# Back-end

How Often You Should Update Your App – A Guide to App Maintenance

Red Rocket TeamSep 23, 20245 min read

When you create a mobile app for your own business, you expect to improve the efficiency of your company, gain new customers, and many other things. However, such positive results can be achieved if you reach three points - creation of a high-quality app, well-organized work of the company's employees, and regular app updates. If the first two points are clear for many people, the topic of mobile app maintenance requires a separate consideration. Why is it so? Young entrepreneurs often don't understand why they need to update the app, whether it is necessary to introduce new features, how to fix bugs, and much more.

If you're looking for information about updating apps, you've come to the right place. At Red Rocket Software, we know how important app updates can be for efficient operation. We've gathered a lot of information that will help you become a pro on the topic of app maintenance and updates, both on Android and iOS.

Key Takeaways

The application from any industry needs updates.
Reputable companies release minor application updates once every 20-40 days.
Updates may include the introduction of new features, bug fixes, and interface design changes.
Tell your users about the changes you have implemented in the application. This will make it easier to learn new features and understand why the update was required.

How Do Regular Updates Impact App Performance?

Imagine that you downloaded an application with a non-adaptive design and a lot of bugs. Would you continue to use such a product? Obviously, users appreciate comfort and the best experience. The better the performance of your product, the more chances that a potential user will reach the target action. Developing updates can help with this. Here's exactly how regular updates affect the performance of a digital product.

(01)
Improving User Experience

Constantly updating the app lets you gradually improve upon and add the final touches of the interface. It allows you to fine-tune features based on usage and feedback data, resolve any UI/UX problems, improve the process, and make the experience better for your customers. Updates are important because they make the app feel new and active, as well as conforming to the standard design of the time.

(02)
Making Your Application More Visible

It is recommended to update your apps regularly to keep users engaged with the content and maintain a constant presence across the app stores. Older apps are buried in the rankings, receive a lower rank, and fail to acquire new users in the long run. On the contrary, apps that bring new features, solve important issues and update interfaces remain conspicuous.

(03)
Meeting Customer Expectations

Today’s mobile users also expect applications to be fast and secure and to receive timely updates as well as improvements in their functionality. This way, you are ready to meet all of these expectations at once.

(04)
Improving Security

Finally, each app update helps close vulnerabilities or enhance data protection systems. This means that developers have to be ahead of their game at all times, especially as different forms of malicious attacks are being invented.

Types of App Updates: Maintenance vs Upgrades

When you hear the opinion that your product requires changes, it's important to understand what kind of things you're talking about. This means that there are two main types of application updates - maintenance and upgrades. How do they differ generally?

Maintenance

Of course, releasing a ready-made application on the App Store or Play Market is not enough for success. Over time, the app may require the implementation of important technical changes in the program code. In simple words, this is optimization so that your mobile app works correctly on different devices of all clients.

Upgrades

Some people may say that upgrades are not mandatory things, but business owners desire to freshen up the program. This is actually not true because upgrades affect how highly customers will rate your app. Upgrades can cover redesigning, adding new features, and improving the app. For example, adding a built-in artificial intelligence (AI) chatbot to the app is an upgrade that will help improve your firm's efficiency.

You may ask us if maintenance and upgrades need to be released in each separate update. No, it is not necessary, as you can combine all the desired changes for your product in a single update. However, if there are sudden bugs in your application, you should do maintenance.

How Often Should I Update My App?

The issue of mobile application update frequency is a popular topic of discussion on software development forums. There is a lot of debate around this question. While some people say that it is optimal to release an update every week, others insist on a month. Moreover, some people think that you can just do a global update once a year. Screenshot 2024-09-23 at 18.23.39.png

It's best to look at actual statistics to see how often businesses implement updates on the Play Market and App Store. According to a recent statistic, about 63% of all apps are updated on a regular monthly basis. Another interesting fact is that apps that are free to users implement changes much more frequently than owners of paid products do.

To understand how often you should implement new changes, you need to look at several factors. For example, the first factor is Apple and Google's rules. Their program hosting sites do not allow you to update your apps every few days and this may also seem manipulative. The second point is your competitors. Look at your closest competitors' apps and update your history. If they do it once a month, stick to the same pattern.

Why Android Apps Always Seem to Require Updates?

By studying hundreds of comments from regular users, we realized that Android phones are updated much more frequently than Apple devices. At first we were surprised by this fact, so we decided to explore what this is related to.

First of all, it is related to the moderation process of mobile app sites. You know that the App Store is used for Apple, and Play Market is used for Android gadgets. It's no secret that the App Store conducts longer checks of programs that are placed on the sites. This applies not only to the initial placement but also to subsequent updates. The American company Apple carefully checks how you have updated your application and whether these changes can be risky for users. If they find a violation of the rules, they may even reject a certain version of the program.

Mobile app developers for iOS devices usually spend a lot of work analyzing customer feedback and testing the app themselves. They collect all the minor bugs that need to be fixed and then release one comprehensive update. It is common for mobile apps for Android devices to release new versions of the program, even to fix the smallest bugs.

Manual vs Automatic Updates

When it comes to application updates on your phone, there are usually two methods: manually or automatically. Both decisions have advantages and disadvantages that should be considered.

When you choose to allow the auto-update, your apps will be updated to the most current version on their own accord. This implies that you will always be updated with the latest security patches or new features as soon as they are developed. However, this constant update can slowly occupy the storage space of the phone over time if the individual has numerous applications.

On the other hand, manually updating apps allows for more control over the apps being installed and when this is done. This means that while it is possible to ignore updates for applications that you do not use, the frequently used applications can be updated selectively. This helps to stop your storage from being constantly filled with unnecessary updates. What is the problem with this way of getting new versions of programs? You need to regularly check the application installation service to see if there are any versions available. This is also a drawback for the security of the user. The developers often introduce new security measures in updates, which you will not have access to using an old version of the program.

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How to Check if an App Needs an Update?

Indeed, it is important to update your app frequently to ensure that it performs well and meets the expectations of users and remains relevant in the market. Here are 3 key ways to check if your app needs an update.

(01)
Study User Reviews

The problems and features that users have in mind are hard-coded in the app stores and review sections. Visit the review site frequently and pay close attention to both the most recent 1-3 stars reviewers. Search for patterns – are many users complaining about similar problems or asking for similar functions? One has to pay particular attention to active users’ feedbacks. Follow up on negative comments and maybe try to contact the unhappy customers to get more information. Positive reviews can also help to identify areas that are performing well.

(02)
Conduct Testing

To do this, you should regularly try your app yourself on different devices to see how a user would interact with it. It is possible to verify the functionality, the interface, the speed, etc., and also have a small group of real users who work on new releases as beta testers. Observers can instruct testers to perform some important tasks as they observe them.

(03)
Analyzing Behavioral Factors

Tools such as metrics and analytics can reveal changes in how people are using the app in real life over time. Monitor metrics such as DAU/MAU, average session length, retention, feature usage, etc.. If they drop or if there are signs that they might, it may be time for a change.

User Perspectives on App Updates

As statistics show, there are many users who are completely indifferent to conducting application updates. Moreover, many of them won't even notice what changes have occurred in your program. Some customers may even be annoyed by constant notifications that a particular application is updated too often. That's why there are users who opt out of new updates on their own. However, this is only a small part of modern users. Mostly, they realize how important it is to get a new version of a product that contains interesting features and is bug-free.

"Why Does My Phone Keep Updating?"

Owners of different smartphones often receive annoying notifications to install updates. Does it annoy them? Yes, some users get angry when they see such messages every day. However, they should understand that all the changes that developers make are aimed at improving the program's performance and creating a better experience for customers. Moreover, you should update the apps to get the best security measures for your personal data.

How to Announce Your App Update?

Unfortunately, some users don't realize the importance of app updates. They think that it will only take up their time and part of the storage of the device they are using. Actually, app adoption is beneficial for both parties - developers and users. This is why you have to develop the right approach to introduce users to the introduction of new changes to the product.

If your app doesn't already have a «What's New» section, think about adding such a button. This is a text box where your users can learn more about the updates that have been implemented by the developers. When you announce a new update, be sure to add the version and description of the update to this section. Briefly describe the features/changes you are implementing.
Do you have a popular website with a branded blog? Try using these features to tell potential clients about the new update. Here you are not limited to a few lines and can devote an entire article detailing the important changes.
Today, almost every business has social media pages. Instagram, Facebook, LinkedIn, and other social media websites are great places where most of your target audience gathers. You can use these social media outlets to publish an introductory post about the new version of your app.
Send push notifications to your customers about the update. Not only is this a great way to tell your customers in more detail what features have been implemented in the new version of your app. It also helps to remind customers who haven't opened the program in a while that your app exists. This approach is effective in increasing the percentage of customers opening the app.

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Final thoughts

It's no secret that the mobile app development market continues to grow in 2024, and experts predict it will continue to do so. This means that your competitors are also creating mobile apps. The goal of companies is to reach as large a target audience as possible and take the top spots in their niche. In such a saturated competitive environment, you must have an app with better performance to retain old customers and attract new users. A great way to achieve this goal is to regularly work on introducing new features and updates to the app.

Sometimes it happens that the operating system upgrades to another version, and the performance of your program drops. Now you need to make optimization and technical changes so that customers get fast page loading and button response again. It's also important that your interface and design keep up with current trends. If you haven't done a redesign in a few years, take note of what apps look trending today. At Red Rocket, we often work to analyze and implement new changes to our clients' mobile apps. We realize that updating an app is a breath of fresh air for users who want to see the perfect mobile app in front of them.