IELTS Speaking Topic: App

Part 2

Describe a useful APP on phones, computers or tablets you know.
You should say:
what the app is
how long you have used it
what it is used for
and explain why you think it is useful.

Well, there is one app in my iPad that I use it on a daily basis. It is called Runtastic, built to help people track sports and fitness activities, such as running, jogging, biking and walking. I got this app one year ago, and actually was recommended by Apple Store that put it in the front page. Every night, before I sleep, I will do a series of physical exercises with my iPad, and the app will track all my progress and save my results in the website.

What makes the app so useful is that not only it has the physical exercises for me, but it also has several methods to encourage and motivate me to insist. You know, doing workouts everyday is really a boring job, and the app will remind me to continue my plan at the appropriate time and all my work will be shared in the social network, which will attract my friends to encourage me, too. In addition, the app will make a variety of statistic charts to show how many calories I have consumed for a period of time, and moreover, I can check whether I have lost my weight, which is a very practical function.

Part 3

1. Is it convenient to use an APP?
2. What are the drawbacks about using an APP?
3. Is using an APP more acceptable for the young people than the old?

Yes, current apps in the mobile devices are definitely user friendly. For example, when you want to take a picture, you just click the icon of that app, point to the people or landscape that you want, and then click the virtual shutter on the display to shot. The pictures will be saved in the devices automatically.

Well, I think it is fair to say that there are a few negative aspects with regard to these apps. I guess the most unfavourable quality would be that people will indulge themselves into the virtual world, rather than interacting with others in the real world. For instance, there are several social network apps that attract users so much that they are addicted to chat with online friends but neglect to communicate with people nearby. As well as this, an additional limitation may be that these apps would to some extent leak the users’ privacy. On top of that, another shortcoming of using app too much is that it will do harm to people’s eyesights, especially for children.

Yes, I feel that young people will find much easier to handle them than the old for a couple of reasons. First of all, young people would like to try new things and learn them very fast. For example, I still remembered that I spent a week learning the computer programme language to draw a Super Mario in my computer when I was in elementary school. As well as that, I believe most of these apps spring up to cater to the young people, such as the social network, mobile games, music; whereas there is a limited range of apps that designed for old people, like news particularly.