Back in 2009 when Apple first used the now iconic phrase “there’s an app for that,” the world of smartphone applications was a bright and exciting new field defined by Silicon Valley tech moguls exploring the mostly uncharted waters, looking to create the next life-changing app.
Now, five years later, ambitious developers are still chomping at the bit to make the next big app. However, no app that has come out recently has had the same impact as apps like Instagram or Google Maps, both of which created a noticeable difference in the way smartphone users conduct themselves in their day-to-day lives.
Nowadays, new apps seem to be getting more and more banal, and their level of usefulness is becoming more and more niche, some bordering complete uselessness.
Using Yik Yak to anonymously speculate the Brothers of DU’s sexual orientation may be good fun, but what purpose does it serve? And why even bother using Yik Yak when there are a plethora of other all too similar apps (Wikr, Secret, Backchat) that more or less serve the same purpose?
When the dating app Tinder was first released, it made a lot of waves in the world of apps, and like any self-respecting “big new app” it was quickly followed by throngs of app developers piggybacking off its success by creating enough cheap knockoffs to fill iPhone homescreens four times over.
I’m willing to bet that if you go through all the apps on your phone right now you will find at least two apps that serve extraordinarily similar, if not identical, purposes.
In reality, no app is really necessary; nobody is going to die if you can’t Snapchat a video of your cat chasing a laser, but some apps certainly seem necessary. When was the last time you looked at a road map instead of going straight to Google Maps?
The glory days of app development have ended. There is no doubt that useful apps will be released in the future, but no new app will ever be able to reach the overall usefulness of other apps that have come before it.
