When the idea first came about for what is now skignz, in fact before
then, one of the key factors that we would focus on would be the file size.
This trend not only continued with the increase in file size
of the Operating Systems, but it seems the App Developers were ‘running just as
fast as they could’ to keep up with the upgrades and their focus on making
retrospective 'fixes' to remove errors and bugs from their own Apps in response
to the OS change.
Over the last few years we have seen how this has continued with
the file size of the new OS's and Apps almost
irrelevant to those building them, which creates a massive issue for the user…
Why? Because if you're running out of file space on your current SmartPhone,
then when you come to make a change or renew (as many of us do under our
'SmartPhone' monthly contract plans each year) then we look at the size we
currently have and immediately go for the next storage size up from what we
have.
This proves difficult if the SmartPhone manufacturers don’t
just increase the memory by 50%, or even double, but in some cases a quadruple
times jump in file storage, then the price of the handset increases quite
considerably.
In most cases, this is because of the OS increasing in size
with every new version or even update. This is the same with the apps we have
on our phone and nothing to do with the fact we have more Photos, Music or
video on there.
With all of this in mind in August 2015 we decided to review
a selection of apps most used by the people we know across all areas of our
lives. Obvious ones such as Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, as well as Google
Chrome through to the other key players in our sector, Augmented Reality.
Various member os the skignz team found over the ensuing 12 months that when we raised
this with many people, all of them were not only shocked at the file sizes but
also that they felt that they were constantly increasing.
We have decided to monitor this fluctuation in files sizes monthly, but thought it worth providing an annual summary over the last 12 months from 1st October 2015.
Another reason for our research is that we have managed
to keep the skignz app to just over 1mB. Yes, you read that right, it's not a
spelling mistake! Earlier this year Pokémon Go made a dramatic experience and
tens of millions have downloaded the app, did you know when it was launched the
app was 178mB! that's not a spelling mistake either!
However, when we checked this week it has now increased to a whopping 210mB, Facebook has increased in the last month also, as have many of the other apps in our survey.
Could this be since the launch of the latest version of IOS?
It's very easy to conclude that unless something significant
happens and the SmartPhone manufacturers, rewrite their next OS from scratch,
removing a lot of the 'fat and waste' then this trend will not only continue
but will accelerate.
One thing we can confirm is that skignz will do its utmost to lead the way and reverse this trend and will never be the app you need to delete in order to update your Operating System.
What do you think about the memory of our devices being taken up by over inflated app sizes and ever increasing Operating Systems?
For further information on how you can use skignz please visit our new website or check out the usual social media channels.
