Dubai: Ramadan is not only a time of reflection with friends and family.
It is also a time when Android smartphone and tablet users flock online in search of new and classic apps that help get the full experience of the holy month, says Android creator Google.
While Ramadan download numbers won’t be available until the month is over, Google said that Android apps remain extremely popular year round with more than 82 billion apps downloaded from Google Play from May 2016 to May this year.
A Google spokesperson told Gulf News “that’s 11 apps for every human on earth”.
A wide selection of Ramadan apps remain popular because they are free.
Najeeb Jarrar, product marketing manager at Google Middle East and North Africa, said the content app hunt varies across a number of trends, ranging from practical tool-based functions to just plain entertainment, time-killing applications.
“Over the years, users in the UAE turn to a mix of both new apps and classic popular favourites like prayer timings, or recipes. We also notice a spike in travel-related apps in the lifestyle category as people begin to prepare for the Eid break. With more time on their hands, people also turn to games and books across different categories,” Jarrar told Gulf News.
He pointed out that the types of Android apps being sought change during Ramadan as users are looking for different experiences at different times.
Practical apps that help observers through the day during Ramadan are heavily sought in the early days of the month in preparation for the demands of the month related to fasting and time shifts in the daily calendar due to shorter working hours.
Jarrar said, “We start noticing a spike in apps that help users know prayer time, and calendar organisational apps which give users the ability to plan their days, and apps with timings on when to start and end fasting. A few days before the month started, we noticed users downloading apps to help them design greeting cards or personalised Ramadan greeting messages which they tended to share with friends and family when Ramadan was announced.”
When Ramadan is in full swing, Jarrar said, “we see more users installing religious apps, and recipes and cooking apps, and due to the shorter work hours more games and books and general entertainment apps.”
Alarm apps are also popular, he said, “to help users wake up for suhour, or take naps during the day and be sure to wake up in the morning”.
“During the middle of the month, users tend to download apps to help them stay healthy, like fitness and exercise apps.”
As Eid approaches, “we see more users planning their vacation, downloading multiple travel and planning applications to score the best deals on hotel and airline tickets, in addition to the photos and editing apps to organise the pictures they plan to take during their vacation”.
Hot apps for Ramadan
Najeeb Jarrar, product marketing manager at Google Middle East and North Africa, said, “We expect the following apps to be big and useful this year in the UAE:”
Quran for Android
Athan Ramadan
Lose It! Calorie Counter
Skyscanner
Trivago
Ramadan 2017
Auto- Athkar for Muslims
Airbnb
Recipe Book
Good morning Alarm Clock
Source: Google Play
