Is the Size of the App Relative to the Download Decision?

Mobile applications and web application have become most common in today’s time. Every service/product you have will have an “app” for it. It has become the buzzword and also the need of the hour.

We today are addicted to our mobile phones or the “smart” devices. All our chores too, have become dependent on the smartphones we use. Right from getting up in the morning to having the last meal of the day you are constantly wired to your smartphone.

Considering the extensive use of apps in our daily life, it is imperative to take into account the size as it directly affects the performance of your smartphone which you use daily 24X7!

The two most common elements that should be considered when designing a mobile application are identifying the problem that the app is resolving and deciding the unique features of your app.

But while including all the features what most businesses tend to forget about is the size of the app. In fact, it becomes one of the last things to be discussed or is mostly highlighted when the app is in its final stages of design.

So why does App size matter so much?

It is an entire project in itself, which can take up to months to complete to work continuously on reducing the Software Development Kit (SDK) that blows up the app size.
While businesses are investing time in reducing the big size, a major concern that arises is that why does it matter so much? If you look closely at this idea, you will find out that there are three significant reasons because of which the size of an app has an impact on download decision:

1. It is ideal to keep the app size below 100 MB to follow the cellular download limit. This means it is essential to figure out ways this can be done without taking a hit on the downloads.

2. Large apps often mean their SDK vendors will have bugs that will constantly keep crashing the app - which ultimately translates into lesser downloads and consequently bad reviews.

3. More often than not, their SDK vendors are not ready for upgrades towards better iOS versions, which can block their opportunity for big announcements and key releases.

If these factors are overcome, the app can be more popular and more downloads are likely to happen. But yes, the app size does affect the download decision!