With each passing day, technology is getting more and more accessible by people, and hence, the mobile phones that once used to be a luxury are now our daily need. It is forecasted by Statista that as of 2021, there are around 7 billion mobile users in the world. And this number is expected to grow by 10 million every year, which, by the way, is a lot of new users. In the past decade, nothing has captured the market like mobile phones. This technology has, somehow, found a way to integrate into our lives seamlessly.
Mobile app development is a big part of the marketing strategies of most companies, irrespective of the industry. To head on the right path of success, companies are turning towards the latest trends in mobile app development. They are also aiming to get traction towards optimum growth by amalgamating app development with the marketing strategies of the business.
There is a big list of companies that were successful in the past, but as they failed to keep up with the technological changes, they lost their way. Companies like Compaq, Blockbuster Video, and Kodak were stuck with their traditional business model only to see the downfall. And this was when the technology was not growing as rapidly as it’s now. There is no way an application is going to be successful without following the trends of the industry unless, of course, you’re delivering gold for free.
However, following trends does not mean that you should simply copy what’s working; you still have to work on standing out from the rest of your competitors. Only constant innovation can help you in standing out. In this article, we have brought you the latest trends in the mobile app development industry that you need to keep an eye on.
1. AI & ML Integration
There are not many lists related to technology that you can create without including Artificial Intelligence (AI) and Machine Learning (ML). They would have been on this list in the year 2019, they are on this list now, and by the year 2030, they’ll be an indispensable part of the industry. These technologies are always going to be relevant because of the possibilities they bring to the table.
Can you imagine how shopping apps like Amazon and Flipkart would do if they didn’t have recommendation engines? They wouldn’t be doing so well without it. For e-commerce, it’s the secret ingredient in the recipe of selling more and more. These recommendation engines of Amazon and Netflix are based on AI and ML, which improves your browsing experience and generates more revenue for the company. Not only this, AI and ML are driving forces for many indispensable features like face recognition, chatbots, voice search, demand forecasting, motion detection, and much more.
The scope of advancement in these technologies is very high, and as they’ll improve, their integration in the mobile apps will become easier and more relevant. Industries like IT, Finance, Entertainment, and Marketing rely heavily on these technologies for success.
2. Mobile eCommerce
When we talk about the mobile app development company, mobile app commerce has to be one of the most crucial parts of it because of its streamlined focus, i.e., sales. The contribution of mobile eCommerce in the growth of many businesses has been one of the most astonishing stories in the world of business. Just like AI, this trend is also commanding the app development industry from 2019, and it will continue to thrive this way for years to come.
Businesses of all sizes and even individual creators and sellers are leveraging this technology for increasing their revenue. And as we’ve seen over the years, there’s a lot you can gain from this space if you have a little to contribute to it.
With each passing day, the number of eCommerce platforms we have is growing exponentially. According to a report by Statista, more than 72% of online sales will be completed through mobile devices. Though we are not quite there yet, with the course of time, we’ll reach a point where your business might not be relevant if you don’t have a mobile commerce application. Every single business with mobile eCommerce will be directly competing with giants like Amazon, eBay, Alibaba, and many more.
Utilizing a website to app converter can be a game-changer for businesses looking to establish a strong mobile presence without extensive development costs or time constraints. This tool allows businesses to seamlessly convert their existing websites into fully functional mobile applications, offering customers a convenient and immersive shopping experience.
In your app, if you’re planning to have an eCommerce one, you should incorporate the features and technologies that have been gamechanger for these giants, and hopefully, it’ll change the game for you too. Let’s see what’s next in the list of trends.
3. Augmented Reality & Virtual Reality
The storm of Pokemon Go didn’t last as long as the makers expected it to, but the force that drove it is here to stay for a long time. Yes, we’re talking about Augmented and Virtual Reality that has the power to completely transform the user experience in the context of engaging with mobile apps.
In the gaming industry, the value of augmented reality by the year 2028 is estimated to be more the 30 Billion USD. The quality of games has reached a whole another level since the introduction of AR and VR technologies. But not only any game development company is in the picture to utilize the opportunities of AR and VR, however there are various industries which are also adopting AR and VR technologies in their use cases.
Monster-sized companies like Google and Apple are determined to develop newer and more relevant use cases for AR and VR. Like one of the new features of Google Maps, where you can get real-time location using your phone’s camera for a more reliable experience. Moreover, companies like IKEA have shown a wonderful way to incorporate AR in online shopping. Thus, these technologies are essential in 2021 to shape the app development industry for the future.
4. Speed, Security, and Functionality
Irrespective of the type of application you are making, the user cannot compromise on these three aspects for forming a judgement. Think for yourself, would you continue using an app that takes tons of time to load? An app that does not guarantee the security of your data? Or an app that does perform up to your expectations? In almost every case, you would not like to continue. So it’s important to understand that these factors are always going to be in trend no matter what.
Flutter, Google’s UI toolkit, is hands down one of the best choices for building an application with maximum features without hurting your budget. Compared to other languages and frameworks, the performance of Flutter is much better. It is one of the top choices of people.
Looking at the rate at which Flutter’s market presence is growing and the features it offers, developers are convinced that the future of the industry, and, more importantly, of cross-platform development belongs to it. Moreover, it stands out from the rest because of its “write once” coding approach where developers do not have to write separate codes for IOS and Android. Single codebase makes Flutter more efficient and speedy and even while testing, a simple quality assurance test is enough to tell you about functionality and features of the code.
There are many other advantages of using Flutter, like:
- Its set up and maintenance is easy and doesn’t take much time
- The language for developing apps is easy
- Apps integrated with it provides a wide range of widgets
- Helpful in displaying MVP to the investors
- Hot reloading feature can help you change the code in seconds
5. Predictive Analytics
The collection of data is part of every business, but the best thing is if you could use these data sets to gain insights for the identification of patterns and predicting the outcomes of the future. By incorporating predictive analytics in your application with the help of a machine learning technique to form predictions for future trends based on current data.
Benefits of Predictive Analytics in Mobile App Dev:
- You can leverage the future trends
- Utilize the data of customers behavior for your benefits
- User engagement can be improved
- Amplification of personalized marketing
- Risk minimization
6. Cloud Computing Integration
Cloud computing technology has not yet penetrated mobile app development to its full potential as of now. But it is something you need to keep an eye on because of the wide range of possibilities it has to offer.
From the user’s end, the performance of the mobile application can be improved by the integration of cloud computing. The complex tasks that systems are not capable of performing because of the hardware limitations can be performed on these devices by using cloud servers.
A study by MindInventory shows that 83% of the enterprise workload will be based on clouds by the end of the year 2021. So when the whole world is adopting this technology, it must be something you should look out for.
7. Beacons Technology
Beacons technology is relatively new in the industry, and in the upcoming years, it is going to make a robust presence. It helps businesses in connecting with their customers in a contextual way by their effective notifications.
The use of this technology is increasing now, more than ever. It has the potential to make virtual tours more personalised for users. It has also proven itself to be capable of making information and data sharing smoother and seamless.
Wrapping Up
There are a zillion applications on Google Play, App Store, and Windows Store. With the availability of so many apps in the market, the trends are expected to grow at even a more rapid pace than now. Thus for businesses to stand out with their apps, and to make them more functional, it’s crucial for them to take these trends into account. Follow the trends mentioned above to skyrocket your business with your application.
