Smartphone apps are part of our daily lives and almost no one can live without them: whether it's the function to wake up in the morning, receive a notification to remind you to drink water or share that wonderful selfie with your friends. At any time and any day, applications are present in our lives. But where did the apps come from? Why is there this current fever? What is the fate of this technology? Below, we will make a brief timeline telling the apps history — be sure to check it out!

App history

In 1983 there was a design event in Aspen, Colorado (USA), and Steve Jobs gave a speech about his prospects and the future of technology. He said his intention for users was to make them feel as if they were going to walk into a record store to choose a CD, buy it and leave; but referring to software that would be downloaded to cell phones via radio waves. Quite an evolution, if we compare the famous “snake game” in the old Nokia 6110 with the first 500 apps from App Store, released in 2008.

Apple's strategy is really simple. What we want is to put an incredibly great computer in a book that you can take with you and learn how to use it in 20 minutes. That's what we want to do, and still in this decade. And we really want to do that with a radio link, so you don't have to connect it to anything, and to connect to multiple larger databases and other computers.

Steve Jobs at International Design Conference, Aspen (1983)

Precursor not only of the smartphone, the Apple was also a natural pioneer of app stores. After this conception, many other stores were launched with the same principle of serving their users and offering the most diverse mobile applications, such as Google Play e blackberry world.

As we had already dealt with applications (calculator, calendar, etc.) on devices that were not smartphones, it was much easier for us to get used to the applications offered by these stores. Even those who are not very used to technology know what it is and what it is for. WhatsApp, for example – even without knowing the term “app”, a layman certainly uses several of them in daily life.

Below, we'll do a history involving the operating system and how the apps work, from the oldest cell phone and device that had apps to the most recent ones, giving an overview of how the evolution happened in each different system. Come on?

Platforms and apps

Palm Source

Palm OS (1996 – 2009)

O Palm os was the operating system present in palmtops, devices that were used as PDA (Personal Digital Assistant) and simulated a “handheld computer”. The company responsible also tried to enter the smartphone market, but ended up failing and ending its activities in this regard in 2011. Its operating system had basic applications, including an audio and video player for the famous RealPlayer.

Although the operating system did not succeed, the interface used served as inspiration for some changes in Android and iOS. In 2009, LG purchased the operating system and changed its name, which is now known as the WebOS, the same as we currently see on the company's smart TVs.

Nokia

Symbian (1997 – 2012)

Developed for Nokia cell phones, the Symbian was the operating system that accompanied the company for 15 years, ending in 2012. The device that stood out the most at the time was the Nokia 808 PureView, which ended up getting more updates for this operating system. Unfortunately for Symbian, apps, downloaded by Nokia Store, became the weak point. Seeing competitors get apps in droves, both the iOS as much as Android, Nokia failed to attract as many developers to its operating system, which was yet another reason consumers turned away from the brand.

Because it was a little older, the Symbian ended up not being thought for touch screens (the ones we currently use, touching the screen to use the smartphone), which limited the system of the Nokia, making their devices increasingly obsolete. In 2015, all Symbian support ended because of these complications. formerly called Nokia OVI, the app store became Nokia Store, as the company had the intention of unifying its products under a single name, in an attempt to reinforce the power of the brand. Currently, the brand's cell phones use the operating system Android and the applications of Play Store.

honorable mention to Nokia N95, considered one of the first smartphones – the device contained the operating system Symbian OS S60v3. Its features were advanced for the time, such as HTML navigation, support for several codecs, an audio player with many features, the native Nokia Life Blog which worked as a “social network”, being able to publish photos and messages, among many others. Many readers probably had their first contact with smartphone applications on this late cell phone.

BlackBerry

BlackBerry OS (1999 – Present)

O BlackBerry it was one of the most used devices abroad in terms of communication and technology. Most of their cell phones had the operating system BlackBerry OS, which already existed before the biggest current competitors, but failed to achieve in its app store — blackberry world — the level of compatibility that Google Play or the App Store already had, and adding that to the fact that it went through a period of general failure in its services, its reputation was slowly eroding. The end of BlackBerry's app store finally came on December 31, 2019, adopting the Google Play Store in your place.

The company TLC was responsible for the manufacture of BlackBerry devices, and after a period of five years, it decided to terminate its contract, thus ending the manufacture of smartphones. according to one BlackBerry tweet, they announced that smartphones that are active and those that are on sale will be supported until August 31, 2022, reaffirming their commitment to the consumer. The Onward Mobility company bought the licensing rights after that, and announced that it will work with Foxconn to produce a new device (with 5G!) and launch it in 2021, but there is no further news on the matter yet. The device that stood out the most with this operating system was the BlackBerry Bold 9900.

Apple

iOS (2007 – currently)

Well known around the world, the iOS, available on devices iPhone, has always been very well served in terms of apps. Until today some apps, like the recent Clubhouse (subsequently made available for android), are released exclusively for iOS, either for a period or permanently. Another example is the Instagram, which was exclusive to download in the store App Store on iPhones over a period of time. Many developers are interested in creating apps for iOS, mainly due to the high demand for this operating system.

The first iPhone (which had this exact name, “iPhone”, without the numbers or letters after the name) was released in 2007 and had only native system apps. A year later, together with the iPhone 3G, the App Store brought to Apple's operating system NO apps to be downloaded and/or purchased. This revolutionized the entire smartphone and electronics market, as other smartphone app stores emerged from there and later stores, for example, to download apps on smart TVs.

Since then, the company's selection of applications has increased a lot, but without losing the high requirements to publish an app on the system, which guarantees a minimum of quality, which is less standardized in other systems. Currently, applications iOS have integration with other company devices, such as Macs e iPads, leaving the library extremely plural and interchangeable.

Google

Android (2008 – currently)

Considered the most used operating system in the world, the Android is joining more and more people every day. With high compatibility between smartphones and computers that have Windows, for example, this operating system quickly rose due to its ease of access and popularity. Your store, Google Play, has apps of the most varied types and models, where it is possible to get lost in the amount currently available. Possibly Samsung's Galaxy line retains the title of most famous Android smartphones, as mentioned earlier, for its worldwide popularity.

Most smartphones that do not use iOS comes with system Android, more or less modified, but with the same applications in Play Store. The ease of publishing and using the applications – many free, another advantage of the platform – was certainly one of the attractions to generate this popularity, both among developers and among users.

Microsoft

Windows Phone (2010 – 2017)

One of the operating systems that had great promise but failed to deliver as much quality was Windows Phone. Because it has a different interface from competitors, Windows Phone was an attraction, but its app store, known only as "Shop”, didn't have many apps. Another factor that discouraged developers was precisely what happened with other operating systems: the lack of compatibility and the increasing number of users for Android e iOS.

In partnership with Nokia, Microsoft tried to place devices with its new operating system, the well-known Lumia line, as its top of the line, Nokia Lumia 1520. In them, the Store was also included and later we saw the successor of Windows Phone, the operating system 10 Windows Mobile. The lack of popular apps and the late launch, in relation to those present on the market, were reasons why Microsoft ended up taking the decision to end its project for the mobile market: Support and updates ended in 2020.

Current days

Currently, it is difficult and some people even consider it impossible to live without apps. Even if you are reading this article, you certainly have one or another application that you want to keep with you. At first these applications were designed to perform utilitarian functions and even relaxation, like games, but over time, things went to another level.

There's an app for that.

Introducing new application technology, the Apple made an advertisement in 2009 to show the exclusive novelty for iPhones

The high usability of mobile applications is infinite, where only the creativity of its author limits its function. Despite the high theoretical freedom, there are some things that its creators still need to think about before designing an application – for example, how it will appear on your screen. Nowadays, there are screens of the most diverse sizes and formats, different from past decades, where cell phones and smartphones had practically standardized dimensions (see the first iPhones); Technological advancement is carried out in every way – from the devices themselves to the applications they support.

famous apps

From time to time we see lists with the most varied applications being elected the best of the year according to each operating system. There will always be one or the other who made history: either nationally or internationally. We will mention some of them, which you can find in the most used stores in the world and that were part of our lives, or are still today:

• Facebook: social network previously used only in browsers, it expanded and the consequent exponential increase in users via apps on cell phones and smartphones;
• Instagram: Exclusive to iOS for a period, this social network marks the history of applications with the increasing number of users. Despite being “just” a social network, the way we buy and sell has been reinvented through this app;
• Google Maps: previously we could only locate ourselves via printed or written maps, now we can trace a route and get exactly where we want to go;
• Twitter: one of the oldest social networks on the list, this app has several years of controversy, always appearing for one or the other tweet that stands out. The way we see news on a daily basis has changed a lot;
• WhatsApp: despite its worldwide use, the messenger is extremely common in the national territory, leaving the use of SMSs for once so we can chat instantly;
• YouTube: one of the biggest services of streaming and pioneer in what it proposes, the network that was purchased by Google is one of the most used to date, or even the most used. Through it, we no longer depend on following what we could only see on television before, but on videos at any time;
• Snapchat: by introducing the feature of playing media in a few seconds and expiring in 24 hours, this app was certainly a game changer, especially when we see that its competitors have joined this feature;
• tinder: the application to search for relationships is a fever for all types of couples and is still used all over the world, revolutionizing the way you meet new people for dates or just friendships;
• TikTok: the latest video player grows every day, popularizing songs and choreographies, is widely used as marketing, innovating how singers and artists disseminate their materials.

We've gone through the snake game to instant messengers and are now literally talking to our electronic devices. What will come next?

The future of apps

Probably the future of applications is already, in part, present in our reality. These smartphone shows went so far that they couldn't stop there and invaded other devices such as televisions (smart TVs) and watches (smartwatches). Also containing the most diverse functions, these devices offer the user more utility than simply watching a movie or checking the time.

Os smartwatches, for example, are what we call w (“wearables”, in free translation), because it is something that we do not need to pick up or go to meet you to handle, like the cell phone that is in a pocket, but a device that you are already wearing, on your wrist, as something in fact wearable.

In addition to these examples we can also cite something similar to the already known Google Now, Google's personal assistant service. This technology learns through its Artificial Intelligence how to best serve the user, understanding usability standards and voice command being possible. Through your browsing habits, it is also possible for the application to make more accurate suggestions. Similar to it there is Alexa, the virtual assistant of Amazon which, also through voice commands, responds to your requests.

In short: you no longer have contact with the apps themselves, but there will be an intermediary who will perform the function of those apps for you, such as setting an alarm clock or inserting a birthday reminder so that you are notified.

Check out the advertisement"There's An App For That“, in which Apple shows the news and features of mobile applications:

Did you like the history of apps? Take the opportunity to see the best Android apps in 2020 by Google Play Awards.

See also other features

https://www.showmetech.com.br/melhores-apps-android-de-2020/

Source: The Guardian e inventionland.