Mobile App Ideas for 2025

How to come up with a mobile app idea?

Thousands of people are working tirelessly to hit the “Idea Jackpot” that can be converted into a profitable app. But is it that simple? Or is it that improbable?

Are you one of those who have often asked themselves “How to come up with an app idea”?

The best app ideas we come up with and deem to be “new” are often inspired from something that already exists or from the acknowledgement of a problem that needs a solution.

A closer look at the future trends, an in-depth research of existing apps, and some serious brainstorming is a great place to get started in pursuit of coming up with good app ideas. However, there is great value in planning ahead while coming up with the best app ideas that would feature brightly among the big players.

1. Look Beyond The ‘Money’ Factor For App Idea Inspiration

   It is natural for factors like money, funding, or investment to loom large in your head even when you know you have some really good app ideas. However, at this time when you don’t even have a good app idea, it is wise to stop thinking about the money matters completely.

   In fact, you mustn’t even think about generating money from your app yet. Some of the best app ideas are focused solely on providing a service or entertainment.

   In fact, good app ideas do not necessarily lean heavily towards monetization. In your efforts to come up with best app development ideas, the first concern should be about creating an awesome app and not about the matters of money or finance. The primary thought needs to be about thinking up an idea that will attract a good number of users. Even if you are planning for a startup, investors will only show interest when you have a solid idea and a proof of concept to back it up.

2. Get Inspired From Existing Apps

   One of the best tricks to get your creative juices going is browsing through the numerous apps that already exist. Like I said earlier, most of the “new” comes from the “old”. Take a deep look at the popular apps and try to understand their underlying concept. It is a good idea to emulate their concepts and there’s no shame in it! We have all seen the way two of the biggest players in the world of social media – Facebook and Twitter, find inspiration in each other, from time to time. It may not be a great idea to clone a popular app, but there is nothing wrong in borrowing their concept and finding a novel interpretation for it. For example, Uber has a very basic concept – getting what you want quickly, on demand. This concept can be successfully applied to various industrial segments, in different markets, and bring about drastically different results.

3. Spend Time Brainstorming

   Brainstorming together, or alone has in past proved to be greatly effective particularly when you are looking for good app ideas. In these brainstorming sessions, you need not focus on coming up with brilliant, fabulous, or perfect ideas for app. The idea here is to simply put all your attention on the process of brainstorming, it is only natural that a lot of ideas that seem promising will emerge from these sessions. Put your head and heart into it and promise yourself to come up with a minimum of 25 new ideas every day. This might seem like a big challenge as you start doing it, but gradually, as you start getting the hang of it, the task will seem less daunting. Eventually, you will reach a point where you will start looking forward to it and even start including other people in your “idea den”.

   At this stage, you may even start facing a whole new challenge – to be able to zero in on one idea, because there will be many more that you would be churning out good mobile app ideas on a daily basis. Once you reach this stage, we suggest you pick the one idea for which creating an MVP will be the simplest and quickest.

   This process is different for everyone. There are some who prefer to do this all through the day while completing their everyday tasks. Then there are others who find it more efficient to set aside a timeslot every day at the same time.

4. Look For Loopholes And Identify The Problem Areas

   A new design is more often than not, a solution to a problem that people like you and me face in our everyday lives. Most of the apps are built on the same principle. The problems and their context may vary widely from fashion, to communication, organization, or one of the million other fields. Finding a problem that needs to be addressed is a good place to start when fishing for an app idea. You might have at some point of time looked for an app, and didn’t find it – there’s an idea! Discuss with friends and family, look up things online, find other sources and it will help you identify these problem areas. Look for the gaps that have not been filled or addressed yet. Explore different app stores and you would see some great ideas on under-performing apps, you might be the one to be able to hone it to perfection.

5. Turn To Social Media

   Almost everyone who is anyone is on some kind of a social media channel these days. These channels are a rich resource pool to study the ongoing trends and the aspirations of the modern-day consumer. There is a good number of people who express a whole lot on the social media, whether it is to vent out, or to express their unfulfilled desires. There is a high probability to come across a horde of problems that you may be able to convert into some great ideas. There are multiple tools that you can use to measure and analyze the current buzz on the social media. A good place to begin with these tools is to conduct a keyword search of phrases around wishes and expectations, or imaginations for the forthcoming future.

6. Develop A Long-Term Vision

   Indulge yourself in the world of make-believe. Spare a little thought about where the future lies and immerse yourself in it. Some of the great app ideas have emerged when people became innovative and were able to think ahead of the times. Facebook or Uber are as big as they are today, because they could come up with an idea that was essentially “the future” of things that already existed. Immerse yourself in the near future, imagine what it would be like, and then work backwards to come up with ideas that would make a difference.

   There would be times when you come with ideas, that at first glance might seem inconsequential, or ideas that might not be relevant in the current times. The real challenge is to move on from these doubts and understand that new concepts are often like that. If you sit on it for too long, you might be a little too late and someone else might identify the potential in that idea, use it to build an app of their own and turn into a phenomenon themselves, leaving you behind to just play catch-up!

7. Think About Adding Value To The Smartphone

   An app is meant to be used on a smartphone and the smartphone is a device that has made a special place in our lives. The number of smartphone users today has crossed 2.3 billion and it is projected to cross 2.5 billion in the coming year. This should give you, an app developer, some great food for thought and a ripe arena to explore. An app that enhances the user experience on a smartphone has a greater chance of acceptance among the users. This can be done in two ways, one – work on the existing features and improve them and two – add on features that are missed on it. Spare a thought to think about how the smartphone can be turned into another device, let’s say a scanner, or even a guitar!

8. Conduct Intense Research

   This should in fact be at the top of the list, but there is no way to emphasize more heavily than saying that if the research done is not enough, then you are probably spearheaded to failure. In our excitement about coming up with an idea and maybe shortlisting a few, there are times when one tends to skip over building a strong foundation of research. It is important to do intense homework on the field of a particular app to gain as much information as you can. A strong research would help you understand and monitor the market that you plan to launch your app in, the projected and possible risks, and the most suited marketing strategy, in addition to other critical information.

   It is true that most of the app ideas probably already exist, which might deter you from moving ahead with the concept that you might have chosen. But it is important to remember that there would always be a competition that you would have to face, no matter which field you venture in. This competition might actually prove to be quite a healthy thing for you altogether! At this stage, it is important to understand and think about honing your idea into something that has an edge over what is already available in the market as competition.

   While venturing out in the market, understand the nitty-gritties of each and every aspect of the market, and that is possible only through sound research. However, you must also consider the future prospects of the market. A market that is burgeoning today might not remain so for a long time.

9. Come Up With Viable Solutions To The Identified Problems

   In our everyday lives, it is quite common for all of us at some point to feel that this task can be made easier. The apps that deal with these everyday problems or make our lives easier are the ones that are most likely to do well. A simple app that helps you remember little things that you keep forgetting otherwise goes a long way to simplify your day and helps you relax in the knowledge that you are not going to miss it this time.

   What are the common problems that you, your friends or your immediate family face regularly, little things that wind you up and give you a headache? Think about these, list these out, and devise an idea to solve these problems through an app. If you can think of a simple way to solve an everyday problem, you might have a hit in your hands!

10. Think About Turning Mundane To Engaging

    The world is becoming more health conscious and sticking to a regular workout schedule might be one of the toughest things to do. It might simply be because it is dull and mundane. The results of a good workout are seen in the long term and the motivation to continue the workout for, let’s say, a month might diminish as days pass by. The myriad fitness apps have changed the way we work out as it helps us track our progress in real time, helps us keep a check on what we are eating through food diaries and gives us a sense of accomplishment as the short-term effects are visible too. What these apps do is give a sense of purpose to an activity that is quite mundane and make tracking a lot easier.

    This approach of converting mundane to engaging can be applied to quite a few other such dull activities. What if you could create an app that made things like grocery shopping or research a fun activity!

11. Come Up With Ideas That Can Help People Save Time

    There is not one person who wouldn’t want some extra time on their hands and an app that can do it would surely win the users’ hearts. People are always looking for ways in which they can shrink their daily responsibilities and free up some time to engage in things that are dearer to them. There are apps like Summly that have taken on the tedious tasks and freed up human time for other constructive engagements like maybe spending time with the family, going out for a jog, or other such aspirational activities. It is probably the time saving advantage that made apps like Summly a big hit! Consider all those activities that busy you up for long intervals and think about ways in which an app would help you free up that time.

12. Identify & Acknowledge Bad Ideas

    In the process of coming up with good ideas, it is important that you identify all the bad ideas and stay away from that track. Take care not to get carried away and try keeping the scope of your app idea centered around a realistic view of the technology that exists. Try and get a basic understanding of the processes that go into making an app.

    At the outset, it would be wise not to start with being way too ambitious. Focus on making something that is grounded, is original, and not the “new Uber”.

13. Take Little Breaks To Distance Yourself From The Problem

    Sometimes taking a break to distance yourself from the problem does wonders to open you up to new ideas. Don’t get so close to the process that you lose sight of the big picture. Step out of your office or home, go for a lazy stroll, finish your weekly chores, go for a jog or walk your dog. In short, do something you would do normally on a given day. In doing so, observe what is going on around you. How are people interacting with the space around them? What can be done differently for greater efficiency? How would you do it differently? What makes you a little more inefficient? Asking and answering these questions might lead you to the very problem that you can and will solve with a simple yet brilliant app idea!

14. Look Beyond The App Stores For Inspiration

    It is a good idea to conduct your market research on various app stores to get an idea about the apps that are popular, are doing well on the money front and are taking care of everyday problems that need some attention. However, app stores are not the only place where you can get these ideas. Go through portals like Kickstarter, research startups on Angel List, and explore the innovations on Product Hunt.

15. Go To All The Meetups And Hackathons

    Keep an eye on any kind of tech or startup pitch meetups or hackathons. Go to all of them, do not discriminate at this level. Not only would you be in a crowd that has the same things on their minds as you, you would be neck deep among people brimming with ideas of their own, and are willing to share their thoughts. You might actually be inspired enough to come up with an idea of your own!

16. Keep An Eye On Who Is Getting Funded

    Explore the fields or ideas that the investors seem to be interested in. Watch the investors you are interested in, and figure out what interests them. There are a lot of VCs and accelerators or other bodies that fund startups who share their interests and what they are looking for, on different channels including their websites and blogs. Another way to go about this is by going through the investor portfolio pages with a fine-tooth comb and developing a map and an understanding of the companies that have gotten their attention and managed to keep it.

How to conduct market research for your app idea?

Doing market research is essential to build your own indie app. Based on the market research you do, you can make better decisions about design, development, marketing, and your app’s business.

Traditionally, market research has often been done by giving surveys to focus groups. Invite a few people, let them fill out some forms, or discuss a promo video, and you’re done. Based on those surveys, marketers then made decisions about the products they were trying to sell.

Surveys are fraught with selection bias, so you never know what you’re really testing. Do they just like the product or will they buy it? As it turns out, most people in surveys liked a product – but wouldn’t ever spend their own money on it, outside the survey. Oops!

Kill Your Darlings?

When you’re building your app, you’re also choosing from dozens of other app projects you could potentially build. Many app ideas haven’t been discovered yet; many markets go untapped. How do you pick the right project to work on?

Great apps solve a problem, so unless you’re out of problems, not all apps have been built yet. You always build your app for a specific audience, and that means you can solve the same problem for different audiences.

When you start with many app ideas, you go through a process of elimination. This is where Kill Your Darlings comes in. Instead of sticking with 1 supposedly great app idea, you start your market research with 10 decent app ideas and find out which one is the best. You kill the other ideas.

When I started working on the Crest app, I had a few app ideas:

1. A journaling app, like Bear
2. A to-do list app, like Wunderlist
3. A to-do list app specifically for entrepreneurs
4. A day planner app, like a calendar or paper planner
5. Something entirely different: an app with inspiring motivational quotes

I have a thing for to-do list apps – my baby darling to-do list app idea – so I was emotionally attached to the idea of building a gorgeous to-do list app myself. But I also knew that a to-do list app without a clear differentiator wouldn’t do well in the App Store.

What comes next is important: Instead of looking for proof that one of these ideas was the best, I started looking for proof that every idea was the worst. I wanted to get rid of these ideas as quickly as possible!

Instead of secretly hoping that my nicest, sweetest app idea would win, I scrutinized each of the app ideas. Are they viable? Technologically possible? Would my people, my audience, benefit from this app?

If not, kill the idea and move on. Let’s discuss how you can find out the difference between go/no-go for yourself.

Comparing Ideas with Google Trends

When I’m researching an idea, my first stop is always Google Trends. With it, you can see the relative popularity of searches in the Google Search engine. It’s a great market research tool!

You can find trends like:

1. Spotting disease epidemics – when are people Googling for flu symptoms?
2. Finding news-related trending topics, for instance about popularity of iPhone models
3. Comparing the rise(s) and decline(s) of technologies, like SMS vs. VR

Quick Note: You won’t find how many people Googled a search term in Trends. Instead, it shows what percentage of people searched for a term relative to when this search term was the most popular (i.e., from 0% to 100%).

How do I test my app ideas? I type in my search queries into Google Trends and measure their relative popularity (see image above).

There are two things you should know here:

• I chose to format the search term as “best X app”, because people Googling for such a phrase are clearly looking to download an app. When you’re unsure whether your search term reflects what you’re looking for, simply Google the term, and check if you expected the results that you got.
• I chose a wide time range for the graph (2008 to now), so I can clearly see the popularity over time. The popularity of apps in the App Store is fickle, so I wanted to see the full range since the beginning of the App Store in 2008.

Then, looking at the data, this is what you see:

• Planner apps are the most popular, and show an August-January seasonal pattern
• Journaling apps are the least popular, but their popularity grows steadily
• To-do apps were the most popular in 2011-2012, but their popularity is now declining
• Quote apps are the late risers here, but after 2014 they appear to flatten out, and even decline, too

It’s easy to make a mistake interpreting this graph! When working with trends, it’s important to consider the trend directions instead of shallow data points. Should I choose the planner app idea because it’s more popular than the journaling app idea?

A few examples:

• I wouldn’t pick the to-do list app idea, because it’s declining after it rose to popularity. It’s a sinking ship! (I’m glad I didn’t build this without checking.)
• I also won’t pick the quotes app, among other reasons, because it’s appearing to flatten out. I can’t say for sure, it might be temporary, but I don’t want to bet on it.
• I might choose the planner app idea, because it has a pattern: in January and in August, planners are more popular. Why? I’d have to research a hypothesis here, but an uneducated guess is: people buy planners in January and August! I could tap into that trend by giving them an alternative purchase: my app.

It’s also a good idea to check what you see in the graph with what you know about that particular period. Don’t just use numbers in your market research!

For instance, Wunderlist was created in 2011, in the period to-do apps were popular. The first version of Bear was published in 2016, which coincides with the rise of journaling apps. Keep in mind that this doesn’t prove that the graph is right, it’s just data to support assertions you make about the trends.

What about the journaling app idea?

As you’ll discover in future articles about the work I did for the Crest app, I chose to combine a planner app with a journaling app, for a specific niche market. The assertion I made based on the Google Trends graph is that “journaling” is a category that grows. Combine that growth with the purchase trends seen in planner apps, and you have a (theoretical) winner app idea.

And the other ideas? I killed them… Let’s move on to the next step!

Should you look for ideas that no one has invented yet? It depends. In most cases, I’d rather build an app with fierce competition than with no competitors at all. Your competitors help you create a market, and there’s often enough to share. If there aren’t any competitors, you might have to create the market on your own…

Market Research Insights with Keyword Planner

Yes, the next market research step involves another Google tool: Google Keyword Planner.

With this tool, you can find fine-grained volume data for search phrases. How many people Googled a specific search query? It’s typically used for search engine advertising and Search Engine Optimization (SEO), but as a research tool it’s just as valuable.

I use Google Keyword Planner for two things:

• Find out what people search for
• Find out how many of them search for that

A great thing about Keyword Planner is that you don’t have to come up with ideas for search phrases yourself. It can make suggestions for search phrases based on some input you give it.

Before you start your research with Keyword Planner, you have to ask yourself what it is you want to find out. Before I built Crest, this is what I wanted to know:

• The people who search for information related to journaling and to-do list apps, what specific search phrases do they use?
• When they search for those things, what do they find?
• How many of them search for these phrases?

When you’ve done your research with Keyword Planner, you end up with a list of search phrases and their average search volume. You can use this for App Store Optimization, but also as a list of topics for website articles you can write.

Remember how we wanted to look for research data that already exists? The search phrases you find with Keyword Planner are the words your customers use to (potentially) search for and find your app.

Let’s break that down. Say you’re a potential customer for the Crest app. You have a problem: you’re having trouble achieving your goal, starting a business, because you don’t have a plan. Your days aren’t structured, so you struggle to get where you want to go.

This is a problem. It’s the problem the Crest app solves. What would people with that problem search for on Google?

• “How do I achieve my goals?”
• “Best day planner app”
• “To-do list app for goals”

I put those search phrases into Google Keyword Planner and this is what came out:

Here’s what you can learn from my results:

• The “seed” search phrases I put in are OK. One of them has zero hits, so I’ll have to refine that. Always keep in mind what the intention is of someone when they type a search into Google. Are they looking to make a purchase? Discovering options? Looking for alternatives? Or just browsing?
• The keywords Google came up with are pure gold. These are the words you’re looking for. Phrases like “goal setting”, “the power of habit” and “weekly planner” are all words I couldn’t come up with on my own, but now I know people search for them!
• Unfortunately, Google only gives you ranges to work with. This isn’t absolute search volume. Instead, Google is just giving you ballpark figures for you to work with. Fortunately, there’s a trick where you can get to actual search volume.

Next, I want to get more accurate search volume data. These ranges are OK, but I want to know exactly how many people search for these terms. This also helps you to compare search phrase volume for different app ideas.

Here’s how:

• First, in the keyword ideas overview as shown in the image above, click the blue arrow for a few keywords. The arrow is in the last column that says Add to Plan. This will add these keywords to your keyword plan.
• Then, click Review Plan. This will take you to a new page. It’ll show a graph and spreadsheet. Make sure to go to the Keyword tab. Also, make sure to choose a period of a month in the top-right Monthly forecasts based on …
• Then, choose Match Type -> All -> Exact Match from the menu.
• Finally, at the top of the page, set $1 or €1 for Enter a bid and press Enter.

Quick Note: You can also set the maximum bid here, i.e. choose a bid based on the line graph. This means you’re only seeing impression data for the first search results page.

The spreadsheet should now update, showing you more accurate clicks and impressions data compared to the ranges you got before.

Your version of Google Keyword Planner could look a bit different than in this tutorial, and that’s OK. The principles are the same!

Make no mistake – the dollar values you see are advertisement costs based on those search phrases. The impression data is real though! This is the number of times Google thinks your ad (or search result) will be seen in the given period (hence “Impressions”).

What do you do with this data? You can use it to rank app ideas based on popularity. A popular search phrase doesn’t necessarily mean it’s a good app idea, but it gives you a rough estimate of the demand for your app based on the number of people that search for a given phrase. Awesome!

Let’s move on to the most important research step!

Finding Stories, Problems and Questions

Don’t scope out the market in numbers from your Ivory Tower. It’s time to now move away from the cold research tool, and get into stories, problems and questions.

Empathy is the most valuable market research tool.

Thanks to Google Trends and Keyword Planner you now know where to look. That doesn’t mean you have a winner app idea yet!

You’ve eliminated some ideas, but the real litmus test comes when you present your app to someone that has the problem that your app solves. You can then validate your app idea, and see if there’s a real demand for it.

The next thing I did when researching the Crest app is this. I took all my researched keywords and phrases, and started using them:

1. I Googled the phrases, which gave me a ton of research on competitors, blog posts, alternative products, etc.
2. I used these phrases on social networks and discussion boards like Quora, Twitter, Facebook, Reddit, Hacker News, LinkedIn, Product Hunt, etc.
3. I used these phrases in the App Store and on Google Play, as well as searching for alternative physical products online.

What that got me was this:

1. The stories people tell about themselves in relation to the problem they have and the solution they’re looking for
2. The problems they have, like not achieving a goal and feeling disorganized
3. The questions they ask in relation to the problem, like “How do I set goals best?”

By trying to put myself in the shoes of the people I seek to serve with my app idea, I learned a lot – more than I ever could from staring at numbers.

Top Mobile App Ideas

It’s the beginning of 2025, and the right time to analyze everything and think of the strategy for the whole year and have some prosperous mobile app ideas to be implemented in your business, project, or startup to reach the stated objectives. At the very beginning, it’s critical to identify key aspects like the features and functionality, platforms, tasks that your solution will solve. In addition to that, you should learn the industry trends that help you to stay competitive, improve customer experience, and even increase revenue. Let’s take a look at some of the most effective mobile apps ideas that can improve your business growth if adopted successfully:

Best Mobile App Ideas [New App Ideas for 2025]

1. VR-Enabled Apps

   In due time, an advanced headset was needed to experience any VR product. However, the progress of the technologies alongside applications makes a mobile device engaging. Thus, you have the capability to relish VR experience, fantastic 360-degree visuals. Today, it’s commonly used for the gaming industry, though the potential of VR solutions is undiscovered to the end. There are innumerable ways to use technology to achieve your goals.

2. AR-Based Apps

   It’s expected that the AR (Augmented Reality) market size will enhance up to more than 198 billion U.S. dollars by 2025. That makes the AR-based apps to be in the second place of the chart. Recently, the technology was used for entertainment only. The potential of AR is much bigger. Today, it can be used in different industries, including but not limited to education, medicine, marketing, e-commerce, and so on. Thereby, if you want to improve user engagement and boost awareness, then AR can be a pretty useful tool on your way to success.

3. IoT Apps

   IoT solutions and applications have already made our daily routine and lives more convenient, but that’s the very beginning. Yes, technology is connecting house equipment, cars, tablet/phone, TV, and other gadgets and giving you the capability to control them via a single recall point. Home automation, IoT-enabled ECG devices, systems for smart parking and smart office are just a few ideas to take into account in 2021.

4. Blockchain Apps

   According to the forecast, the market size of blockchain will increase up to 23.3 billion U.S dollars by 2025. Blockchain is among the most invested technologies nowadays and has the potential to become extremely profitable if it takes hold. What’s more, it can be implemented in different industries from payment systems to education and healthcare which require to store data with high security. Being completely decentralized, blockchain innovative ideas are perfect for IoT, notary, distributed cloud storage, etc.

5. E-Commerce Apps

   Being already a successful mobile app idea, e-commerce programs will be on the rise in 2021 providing a wide array of options for customers’ convenience. Such well-known brands like eBay, Dosh, Amazon, and other household names have already made a huge profit through the mobile shopping applications presented. However, there is room for improvement. Thus, you can realize some future apps ideas like brand, budget or collective shopping apps, pet care, and food applications, and so forth.

6. Chatbots

   Chatbots are a critical tool for e-commerce companies to improve user experience. If successfully integrated, Chatbot technology enables you to deliver 24/7 fast assistance for your consumers without additional expenses. The huge advantage of the solution is lively user interaction, the possibility to operate a large number of queries, better understand the customer’s needs and tastes. That makes Chatbot an excellent mobile app idea to be implemented in the upcoming 2021.

7. Restaurant Reservation Apps

   The booking of tickets to the cinema, train, airplane are common situations, while the ability to see the available tables in the restaurant and book them via the app is still unexplored, but it holds the potential to be the prospective idea in 2021. Such apps allow visitors to book a table they desire from the restaurant layout. That is bound to improve visitors’ experience by times. What's more, such apps can make the functioning and managing of the restaurants much easier.

8. Healthcare Apps

   Telemedicine is not a future, but the reality. The idea of getting professional help and consultation remotely is extremely popular today. The technology will reshape the industry and change the way people connect with the industry. Thereby, healthcare mobile apps are one of the best ideas for the upcoming year 2021.

9. Fitness Apps

   Another promising and successful mobile application idea that is closely associated with the previous one is fitness apps. Users can get workout details, track progress, and get pieces of advice, etc. by launching a single application. Considering the high popularity of a healthy lifestyle, fitness mobile app ideas have great potential in 2021.

10. Travel & Tourism Apps

    Traveling becomes highly popular. People plan the trip, book rooms in hotels, buy tickets using mobile applications. That makes the idea of creating an app that can give you a detailed overview of the sights, tourist spots, facts, restaurants, etc. in a specific location pretty fruitful.

11. Dating Apps

    Being over busy, millennials don’t have time to meet new friends or the perfect mate offline. However, smartphones and tablets can turn the world into a playground for dates, hookups, or even long-term relationships. Yes, today's technologies can help you to find a soulmate through dating apps. Using applications of a kind like Tinder you can match with a chosen person, interact with him/her. Adding some features, options to your app, you're able to create the next big thing!

12. Cab Hailing Apps

    High technologies reshape lots of industries with the trucking one included. Uber, Lyft and other apps like these have revolutionized the on-demand industry. Hiring and booking a cab with such added features as price comparison, availability of a child safety seat, etc. can bring you not bad profit though. Clear up the options you wish to implement before developing the app.

13. Disaster Alert Apps

    Safety stands first. Thus, disaster alert apps hold the potential in the areas where natural calamities are common. This kind of app can save lives by warning users about unforeseen emergencies and providing instructions to be safe. Such apps aren’t constrained to disasters. So, you can realize such mobile ideas as immediate assistance, tracking kids, and other safety apps.

14. Cooking Guide Apps

    With cooking becoming extremely popular, the range of TV shows appeared, and cooking is a hobby for lots of users. Thus, the app idea with instructions, recipes, advice, and food facts can be pretty successful in the future year. Think of the features you need to add to the mobile app to meet all the demands of your target audience.

15. Mall Navigation Apps

    There are huge malls with dozens of sections, and it's impossible to remember where each section is located. It's quite time-consuming, time-wasting and annoying to search for the needed product section. The idea of a mall navigation app is useful for customers of various brands like IKEA, Walmart, Target, and other large stores. The listing of the product range can be a great added feature by the way.

16. Tax Management and Invoicing Apps

    The idea of mobile apps for tax management is the next thing to keep into consideration. These apps can help you maximize the speed, efficiency, and precision of your financial management workflow. Not only do they help to calculate taxable income and other data provided, but also you can add such features as generating invoices and reports about your finances, performing accounting and payroll tasks, etc. Thereby, it makes tax invoicing apps evergreen ideas.

17. Mobile Banking Apps

    The idea of mobile banking apps is not new. Yes, the mobile wallets with their benefits like the possibility of online transactions and account tracking have already replaced dealing with cash and plastic money. However, the idea of a banking mobile application that will act as a single point of contact is fruitful. These apps can be used for rent payments, mobile bills, EMI deposits, and so forth. It’s a thing to think about.

18. Language Learning App

    Traveling and offshore working are highly popular nowadays. The language barrier is a primary problem that can be solved with the apps. Hence, the idea to develop mobile language learning applications shows enormous potential. Be clear on the features and options, like word pronunciation, grammar, learning of particular words, etc., before starting development.

19. Music Apps

    Another quite fresh idea is mobile music apps. Such applications are on-demand lately. Creation of playlists, radio charts, brand-based search, music sharing, and social media integration, along with a host of such features, are to be considered when developing an app of this kind.

20. Subscription Tracking Apps

    Today users have dozens of subscriptions. Thus, there is an idea for an app that can track all the subscriptions the user has. Not only will the app alert the user when the next subscription is due and its price, but also it displays what properties are offered. This is a way to manage subscriptions and decide in advance whether to continue or unsubscribe.

How to validate your app idea?

There are over 2 million app ideas each on Apple App Store and Google Play Store, but merely 1% or even lesser are actually successful. Is there a secret formula to their success? What is it that they are doing differently? Let us shell out some of the most effective tips and tricks to help you validate your app idea before you get into the process of development yourself, or hire a developer for it!

1. A Thorough Research

   Like most other things, the stepping stone to figuring out whether your app idea is good enough or not is a thorough research. Getting a clear idea of the market with respect to the app idea that you have been harboring is a good idea. Initially, as you begin your research, you are bound to come across at least one app with the same idea that you have! However, this mustn’t discourage you, neither should you give up and move on! It is important that you acknowledge the fact that no matter which industry you delve in, there is bound to be some competition. Develop a clear user persona for your app while including all the demographic, psychographic and physiographic details wherever you see the need. Study this persona either on social media or through a survey questionnaire. Another way to go about this is to actively engage in startup or business networking, as some of them are happy to share their experiences on their journey – good and bad. This is where you have a good opportunity to garner valuable advice on the viability of the idea.

2. Analyze The App Store Charts

   Studying the app store charts is a great way to get some valuable insights on the ongoing market trends. Studying the top paid apps gives you an idea about the top ideas that people are willing to pay for. When you take a look at the top free charts, it tells you which are the free apps that are being downloaded the most. Once you take a look at the top grossing charts, however, it will tell you which are the apps that are most popular and generating the highest revenue. One good way to go about this is to come up with a list of keywords that are associated with the industry and use them to search for apps in the app store. Study the apps that show up with each of these keywords and find out if the app is good enough to stand out! Try and understand how your app can improve the existing products and what it is that you can change to make your app more desirable.

3. Validate The Need

   More often than not, the idea might sound good to you and your close circle of acquaintances and solve the immediate and dire needs of this tight group of people. This scenario encourages quite a few startups to get into the building phase without considering whether the problem you are solving is something that other users would be willing to pay for.

   In order to validate the need of your solution, all you have to do is invest some time talking to people and gauge their challenges. Ask them what it is that they struggle with, how they have tried to solve the problem, and why all the prior solutions failed to do what they needed. There is a good chance that even if you started with the intent to validate a particular app, you might end up discovering a need that is a lot more pressing simply because you decided to question potential customers with an open mind.

4. Get An Idea Of Your Target Market Size

   You have already developed a user persona; it is time now to figure out the potential pool size of this persona that you would be targeting while designing and developing your app. One good way to do so is to begin with creating a list of keywords that would best describe your app idea and add them to the Google Keyword Planner tool. This tool then gives the average monthly searches that the chosen keywords are getting at the local and global level. It is only natural to infer that the higher the number of searches for your chosen keywords, the more will be the demand for the services associated with your app idea.

5. Develop An Understanding Of Your App’s Product Market Fit

   It is critical to clearly understand whether your app will be able to achieve a product market fit soon after it is launched. At this stage, it is important to analyze whether the targeted user would prefer to use your app over the existing apps on the store. You can create a list of features that are being offered by your competitor apps against their names and categorize them according to the monetization model. At this point, compare the features and monetization model for each of these apps with yours.

   It is important that you realize that the app that you develop needs to be unique and solve some real-world problems for a considerable market size.

6. Exhibit The Feasibility

   For this, a proof of concept is a small-scale and probable way to exhibit the idea that you have. This is a great way to determine the actualization of the idea. The proof of concept is essentially a small-scale project that establishes the potential of the basic idea. Further on, this process also checks whether the project or idea can satisfy the defined characteristics or not. To validate your idea of the app, a proof of concept demonstrates the purpose of the application. This is done without actually making the app public while devising a range of technical solutions. In all, this is a great way to exhibit the feasibility of the app idea.

7. Align The Idea With Other Useful Apps

   In case your app idea is partly aligned with other trending apps, your chances of building a successful app increases manifold. If it is not, then it might be time to reconsider the whole idea once more. It is quite natural that we fall in love with an idea we have come up with from scratch, but if the market doesn’t have an appetite for it, the purpose is defeated!

8. USP

   Your USP or Unique Selling Proposition is why most users would buy your app from you. Ask yourself and often ask the following questions:

   • How is your product different from the milieu of products available in the market?
   • What is it that makes your product more valuable than any other?
   • What makes it worth the consumer’s while to pay for or use your product?

   Refine and condense your idea into simple language and a brief that would easily be understood by the customer in a way that convinces them automatically to buy the product.

9. Garner Feedback From Potential Users

   The product you are creating is going to cater to a target audience, so it is only natural that you look for feedback from them. The user persona that you crafted during the research phase comes in handy here. Whether you engage via social media, startup communities, different campaigns, or other means, it is important that you conduct a survey and try to get feedback from this group about the idea. While feedback from friends and family might be encouraging, it is the feedback from potential users in the market that really matters.

10. Keep In Mind The Technical Challenges And Scope

    This is especially important if you do not have the technical expertise yourself. Try to speak with a technical expert or those who will be working to develop the app for you. Use this conversation to develop a stronger understanding of the technical challenges that may be involved in the process.

    Ask the right questions, like:

    1. What kind of time duration would the entire process of developing the app take?
    2. How would the technical challenges be addressed during development and after launch?
    3. Are there any alternate ways to develop the app apart from what you had imagined and yet accomplish the same results?
11. Prototyping

    You have the idea, you have the technical expertise available to you, and you know that the users are ready for it. The next logical step is to develop a prototype. This is a highly effective way to demonstrate how the app is going to function. A prototype is an end-to-end working model that offers the possibility to interact with the app. It includes data flow, process management, and defined use of technology which contributes to the smooth flow.

    Prototypes are typically bug ridden and have a few errors, but it is important to identify them at this stage. Timely identification of these errors goes a long way in saving time and money when you look at the bigger picture. A prototype is built to study feasibility and is not the final finished product—it has room for errors and improvement during development.

12. Create An MVP

    The idea of creating an MVP or a Minimal Viable Product lies in a strategy that helps prevent the expenses of developing a product that is not yet fully defined. In this process, a minimum set of resources, which are just enough to launch and test the product with a particular group, are developed. This is then used to analyze how users or the targeted group interacts with the product. This ensures that the final product that goes out to the market is as competitive as it could be.

13. Build Your Brand Identity

    After using your MVP to gain insights into the path your product is going to take, it is time to begin building a brand for yourself. In this age of information, a new idea that was validated today might become obsolete tomorrow. Hence, building a brand should be at the top of your list.

    Your brand, its image, and all related elements should subtly convey the essence you want your app to reflect. A strong visual presence and a memorable design go a long way in creating a public identity and helping potential users understand the functionalities of your app and the value it adds to their lives.

14. Create A Landing Page

    The next step is to create a landing page for your app. App development might involve delving deep into software development, so before you roll up your sleeves, it is a good idea to start with something as simple as a landing page. Define your success parameters—whether it is gaining a large number of email subscribers or a considerable number of people completing your mobile app idea survey. The landing page should include a short pitch for your app, basic screenshots or images that convey its functionality, and an email subscription form to keep users updated on new features.

15. Promote Your App

    You have a great idea for an app, you have a prototype, a landing page, and all the necessary elements to determine the viability of your idea. However, if your app doesn’t reach your target audience, all your efforts might be wasted. Promotion efforts can be free or paid; start with letting your friends and family know, then move on to social media forums where you can organically post about it on relevant threads. You can also engage with bloggers and circulate a quick survey for feedback.

Should You Sign An NDA For Your Mobile App Idea?

If you have a brilliant app idea, there is a good chance that you have either considered signing an NDA yourself or someone might have suggested that you think about it—but it has been on your mind. And this is before you have entered any kind of discussion with the contractor or app developer you plan to hire in the future.

The question at this early stage is, do you even know what an NDA is? Not just the basic concept, but what it actually is. Probably not.

Building a mobile app with your own idea is a serious business, and like any other business, you can’t succeed if you isolate yourself. It is important to recognize that you need to cover or protect yourself legally.

The problem here is that most of us are not exactly aware of what kind of legal protection we actually need! Of course, we would not want to be unaware and leave ourselves vulnerable, but on the flip side, we wouldn’t want to waste our time, money, and efforts on something that might be unnecessary.

This post shares the experiences and insights we have garnered from developing mobile apps across industries. This is not legal advice, and if you plan to get an NDA, it is imperative that you seek professional legal opinion.

What is an NDA?

An NDA or Non-Disclosure Agreement is a contractual agreement that binds both parties to protect the confidentiality of information and to not disclose the data to any third party during the agreement.

Other terms used interchangeably with NDA include:

• Proprietary Information Agreement (PIA)
• Confidential Disclosure Agreement (CDA)
• Secrecy Agreement (SA)
• Confidentiality Agreement (CA)

There are three different types of NDAs:

1. Unilateral NDA
2. Mutual or Bilateral NDA
3. Multilateral NDA

Most NDAs are unilateral, meaning one party agrees not to share certain defined information. For example, as a business owner, while hiring an employee, contractor, or freelancer, you might ask them to sign an NDA about not disclosing a specific algorithm. Once signed, the signee is legally bound to comply and may face prosecution if they break it.

A mutual NDA is where both parties agree not to share any information. This is common when two businesses collaborate on a project.

Multilateral NDAs apply when three or more parties are sharing confidential trade secrets.

NDAs are generally straightforward legal documents.

Does An NDA Protect Your App Idea?

Even if you have a unique app idea, NDAs do not necessarily protect against ideas. Sharing an app idea for delivering stationery, for example, will not stop someone from building an app for the same service unless they use confidential secrets to do it.

Why an NDA?

Organizations may feel the need for an NDA when they must share sensitive data with a mobile app development company, contractor, or freelancer. An NDA may be necessary when your app idea is tied to a key business process such as manufacturing, research, or finance. Let’s list the reasons you may need an NDA:

1. If you have concrete proprietary information that needs protection

   In rare cases where you or your organization has proprietary information eligible for copyright or patent, an NDA is necessary.

2. If both parties have proprietary information that needs protection

   Sometimes both parties have information to protect—if the developer also has proprietary code, algorithms, or strategies, an NDA benefits both sides.

3. If the contractor or freelancer is open to signing an NDA

   If the contractor or freelancer you are hiring has no reservations about signing an NDA, proceed—but ensure that the terms are not overly restrictive.

4. If the whole project needs to stay secret

   If it is critical that the project remains hidden from the public, you may insist on an NDA to prevent the freelancer from showcasing it in their portfolio or pitching it elsewhere.

5. If short-term confidentiality is needed

   Sometimes, confidentiality is only required for a short, fixed period. In such cases, the contractor may agree to sign an NDA with a limited duration.

When Should You Stay Away From An NDA?

There are times when insisting on an NDA can be counterproductive. For example, if you approach a developer with your app idea and demand an NDA too early, you risk scaring them off before you even assess their suitability for the project. Also, if your idea is still just an “idea,” it might not be enough to warrant legal protection. Similarly, if the terms are unfairly skewed in favor of the contractor, or if the contractor simply refuses, it may be better not to insist on an NDA. Finally, if most of the information you wish to protect is already public, an NDA might not be appropriate.

1. Right at the beginning

   During initial meetings with a developer or agency, it might not be the right time to discuss and insist on an NDA. At this stage, focus on assessing the agency’s viability.

   At this point, share your idea in the open to generate interest.

2. If what you have is still just an “idea”

   You might believe in your idea, but many developers stay away from signing an NDA if the idea is unproven. An idea alone may not warrant protection.

3. If the agreement is unfair or too inclined towards the contractor

   If you have significant work or budget, you might have leverage to negotiate an NDA. But if you’re working on a small project, a developer may refuse to take on extra legal liability.

4. If the expert you really want to work with says “No”

   If your ideal developer refuses to sign an NDA, consider the trust factor and weigh your need for an NDA against your desire to work with that expert.

5. If the information you are sharing is already public

   If most of the information you want to protect is already public, then it might not be worth securing an NDA.

Why Not To Go For An NDA?

Some reasons not to use an NDA include:

1. Keeping your app under wraps is one of the toughest market strategies

   Not launching your app publicly due to an NDA might rob you of the opportunity to build pre-launch buzz and get user feedback.

2. Your idea probably isn’t even original

   Even if you have a billion-dollar idea, there is a good chance that someone else is working on a similar concept. Your idea might be inspired by an existing idea.

3. Relying solely on an NDA means you don’t really have a defense strategy

   An NDA might protect you from a developer, but once your app is launched, the idea is free for anyone to copy. To defend your idea, you need more than just an NDA.

4. It is a big pain to enforce an NDA

   If a developer breaks an NDA, enforcing it can be expensive and time-consuming, especially if the developer has more resources than you.

5. An NDA would never be able to substitute trust

   Trust in any business relationship is critical. Forcing a signature on an NDA does not create trust. Instead, consider starting with a brief conversation to gauge mutual interest.

Why a developer wouldn’t steal your idea

1. You are building a business with an app, not the other way around

   Developers build apps for you—they don’t have the expertise, resources, or interest to build a business around your app idea.

2. A developer is an expert in only his own field

   If you hire a developer for a construction-related app, for example, even if they stole your idea, they wouldn’t have the industry knowledge or network to build a successful construction business.

3. If an agency or developer were to steal their clients’ ideas, they wouldn’t last long

   Reputation is everything in the development industry. A developer who steals ideas risks their reputation and future business.

Should you sign an NDA with the investors and would they sign it?

This used to be a common practice but has become obsolete. Today, most VCs or investors would flat out refuse to sign an NDA in the early stages. Instead, they might include confidentiality provisions in later agreements if they decide to invest.

Summing Up

In conclusion, the mobile app market is a highly competitive environment. The key to success is not only in having a great idea but also in being able to properly execute it. If you have an idea for a mobile app, make sure that you research the market thoroughly and create a plan of how to make it successful. Utilize available resources such as online tutorials, webinars, and forums to learn more about the development process and how to promote your app. Also, consider working with experienced developers or professionals who can help you turn your idea into reality. With the right strategy and dedication, you can create an amazing mobile app that can make an impact on people's lives.