With the blowout of third-party applications, iOS and Android stood out in the chaotic competition of the male and female, and finally formed a market structure of bipolar hegemony. In terms of channels for obtaining applications, iPhone users mainly use the App Store, and most domestic Android users use application stores provided by major mobile phone manufacturers.
Unconsciously, the once-populated third-party application market has declined. Recently, the Pea Pod team released an announcement saying that starting February 28, the Pea Pod PC version will stop online services; the PP assistant also said that iOS and iOS PC versions will be offline.
Platforms that provide third-party application downloads or services seem to be inevitably weakening.
The glory of the past has contributed to the advantages of localization
No matter iOS or Android, it is a mobile operating system developed by foreign manufacturers. In the early days of entering the country, it is inevitable to face problems of lack of soil and soil and insufficient localization.
Take Apple as an example. The early App Store did not support Alipay and WeChat. Users need to bind a credit card to purchase applications. Moreover, at that time, the price of iOS apps was basically the same as that in Europe and the United States, and an app cost more than ten yuan. In addition, a few years ago, the iPhone installation application needed to connect the data cable through iTunes on the computer. This is a very tedious and difficult operation for domestic users.
As for Android, due to the lack of Google services, the domestic market in the early era of the smart phone era, Android is in a state of brutal growth. Application installation basically requires third-party channels. Some even download APK files directly from the official website of the application developer.
The absence of Google directly contributed to the prosperity of the third-party Android market
In this case, third-party application markets such as Anzhi Market, App Market, Jifeng Market, 91 Market, Mobile Paradise, Kuan Market, etc. have appeared.
The emergence of these third-party Android markets has largely solved the problem of domestic users finding and installing applications. Frankly, the technical content of these application markets is not high. Thanks to the openness of the Android system, their main job is to package and distribute application files.
In addition, in the early stage of the popularization of 3 / 4G networks, the price of data traffic was not cheap. Similar to computer-side application management tools such as pea pods and 91 assistants, it has also won the favor of many people. In addition to application traffic-free installation, they also have richer functions such as file management transfer.
The popular XX assistants
On the iPhone side, although the closed system makes it difficult for the iOS third-party application market to develop. But at that time, jailbreak was extremely popular in China. It is undeniable that many users jailbroken their iPhones at that time in large part to download and install free pirated applications.
However, the learning cost of jailbreak is still a bit high for ordinary users, and it will bring more risks. A variety of application sharing tools under the banner of “free and genuine” also came into being. PP Assistant, Quick Help Assistant, Aisi Assistant and other platforms all provide similar services.
Of course, these free applications are not strictly piracy, and users do not have to face the hidden risks brought by jailbreak and system cracking. However, it is also far from genuine in the true sense. In simple terms, they all use Apple’s account and application installation mechanism to download the IPA file of the genuine application and repackage it with their own corporate signature, thereby bypassing the App Store to download and install on the user device.
Applications installed through this method often face various problems such as failure, flashback, and inability to open. You need to use these assistant tools to “update”, “repair”, and “authorize” to temporarily resolve.
Mobile phone manufacturers have gone back and everything has changed
The vigorous development of third-party application platforms, at one time, traditional Internet vendors regarded it as the key to getting mobile Internet tickets .
In 2013, search engine giant Baidu spent $ 1.9 billion and bought 91 Wireless, which was then the largest Android application distribution platform in China. In addition to the third-party application store “Android Market”, 91 Wireless also launched a mobile management tool on the PC side.Hand, with two versions for iOS and Android.
This year, UC completed the acquisition of PP Assistant. In 2014, Ali bought UC and got a PP assistant in disguise. In 2016, Alibaba and Pea Pod signed a merger agreement. At this point, Alibaba’s mobile business group already has products such as UC Browser, Gaode Map, Shenma Search, Pea Pod, and PP Assistant.
Internet vendors have bet on third-party application tools, but new changes have occurred in the mobile phone market. After experiencing fierce and chaotic competition, the domestic mobile phone market has gradually become stable and clear. Several giants such as Huawei, Xiaomi, and OV have firmly grasped the entire Android machine industry.
Driven by the lack of Google’s business and the pursuit of product differentiation, mobile phone manufacturers have made great efforts in customizing the system. Remodeling the UI interface and complementing localization functions are all important links. Almost all Android phones come pre-installed with their own app store.
In recent years, major domestic custom systems have become more and more closed, turning off BL, restricting root functions, and restricting users from installing applications through third-party channels. This has undoubtedly sentenced the death penalty of third-party application markets.
At the same time, with the increasing revenue contribution from the domestic market, Apple has also significantly adjusted its policies in China. In addition to offline store openings, the localization progress of the iOS system has also greatly accelerated. The most obvious performance is that apps in the App Store are getting cheaper and payment methods are becoming more and more convenient. As for iTunes, which is not easy to use, iPhone users don’t need it anymore, and Apple is ready to give up on it.
iOS is getting richer and richer. Running on the road of borrowing from Android, jailbreak has become more and more strange.Raw nouns. As copyrights become more standardized and users pay more and more awareness, various assistant tools have also lost their survival space.
Before life or death, transformation may be the only option
The decline of third-party application tools is mainly due to changes in the general environment. In competing for users, mobile phone manufacturers have natural advantages over third-party platforms and can easily set up barriers for them. In terms of functionality and technology, the threshold for third-party application tools is extremely low and the competition is fierce.
These manufacturers who once had a wave of smartphone dividends are now facing the point of survival. To get out of the way, transformation is probably the best option.
From our observations, in the third-party application store, the Kuan market has been more successful in transformation. Kuan Market was originally a relatively well-known application store among Android digital enthusiasts. In the early days, it launched a large number of geek-oriented applications, accumulating a large number of enthusiasts and deep users.
At present, the Kuan market is gradually transforming into a community, and the large number of users gathered in the early days provides the basis for this. At the same time, Kuan launched topics, dynamics, application collections and other functions, making it more convenient for users to discuss and exchange their own interests, the latest technology topics or products.
Early last year, Kuan was launched in the App Store and officially launched the iOS client. From this we can see that Kuan is trying to break through the limitations of the Android market and gain incremental users from the Apple user community. Of course, without the app download feature, Cool On iOS is a more pure community app.
The application management assistant on the PC side can try to start with differentiated functions and retain users through a better experience. For example, in addition to regular application installation, Aisi Assistant can also back up files and download wallpapers. In addition, it also has the Apple device inspection function, which is loved by some users.
In addition, HandShaker, which was launched before Hammer, also provides a very good solution for file transfer and management between Android phones and PCs. Although it has stopped updating, it still has positive praise.
After more than ten years of development, too many changes have taken place in the smartphone industry. Market capacity tends to be saturated, smartphones are almost universally used by everyone, and product functions and system UIs are becoming more and more complete. Flashing and jailbreaking are often taken by early digital enthusiasts.
As mobile phones have become more and more usable, and the way we acquire and manage applications has become easier, these third-party application platforms have withdrawn from the stage of history, and it has become inevitable. The past decades and hundreds of years of experience have always shown that the keynote of the entire technology industry is the changing situation, and this is also the small area attached to the mobile phone industry.