How To Get Votes Up From Seniors For Your Mobile Apps

Mobiles and Seniors : A wonderful paradox

No doubt the mobile growth is taking place at an unprecedented pace.People from all walks of life are using phones to accomplish their daily needs.From staying connected with their loved ones, to placing orders, reading, learning…there’s no end to it.In such times, the challenge for mobile app developers seems to get tougher.Apart from focusing on simple solutions to make life easier, they now have to aim for excellence and if need be “navigate the uncharted waters.

As the trend for mobile adoption rises, there’s another, rather unlikely demographic showing increasing curiosity for mobiles.Yes, it’s people over 55 years that are now expected to embrace the power of mobiles like never before.But the question arises, are there enough apps out there that take into account the needs and requirements of seniors?The answer would a less encouraging one.So where does the developer start to make apps for seniors? That’s a challenge for any expert android application development company.

A peek into senior’s lifestyle

The kind of mobile apps that are most popular among millennials viz. Facebook, Twitter and Instagram aren’t unlikely to appeal to people over 55.And that actually makes sense.The idea of posting every thought that crosses through their brain, posting photographs of whatever place they visit or even looking up the recipe of what they’re going to make for lunch tomorrow are tasks that seniors aren’t going to show huge interest in.

In ‘How to make apps for millennials’, we highlighted the importance of building apps that add convenience to the said user’s habits.The same principle applies here; but the habits of seniors are bound to be different from those of millennials.The answer to that predicament for any android application development company could lie in the customary approach of understanding the habits and lifestyle patterns of these users.When there is enough detail on these, it becomes easier to plan out a strategy to achieve what you’re aiming for.

But that’s easier said than done.The lack of familiarity with smartphones of the demographic in question is a huge concern.And the job becomes doubly difficult when the developers have to make apps for people who only use phones for calling and texting.So there’s a need to throw in a bait or two.
When we think about seniors’ needs, things as simple as their grandchildren’s photos, reading books, updates on their favorite sports, and living-assistance spring to mind.

An android application development company making mobile apps can definitely play a part here and offer help in such activities of their interest.The mobile app’s capacity to store and maintain large amounts of media can’t be matched with any real photo album.The problem is there aren’t enough good photo-sharing apps out there that make the world of seniors easier.The photo-roll app is definitely a good shout, but still it’s untidy thumbnail view and lack of organization is a big turn off.

An app where the whole family could share images, videos or updates to each other is something that the senior crowd really appreciate.There’s a lot to get excited about as seniors start to take more and more advantage of mobiles in their daily lives.Any android application development company can soon be having their hands full.

Whereas, most of the younger generation are more concerned about things like where they’ll be partying over the weekend, what game is coming up next week and like, for those over 55, health-related issues are more of a worry. It could be looking up the info on that all too difficult to spell drug, finding nearby medical-store, booking appointment with their GP etc.

Modern smartphones all come with in-built features of setting alarms, reminders, voice or text messages, so generating notifications of booked appointments or prescription reminders shouldn’t be a problem.But to enter in so much detail manually all the time could be a bit of a bother.So from the viewpoint of a product strategist, developing an app that can feed in all this information is the real frontier.Another area of focus could be sports.

A lot of seniors are interested to find out the live-scores of their favorite teams.Well it goes without saying that there are plenty of sports apps that can provide live-score updates, but they often come with bucket full of other relevant news as well.An android application development company making simple apps, offering a personalized user experience could really get the votes up by the seniors.

Seniors aren’t much different from any other new user of mobiles

So it all comes down what does the user in question wants?As far as seniors are concerned, they still are a recent addition into the mix of mobile audience that’s largely been dominated by the younger generation up until now.But there’s isn’t any rocket-science involved in understanding their habits.The secret is in keeping the functionality simple.Developers will have to continually study and analyze various ways in which they can help make life easier for seniors.