

Ask HN: How do you discover apps? - Lukeas14

For web, mobile and desktop platforms, what is your go to source for finding the apps you use everyday? Do you rely on the native app stores, Google, independent app marketplaces, recommendations from friends?<p>I'm currently working on a solution to improve app discovery for users and user acquisition for app creators. I've asked this question dozens of times but would like to see what the response is on a larger scale. Hopefully this will be useful for anyone marketing their own apps as well.<p>Thanks.
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Lukeas14
I'll start.

Currently my strategy for discovering apps depends mostly on how much research
I've done on the space. For apps I know by name (Facebook, Amazon Kindle) I
have no use for anything outside the native app stores (This accounts for
probably 50% of the apps I download). Other times I have a problem that I'm
sure someone has created a software based solution for but don't know which is
best and will use a combination of app store keyword searches, Google and
asking friends (Mostly utilities. 25%). There is also a third case of "apps I
didn't know I wanted" that are almost exclusively discovered through word of
mouth (Mostly games. 25%).

