After 2 years of being in a pandemic, people have seen the power of digital more than ever. In order to survive, companies and people were forced to adapt to using apps to do things that they usually had to do manually in person. This showed us that a lot of things in Singapore could be done using our phones and not only can it be done, but it could be done a lot easier and save us time and money.

Some of the biggest app publishers in Singapore are Tiktok (±3 billion downloads), Shopee (±500 million downloads) and Bigo Technology (±500 million downloads). These numbers are incredible and they will continue to grow as we go into 2022.

As we move into the new year, things are slowly starting to open up and people are eager to get back to their pre-pandemic lives. After 2 years of grooming people into high tech app users, there has never been a better time to build and launch an app to help them navigate and thrive in Singapore. Here are a few ideas you could consider:

1. Brand Identifier App 

This app will let people use their phone cameras to scan a logo and learn more about the brand. Whether it’s from a global fashion brand like Gucci or Adidas or a local brand in Singapore such as TWG or Razor, you could see information about the brand such as their locations, products, story, and even some special offers.

2. AR App To Design Your Room

Right now, when designing their rooms, people have to hire expensive interior designers or just go to the store and buy items that might or might not work. In Singapore, Earth Interior Design and Trinity Interior Design are two of the biggest companies. They do great work, but not everyone can afford them.

An AR app could simplify the interior design by allowing you to view the furniture in your home. You could see the actual sizes and fit them correctly as well as see which colours work well. This app can be used to design an entire room or house and would be linked to a store to purchase the items directly.

3. Singapore Nightlife App

After all the time people spent at home during the pandemic, they are eager to get out and meet people. Developing an app with events and special deals and promotions on drinks and meals would be great for them and it will also help promote the bars and clubs that have been mostly out of business during lockdowns.

4. Smart Health Tracker

After seeing case numbers projected on the TV or our phones, people are now more conscious about their health than ever before. Developing an app to help them track their health using wearable technology and merging that data with AI and ML to create smart insights and customised recommendations to help them improve their health would be a gamechanger in 2022.

5. Service Finder App

Lots of small businesses in Singapore have learned the hard way that being lean and flexible is of utmost importance as something as crazy as a covid-19 pandemic can appear out of the blue and cause severe strain on their business. Because of this many of them are starting to rely on outsourcing tasks to individual freelancers instead of hiring full-time employees. Developing an app that connects businesses to people with skills and includes things such as reviews and payments would be an interesting endeavour as we move into a more skill-based society.

6. AI-Based Tour Guide App

 2022 is the year travel is expected to return and when it returns it will return in a big way! Developing an AI assistant to help people travel could be really helpful to them. Right now people rely on tour guides and they do a great job but they don’t really understand everyone and what they actually enjoy seeing and doing. An AI assistant would grow smarter the more it is used and start to show people things they didn’t even know they would like by analysing their past preferences and creating smart suggestions.

7. Supermarket Checkout App

Right now, when people go to Cold Storage of Fair Price to buy groceries. Singapore is a small but densely populated city, so you can imagine lines can get quite long, especially during peak hours. So an app that allows people to scan items and pay immediately once it is in their basket would save them a whole lot of time.

8. Smart Cooking App

Cooking at home is a great way to eat healthier and keep to your monthly spending budget as those restaurant bills can easily start to add up. The issue is that a lot of people don’t know how to cook. But that’s something AI can help with. You could develop an app that lets people scan the items they have at home and then show them meals they can create with that, followed by cooking instructions and videos. It could also be able to scan prepared meals and come up with an ingredient list as well as cooking instructions. That’s great for people who want to eat a meal they found at their favourite restaurant at home but have no idea how to even get started.

9. Lost And Found App

If you just visited the gym or went for a run in the park, and you found that your wallet or watch was no longer with you when you returned home, you could list it on the application. People who might have seen it will then be able to return it to you. People who return lost items would also be rewarded with points and tips. Similarly, people who find items lying around could list it on the app along with the location it was found and then people can search for their lost items.

10. Gift Suggestion App

Gifting was one of the things that saw a massive increase since 2021 and it will continue to grow. But knowing what to buy is always a challenge. That’s why you should develop an app that does that for you. It will take the occasion and person receiving and present you some great gifts you can buy for them at stores in Singapore. The gifts would then be packaged and sent right to them with a nice card. 

How to actually get started with your app project?

When you create a new application, you want to focus on the main function and you want to make that work really well. After launching you want to have people use it and then listen to their feedback. See what they like and focus on that, see what they don’t like and improve that

Once you know exactly what you want to do you can start reaching out to some app developers to get quotes. Developing an app is not cheap and comes at a substantial price so be prepared to put down a large investment. Luckily the cost of developing an app in Singapore or even in neighbouring Malaysia is much lower than in the United States. Even though the price is much lower the quality is to the same standard. Some people choose to develop their apps in India, because of the lower cost. You definitely can find some fantastic app developers there, but there have been too many horror stories to recommend doing that.

When choosing a developer to work with you want to find one that has excellent communication skills, because that is one of the most important aspects of a successful project. If you can understand each other well, you can build an awesome app together that will go on to become a successful business.