Top app development companies interview: Techmagic – Follow up

The last time we video interviewed Techmagic was in January 2016. Today we interview Andrew Alexseyenko, Marketing Manager at Techmagic.

Here you'll find the latest news of one of the top mobile app development companies in Ukraine.

Your last interview was published in 2016. What great apps has Techmagic been working on since then?

We had many great projects, but one of the best is Motiflow. Our client is from Netherlands, it’s a marketplace for designers. Motiflow gives designers a platform to deliver printed surface patterns to everyone who wants to give their life a personal touch. If you are a designer, you can make a pattern and upload it to marketplace. After that, the client can purchase the design and it will be printed on the material you want. A few month ago, our clients made an exit and sold the company to one of the largest manufacture textile producer in the world. In the start up community we have buzzword “start up that changes the world”, it is used everywhere, but Motiflow isn’t changing the world, but it is changing the whole industry.

Which mobile app has been the biggest development challenge for Techmagic?

The biggest challenge for us has been Sqord project. Hardware is always more complicated than software. Sqord is an app for kids that tracks their activity and helps them to be healthier. To activate kids and increase engagement and daily activity we made an app that connects to a hardware bracelet and counts children steps. The biggest problem was the battery of the bracelet, we needed to make long-life battery that can live up to a month without charging. Therefore we used bluetooth 4.0 for low-energy connection. As a result, Sqord can work up to 9 months on one single battery.

What do you think will be the biggest smartphone release this year?

There is no doubt that it’ll be iPhone 8. Apple celebrated 10 years since the first iPhone release and they are preparing something very special. I guess their next phone will be more adapted to Augmented Reality and they will finally remove that button on the front screen. We have already seen Samsung S8 release and most of the rumors were proved, the same will be with iPhone 8's release.

Besides smartphones, what mobile device do you think is worth having first?

There was a big hype around smartwatches but all their expectations went to mud. The first smartwatches start up Pebble was already dead last year, FitBit bought it for only $40 million. Besides that, smarthome devices are really helpful, you can control everything at home, from light to flushing the toilet. With new bot assistance like Google Home it will be much easier.

Mobile apps evolve too, their features change depending on the device used. What kind of app has a greater future ahead?

Every year smartphones became bigger and thiner, maybe in the future we will have a tattoo that will replace mobile phones. So many companies are working in nano-chip industry, there is one co-working where all members integrated chips to their hands. In short term period smartphone apps will dominate the market, but in the long term perspective Augmented Reality will replace mobile phones as well as mobile apps.

Is Techmagic adapting to new technologies and devices coming along?

We are always adapting to new technologies and doing R&D projects. During the last year we developed several chat bots, made R&D project with Apple Watch and now we are working on a mobile app with Augmented Reality.

How has the mobile market evolved since our first interview?

Competition is growing, there are about 2,8 million apps in Google Play and 2,2 million in App Store. Not only quantity but also quality is raising, you can find many good mobile apps that will solve your pains. In 2016 we had a big hype with chat bots. Everybody was talking about them and the fact that they would replace apps. But it’s not try, they can get some market share, nothing more. Bots have poor User Experience, while apps are better in UX as well as UI. In the near future apps will still dominate in market.

What advice would you give to anyone with an app idea who didn’t know how to get started?

When you have an idea for a start up or business, first thing you should do is to start searching for a Product Market Fit (PMF). It can take months and years, usually it’s a long process. During searching the right fit you start development with MVP (Minimal Value Product) adding features to product and talk with customers. You can do it in house or hire A dedicated team, there are Pros and Cons for each option. The next phase is all about process and management, if you hire a remote team, manage it in the right way. And when you finally release your mobile app in Google Play or App Store, work with marketing and sales.

Go to Techmagic's AppFutura profile to learn more about them.

Read our blog post if you have some doubts about what mobile app development company to hire, with the steps you have to follow before hiring the best company for your mobile app project.