Apps are so yesterday as the tech world talks up mad 'skills'
The app of the future is not about creating a new service, but rather about quick and intuitive access to existing services and products, writes Arthur Goldstuck
As the once-meteoric growth of mobile apps slows, and the typical smartphone user settles on a core of standard apps, developers are scrambling for the next big edge. It may well already have arrived, but this time we are unlikely to see billion-dollar businesses emerge from an idea that can be summed up in one elevator ride. The app of the future is not about creating a new service, but rather about quick and intuitive access to existing services, products and even appliances. And instead of calling them apps, these access methods will be called "skills". At least, if Amazon has anything to do with it. The e-commerce giant launched Alexa, its voice-controlled device for controlling other devices, two years ago, in the belief that voice would become the next big user interface. Apple had made a similar bet on its voice-controlled "virtual assistant" Siri, which proved to be little more than a novelty in its early versions. But Amazon went a step further, opening Alexa to third-party...
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