Is the end of the app developer near?

We are happy to announce our DevMic series, a space in our blog where we give developers the opportunity to share their experiences and ideas with the community.

Today we are catching up with Mylo Kaye, CEO of Dreamr, on the topic of the end of the app developer. Dreamr believes technology has the power to inspire and enrich lives in a positive and meaningful way and they do this by building applications for the Phone, TV, Watch & Web for entrepreneurs & enterprises and those who want to change the world.

Can you tell us about your background and your company story?

Dreamr’s mission is to create the most innovative and thought-provoking products in the world. We started in 2014, when we noticed the need for beautiful apps, that not only worked great but also looked great. The founding members of Dreamr are all passionate about technology, and using it to solve our client’s problems. In the past we’ve worked with two entrepreneurs who were looking to track data used by boxing professionals. They had created two sensors to wear inside boxing gloves and Dreamr were asked to interpret that data in a visually compelling way on the iPhone. They went on to launch in Las Vegas and also we’re featured on the Gadget Show a few month back.
We’ve worked with entrepreneurs, start-ups and established companies worldwide to launch apps from brain-training to Manchester Universities careers fair app to beauty app, Be Glam. We won the The Skills for Business in 2016 and were shortlisted for the Northern Digital Awards, Big Chip 2016, and Northern e-Commerce awards.

Having spent the past decade in digital, I have found a passion for technology that changes the lives of people and businesses. I am passionate about social issues and work with Change4Good and mentor for Natwest’s Entrepreneurial Spark programme.

Just like we expect our friends’ houses and apartments to have Wi-Fi, all our friends will be able to code in some capacity.

So let’s dive into the subject: what’s going wrong in the app development industry?

Apple is making it easier and easier to develop apps. Kids can now download ‘Playground’ on the app store and learn the basic of developing for the iPhone.

Tim Cook said in 2016 that coding should be taught in schools. He predicted this will be a game changer for the app development industry as young kids and teenagers graduating from high school will be able to make their own apps with ease. This will mean anyone can become an app developer.

Where do you think app development is going? What is the future?

One day, me, you and your friend will be able to code. With the ubiquity of being able to code more and more developers will flood the market, driving down salary costs of developers and creating tough competition. Developers will need to specialise and hone their skills to become specialists in IoT devices or security. It will no longer be easy to just become a coder. Companies like Dreamr will be looking for specialists in app developers. Think of it this way, if everyone is doing it, then what makes you so special?

What comes after app developers?

App developers won’t be going anywhere just yet, well not till AI takes over. But what we will see is that with the world full of app developers, it will become a common skill to have. Just like we expect our friends’ houses and apartments to have Wi-Fi, all our friends will be able to code in some capacity. Learning how to code in schools is being spearheaded by Tim Cook, Apple’s CEO. With the national curriculum now including coding, it is all about securing the future for our children: more and more jobs are being replaced by robots, and the world is being built on coding. We will need more and more developers to help ‘code the world’. Soon, everyone will be a developer.

Is having more app developers a disadvantage? If yes why is that so?

It’s not a disadvantage to have more and more developers; you will just find that the average developer salary will decrease as more enter the market. This will put companies like mine at an advantage, but I hope that developers specialise in a particular subject matter to make themselves more indispensable.

Do you think that people with some programming ability are going to be fully tech focused, or be more interdisciplinary? How is that going to manifest?

Everyone will be able to code, in some way, shape or form. Marketing managers now manage internal company websites, where this was once handled by an agency. These extra coding skills will be beneficial to companies on a broad level, but we will still have the developers who focus on an area, such as web or phone development.

Think of it this way, if everyone is doing it, then what makes you so special?

Mobile websites vs mobile apps? Who is going to win? What about other outlets like bots, VR, AR?

Mobile apps have the power to really utilise the hardware in a phone, so you’re able to play games and see beautiful graphics, or access the powerful iPhone camera. Mobile websites have their place, but for simple things, they’re for the non-exciting stuff.

Bots, VR, and AR are all taking off right now and while this is super exciting, we will continue to innovate into the future, for more exciting ways to interact with technology. Now, a lot of these new technologies such as VR are still new, so we will see a slow adoption in the home and broader adoption in companies. Both VR and AR have their place too. VR is far more immersive and great when experienced alone, while AR allows you to also interact in the real world by having a conversation while watching the news.

What is your view on developers with traditional background vs non-traditional background?

I’m a self-taught web developer. I can’t create the modern sites of today but back in 2007/8 I taught myself coding. I love people who find a passion for something by ‘doing’. I touched upon earlier that soon we’ll all be able to code in some shape or form, and so we will see more adults coding, while five-year-olds will be able to make basic apps.