How Location Based Services in Apps are Beneficial?

Location aware apps have arising because of its maps and location services that enhances the interactions between customers and businesses. One of the unique and most useful feature that can be added during mobile app development is location awareness. Mobile users often take phone with them everywhere they go and integrating location awareness to the app offers users a more contextual experience. Google Play services provide location APIs that supports adding location awareness to your app with automated location tracking, geofencing and activity recognition. Features that help us to determine user locations, mapping, navigation, calculating travel times and real-time geolocation tracking are huge in demand. These features are being used widely in almost every sector.

Here is a list of the common features that need to be added to location-aware apps:

• Identifying user’s current location: It is necessary to know the user’s current location if you are planning to include location-based search, content or services to your app. App determines the current location and provides nearby suggestions that user was looking for. To implement this feature in your app, you have to use Google Location API (for Android) and Apple Core Location (for iOS) technologies. These make use of GPS, Wi-Fi and Cell ID for accurate geolocation.

• Add maps: For travelers a detailed map is required in the app. User using taxi booking app like Ola allows them to open map and see where you are and where you want to go. APIs allows you to include maps and customized mapping information in your app. It will give users the ability to control the rotation, tilt and zoom properties.

• Create and monitor geofences: Geofencing combines awareness of users current location and user’s proximity of their interest. One can have multiple geofences with a limit of 100 per device user across all apps. Developers can combine geofencing with other location-aware features such as periodic location updates.

• Detailed information: Providing detailed information about places like address, contact information, ratings and reviews. App should allow users to share opinions on places which they have visited so that it can help other users. Tripadvisor app is one great example of an app that gives details of places to visit. APIs are available to integrate places functionality to the app.

How different industries are using location-based apps:

Retail: Retailers are location-based apps to improve their in-store experience. Using GPS data, they help their customers to find nearest store and also choose convenient delivery location.

Automotive: GPS data from vehicles in transportation systems to inform passengers about delays and arrivals. This feature can also be included for personal cars and hence you can track the family members who are travelling in that car.

Health and fitness: Location feature is important for runners or any sports person. They want to calculate the exact number of miles they have come along with their speed. This feature helps them to share their moments on social networks and pinning the location they have gone to.

Games: Games like Pokemon Go make use of location with augmented reality. These games allows people to interact with AR objects and people in the local area.

Hospitality: Food-delivery app like Zomato allows users to track your orders that is being delivered in real time. Hotel apps using geolocation offers additional services like on-site navigation, restaurant menus, self check-in/out on arrival/departure. Users can get details on nearby events through push notifications about restaurant with the help of location.

If you want to develop a location-based app for your industry then reach FuGenX. FuGenX technologies, award winning mobile apps development companies in India for the development of unique and scalable apps.