National App Day Date in the current year: December 11, 2024

Strictly speaking, a software application is any program designed to carry out a specific task, as opposed to system software and utility software. Most programs you use on your desktop computer or laptop – word processors, spreadsheets, media players, web browsers, video games, etc. – are software applications.

However, hardly anyone calls desktop programs applications these days. The word applications (apps for short) is associated primarily with mobile applications. A mobile application is a software application that is specifically designed to run on a mobile device (phone, tablet, smartwatch, etc.). Mobile apps became widely available following the launch of Apple’s App Store and Google’s Android Market (now Google Play) in 2008., and the abbreviated form of the word application, app, quickly became popular. In 2010, the American Dialect Society even designated it as the Word of the Year in the US.

All mobile apps can be divided into three groups: native apps, web-based apps, and hybrid apps. Native apps are designed for a particular mobile operating system (Android, iOS, Windows RT, etc.). Most apps have versions for multiple platforms. Web-based apps are created using standard web technologies such as JavaScript, HTML and CSS. They are typically not fully functional without Internet access. Hybrid apps, just like the name suggests, are developed to support native and web technologies across multiple platforms.

Most mobile devices are sold with a number of pre-installed apps, some of which cannot be removed. Additional apps can be downloaded from an app store operated by the owner of the mobile platform, device manufacturer, or a third party. Just like desktop applications, mobile apps can be fully commercial, freeware, or free and open-source. With the growing availability and popularity of mobile devices, a lot of people cannot imagine their everyday lives without mobile apps that make performing many tasks so much easier.

National App Day was launched in 2017 by Platinum Edge Media, a mobile solutions platform designed to help businesses design and launch mobile apps and marketing campaigns. The main goal of the holiday is to celebrate the ingenuous people who develop mobile apps that can improve almost any aspect of our everyday lives, as well as to highlight the enormous contribution of apps to making our world a better place.

App development companies can celebrate National App Day by launching new apps and throwing corporate parties for their employees as a reward for their hard work, dedication, and creativity. Users can observe National App Day too! You can join a celebration by giving a shout-out to your favorite apps on social media with the hashtag #NationalAppDay, recommending them to your friends, leaving a rating/review for your favorite apps, and giving new apps a try.