King Saud University (KSU) has announced that Saudi-made smartphone applications have been witnessing increasing demand since last month and have exceeded millions of users to date.
Essam bin Abdullah Alloukit, KSU’s dean of electronic transactions, announced in a statement that “smartphone applications made by Saudis have attracted a large number of users around the world since last month.”
He said that the “majority of the Arabic applications available in iStore and Google Play Store were initially made for Saudi students inside the university in aid of their studies, particularly in Islam, but it also attracted users from outside the country.”
A study conducted by Arab News showed that among the top Saudi-made applications under the “Top Free” category in the Google Play Store in the Middle East region, “Qur’an Android” featured prominently, garnering more than 10 million downloads and rating 4.9 out of 5 by 80,681 users. Also among these were “Salatuk Prayer Time” by MASARAT APP, with more than 1 million downloads rated 4.8 out of 5 by 49,405 users and “My Prayer” by HAZ ‘N’ YAS, with more than 1 million downloads rated 4.9 out of 5 by 37,852 users.
Alloukit explained that applications connected to Islamic practices top app store charts because of their advanced features, which include simulation of the Holy Qur’an, interpretations of the texts, and guidance for reciting the texts. He also said that some smartphone application developers originated from KSU and devised the programs to help the Muslim community in the Kingdom.
The increase in demand for Islam-based smartphone applications can be due to the upcoming Haj season as well.
Applications that convey prayer timings, on the other hand, attracted both Muslim and non-Muslim users in the Kingdom.
“These kind of applications are very handy not only for locals, but for expats as well because it displays daily prayer times,” one expatriate said.
Saudi-made smartphone apps exceed million users
