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This Week in Apps is a weekly series on the latest in mobile OS news, mobile applications and the overall app economy.
According to the latest year-end reports out this week, the number of downloads and consumer spending in the app industry has grown to a new high. The annual report from App Annie will show global spending on Apple's mobile devices is up to $135 billion in 2021, and it will likely be higher when it is released next year. Consumers downloaded 10 billion more apps this year than they did in 2020.
The apps are a big business. Mobile-first companies had a combined valuation of $544 billion, which was 6.5x higher than those without a mobile focus. The amount of capital poured into mobile companies in 2020 was up 27% from the previous year.
This Week in Apps gives a place to keep up with the latest from the world of apps, including news, updates, startup fundings, mergers and acquisitions, and suggestions about new apps and games to try.
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The top stories.
The image is from TechCrunch.
A new feature that will allow users to choose between three different feeds will be tested, as well as two new options, Favorites and Following, which are sorted chronologically. This is similar to the Recent & Favorites section that Facebook offers, but it is difficult to access because it is buried in the app's More menu. It is not clear how easy it will be to access the new feed options on the app. The latter saw the critical post button moved to an out-of-reach spot to give the prime real estate in the app.
Adam Mosseri, the head of the photo-sharing website, testified for the first time at a Senate hearing. The hearing focused on the teen safety track record, but it branched into other areas, like user privacy, and what extent users were being manipulated by the app. Mosseri said that the company was developing a feature that would allow consumers to view a chronological feed. It is likely that this test will evolve into a public-facing feature for all users in order to distract Congress from the matter.
Although users have clamored for an option or full-on return to a chronological feed for some time,Instagram ignored those demands until now. Increased tech regulations are needed as it shows companies won't listen to user demands unless pressured to do so.
South Korea does not allow new play-to-earn games.
The major app stores have been asked by the Game Management Committee in the Ministry of Culture, Sports, and Tourism to block any games that require an in-app purchase before users play. The games that have become popular in the industry require players to purchase game pieces as NFT. The name of the game is "play-to-earn" and players can compete for in-game rewards. The app stores were asked to remove the existing P2E games from the market and block the release of new ones.
There are difficulties for these types of games in South Korea, which have been battled in the courts to get age ratings required to be listed in the domestic app stores. The government limits in-game rewards to 10,000 Korean won, but some of the games exceed that figure, which would technically be illegal.
The genre of gaming that the government views as a money-making scheme is being taken out of the app stores and out of the hands of kids. The new restrictions may affect other games in this genre, like those tied to games like Axie Infinity and Splinterlands, as well as the games themselves.
There is weekly news.
App events allow developers to promote things happening inside their app at the present time, like game contests, the release of seasonal features, and more. The number of downloads and redownloads that were driven by their in-app events will now be available to developers. Apple said that this data can be viewed by territory, source type, device and more.
At the Consumer Electronics Show, the company showed off a number of new software features that would allow its users to be able to do things like mirror their Android screen on their Chromebooks. Chromebook owners will be able to port their data and logins over to their devices using an Android phone later this year. The way Apple Watch works today, Wear OS 3 Smartwatches will also be able to unlocked. Windows PCs and Android will work more closely with each other.
The integration with Volvo will allow owners to do things like turn their car on and off, control the temperature, and get car information using voice commands on their home and mobile devices.
There are a number of changes and updates in the "Tiramisu" version of the app, according to a report by the XDA Developers. They include a look at The TARE, which focuses on energy use management.
According to data from Apptopia, Amazon dropped to fourth in global shopping app installs in 2021. Last year, Amazon had the top spot, but now it is behind Singapore, Shein and India. Amazon is still the leader in the US.
There is augmented reality.
You can see what you would look like in the "metaverse" with the new augmented reality filter. The filter makes you look like a virtual character or a gamingavatar. This may be even more impressive than the Disney filter.
The image is from the photo sharing app, Snapchat.
It's the field of Fintech/Crypto.
The messaging app Signal had a feature that seemed to launch to worldwide users in mid-November, but was only picked up this past week. The feature was being tested in the U.K. Users of the signal can now send mobile coin to other users. Josh Goldbard, the founder of MobileCoin, said that the adoption of Signal helped the currency jump to thousands of daily transactions compared with just a few before the global release.
A feature that will allow users to personalize their own stock portfolios is being planned by the app.
The country's digital currency, the e-CNY, will be supported by China's popular messaging service, WeChat. The currency would be added to the platform.
The top finance apps for the year were revealed by Apptopia, including a list of the 10 most downloaded cryptocurrencies.
The image is called Apptopia.
Social.
The new features released this week include the ability for hosts to see how many people joined live and how many watched the Space after the fact, as well as a new take on TikTok.
The latest clone is Microsoft-owned LinkedIn, which is launching a video and audio version in the spring. Host will be able to record and run their events directly on LinkedIn, host live conversations, moderate rooms and more.
The USPTO rejected the application for trademark of the word "spectacles" for the digital augmented reality glasses of Snap. The application was rejected because it was a generic term and not distinctive, according to a report.
TikTok is testing a new button on its For You feed that will show up on a video. The For You feed will showposted videos from your mutual friends on the app. You can add a comment on why you shared the video. The feature is live for a limited number of users.
TikTok has a screenshot.
The new Stories feature would allow users to like each other's stories, but only the person who posted the story would be able to see the total number of likes.
The mature content in the app has caused problems for the company, leading to new curbs that have confused users. The company had been trying to remove pornography from its app, but it was rejected by the App Store. It seems that the system that requires a blogs to be labeled as "adult" wasn't enough to keep this type of content out of the hands of users. How Apple's review system works is complicated. Apple randomly assigns an app review to whoever is available at the time instead of allowing a company to work with an Apple employee on a more direct basis to solve a specific problem. The responses are based on how each reviewer interprets Apple's rules. It has meant a lot of jumping through hoops to get its app cleaned up so that it can be allowed back in the App Store.
Dating.
Swipe Party is a feature that allows users to invite friends to their session, and then have them watch their friend use audio and video to find a date.
There is a message.
The number of daily active users of the mini-programs of the app grew by about 12% to 450 million in 2021, and the native search function added 200 million MAU over the past year. There was growth in the area of tech companies.
The profile photo notifications are in the works. The feature is being used in a small group of people.
Streaming and entertainment.
The new ad format is supported by the investment of streaming ad technology. Users can discover the cards later on in the show and episode pages.
The feature is first launching in the U.S. The company has a feature called "Share on Clubhouse" that allows you to post to social media when you want others to join. The creators will be able to see Share and Clip counts at the bottom of their rooms, as well as access a new Room Insights page which will include more insights over time.
TikTok and Atmosphere offer video content for businesses like bars, gyms and restaurants. The first time TikTok will be offered on an out-of- home service will be on Atmosphere.
According to a report by The Economist, Apple is considering entering the audiobook market. A new service would fit into Apple's goal of offering more subscriptions to its users, and the rumor fits with other reports of a services expansion in 2022.
There is gaming.
At the Consumer Electronics Show, the company announced that its TVs will include cloud gaming services, including Stadia, to a new gaming hub. The TVs will support NFTs, but the implementation details are not very clear.
Over the past several months, thousands of gaming-related firms and small studios have shut down due to the freeze on new video game licenses in China. Since the end of July, regulators haven't released a list of approved new video game titles.
Productivity/ utilities.
Brave says it has doubled the number of MAU for the fifth year in a row, going from 24 million MAU on December 31st, 2020 to over 50 million by the end of 2021. It has over 15 million daily active users and 2.3 billion searches a year. Brave Search, Brave Wallet, Brave Talk, and Brave Playlist were added to the browser in 2021.
At the Consumer Electronics Show, gaming PC maker Razer introduced plans for a new app that will allow users to set up a range of smart home devices from across manufacturers.
Hey's email app was updated with a vacation auto-responder called "Away Autoresponder" that will send out pre-written automatic replies to incoming emails. Users can choose to restrict the auto-replies to screened-in contacts or to all, just by turning on the feature when they are out.
Health and fitness.
Collections and Time to Run will be included in the Apple Fitness+ service on January 10. Collections are workouts and meditations from the Fitness+ library that help users reach a specific goal, like improving their posture or running their first 5K. Time to Run is an audio experience designed for runners, where each episode focuses on a popular running route in select major cities, and includes music that aims to capture the spirit of the city and photos of the route being run. The third season of Time to Walk will feature new guests like Hasan Minhaj. The new Artist Spotlight workouts are being added.
TikTok was found to be the worst app to use before bed, as it causes difficulties in falling asleep. TikTok users spent less time in the REM phase of sleep than the average user, but they took over an hour longer to fall asleep.
The meditation app has launched a new video series called "Daily Move" which is about physical activity. The series will feature elements from yoga, tai chi, Pilates, stretching, dance, walking and more, and each video will be about 3 minutes in length.
The Washington Post reported that most of the U.S. still isn't using exposure identification apps. More than 20 U.S. states don't use technology for exposure notifications built by Apple and Google.
Travel and transportation.
Didi lost $4.7 billion in the last quarter due to new government regulations in China. The company will shift its listing to Hong Kong next year.
Government and policy.
The Indian antitrust regulator ordered an investigation into Apple's business practices, including its requirement for app developers to use its own payments system for apps and in-app purchases. The complaint was filed by the Together We Fight Society, which said the requirement makes a significant dent in developers' revenues.
The antitrust regulator in Germany found that the company met the threshold for special abuse control. The assessment looked at the dominance of online advertising and the role of the company in controlling key services like the Play Store and YouTube.
The head of global affairs and chief legal officer of the company is leaving for Disney. The Coalition for App Fairness lost its brief in the Apple case when it was rejected by a regional appeals court.
M&A and funding.
The sale of MoPub was completed in October of this year, following the announcement of a plan by the company to double its revenue by the year 2020. Performance-based ads, SMBs and commerce are some of the things that will get more resources to them.
Little Otter raised $22 million to scale its service providing treatment to kids and families. The company has raised $26.7 million so far and the round was led by CRV.
Reliance Retail invested $200 million in Indian hyperlocal delivery startup Dunzo, giving it a 25.8% stake in the startup.
The seed round for the emotional wellbeing app was led by Listen Venture. The app offers interactive and short-form live and on-demand classes on a variety of topics. The app has 100,000 users and 1 million videos.
Square Peg led the first external funding for Vietnam-based digital banking firm, Timo Bank. Users can sign up without visiting a bank branch, and the bank helps customers visualize their financial goals.
Delivery Hero will acquire an additional 39.4% of its stake in Spanish delivery company Glovo in a deal that was announced on December 31, 2021.
OneCard raised $75 million in a new round led by existing investor QED, which valued the business at $722 million after the money. The valuation in the Series B round was 4x higher. OneCard is offered in 12 cities.
The startup raised $20 million in funding and acquired another startup, called Blast, in a stock-for-stock merger. The funding was led by Franklin Venture Partners. The startup did not reveal the acquisition price.
Jupiter raised $86 million in Series C funding to launch new lending and wealth management services.
Downloads.
The image is from Facebook.
According to new data from third-party app intelligence firms, consumers worldwide downloaded Meta's app, the mobile companion for Oculus headsets, roughly 2 million times since Christmas Day. The Quest 2 was seen as a popular holiday gift after the Oculus app shot to the top of the Apple App Store for the first time ever on Christmas Day and became the most popular free app on the internet.
During the week of Christmas in the U.S., the adoption of the app jumped up by over half a million installs.
The week before Christmas, the firm saw those installs increase by 42%, but in the week that followed, they fell by 23%. Those who received a new device for the holidays, but hadn't gotten around to setting it up yet, are likely to be included in these downloads.
App intelligence firms estimate that the app has seen over 2 million installs from Christmas Day through the present across the App Store and Google Play.
Here is the full report from TechCrunch.
This week's startup news and trends will be the focus of the weekly column. You have to subscribe to get this. In April 2020, NextView VC launched its first accelerator.
The way launch pads look and feel have changed. The earliest investors are rethinking their risk and even the worth of a demo day.
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