The Life Cycles of Apps

Abstract

Much like a living entity, apps have an expiration date for success, or what I like to refer to as a life cycle. No two apps have the same life cycle. With all the information presented to this point, it should be easy for you to predict where you app is in terms of its life cycle. A flawed assumption some people make is that if you create a popular app, it will sell at the top forever. This is not true even with the top-selling games. Angry Birds serves as an excellent example. When this app is trending downward, the experienced developers make a new iteration of the game or launch a major update to counteract the downward trend. If they did not make these changes, in all likelihood, the game wouldn’t even be in the top 200 today. Not all apps have the same time frame when it comes to cycles, but they all generally trend the same. Understanding trends requires that you be aware of the App Store’s three distinct seasons: pre–holiday (September–November); holiday, or peak (December-February); and slow (March–August). An unwise appreneur will only look at sales numbers (the amount of money he or she is making) to determine trends and cycles, but it is imperative that you consider all the information at hand to make the best decisions for your app.