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How native event apps are reinventing internal events
Anna works in marketing for an international corporation. Several times a year, she attends large internal company events—kick-offs, staff meetings, strategy workshops. She loves meeting colleagues from all over the world, but often finds the organization stressful: confusing agendas, missed program items, long lines at check-in.
At her last company event, everything was different. As soon as she entered the venue, she saw a notification on her iPhone in
Check in in seconds
The next “aha” moment came at check-in. Instead of searching for a QR code, Anna simply held her smartphone up to the terminal. The ticket was safely stored in
Orientation with AR navigation
Finding her way around the building was also easier than ever before. She held up her phone’s camera and saw virtual arrows on the display guiding her to the right room. AR navigation was integrated directly into the native app and used technologies such as ARKit on iPhones and ARCore on Android devices.
Translations and recommendations by AI
In the afternoon, Anna attended the keynote speech by the board of directors, which was held in English. Normally, she had to concentrate hard to understand every detail. This time, German subtitles appeared live on her screen. This was made possible by AI functions that recognized and translated content in real time—on the iPhone via Core ML, and on Android via the ML Kit library.
The app also helped with networking. Instead of randomly approaching people, Anna received suggestions for conversations with colleagues working on similar topics. These recommendations were calculated locally on the device, which was not only practical but also trustworthy.
A personal assistant in everyday life
Anna was particularly impressed by the voice control. Between two conversations, she casually asked Siri, “When is my next session?”—and the app immediately provided the answer. Her colleague called up his daily schedule via Google Assistant. Both felt like they had a personal assistant at their side.
Real-time feedback
At the end of the day, Anna’s Apple Watch reminded her with a short vibration to rate the last session. A quick tap on the display, and the organizers had her feedback. For Anna, it was a small thing, but for the organizers, it was valuable insight into the mood of the event.
For the organizers, however, the added value went far beyond mere convenience: using a native event app meant less staffing, secure data processing, and high-quality feedback in real time.
Conclusion and outlook
Anna’s story shows how a native event app can reinvent internal events. It simplifies check-in, facilitates orientation, translates content in real time, and accompanies employees throughout the day like a digital assistant. In doing so, it takes full advantage of the platforms’ strengths—from system-related notifications via NFC to integrated AI and voice control.
At Polario, we deliberately focus on native app development because we know that this proximity to the platform makes all the difference. Some of the ideas described here are already part of our solution, while others are being developed in collaboration with customers or are being evaluated to see how they can be meaningfully integrated.
Which of these options excites you the most? Or have we overlooked a feature that would be particularly valuable for your next employee event? Feel free to contact us—we look forward to learning about your requirements and working with you to shape the future of your event app.
