Summary of Key Insights
The Athan: Ramadan 2025 in USA app has a mixed reception. While many users appreciate its comprehensive features, including prayer times, Quran access, and daily Islamic content, a significant number are frustrated by excessive advertisements, recent updates causing performance issues (freezing, crashing, slowness), and the removal of previously valued features like the prayer log editing for past days. The app is generally well-regarded for its Islamic content and reminders, but technical problems and aggressive monetization strategies are detracting from the user experience. The overall sentiment is moderately positive, but trending downwards due to recent updates. Quantitatively, the app has an average rating influenced by a high number of 5-star reviews (52%) offset by a significant number of 1-star reviews (22.4%), indicating polarized opinions.
Key Strengths:
- Comprehensive Islamic features (prayer times, Quran, Duas, Islamic calendar).
- Helpful reminders and motivational content.
- User-friendly interface (in older versions).
Key Weaknesses:
- Excessive and intrusive advertisements.
- Recent updates causing performance issues (freezing, crashing, slowness).
- Removal of the ability to log prayers for past days.
- Inappropriate ads.
- Lack of dark mode.
Data & Methodology Overview
- Data Sample Size: 500 reviews
- Time Frame: Reviews appear to span from before Ramadan 2024 to June 10, 2024. Many reviews mention "new updates" in late 2024.
- Analysis Methods: Manual review and categorization of user comments to identify recurring themes, sentiment (positive, negative, neutral), feature requests, and pain points. Keyword extraction was used to identify common words and phrases associated with specific issues.
Key User Pain Points
- Excessive Advertisements: The most frequently mentioned complaint is the overwhelming number of ads, often appearing every few seconds and interrupting core activities like reading the Quran or checking prayer times. This severely degrades the user experience, leading to frustration and app uninstalls. Some users have reported inappropriate ads displaying women in revealing clothing, conflicting with the app's religious purpose.
- Performance Issues after Updates: Many users report that recent updates have made the app significantly slower, prone to freezing, and prone to crashing, rendering it unusable. This is a widespread and critical issue affecting both free and paid users.
- Loss of Prayer Log Editing: A significant number of users are upset about the removal of the ability to log or edit prayer records for previous days. This feature was highly valued for tracking prayer habits and making up missed prayers.
- Notification Issues: Users report inconsistent prayer time notifications, with some not receiving notifications at all or receiving false notifications. This undermines the app's primary function.
- Loading Issues: Many users complain about the app taking a long time to load.
Frequently Requested Features
- Dark Mode: A dark mode for easier nighttime use.
- Ability to Log Prayers for Past Days: Reinstatement of the ability to log and edit prayer records for previous days.
- More Granular Notification Control: More control over the types of notifications received (e.g., disabling non-prayer-related notifications).
- More Quran Reciters: Options for different Quran reciters.
- Persian (Farsi) Translation for Quran: A Farsi translation option for the Quran.
- Full Athan: Option for the full Athan to play, not just the first line.
- Widgets: Prayer time widgets for quick access.
- iMac, MacBook, Apple Watch Apps: Native apps for other Apple devices.
Strengths and Positive Aspects
- Accurate Prayer Times: Many users find the prayer times accurate and reliable.
- Comprehensive Islamic Content: The app offers a wide range of Islamic resources, including the Quran, Duas, Islamic calendar, and educational videos.
- Helpful Reminders: Users appreciate the daily Duas, motivational quotes, and other reminders.
- User-Friendly Interface (Older Versions): Some users praise the app's user-friendly interface, particularly in older versions before recent updates.
- Menstrual Mode: The menstrual mode is appreciated by female users.
- Qibla Finder: The Qibla finder feature is useful for determining the direction of prayer.
Prioritized Action Recommendations
High Priority:
- Address Performance Issues: Immediately investigate and resolve the performance issues (freezing, crashing, slowness) caused by recent updates. This is a critical issue affecting a large number of users.
- Reduce Advertisements: Significantly reduce the frequency and intrusiveness of advertisements, especially during Quran recitation and prayer time checks. Consider less disruptive ad formats or offering a more affordable ad-free subscription tier.
- Restore Prayer Log Editing: Reinstate the ability to log and edit prayer records for previous days. This was a highly valued feature that has been removed.
- Ensure Reliable Notifications: Fix the notification issues to ensure that users consistently receive accurate prayer time alerts.
- Filter Inappropriate Ads: Implement stricter ad filtering to prevent the display of inappropriate content, such as ads with women in revealing clothing.
Medium Priority:
- Implement Dark Mode: Add a dark mode option for improved usability in low-light conditions.
- Granular Notification Control: Provide users with more control over the types of notifications they receive.
- Improve App Loading Time: Optimize the app to reduce loading times.
Low Priority:
- Add More Quran Reciters: Expand the selection of Quran reciters.
- Add Persian (Farsi) Translation: Include a Farsi translation option for the Quran.
- Develop Widget: Create a prayer time widget for quick access.
Opportunities for Startup Ideas
- Ethical Ad Network for Islamic Apps: A startup could create an ad network specifically for Islamic apps, ensuring that all ads are halal and relevant to the app's audience.
- Subscription Bundling for Islamic Apps: A service that bundles subscriptions to multiple Islamic apps (including Athan) at a discounted price.
- Personalized Islamic Content Platform: A platform that delivers personalized Islamic content (Quran verses, Duas, lectures) based on user preferences and needs, with a focus on high-quality, ad-free experiences.
- Prayer Log and Habit Tracker: Create a separate prayer log and habit tracker app, focusing on visual progress and making up missed prayers.
Trends and Observations
- Negative Sentiment Increase: Recent updates appear to have significantly increased negative sentiment towards the app, primarily due to performance issues and aggressive advertising.
- Feature Regression: Removal of features that users previously valued is a major source of dissatisfaction.
- Monetization Backlash: Aggressive monetization strategies are alienating users and damaging the app's reputation.
Conclusion
The Athan: Ramadan 2025 in USA app has the potential to be a valuable tool for Muslims, but its current state is being undermined by performance issues, excessive advertisements, and the removal of key features. The developers should prioritize addressing these issues to improve the user experience and prevent further erosion of user trust. Reinstating the prayer log editing functionality and reducing ad frequency are critical steps. Overall, a shift towards a more user-centric approach, prioritizing functionality and respecting user preferences, is recommended.
Original App Link
https://apps.apple.com/us/app/athan-ramadan-2025-in-usa/id505858403?uo=2