DEV Community: Ryan Miller

AI And ML Turns Possibilities into Opportunities in 2019

Ryan Miller — Fri, 12 Jul 2019 13:58:09 +0000

Human intelligence has flourished even more after combining machine learning (ML) concepts with AI. AI can be effectual enough in enhancing internal and external operations, increasing sales, reduce costs, optimizing processes, building data strategy and promoting better business decisions. Get more insights in the blog..

Retail App Development: 7 Expectations to Predict the Future Trajectory

Ryan Miller — Fri, 31 May 2019 10:19:30 +0000

Currently topping $25 trillion dollars, retail industry- one of the most customer-centric sectors, is undergoing a major technology shift. While some of the most prominent brands are scaling down their stores and offline presence, eCommerce continues to register double-digit growth and accounts for a significant chunk of the market.

If we watch this shift through the lens of technology, it is evident that the two billion plus smartphones in the world are taking the center stage, sidelining the traditional shoppers and their shopping habits.

Top mobile app development companies are also aware of this fact and are gearing themselves for the next leap of innovation in the retail industry; some of them have already started. As more people go online and get acquainted with the convenience and benefits of shopping online, retail apps are gaining that trust and have eventually come out as the default channel for all shopping needs. So, let’s look what more they will surprise us with in the days to come.

1. More Apps

The first thing you can expect from retail apps in the near future is that there will be a lot of them. From small business to large enterprises, who earlier had kept a blind eye to the online phenomena, will all jump in with their own apps in a hope to acquire a chunk of this immensely large smartphone market.

Irrespective of the industry, we can expect a major spike in the number of retail applications which will not only intensify this already competitive market but will also compel the existing applications to push for new innovations if they aspire to retain a dominant position.

2. Conversions

Online retailers often have to spend dollars in multiples on marketing and promotions to bring in new customers to their platform. But the biggest problem they face today is that even after such efforts and investments, the majority of hits do not convert into sales.

Apart from the basic things that a retail application must have, there is still a lot left to be explored in the future. From deploying efficient crawlers and algorithms to offering most competitive prices to better management of payment options that prevent cart abandonment, the retail applications will be built to aim that every customer who comes in leaves with purchase and no cart is ever abandoned.

3. New Technologies

Today, except for the basics, retail applications are almost the same as any other application. But that is all set to change in the future. With the improvements and consequent adoption of new technologies like AR & VR, chatbots retail applications are bound to advance them to gain an edge.

The shopping experience that current applications offer is quite boring where all you can do is judge your next outfit through pictures. But when virtual wardrobe are incorporated in the apps, the experience becomes quite interesting where you can actually see yourself wearing the outfit before purchase. Not only will these work as the virtual trial rooms but if properly integrated with social platforms, the possibilities are virtually limitless.

4. Targeted Marketing

Save few exceptions, the marketing today is done almost the same way it was done decades ago, where a stream of promotion is broadcast across every possible channel- from televisions to billboard to websites.

While this approach has proved to be beneficial in creating brand awareness, it brings little profit to compensate for the huge monetary expenditures. The retail applications are now realizing that since shopping is an intimate experience, the marketing too needs to be highly personal.

Take for example, if you sell baby food, broadcasting your application all over the internet may earn you a lot of eyeballs, but if you simply reach out to those customers that you know have babies and use that marketing budget to incentivize their purchase, you will witness much higher sales.

5. Content Dominance

As already realized by many industry experts, retail applications aren’t all about shopping. More often than not, people visit online stores without anything particular in mind. In this case, simple product listing is not enough to keep them engaged but applications need more intuitive content to keep their interest brewing. From general shopping tips to well-curated blogs and videos about the product they intend to purchase, future retail apps will give reasons to their customers to head out for their shopping research.

6. Chatbots/Machine learning

Chatbots are a mix of technology with targeted marketing. Well-honed with sophisticated algorithms, these chatbots can work as the virtual storekeeper in the future retail applications. From offering personalized style tips to recommending products based on given requirements, these bots can indeed make the shopping experience more interactive and fluid.

Similarly, machine learning too will play a crucial role in years to come. Already used by eCommerce behemoth, Amazon, it enables the application to track the inventory, product views, orders, time of day, customer demographic and a host of other factors to determine the optimum price of a product- which may vary for different customers.

7. Instant Apps

When we mentioned earlier that there will be lots of more retail apps in the future, it was only half the story. Since the development and maintenance of native apps consume a lot of time and resources and also require commitment from users to allocate permanent space on their phone, instant apps are the feasible solution to bridge this gap. While such apps are currently limited only to Android, once in trend, these technologies can be expected to work well on other platforms as well.

Now that you have a clear picture of how the retail applications will shape out in future, do you believe that your current strategy and technology can sustain the upcoming transformation?

As important as this shift will be for the businesses, equally challenging it will be for top mobile app development agencies in India who would need to attain and showcase their prowess in relevant technologies. So, if you want your retail business to be future-ready, now is the time to build your eCommerce application before someone else with the same idea beats you at it.

Photo Editing Follows Latest Furors; Create Dead Ringer Apps (FaceApp Clone) Putting Social Media On Fire!

Ryan Miller — Thu, 04 Oct 2018 11:53:25 +0000

Impersonate pictures to resemble Robot fetishism, apps like FaceApp creates Cyborgs (cybernetic organism) likable, redefining your selfies, taking them to next level. See more https://www.itfirms.co/photo-editing-follows-latest-furors-create-dead-ringer-apps-faceapp-clone-putting-social-media-on-fire/

Google Launches ML Kit for Android and iOS Developers

Ryan Miller — Thu, 02 Aug 2018 07:51:07 +0000

With the recent launch of Google’s ML Kit Beta, it is estimated that the software development kit would eventually be optimised to deploy AI for mobile apps on platforms such as Firebase. As this kit is available for Android and iOS platforms, APIs can be called for both on-device and cloud platforms.

Inclusion of AI in mobile platform can do a range of things such as extraction of information related to nutrition from a product label and add style transfers, masks, and effects to the photo. The entire kit is designed in a way to be used by beginners as well as advanced developers who can make use of the ML programs. AI can be used for text recognition, barcode scanning, picture labelling, landmark recognition, and face detection; these features are available on the Firebase Console. Moreover, the on-device APIs do not require a network connection for work. Moreover, some of the top Android developers along with the top iOS app developersare highly convinced about this new feature as it would give a boost to the performance of the Apps.

One of the major innovations that you might get to notice is that the developers would be able to integrate their apps in the offline mode as well and that too for free. However, the models that run on the device are quite smaller and come with a low level accuracy. In the cloud platforms, neither the model size nor the available computed power would prove to be an issue here which is why the models are somewhat larger and more accurate than usual.

Machine Learning technology requires a high processing speed and Google is ready to take the plunge. The newly launched interface that is used with Firebase is meant to make machine learning easier for the mobile developers. There are a large number of pre-trained and customisable APIs that are offered by Google Cloud which do not work offline, the experience of which is not integrated tightly with the Firebase or the Firebase Console which is a now highly used by Google for mobile development.

In case the ML Kit APIs does not cover the use cases, you can always bring the existing TensorFlow Lite models and incorporate them with the kit. For this, you would just need to upload your model on Firebase and the rest will be taken care of by the hosting and serving team on your App. The ML kit also acts as an API layer to the custom model which would make it easy to run and use on the proposed platform.

As it is a part of the firebase platform, you would be able to develop high-quality and functional apps, spread your user base, and grow your finances through it. Each of the features that you would find on the app works independently and they would even work better together.

Google has also proposed that in the coming month, you would be able to extend the current proposed set of the APIs which involve integration of the same kind of smart replies that you would find in applications like Gmail in addition to a high-density face contour feature that is suitable for face detection API.

Conclusion

Overall, the ML kit launched by Google would bring in new prospects in terms of the functionality and the usage of the apps. They are trying to bring in new changes and innovation in the way people approach the mobile apps and provide them with something that has better performance objectives that would ensure better usage and high quality features.

Latest Mobile Application Testing you Need to Know in 2018

Ryan Miller — Wed, 01 Aug 2018 14:50:17 +0000

Although it is important to test the hardware, it is the software that unleashes the true potential drop of the mobile devices. The application market is the driving force behind the mobile market. Read full article https://www.itfirms.co/latest-mobile-application-testing-you-need-to-know/

Why you Should Choose to go With Rapid App Prototyping before Build Your MVP

Ryan Miller — Tue, 03 Jul 2018 14:39:39 +0000

The reason of the why should you choose rapid app prototyping prior to building your MVP? Check out some of the different protoyping models, as well as why you should go through the trouble of developing an MVP before further project development.

Acme Trends that Swerve iOS App Development to Top

Ryan Miller — Wed, 20 Jun 2018 07:17:27 +0000

Apple launched iOS 11.3.1 a few months back which was improvised by iOS 11.4 and iOS 12 recently. Digging a bit deeper, it was found that iOS 11.4 users reported rapid battery drain post update. This problem was independent of the iPhone model which was being used. Switching off the Wi-Fi when the phone is not in use and connecting a 2.4 GhZ Wi-Fi instead of 5 GHz can do the trick, but several users reported that these tricks didn't work for them. Therefore, many of them have rolled back to iOS 11.3.1 which made the battery life normal again. iOS 12 seems to resolve this issue completely. It is therefore important to keep a check on iOS App Development trends. iOS 12 updates rolled out initially in a beta or a pre-release testing version.

Apple recently announced in WWDC 2018 that has been working on additions like a redesigned home screen app grid, a merger of the third-party applications running on iPhones and MAC's and a multiplayer mode for augmented reality games. Some more updates to features that are planned to be released by later this year are “combined apps platform”. Feature updates that iOS 12 won't include this year: Revamped “photo management” app and an update to Apple's in-car user interfaces.

One of the foremost reasons Apple succeeds with almost every update is the security that accompanies these features as compared to Android devices and feature enhancements.

Some of the iOS development trends that shaped 2017 were:

IoT Apps
GPS and Beacons
Augmented Reality
Security
iOS for Enterprises
Swift 3.0 Proprietary Programming

Topmost Trends that will define future of iOS App Development in 2018:

Swift 4

Swift programming language was developed by Apple to support iOS and Linux Operating systems. Swift 4 is the latest upgrade in Swift. Designed in a user-friendly manner it is callable, secure and robust. This will essentially ease out the development process.

Updates in SIRI and Augmented Reality

SIRI is one of the oldest virtual assistant made by Apple and is an integral part of iOS, watchOS, macOS, and tvOS. The intelligent interface works on voice queries and natural language algorithms and is going to become even more intelligent in coming times. It has made searches 10 times faster and more accurate. While people find it easy to give instant voice commands if they want to search anything rather than typing the entire message, the convenience of asking and searching just about anything and finding relevant suggestions is easier than ever. SIRI, Maps, and GPS seem to be a perfect combination if you have both of your hands on the wheel and don't know where to go. Get directions, find local businesses or find your way back home. SIRI has simplified almost navigation.

*Launch SIRI – Hey SIRI

*Say – Directions to nearest MC Donalds

*Tap Options – SIRI will present multiple

*Tap mode of transportation – SIRI picks an option depending upon the distance

*Tap Start to begin navigation – It will automatically start within 5 seconds if you don’t respond.

*This trend is only going to increase in coming years.

Apple Pay For Swifter Transactions

Used in more than 27 countries, Apple Pay is turning out to be most dependable, fastest and widely used method of online payment. It is currently limited to transacting with only those having an Apple ID. A TouchID, FaceID, or PIN is to be used to authenticate payments via Apple Pay. It will support iPads, Mac laptops, iOS watches etc.

Thorough File Management

Apple came up with "Files" app for File Management with iOS 11.3.1. This is essentially a cloud-based application that allows a user to store all their information on device-less non-tangible storage and access it anytime anywhere. It requires a user to create a dashboard to store all images, files, and videos together. In all, the invention of cloud-based apps makes sharing of information easy.

More Focus on Creating Hybrid Applications

Hybrid applications are native applications stuffed with HTML5. They make HTML5 embedding possible within a Native container and essentially combine the functionality of two platforms. Ionic, React Native, Angular.js are some of the examples of hybrid Applications.

Apple HomeKit

With a purpose to automate homes, Apple HomekIt is driven by SIRI commands which allow two iOS devices to interact with each other. An increasing number of iOS app development companies are involved in creating such applications and are slowly taking home automation to next level.

Augmented Reality (AR) and ArKit

People are making use of AR and VR technologies to a greater extent and introduction of ARKit2 has particularly enhanced the ability of users to work closely with AR. With a multiplayer gaming support, ARKit 2.0 has combined with augmented reality and is being used in many applications like Snapchats, Instagram and games like pokemon go etc.

Ratiocination

This simply scratches the surface as to what all things an iOS developer must consider while development. Technology keeps evolving and has an important role in bringing about significant changes in our lives. It is favorable to pace up with emerging technology in order to stay ahead of the rivals. Top iOS App Development Companies have to stay updated with all the upcoming trends and keep developing trending apps.

Ionic Vs React Native: Which is the Best Framework for Mobile App Development

Ryan Miller — Thu, 07 Jun 2018 14:28:02 +0000

Do you know, there are 5 Billion people uses the smartphones in the world. And if you have a business and want to do it online via mobile app. First you should consider about the platform that is used in developing mobile app. There are available a various frameworks like Ionic, React Native etc. We have mentioned a comparison between Ionic and React Native. It will be help you to choose best mobile app development framework.

How Realtors Comprehend the Strike of Technology in Real Estate Industry?

Ryan Miller — Tue, 29 May 2018 11:22:16 +0000

Buying or selling of a property in real life goes through a series of steps.

A real estate agent provides a list of properties to the homebuyers
Real estate agents explain all the details and client negotiate based on the price
Real life visits to house or apartment.

This is the most basic and crude form of real estate scenario which is been followed since decades. But it is increasingly become inconvenient and time-consuming for realtors and homebuyers to go through this process in order to buy or sell the property. But Real Estate industry is showing signs of maturity and realtors are marveling as to how they will fit into the new era and understand the forces that are leading change.

How do Real Estate Firms include Virtual Reality when they build a real estate app?

Homebuyers now look for an easy and convenient option that is profitable at the same time. However, there is a twist in the story that is already acting as a tipping point in the name of Virtual Reality.

What was once associated with gaming and entertainment has brought huge potential into real estate business. With immersive and 3-D walkthroughs, people can view their properties virtually. A simple VR headset will make you visit several locations in a matter of minutes and decide which are worth visiting in person. Guided virtual tours (with a 360-degree view) and interactive virtual tours (with clickable areas that make it more interactive than guided tours) are two types of virtual tours that make VR a quintessential option for real estate in the current scenario.

The concept of virtual reality further facilitates displaying a property without furniture and the same property stuffed with furniture and home essentials. That helps to make you visualize how it will look like after being furnished.

Virtual Reality (Virtual Staging) also helps you visualize the exteriors and interiors of yet-to-be-built property. Majorly useful for vacation rentals industry due to high turnover rates, the concept of Architectural Visualization removes the need for frequent landlord-tenant communication. And what if you, as a homebuyer wants to make changes to the placement of things during your 3D virtual tour? But what if, instead of the real estate property you wish to buy the pieces of furniture or curtains displayed therein

Thus, enabling VR into real estate helps save time, builds emotional connections, has a global reach, saves money, and most importantly nudges clients towards making a purchase or sign a rental agreement.

How Is Augmented Reality imbibed by Real Estate Agents to build a real estate app?

Augmented Reality is superimposing a computer-generated image on a user's view of the real world, thus providing a composite view.

It helps browse, compare, and analyze flats/house/offices in detail.

It gives new marketing options like printing, catalogs, geo-tags, new advertising possibilities, call-to-action buttons, animated contact us and many more such features.

What’s more, it helps accurately visualize large buildings through augmented 3-D models. AR app allows viewing the apartment very easily. It further concedes adjusting the style, furniture, surrounding etc. and assists in the understanding of products.
ARHouse, Realtor.com is some of the AR-based apps that help home seekers.

Why is Artificial Intelligence the latest competition for real estate agents?

People are motivated to hire artificial intelligence-driven service in Real estate than hiring a real estate agent. One of the main reason for this is that while just 2% commission is to be given to the AI-driven real estate service, real estate agents demand 5-6% commission. The computers are able to target hundreds of potential buyers in one time via advertisement of the website and social media. Such advertisements also help to find out the buyer search behavior and future advertisements are tailor-made according to their preferences.

The growth of artificial intelligence in consumer-driven industries is enormous. Undoubtedly it is the ability for the software to learn, adapt to consumer behavior via live feedback. Websites, apps, wearables are becoming more intelligent and adaptable by the introduction of artificial intelligence. Cognitive computing will definitely enable professionals to make better recommendations to their clients. The access to cognitive computing power and the data necessary to power it will become the 21st century equivalent of the MLS utility.

Introduction of artificial intelligence helps analyze market statistics, allows a predictive analysis of consumer behavior. Intelligence in right proportion could inform real estate agent as to when and where to meet the customer, and how to begin interacting with that person to provide a greater likelihood of a client and a sale.

Crux of the story

A repetitive procedure in a sales process can be altered with the help of software but the need for the salesperson still persists. Personalized intelligence and personal relationships continue to be the two feats in real estate business. Real estate companies and organizations hire an Indian app developer who can create a real estate mobile application and web applications by understanding the power of technology and thus help in reshaping the real estate industry.

Going ahead with the idea, Proptech 3.0 is the convergence of technology with the property where Artificial Intelligence combines with autonomous drones (IoT) and big data to transform the property sector. A lot many things are changing in real estate sector and they are changing fast. Smart robots are carrying out the tasks of property managers with lightning precision. This analysis of data, pre-empting maintenance requirements and planning ahead relieves both realtors and homebuyers and thus save millions for their organizations.

Top 10 AngularJS Frameworks Modifying Web Application Development

Ryan Miller — Wed, 16 May 2018 08:11:33 +0000

Selecting a technology stack is the most important thing for a startup business to consider before web application development and that provides the most strike for the buck to get their projects off the ground.See: https://www.itfirms.co/top-10-angularjs-frameworks-modifying-web-application-development/

How Can Mobile Apps Help Parents Over and Above Teachers?

Ryan Miller — Thu, 10 May 2018 10:48:27 +0000

Apps help teachers communicate with parents and contain answers to all the queries parents might want to ask from teachers. If you own a school then you must be well aware of the situation about how it feels like when you receive a horde of phone calls and numerous queries from parents. You are obligated to answer each one of them patiently as everyone is concerned about their child’s future.

The requirement to have an app for schools

• can help them in reducing a lot of paperwork

• Many class notes, reminders can be directly updated on apps and can be as such implemented by parents
• Reduces time and efforts to attend numerous phone calls and answering repeated unnecessary questions
• Improves the relationship with parents

Call for an app for parents

• Help parents to be in touch with school staff and get all their queries resolved at earliest
• Parents are easily able to convey their concerns across to teachers and get informed about important concerns like bad weather conditions etc.
• Parents get to know about the well-being of their children at school

Characteristics of Best Educational Apps

An educational app must essentially contain following features:

• Must contain pop up messages and instant alerts
• Essential plugins for instant notifications
• Calendar of school activities and planner
• Homework and schedule tracker
• Constant newsletters from school reminding about upcoming activities
• Latest course information and updates about any changes in the exam syllabus
• Ability to send absentee notes

Overall Advantages of having an Educational App

Best mobile app development companies in India are diverting their efforts in creating best mobile apps that are beneficial for both schools and parents. You get a chance to enhance academic experience with mobility educational solutions. Students get the benefit of indulging themselves in mobile immersive learning with highly engaging apps for brain teasers, memory training, language training, language learning, Edu Games and embedded learning etc.

• Adding value to the entire process, apps are a great way to staying connected.
• Parents get the facility to approach teachers and track individual performance of their child.
• Get the latest planners, timetable, alerts about notices and reminders about important events and activities in school
• While apps must not be made the medium of learning, they will always be helpful in case a student is absent and parents wish to fetch their home assignment.
• Mobile apps are a great way of involving parents at each phase of their child's learning process and to acquaint them with their behavior, learning progress and other statistics
• Best app development companies create such mobile apps in a way such that there is always a possibility to enhance the scope of the application in future. Such applications can have a feature to track the assignments, assess the modules, learn eBooks, have a method to record digital bookmarks, provide uninterrupted digital library access etc.

What should be your first step in building the educational application?

If you wish to build an educational app for teachers and parents, you need to ensure following points:

• Best app development companies must not be concerned about the devices used by people but they must ensure the current trend in the market including user preferences and their capacity to pay. Educational applications are best applicable when they are free, as then they can be easily adopted by various genres.
• Your application must not be device specific – it must be workable on Android smartphones, iPhones, iPads, Tablets etc. The application must support cross-platform and must be workable across various browsers.

How to Create a Profitable Carpooling App like Waze

Ryan Miller — Tue, 08 May 2018 11:34:58 +0000

If you are looking for creating a profitable carpooling app like waze then here we have mentioned some important tips for the same: https://www.itfirms.co/3-tips-to-create-a-profitable-carpooling-app-like-waze/