Image for post — **Cauê Dias Silva | Digital Lab | everis Brazil**

Is your company ready for a world without app stores?

Introduction

everis US

Aug 12, 2019·5 min read

In the near future, app stores as we know them will no longer exist. Typical smartphone users already feel deeply disinclined to download a specific app for every activity they need to do on their phone, especially for temporary situations and needs. After all, why should you have to download an app to call a tow truck every once in a while? Or, why should you download an app to get customer service for your home internet?

Yes, there are many reasons to feel disinclined to install and delete apps, and the answer to this problem comes from that old standby, the internet. It is called PWA.

What is a Progressive Web App?

A PWA is basically a web application accessed via a browser that is gradually downloaded to the user’s device, as it is used. When the user has a temporary or permanent need to keep the app, they simply add the app to their home screen. When it is installed this way, the web app becomes a local app, eliminating the experience of installing it from an app store.

Companies including Starbucks, Flipboard, Instagram, Telegram, Uber and Pinterest already have Progressive Web Apps, and have taken the lead in offering users a more fluid, lighter experience, without app stores.

But what can a PWA do right now?

· Capture video and audio

· Advanced camera controls

· Record media

· Real-time communication

· Access Bluetooth, USB, network, vibration, battery, memory and file system

· Notifications and push notifications

· Offline storage

· Touch gestures

· Access the clipboard

· Offline mode

· Background sync

· Payments

· Credentials

· Geolocation

· Positioning and movement sensors

The lack of app stores creates challenges for the gaming and augmented reality industry.

If users no longer want to go through unnecessary app store experiences, what will happen to the gaming and AR world in the upcoming era? Yes, it’s good news. We have the technology to offer users 3D experiences without installing apps.

The Gaming Industry

In the gaming world, web-based, streaming game services will completely change the industry. The ability to pay by playtime with no installation or compatible hardware required will quickly level the playing field and win over customers in a market that just keeps growing year after year. Platforms like Google Stadia will take over our homes, mobile devices, and desktops when we want to play any kind of game. 2020 is the year of streaming games.

In parallel, web browsers like Google Chrome have begun to get games that provide a good user experience. There is a trend toward games that do not have major requirements in terms of hardware to migrate to PWAs, so they play natively in browsers.

Augmented Reality

The team at everis Digital Lab in Brazil has taken on the challenge of testing frameworks and technology that would bring the AR experience to the PWA/web world. In May 2019, a team of everis specialists developed model products to demonstrate the efficiency of this technology compared to the resources enshrined in traditional platforms.

The results could not have been better. Our clients can now count on everis to develop AR apps that do not require installation.

Our official demo was at CIAB 2019, a trade show focused on the banking sector, which includes Brazil’s main players in developing technology for banks and banking industry companies. We demonstrated a pioneering experience for credit cards travel notifications (enabling use on other continents), in which our clients had the opportunity to try out the technology on their own phones and tablets without installing an app.

Conclusion

The market is changing, driven mainly by the opportunity people everywhere have to access high quality internet via connected portable devices. Market players that do not reposition themselves in terms of technology may not be ready for the new era of connectivity, facing a “Kodak process” of losing market share. It is extremely important for companies that currently enjoy exponential business to deconstruct and accept the new era that is coming, listening ever more closely to the needs of their customers to not waste resources. The new and older generations want and need more affordable, cheaper services that are not tied to purchasing equipment and monthly subscriptions. The sharing or P2P economy is now going to be leveraged in an era of unlimited connectivity.

Do you want to try out a game with no download required? Play https://shellshock.io now. It is one of the games we studied to understand the capabilities of PWA technologies and online gaming.