Mobile Apps: Software on the Go

Think about how you use a smartphone or tablet compared to a laptop or a desktop computer. You don’t usually sit at a desk with a mouse and keyboard, do you? Instead, you hold it in your hands, carry it in your pocket, and use your fingers to interact with it. The special software designed for these portable devices is called an App (short for “Application”).

Built for Touch

Mobile apps are designed for touchscreens. This means they have big, easy-to-tap buttons and use special finger movements called gestures:

• Tap: Like a mouse click.
• Swipe: Sliding your finger to scroll through photos or pages.
• Pinch-to-Zoom: Using two fingers to make a map or a photo look bigger or smaller.

The Two Big Families: iOS and Android

Just like desktop computers have different operating systems like Windows or macOS, mobile devices have them too! The two most famous ones are iOS and Android.

• iOS (by Apple): This is the operating system for iPhones and iPads. It’s known for being very simple and easy to use. Apple makes both the software (iOS) and the hardware (the iPhone), so they work together perfectly.
• Android (by Google): This operating system is used by many different companies like Samsung, Google (Pixel), and Motorola. Because so many different companies use it, Android comes in many different styles and on many different types of phones!

The App Store vs. Google Play

Because most mobile devices don’t have a disc drive or a way to plug in a CD, we get new software from a digital shop.

• On Apple devices, it’s called the App Store.
• On Android devices, it’s called Google Play. You just search for the app you want, tap “Install,” and it appears on your screen!

Sensors: Making Apps “Smart”

One of the coolest things about mobile apps is that they can use the “senses” of your phone, which we call sensors:

• GPS: Tells the app exactly where you are on Earth. This is how map apps know where you’re standing.
• Camera: Not just for selfies! Apps use the camera to scan QR codes or even “see” objects to tell you what they are.
• Accelerometer: This sensor knows if you are holding your phone upright or sideways. If you turn your phone to watch a video, the app knows to rotate the picture!
• Gyroscope: This helps the phone understand how it’s being tilted or rotated in 3D space. It’s used in games where you tilt the phone to steer a car.

Practical Examples

Mobile apps are everywhere! Here are a few ways they help us:

• Education: Apps like Duolingo help you learn a new language by playing games.
• Communication: Apps like WhatsApp or FaceTime let you talk to friends and family across the world.
• Entertainment: Games like Minecraft let you build and explore new worlds right in your hands.
• Health: Some apps can count how many steps you walk in a day using the phone’s sensors.

Did you know?

• The First App Store: While we use them every day now, the Apple App Store only opened in 2008! Before then, it was much harder to get new programs onto your phone.
• Most Popular: The most downloaded apps of all time are usually social media apps like Facebook and Instagram, but games like Candy Crush have been downloaded billions of times!
• Space Apps: Even astronauts use mobile apps! They have special tablets on the International Space Station to help them keep track of their experiments and schedules.

Questions

1. Imagine you are designing a racing game for a phone. How could you use the accelerometer to make the game more fun than just tapping buttons?

2. Why do mobile apps have larger buttons and simpler menus than programs on a desktop computer?

3. If you are in a forest with no Wi-Fi or internet, can a map app still show your exact location? Which sensor would it use?

4. You want to learn how to play the piano. How could a mobile app use the microphone sensor to help you?

5. If you have an iPhone, can you download an app from Google Play? Why or why not?