While certain parts of the tech community will laugh at my headline, the mobile space is definitely listening in terms of the last week. Yahoo has for sure thrown the gauntlet down in terms of grabbing users’ attention.

For those that haven’t downloaded them yet, the Internet dinosaur released a new iOS weather app last week that is something I am using on a daily basis. It incorporates Flickr photos and allows the user to customize each city view with the data they want to see first. 

Yahoo followed this stellar launch with a fresh news app in the App Store that utilizes the technology recently purchased from Summly to deliver information better than ever. The challenge for this app is iOS stalwart Flipboard and the devotion to that app. While we will have to see how adoption moves, Yahoo came up with a beautiful interface that kept me engaged for much longer than I originally anticipated.

It is surprising, not because they don’t have creative people at Yahoo, but this move came out of nowhere. Google apps have a huge place in my home screen, but only because I need to access all my stuff connected to their desktop apps (mail, drive, calendar, bookmarks, etc.). With the exception of the iOS Chrome app, I don’t have a single Google app I really enjoy using on a daily basis. Yahoo did something very Apple-like, they wanted to make using their apps fun for me.

That argument probably isn’t the same with Android devices, because from what I have seen Google apps are much more exciting in their own native OS. The concept is still the same, however. If you want a high level of engagement, make your service fun to use on a device. Anyone who has used an app from BET understands that improving someone’s experience generates loyalty.

I would take some more loyal users any day.