Having been in the mobile app business for more than a dozen years, we’ve learned it’s not a static space. Every 6-12 months, Apple or Android will have a new OS that will change or upend something or introduce a new feature that everyone wants – immediately.
Our job is to make sure our products are always in tune with what our clients – and their users – want. This can often be tricky, but fortunately, our partnership with Jacobs Media and the consumer research they continually conduct provides us with insight into what consumers are ready for and what we can confidently recommend to our clients.
This is why jācapps was the first mobile app developer to install Apple CarPlay and Android Auto into our apps, and is why we are pleased to announce our latest update – voice activation for our mobile apps. You’ll never have to touch your screen again to launch your favorite radio station.
Voice activation is something Jacobs Media has been tracking for a while, and they’ve seen increases in “talking” to cars, to TV remotes, to Alexa and Google Home, and yes, to their smartphones. Consumers have become comfortable with the process, and in 2020, more than half (54%) are “talking” to their smartphones. So, it was time to introduce this feature as part of our new V5 release.
The average consumer has 32 apps on their home screen, so this innovation enables users to access their favorite radio station quickly with no screen swiping required.
We invited a few clients, including Lisa Waters, Digital Media Director of Local Media San Diego to participate in our beta testing for V5, and voice activation was a hit, as she remarked, “I love … the inclusion of Voice Activation! I asked Siri to “PLAY BIG FM” when I was driving the other day, and it opened the app and started playing the stream through my car speakers flawlessly! It’s one of those features that you don’t know you need until you have it.”
Is voice activation a game-changer for our apps? By itself, not really. But mobile is a dynamic space, and consumers expect apps that occupy prime space on their smartphone screen to deliver a ton of utility and be as user-friendly as possible. This is part of our ongoing effort to ensure our clients treat their listeners to a great experience.
