Major Trends affecting Mobile App Development
Several studies show an increase in number of users who abandon mobile apps after one time use. The developers have to focus on the user experience delivered by their mobile apps to generate more revenue. They also need to focus on the quality of the mobile app to make it marketable. But it is also important for developers to keep in mind the emerging trends in mobile app development to keep their apps relevant over a longer period of time.
12 Trends that will have a Huge Impact on Mobile App Development
1) Virtual Reality and Augmented Reality Apps
Both Apple and Google are releasing new frameworks and tools to bring virtual reality (VR) and augmented reality (AR) Apps to their devices. While announcing iOS 11, Apple unveiled a new AR framework – ARKit – to accelerate AR app development. Many developers already use VR technologies to enhance the user experience delivered by their mobile apps by creating an artificial world. Google has already released Earth VR to accelerate VR app development for Android. More and more developers will launch new AR and VR apps to complement the latest mobile devices and platforms.
2) Chatbots
Many analysts believe that chatbots have the capability to make web applications and mobile apps obsolete in the long run. Many enterprises already use custom chatbots to facilitate prompt customer interaction without deploying additional customer service professionals. Chatbots will soon enable users to perform multiple tasks – booking a hotel, purchasing grocery and buying movie tickets – without using various mobile apps. The developers must take advantage of latest artificial intelligence (AI) technologies to create chatbots, and explore ways to integrate them into mobile apps seamlessly.
3) Android First
Many analysts forecast the worldwide market share of Google will rise to 90% by 2018. But iOS App Store brings much more revenue that Google Play Store. But many analysts believe that Google Play Store will soon surpass Apple App Store in terms of revenue. Hence, most developers will build apps for Android platform to reach out to more users and generate more revenue. Google has been enhancing security and reducing device fragmentation to persuade developers to make their apps available at its Play Store before App Store. The mobile app development strategy of many enterprises will soon target Android instead of iOS.
4) Wearable Device Integration
The worldwide wearables market has been growing rapidly and consistently. The increase in worldwide wearable devices sales will persuade many developers to build apps for various wearable devices. Also, the developers have to enable users to access the same app on both mobile and wearable devices. While creating new mobile apps, they need to focus on wearable device integration. Many developers will upgrade their existing mobile apps to make them accessible on wearable devices.
5) Mobile App Integration
A single chatbot enables users to perform a number of tasks. The growing popularity of chatbots persuades many enterprises to integrate their mobile apps. Recently, Uber integrated its navigation and messaging apps to help users to avoid installing additional apps and adding extra icons to their mobile screens. More and more enterprises will unify their apps seamlessly to enhance customer experience. Also, the machine to machine communication facilitated by Internet of Things (IoT) will compel enterprises to integrate their apps with various connected devices.
6) Mobile Internet of Things
The smart machine to machine communication facilitated by IoT has the potential to transform each industry. At present, IoT technologies are used by a variety of solutions – smart homes, connected cars, smart healthcare systems and smart transportation systems. More and more users will soon need mobile apps to operate and control these smart devices and solutions efficiently. Also, the growing usage of connected devices and IoT solutions will lead to new security attacks and security breaches. The developers have to perform elaborate security and penetration testing to make their apps popular in the IoT age.
7) Keeping Storage Space Free for New Downloads
The latest versions of iOS and Android enable users to identify the memory and space used by individual apps. IOS 11 will even allow users to identify the rarely-used apps and offload them automatically. The users can easily identify and uninstall the rarely-used apps to create more space for new downloads. Hence, the developers have to explore ways to keep their apps lightweight to prevent installation. Many developers will develop both conventional and instant Android apps to prevent user abandonment.
8) Interactive Push Notification
Major mobile platforms nowadays allow users to check and respond to notifications without opening the specific apps or unlocking their devices. Hence, man modern users hate mobile apps that do not show notifications on the lock screen. While developing a new mobile app, developers have to use interactive push notifications to convey information without instaneously. The interactive push notifications will help users to save both time and battery life. At the same time, the interactive push notifications will also improve the app’s user engagement and experience.
9) Location Based Services
Most modern users love mobile apps that provide contextual recommendations and suggestions according to their current location. The location-based services help developers to create mobile apps that deliver localized and contextual information to users. Many enterprises even use the location based services to seduce customers by providing real-time deals based on their current location. The developers have to integrate location based services into their mobile apps to keep the users engaged monetize the apps efficiently.
10) Direct Cloud Interaction
Several studies show a steady increase in the mobile cloud traffic. The mobile data traffic is expected to be driven mostly by cloud-based apps in near future. Many users nowadays opt for cloud-based mobile apps to overcome storage space constraints. The cloud services will help developers to create a variety of apps that work seamlessly on both mobile and connected devices. Many enterprises will build, test, and deploy mobile apps in the cloud to avoid creating and maintaining physical infrastructure.
11) Mobile Payment Integration
A number of studies show mobile commerce growth outpacing desktop ecommerce growth. Also, most users nowadays access ecommerce websites on their mobile devices. Hence, the users love mobile app that process payments in a simple, fast, and secure way. The developers can use integrated payment technology to secure and accelerate payment processing. However, they also need to ensure that the users have option to make payment using Apple Pay, Google Wallet, Samsung Pay and Microsoft Wallet, along with debit and credit cards.
12) Modern Programming Languages
The mobile app developers are no longer required to write Android apps in Java and iOS apps in Objective-C. Apple recommends developers to write iOS apps in a modern, intuitive, and open source programming language like Swift. Likewise, the Android team recently extended first class support to a new programming language – Kotlin. Android Studio 3.0 will enable developers to write Android apps in Kotlin, while availing all development tools. Many developers even use Xamarin to write iOS and Android apps in C# that deliver native performance and user experience. Hence, the developers will soon write both native and cross-platform mobile apps in modern programming languages.
Each new version of Android and iOS come with an array of new features and enhancements. The new features provided by major mobile operating system create new trends and transform mobile app development. The developers must keep track of the emerging trends in mobile app development to meet the changing needs, preferences, and expectations of users.
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