7 Best Location-Based App Ideas for Your Project

Various location-based app ideas are a trend of our time that no business owner or app developer should miss. If you want to profit from the products of your company, you need to at least understand what this trend is about, what ideas can be implemented using geolocation, and how it simplifies the life of users of your mobile applications.

Boosted personalization and precious analytics that can be turned into actionable insights are only basic inherent use cases. The geo-tracking functionality can be put at the core of a unique solution that turns responsive location-based servicing into a major business advantage.

The big question is how exactly you implement it, and which facet of geolocation opportunities you can and should choose? To make your life easier and help you kick off a market-defining app launch, we give you these well-tried and, most importantly, relevant ideas for a powerful location-based app.

Location-Based App: What is It and How Does It Work?

Any solution capable of collecting user location data in real-time can be considered location-based. This allows providers to customize services better and personalize experiences based on specific user habits. The impetus for the evolution of this trend was modern satellites, which make life easier for users than ever before. Now, any developer can implement this function in their application without problems. 

But to enable the location tracking of taxi passengers, medical patients, or simple eCommerce customers (you name it) in 2023, several underlying digital communication technologies are employed:

Global Positioning System (GPS) 

A global network of satellites enables a wide coverage of devices connected via built-in GPS modules. This is a part of every smartphone and every other device used daily today. And the best thing about this particular connection format is that you don’t need any network or Internet connection to stay covered by the satellites. They can track devices beyond the cell tower coverage by measuring Earth-orbit distance in real time.

Cell ID 

Geo-positions of devices can also be tracked via a mobile network. The principle of triangulation enables the three cell towers that are nearest to you to exchange local measurements and pinpoint your location.

Wi-Fi 

When GPS and mobile providers fail to satisfy your location-tracking needs, the closest Wi-Fi point can help you easily pinpoint your device’s geo-position. This is especially handy when traveling abroad — Wi-Fi will save you from expensive roaming when looking for a hotel or local sights.

A good geo-tracking-enabled app uses all three of these technologies interchangeably to grant tracking capabilities in different conditions.

Top Industries that Use Geolocation

The number of industries that can implement geolocation tracking is only growing. But let’s take a closer look at the hottest options for enterprises looking to profit from location-aware app ideas in 2023.

On-Demand Services

The on-demand industry is probably the quickest to come to mind for those catching on to this trend. People prefer using their smartphones for all types of services required here and now, including calling up a taxi, ordering food or goods delivery, and any other similar service. The benefit is immediately apparent — no need to make calls and waste extra time.

Examples of such solutions are:

• Uber and UberEats
• Lyft
• DoorDash
• NetPrincer

All these apps quickly connect all sorts of service providers with their target audience of customers. So it works both ways. For instance, by getting a location-aware app, taxi drivers also benefit enormously by not having to drive too far to pick up their passengers — you can always pick the most convenient destination.

Entertainment and Dating Industry

The entertainment and dating industry has also benefited greatly from the development of geolocation capabilities. Now you can find a mate a few miles from home just by using one of the popular apps. Moreover, you can find the nearest restaurant, café, park, and more.

The most vivid examples are:

• Tinder
• OkCupid
• Bumble
• Hinge

Transportation Industry

GPS data can be used for various purposes in cargo transportation. For example, you can track the direction of travel and the location of the nearest vehicles to simplify the logistics process. It is possible to make freight transportation easier and, most importantly, more profitable for business owners.

Businesses are boosting their supply chain and logistics management with the help of these location-aware solutions:

• Fleet Complete
• ShipStation
• Onfleet

Travel Industry

Owners of travel agencies have also become familiar with this trend quickly and are using it to maximize profits. Now, you can easily find various applications that allow you to select the nearest train station or airport to the user’s geolocation, provide the geo of the hotel and the nearest infrastructure, schedule bookings, and much more.

The most in-demand examples right now are:

• Airbnb
• Flightradar24
• TripAdvisor

Mobile Games and the AR Industry

Mobile games are another story of success. Combining geolocation and augmented reality allows for truly market-defining gamified experiences. We all remember the huge success of Pokémon Go. Then, there’s Ingress, which is an AR-enabled RPG, and Zombies, Run!, which takes a classic zombie apocalypse twist and turns it into a location-aware fitness solution.

On the other hand, solutions across industries and niches are getting gamified and equipped with AR. For instance, IKEA has long introduced a virtual “fitting room” inside the dedicated app, which allows seeing how certain furniture fits your real-world surroundings in real-time.

7 Best Ideas for Your Location-Based App

Since many developers are using this trend and the competition is growing every day, we have selected the best niches to enter right now. 

E-Commerce App

You can use geolocation to check availability in nearby warehouses, optimize courier work, and achieve many other goals. You also get ways to really boost marketing and sales at the forefront of your business. 

If you own a brick-and-mortar store or outlet, you can install specialized beacons that would sense customers with registered accounts when they pass your store and send notifications and reminders. Once they enter the store, they may continue receiving directions and useful information regarding the product range, prices, etc.

Tourism and Booking App

No use passing on the success case of Airbnb and others. Travel apps can benefit the most from location-based mobile app ideas. You can implement just hundreds of different functions using the ability to track users’ geolocation. The best example is booking an apartment and checking its geolocation. You can also add the function of showing the nearest points of interest: attractions, parks, and other entertainment establishments.

On-Demand App

Although the competition in this field is quite high, where there is competition, there are also big profits. You can make an application better than others, thereby attracting your customers. To do this, it is enough to add authenticity to the application with geolocation tracking. For example, the ability to choose from the nearest taxi drivers based on passenger reviews or other features. Also, traffic notifications for the driver will be a great option to make the application more versatile.

Healthcare App

This may as well fall under the category of on-demand apps, but we should mention it separately. Digital healthcare and telemedicine are emerging market niches with huge prospects. And geolocation features are essential here, as geo-enabled apps can help efficiently track patients with sensitive conditions.

Another healthy idea would be to create a fitness application. Let it display the location of athletic fields, track the distance of jogging or walking, calculate burnt calories based on the information received, etc.

Dating App

Finding a soulmate when you spend most of your time at work is quite problematic. Sometimes, it so happens that you like a person from another city, but you just don’t have the opportunity to meet them. Therefore, modern popular dating applications have made it possible to pick a partner not only by appearance and hobbies but also by geolocation.

There is already quite a big competition in this field, but most applications are not completely optimized. So using one of the geolocation-based app ideas in this field, you can not only get profits but make people happier.

Mobile Game

In addition to Pokémon Go, there are other location-based Android app ideas for entertaining mobile games with geolocation use. Now, this example is both the most prominent and most extreme. However, the possibilities for smaller improvements are endless. Consider, for example, finding the best server for ping optimization, which the built-in geolocation can do. This and many other functions for players will make the gaming process much smoother and more pleasing.

AR-Enabled App

There are tons of ways you can incorporate augmented reality for the ultimate convenience of users and resulting sales and profits. Create a solution for real estate providers with an AI editor at the core that allows visualizing houses and realty objects via a regular smartphone. Or draw inspiration from IKEA and equip your online store with AR views of goods or a virtual fitting room if you sell clothes.

Consider Weelorum Your Trusted Partner in Developing Your Mobile App

All the mentioned and other promising geolocation-based app ideas need qualified specialists with the proper tools to be implemented at the top level of quality.

You can count on our professional approach for location-based app development and extensive experience in this industry. We provide both services for estimating the price of an application at the idea stage and a full estimate after your final decision and development to get the final product. Moreover, our experts in various fields are ready to advise on creating an app with or without geolocation and the relevance of solutions today.

In our portfolio, you will find the best examples of company development. All our clients were satisfied, so it’s time to put your name on this list. Contact us right now and get detailed advice on any issue of interest.

Final Thoughts

In this article, we introduced you to new ideas for location-based apps. The choice, of course, is yours, but each industry can incorporate geolocation into its applications in different ways to maximize user satisfaction and profits.

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