications.
The only solution to a problem like this is fragmentation. It is a fact that you can’t satisfy all the Android operating systems out there. You have to choose the best ones, based on popularity or having the biggest market share. Get the best of specifications with the use of prototype design figuring out the fonts colors etc that works best for them.
The next step is to implement features and functionality, which makes it for a smooth operation. After this crucial completion, go for the responsive approach focusing on the elements and components which can automatically adapt to small screen sizes or the basic versions of Android.
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Ensure a Smooth Testing With as Many Devices as Possible
This is the final and crucial step to ensure quality as well as testing. The problem again is the number of devices out there with different Android versions and specs. The only way is to cover as many devices as you can.
Also, make sure your app works for higher and lower specs in the same manner during fragmentation. This is important as you don’t want your app to run on a Samsung phone but not an HTC One. If you are low on budget, try testing your app through Android emulators. Although of great help and being less expensive, it lacks the real hand gestures while operating an app, which holds equal importance.
One more solution to this problem is by simply distributing across your network. Let your friends, family, employees download and test your app. This will help you in knowing their feedback, making you tighten the loopholes, thus preparing you before you hit the market! For more mobile app development resources, talk to our Toronto mobile app developers.