So many ideas go through a “product journey” and turn into an android app. A bulk of them bites the dust and only a selected few are able to acquire millions of monthly active users.

There is a recipe for building popular and state-of-the-art android apps, and we will be demystifying that recipe for you in this write-up.

As a savvy android app development agency, we keep a pulse on everything that surrounds Android apps. We are always aware of the kind of apps that are trending and acquiring millions of subscribers, and we do it out of passion.

As the title suggests, we will be taking up 4 trending android apps. Don’t worry, we are not talking about Facebook, Snapchat, Twitter or Instagram. You already know their stories, and there are other app ideas that start-up enthusiasts like you want to realize.

We will be talking about Spotify, and Deliveroo which trended like anything in 2019 and are still ruling the charts of Google Play in 2020.

The write-up also includes the two other applications that got super-famous during this COVID-19 pandemic, which has instilled tremendous changes in the technology world. 

Lockdown has forced people to avoid all sorts of human contact, bringing in their lives the ultimate enemy of a soulful mind- Boredom! 

In scenarios like that, apps hitting the right spots, catering to the human interaction and entertainment needs of people, have marked great achievements in the app industry.Hence, we’ll be talking about two such apps, Zoom and Netflix.

The write-up won’t just discuss the “virality” aspect of these apps but will explain to you their functionalities and tech stack.

1. Spotify

Spotify is a popular music streaming android app, having 250 million monthly active users in its kitty.

With Spotify, users can have access to one of the biggest-ever collections of music albums, podcasts, and other forms of audio content.

It is currently ranked #1 on Google Play (United Kingdom), under Music and Audio, which speaks volumes about its popularity. (Source: SimilarWeb)

The premium subscribers of Spotify can listen to high-quality recordings in an uninterrupted fashion. They can download songs to any device on which they have installed the app.

In the earlier part of 2020, it had 286 million monthly active users, according to the company’s official report. Out of these, 130 million were premium subscribers.

By the end of the year, Spotify is hoping to report 320-325 million monthly active users, and 147-152 million Premium subscribers.

Currently, Europe comprises 40 percent of Spotify’s subscribers (Source: Spotity).

Key features of Spotify include:

• Get recommendations from personalized features, such as Discover Weekly, Release Radar, and Daily Mix.

• Build collections of music.

• See what friends, artists, and celebrities listen to.

• Create your own Radio stations.

What else you can do with Spotify?

You can play local files on Spotify. A majority of users have their favorite songs stored on laptops. Spotify can index such local files on a user’s laptop and create a playlist.

The best part is; you can create a playlist that has both the local files and tracks from Spotify’s own library, giving you the best of both worlds.

You can also share your “Music discoveries” with your network, meaning. In other words, you can share links or playlists on your Spotify wall and engage with enthusiasts like you.

Don’t worry about creating another social network, as your Facebook network integrates with Spotify. So no extra efforts required on your part.

Tech Stack for Spotify

Generally, for music streaming android app, the tech stack is built around Python and JavaScript, and it’s true for Spotify as well.

Its backend is mainly built with Java, and PHP is used (to some extent) for the server-side logic. Spotify uses many supplementary services, almost hundreds of them. This makes the backend architecture rather intricate. Most of these services are written in Java and Python, and the rest in Clojure and HTMl5.

The entire android app development (backend) of Spotify is segregated, in a way that each feature is assigned to a different set of developers (squad). It is called as Microservice architecture, where each Microservice is assigned a specific responsibility and a set of developers code for specific functionalities in an isolated fashion.

So if one feature fails, the other features will continue to work, as they are mutually independent. Also, since all the knowledge of one particular feature is known to one squad, it becomes easier to A/B test features, analyze the data collected, make an informed decision.

2. Deliveroo

Deliveroo is a food delivery app that serves as an intermediary between customers and restaurants. Using the app, customers place (and pay for) an order, and the participating restaurant gets the information in real-time. A Deliveroo courier collects the food and delivers it to the customer. Sounds pretty simple? Not exactly, as there is a complex algorithm that makes all this look simple.

As per a survey by GlobalWebIndex, Deliveroo is the third-most-popular food delivery app in the UK, after Just Eat and Uber Eats.

The key features include:

• Tailored restaurant recommendations

• Advanced search filters

• Order tracking

• Customizable delivery details

There is an algorithm (Frank) behind the efficiency of the app. The primary objective of the algorithm is to minimize customer waiting time. It sets the delivery radius in a way that encourages people to order from restaurants that are based locally.

Frank constantly calculates and recalculates, to determine the best rider for a particular order. It uses Deliveroo’s historical data and various machine learning models to predict a rider’s travel time as well as an order’s preparation time.

Moreover, it processes a complex set of data to make predictions and decisions in real-time and stack orders based on these decisions. It can even tweak its response in accordance with real-world scenarios, such as travel delays.

Tech Stack for Deliveroo (Android app development)

The highlight of Deliveroo is its responsiveness. If something goes wrong with a customer’s order, then the app allows customers to pictorially report the issue (share an image).

To spare the customer care team from going through irrelevant or poor quality images, Deliveroo uses Amazon Rekognition, which accurately processes all images in real-time. It rejects hundreds of photos per week (about 1.7% of all images that users submit).

The app also uses Amazon Simple Storage Service (Amazon S3) to store the photos that go into the customer service queue.

3. Zoom

All of us have been working from home nowadays, and it’s impossible not to have heard about an application called “Zoom”. 

The application allows an individual to virtually interact with another person or with a co-worker, or host virtual meetings when human-to-human meetings are not possible.

This gives the communication a human touch. 

The application has become a must-have tool for every business, be it small, medium, or large, to facilitate uninterrupted communications with its employees.  

It is one of the most trending apps on the play store, and the number of users is growing at a really high pace.

What Is Zoom?

Zoom is a cloud-based video conferencing portal that allows you to facilitate virtual communication between 2 to 100 people. You can join a zoom meeting with just your audio or only your video or with both or nothing; it depends on your choice, needs, and purpose of the meeting. 

While using the zoom, you must have heard of two phrases: a Zoom Meeting and a Zoom Room. 

Zoom Meeting refers to a virtual video conferencing meeting that is hosted on the Zoom application; these meetings can be joined by an individual via a webcam or a mobile phone. 

Whereas, a Zoom Room refers to the physical hardware setup that provides the companies with the option of scheduling or launching a zoom meeting. 

What Features Does it Offer? 

Here are the core features offered by Zoom:

• One-on-one Meetings: zoom lets you host unlimited one on one meetings even with a free plan.
• Group Video Conferencing: If you buy the Zoom premium plan, you can add up to 500 participants to your zoom meeting. If you choose to stay with the free one, up to 100 participants can be added while the session’s duration remains 40 minutes. After that, the same session could be re-joined.
• Screen-Sharing: You can share your screen with the meeting participants, and make them see what you are viewing. Information transmission is pretty easy with zoom. 

Tech Stack of Zoom: 

The famous “Zoom” application uses the following technologies: 

Image Source: AwesomeTechStack

4. Netflix

Netflix was always a popular application, but this quarantine it got even more popular. 

Earlier, there were some individuals who never actually subscribed to Netflix, but now all of them are using it. 

Netflix owes a lot to the lockdown, and thanks to people’s boredom, it has become the most popular online streaming application. 

While the rivals of Netflix are facing production delays in catching up, Netflix has already got it going. Hence it gets an edge over the competition in the COVID times.

What Is Netflix? 

Netflix is the first online video streaming option for most devices. It was launched about 20 years ago as a subscription-based DVD service that would mail the DVD you ordered straight at your doorsteps. 

In 2007, Netflix decided to capture the business of online video streaming. It started providing users with the facility to watch thousands of on-demand Tv shows and movies online, free of advertisements. 

Ten years from then, Netflix is ruling the online streaming market and has become the biggest name in the entertainment industry. 

It produces critically acclaimed TV shows and movies and hosts original comedy specials. 

Netflix offers a wide array of content on every genre; you name it; they have it!

From Netflix Originals, Classic Movies to Trendy shows, Netflix offers its audience with all sorts of entertainment. 

The platform generates revenue by providing subscription-based accounts to its users. So you can buy the subscription every month and start watching. 

What Features Does it Offer?

Here are some fantastic features offered by Netflix: 

• Original Content: Netflix provides original productions known as “Netflix Originals.” There are hundreds of such originals broadcasted by the company. The content is rich and fresh, that it has managed to grab the attention of millions of users. Ultimately bagging awards like Emmys, Grammys, Golden Globes and Academy Awards.
• Stream on multiple devices: with a premium subscription to Netflix, users can stream videos on up to 4 screens simultaneously.
• Download Content: Netflix allows you to download your favorite shows and movies while you have access to the internet, to watch when you go offline.However, these downloads are only playable for seven days and only on the device used while downloading.
• Multiple Profiles: You can add up to 4 profiles in your Netflix account and use all four at the same time on different devices. Netflix also provides suggestions based on your search history. Which you can later add to your “list” of favorite shows. 

It is also parent-friendly, so you can monitor what your kids are watching. 

Tech Stack of Netflix:

The super-popular “Netflix” uses the following Technologies: 

Image Source: StackShare

An important aspect of all the above-mentioned apps is the tech stack.Only the right tech stack can give you a trending app on play store. A good idea will never turn into a proper application if you build it using the wrong technologies.

To build such apps from scratch, you need an android app development agency that has full-stack developers.

Over the years, we have built a team that can work on a multitude of technologies and frameworks to build contemporary apps.

We are sure that after reading about the success of Spotify, Zoom, Netflix and Deliveroo, your intent to build the next popular app must have become stronger. We have worked with enthusiasts like you before and have hit the ball out of the park.

So if you have an idea and are looking for the right kind of technological expertise, then let’s connect.