Whatuni unveils new Android app for Google Play Store

Whatuni’s official Android app is now available to download free from Google Play Store.

Building on the success of the Whatuni’s ever-growing iOS product – and as mobile traffic to the Whatuni’s online content continues to increase year-on-year – the free app features all the research functionality of the whatuni.com site including chatbot matching filters, open day reservations and free prospectus orders.

Key features include:

–       Herb, the Higher Education Research Bot, will match you to the best courses according to your predicted grades and preferences

–       In-depth, localised analysis of student life at each uni, from accommodation and students’ unions to the price of a pint

–       Reserve your open day place, add open days to your calendar and learn about ones in your area

–       Order free prospectuses to your door, and direct message universities with one click

–       Read thousands of reviews from students past and present

Jonah Duffin, CMO, said: “In a year when the number of students accessing our content on mobile devices has soared, reflecting the way in which our userbase prefer to conduct their university research, we’re thrilled to be offering another key mobile product to our Android audiences.

“We’ve seen over 5,000 downloads of our iPhone app since its launch two months ago, and with over a quarter of our online userbase accessing the website via Android devices we expect the potential audience for this product to be vast.”

The app was designed and developed by an in-house team looking to provide a university and course research experience that is closer aligned to their prospective higher education student audience’s preference for consuming content on their smartphones. 

The app enables more flexibility for students who wish to extend their research over a protracted period, allowing users to dip in and out of course research at their leisure. Initial findings suggest that students using the app are engaging in exactly this type of activity – short bursts, or ‘micro-moments’ of research conducted on a more regular basis than that which has traditionally been conducted via desktop research.

Amir Zarandouz, Head of Traffic said: “What is fascinating about the app is its percentage of return users: when compared to users accessing our online services from a mobile or desktop, the percentage of new versus return users on the app is effectively inversed. 

“In this way the app provides us with a fantastic opportunity to engage with our users over longer periods of time. For users, this should equate to higher quality research, more informed decisions and better outcomes. And for our commercial clients we expect this, in turn, to translate into better retention rates for students who discover their chosen university through our services.”