Mobile app development is one such industry everyone wants a piece of the pie for themselves. Its innumerable growth in the past decade is proof that how profitable it is. But will it continue to be a profitable business in the future? What future holds for mobile app development? Stay tuned to find out.
Currently, there are over 2.1 million apps for iOS and 2.8 million apps for android devices. And by the end of 2025 more than 70% of the earth population will have mobile devices. This means there will be billions of mobiles and millions of apps for us to use.
We are all surrounded by mobile apps, and a modern smartphone user has on average installed 35 apps. But many of them are deleted after first use due to poor design, performance issues, or inadequate productivity. However, the mobile app development industry continues to grow. But the good news is that mobile apps have seen 204 billion downloads and generated $462 billion in revenue for the year 2019.
New startups are emerging with new concepts, developers are developing tools to efficiently develop mobile applications, IoT app development, AR/VR app development, and many more things are going on. With this blog, we want to convey the significance mobile app development has for businesses and what new entrepreneurs can expect from the future. The following are the few future trends everyone should watch out for.
What Future Holds for Mobile App Development
1) Emerging Beacon Technology
Beacons are small devices that radiate Bluetooth Low Energy (BLE) signals. It is a new emerging technology that helps businesses and enterprises to connect with their customers through the use of special apps designed for smartphones. Diverse industries like Museums, Healthcare facilities, Hospitality, and others can benefit from the use of this technology in true sense.
Here’s how it works. Whenever you enter the Beacon powered zone, the beacon-powered app shows notification accordingly on your device. Users can choose to engage with them or not.
If you know about beacon then you may probably know about the iBeacon and Eddystone developed by tech giants Apple and Google respectively. And in the coming time, there are numerous benefits of beacon technology in location-based and proximity marketing.
Beacon technology collect on time and location information of customers for further analysis, it helps to improve the customer shopping with special offers created for them, simplifying payment processing and benefits in many other ways.
2) Mobile App Development Based on Cloud Model
Cloud-based application development is taking a toll on other app development models as it is becoming more and more feasibly possible to develop apps for big data with cloud. Scalability and unlimited space are among the top factors that favor the trend of developing cloud-based applications.
Also, cloud integration offers lower equipment costs, streamlined processes, improved productivity, enhanced collaboration, reduced hosting cost, and other benefits for mobile app development. Hybrid cloud development and Quantum computing are the future of cloud-based mobile app development.
3) AI-Powered Smart Apps Development
Do you love sci-fi movies? As a child, you must have watched many sci-fi movies and wondered can it happen in the real world? Well, AI has that power. It can redefine the landscape of mobile app development. Moreover, it can turn everything sci-fi movies shows into reality when it is combined with futuristic technology like IoT.
The best example till data is the Google Duplex showing how AI will take over every industry possible including the mobile app development as well. As per the Mobile App Daily research experts, the AI industry will be around $47 billion by the end of this year. This means that AI is not going anywhere and in fact, it will take significant precedence in near future in respect for the mobile app development.
A treasure of real-time valuable & analytic data will come to the surface when businesses combine AI with ML and deep learning to reap the benefits for their brands.
Let’s see the future AI trends to watch for.
- Chips powered by AI
- Use of AIOps to automate Various IT functions.
- Translation of Voice and language by AI
- Increased interoperability among neural networks.
4) Next-Generation User Experience with AR/VR
All our bets are on Augmented and virtual reality as both are vital futuristic tech for the future of mobile app development. We have seen the craze of the Pokémon Go app which provided an integrated ecosystem to find various Pokémon like creatures through the screen of the camera.
AR is augmented or supplemented reality to view live objects or graphics in the physical world through a camera field. Whereas, VR creates the virtual world around you by shutting off the real world which you can see through specially designed VR devices.
Besides games like Pokémon GO, AR has scrupulous benefits for the Ecommerce and marketing industry. World-renowned brands like IKEA and Sephora have utilized the power of AR for their mobile app. This helps them to deliver a superior user experience to their customers which boosts sales and conversions rates.
Not only that, but Snapchat, Instagram, and other social media apps are utilizing the power of AR by showing unique, creative, and funny stickers for story feature. Google has specially designed VR enabled YouTube app for watching VR-enabled videos.
Still, here’s how AR will revolutionize the mobile app development.
- Advanced application for the healthcare industry
- Mobile AR disruption
- Transformation of digital advertising & marketing through AR
- Use of AR in manufacturing processes
AR is advancing more and more and is becoming mainstream for which VR still needs a bit of time. But it has the potential to deliver an immersive 360 experience.
5) Instant Apps is a Big Opportunity
Instant apps are real things, which allow you to run and test an app without even downloading it. This presents a big opportunity for users as well as developers because it eliminates the requirement of installing an app. It can work as a website and an app to provide similar functionality and experience of both.
As per Statista’s one report, more than 50% of the US’ smartphone users do not download an app in a month. This shows that people still qualm to accept and try new apps even though the app usage is on the rise. Because people are not sure to download apps without knowing what it offers and the instant app is a perfect answer to this problem.
Thus, they are gaining massive popularity among the targeted users who need benefits like a smaller size, immersive UX, saving in device memory, and still have all the functionalities of app and website. These apps also come with an integrated system to pay directly via Google Pay or Apple Pay eliminating the need to fill the payment details manually. And all of this gives it the power to take mobile app development through the roof.
6) IoT is Opening New Possibilities
The concept of a smart home is transforming how we are living with devices based on the futuristic tech like IoT. The IoT means a network of devices connected over the internet. It can control your alarm clocks to coffee machines to smart lights and other smart devices connected over the internet. And what you have to do is just tap on your mobile device app to turn them on, off, or anything else. Interesting right? IoT will make all this possible to ease your life and improve your lifestyle.
IoT can open endless new opportunities thus, app developers are investing more and more on smart home app development. If Statista’s report on IoT is to be believed, then the total number of IoT connected devices will amount to more than 75 billion worldwide in the year 2025, which is a five-time increase in a decade.
Not only that, but it holds precedence in the automobile sector as well. If experts are to be believed, the future of smart and self-driving automobiles will see the rise in usage, and what will make it possible? You guessed it right, IoT.
So, we can say that the ubiquitous internet technology marks the major step in making the world a connected place with IoT-enabled devices.
7) 5G Will Transform the Wireless Technology
5G is much anticipated wireless technology which will transform the landscape of mobile app development. Because 5G is bringing unthinkable speed, which will be 100 times more than what 4G is capable of delivering. And it holds keys to living luxuriously in the future. The image below shows what 5G wireless tech is capable of.
Source: Mobile App Daily
What it has to do with mobile app development? Well, network speed is not the only factor that needs to be considered here because this powerful advanced tech will transform 3D gaming, AR/VR, data security, and other things for mobile apps. Samsung, LG, Verizon, and other companies are trying to bring 5G-enabled processors and chips to take the mobile app development to the next level.
8) Mobile Apps for Wearable
The wearables are becoming a necessity just like mobile devices. It is at a stage, where mobile devices were a decade ago. As the Statista’s report, wearable has 441.5 million user base in 2020, which is a whopping 26.1% year-on-year rise. Whether it’s a smartwatch, fitness band, or spectacles, they have got a huge market base.
These IoT enabled devices have a different use case and play an important role from telling the healthcare stats to providing physiological information. Even though these devices come under IoT, they have separate use cases and user base that utilize the wearable effortlessly to complete day-to-day tasks. And it brings ease and convenience in users’ life when integrated with a mobile app.
Summing Up
As we are progressing, the mobile app development industry is also advancing with time. These are the major technological aspect that will surely make the mobile app development more and more revolutionary. And with time new technologies will come to light to unlock the new possibilities and develop remarkable applications.
Other emerging technologies like Blockchain is on its way to becoming the mainstream in mobile app development. Also, we’ll see how the mobile app security will reach to new heights along with next-level user experience.
Want to reap the benefits of these advanced techs? Then, contact our experts with your custom needs to develop a native or cross-platform mobile application for Android, iPhone, or iPad.
About Hemant Parmar
Hemant Parmar is an eCommerce expert and a keen Magento consultant who specializes in meeting the needs of businesses in the e-commerce space. Years in the eCommerce market make him a perfect choice for sharing his expertise on eCommerce and Magento 2 development. He believes that customers need to be met no matter how challenging it might be.
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