Kubernetes, commonly referred to as k8s, is an open-source platform designed to automate deploying, scaling, and managing containerized applications. It is a vital tool for DevOps engineers and developers, creating an ecosystem for building and launching applications in a fast and efficient manner. The k8 app, essentially, is an application that's deployed on a Kubernetes environment. It offers the ease of managing microservices, ensuring high availability, and enabling scalability. This essentially means that the app can automatically scale based on the traffic volume and resource utilization, thereby enhancing performance. One of the primary benefits of deploying an app on k8s is the seamless orchestration of containers across multiple hosts. It also provides self-healing capabilities by replacing and rescheduling containers when nodes die. Furthermore, it adds an extra layer of security to your applications and data with its secret management capability. In conclusion, a k8 app leverages the best that Kubernetes has to offer, making app deployments more manageable, scalable, efficient, and secure. With the ongoing advancements in this field, the future of app development and deployment certainly seems to be leaning towards Kubernetes.