“Any sufficiently advanced technology is indistinguishable from magic.” – Arthur C. Clarke (Clarke’s Third Law)
As far as technology advancements, specifically in the mobile app development world are concerned, we have come a long way, to a point where they have become indistinguishable from magic.
These advancements continue to shape the trends in mobile app development.
With the mobile app development market evolving at a break-neck speed, it has become inevitable to be acquainted with the latest trends that dominate this industry. That is how you can serve your users with the best experience.
According to Statista, in 2023, mobile apps are projected to generate more than $935 billion in revenues via paid downloads and in-app advertising.
This skyrocketing revenue forecast makes it pretty clear that leading mobile app development services are expected to leave no stone unturned when it comes to delivering experiences and adopting the top mobile app development trends.
Top Mobile App Development Trends
The moment smartphones entered the technology arena, there was no looking back.
Mobile app development trends started to evolve and ever since, they have made lives simpler, today more than ever, for both users and app developers.
This post discusses some of the top mobile app development trends that have made their presence felt vividly in recent times.
Forecasts, according to a report published by Statista dated Jan 22, 2021, suggest that by 2030 around 50 billion of these IoT devices will be in use around the world, creating a massive web of interconnected devices spanning everything from smartphones to kitchen appliances.
Technology advancements like the 5G, Internet of Things (IoT), Artificial Intelligence (AI), Machine Learning (ML), Predictive Analytics, chatbots, wearables, Beacon technology, m-commerce, mobile wallets, Augmented Reality (AR), and Virtual Reality (VR), among others, have had an incredible impact on the mobile app development world.
Want to see how?
Let’s get started.
1. AI and ML
MarketsandMarkets estimates that the global AI market will reach $190.61 billion in 2025, from $16.06 billion in 2017, with a CAGR of 36.62%.
This transformational figure speaks volumes about how this trend is being increasingly adopted by businesses.
Cognitive technologies like Artificial Intelligence (AI) and Machine Learning (ML) have transformed the mobile app development landscape and are expected to bring more stunning mobile apps in the future.
They have enabled mobile app developers to write powerful algorithms to create intelligent apps that can understand human behavior, assist users, and entertain them.
By implementing AI in your mobile app, you can:
- Make personalized recommendations to users (The mobile entertainment app of Netflix is an excellent example of a successful mobile app that has beautifully implemented AI to make relevant suggestions to its users.)
- Optimize your functions with automated reasoning algorithms (This is how mobile apps like Google Maps and Uber optimize routes to get users to their destinations in the minimum possible time.)
- Learn user behavior patterns by integrating virtual assistants (based on NLP to provide users with a seamless app experience.)
- Learn user behavior patterns by integrating virtual assistants (based on NLP to provide users with a seamless app experience.)
By embedding ML in your mobile app, you can:
- Create customized applications for each individual (by learning users’ everyday activities.)
- Create an adaptive app that can help to achieve an ideal omnichannel experience.
- Transform the way you deploy codes
- Provide meaningful add-ons to your mobile applications
- Release newer (and enhanced) versions of your app more frequently
Examples of AI and ML trends in mobile app development:
- ML-driven mobile apps-Snapchat, Google Maps, Tinder, and Netflix, among others.
- AI-driven mobile apps- Elsa Speak, Socrative, Fyle, DataBot, Hound, Youper, and Google’s G-Suite, among others.
The future of AI and ML trends in mobile app development
The flexibility offered by AI and ML techniques is incredible today.
The next-gen mobile apps will be smarter and more powerful as they will employ the finest machine learning and artificial intelligence techniques, like predictive analytics, neural networks, data mining, refined security, customization features, better search capabilities, and facial recognition techniques, among others.
2. IoT
According to the IoT Spending worldwide 2023 report by Statista, the prognosis for worldwide spending on IoT by 2023 is 1.1 trillion U.S. dollars.
The same report also suggests that more and more organizations seem to be investing in IoT and their number amounted to 2,552 thousand organizations in Europe as of May 2020.
IoT is a growing mobile app development trend that can create a very smart and connected landscape using smartphones. This is one of the most remarkable technologies in the field of mobile app development.
With the help of IoT development technology, you can transform your mobile app tremendously today.
By implementing IoT in your mobile app, you can:
- Collect relevant data about your consumer behavior
- Manage various stages of your app development cycle
- Monitor employee data and high-risk environments and identify issues
- Collect and analyze data in real-time
- Enhance user experience
Getting Started (Building a mobile app on IoT technology)
Start with the product discovery phase.
This is the easiest first step you need to take to set a base for the development of a powerful mobile app built on IoT technology.
The phase usually varies based on individual requirements, project specifics, and timelines. But, typically, the phase involves these steps:
- Defining the project roadmap and scope of work
- Defining a roadmap for your product backlog and product release
- Set a realistic budget
- Plan your resources according to the set budget
- Identifying major project dependencies in terms of technologies
- Visual prototype
- Creating a delivery architecture plan and scope
A professional mobile app development service should be able to help you with a reliable mobile app built on IoT.
The promising future of IoT trends in mobile app development
As new technologies emerge, IoT is expected to become more intuitive and easier to use in the mobile app development field.
In the healthcare sector- Doctors will be able to make precise diagnosis and prescriptions quickly through dedicated healthcare mobile apps. This will be a relief for people who need diagnoses and prescriptions for a minor illness without having to visit the doctor.
In the smart appliances sector- We’ll be seeing smart devices everywhere. Imagine having a smart home application that will identify household issues, report them to you, and suggest the best ways to fix them.
The IoT is certainly not a new concept.
It is increasingly penetrating the mobile app development sector and creating incredible opportunities.
A forecast report by GlobalData shows that the global Internet of Things (IoT) market is about to reach $222 billion in 2021, out of which an estimated $161 billion will come from software, like mobile apps. This is a significant increase from 2019, which shows the steady growth of IoT in the mobile app development sphere in the coming years.
3. The 5G
The 5G revolution, which stands for the fifth generation, is expected to make data transfers more rapid as compared to low-frequency networks, be more responsive, and expand beyond computers and mobile phones. It has a strong bond with mobile app development.
With the introduction of 5G connectivity, mobile apps will have transparent user interfaces, media-rich user experiences, allow instant file transfers, advance augmented reality tremendously, and do much more.
This year, we’re about to witness about 3.5 times more 5G connections than in the last year. These connections will only increase in the years to come.
Apple’s newly launched iPhones are a sign that we’re getting ready to jump on the 5G network bandwagon.
For mobile app development, it means speed, better efficiency, a decrease in latency, and a boost in traffic capacity and over app functionality.
By using the 5G network in your mobile app development, you can:
- Add new features to your apps without negatively affecting the app’s performance
- Use it during the testing and development stages of your app development
- Support the massive amounts of data being created in mobile app development
- Boost the speed of their mobile apps and lower the latency
Experts speculate that the technology will transform the app development world in a way never even imagined before. If you’re currently relying on the 4G technology for your mobile app development, it is time to explore your options in the 5G technology world.
4. Chatbots
Chatbots are a hot topic in the tech industry.
A statistics report by Statista shows that in 2027, the worldwide chatbot market is projected to amount to $454.8 million in revenue, up from 40.9 million dollars in 2018.
This figure shows us that this technology is certainly going to (some may argue that it has already become) one of the top mobile app development trends soon.
Examples of chatbots in mobile app development:
- A chatbot based on Justin Bieber was able to “talk” with millions of JB fans in a single week
- Sephora’s Kik bot is a great chatbot known for customer service automation, product suggestion, customer education, and booking makeup appointments
- Mitsuku AKA Kuki (by Pandorabots) is a record-breaking, five-time winner of the Loebner Prize Turing Test and the world’s best conversational chatbot
- Domino’s pizza bot is another bot example that lives in Facebook Messenger and makes food ordering a breeze
- Cleo, a personal finance chatbot, offers 256-bit encryption and an £85,000 security pledge and can analyze the user’s transactions only in read mode making it unable to take control of the bank account
- Jolt.ai, the fitness chatbot, works like a charm as it motivates by offering e-credits called Jolt Coins that are no ordinary credits as they can be used to buy products like Fitbit, Apple AirPods, Apple Watch, etc from the Jolt Coin Store
- Chatbot Ben helps beginners learn about cryptocurrency before going to the trading part. It offers lessons on blockchain technology, different types of cryptocurrency, and also shares related news articles
- Niki, the AI virtual agent, helps shop on chat by providing the best offers
- The TechCrunch chatbot lets you subscribe to your preferred news genre and doesn’t bombard you with too many articles
“To the user, chatbots seem to be “intelligent” due to their informative skills. However, chatbots are only as intelligent as the underlying database.” -Peter Gentsch
Indeed!
Implementing chatbots in mobile apps is a careful process and its success, to a lot extent, depends upon how well the underlying database has been built.
A leading mobile app development service can help you build an intelligent chatbot that is closest to a human.
5. Predictive analytics
Imagine being given the superpower to know what is going to happen next in your app and how your users will react, all before it does.
You’d know in advance when users would abandon your app, what would drive them to leave your app, which device and the operating system will your users visit your app from, and how frequently they will visit your app, among other things.
That’s how modern-day mobile apps work.
Predictive analytics has enabled developers and mobile app owners to estimate their users’ moves before they make them.
That’s true!
By integrating predictive analytics into your mobile app, you can:
- Lower the churn rate and minimize the app abandonment instances
- Better the overall experience your mobile app leaves
- Get to know an exact picture of how users are interacting with your app
- Rectify issues and enhance the features based on what your users love the most in your app and what they wish should have been there
- Lure customers with personalized marketing (That’s how Spotify gives its users recommended song playlists)
- Identify which elements of the app are turning down the users or which screen they are using before leaving the app
- Improve a particular segment/section of your app instead of having to change the whole of it
- Get to know the device and operating system through which your users are using your apps
- Make your notification game better and more personalized
Summary: Top Trends in Mobile App Development
As the world moves towards advanced technologies, the world of mobile app development also evolves.
According to the “Annual number of global mobile app downloads 2014-2023, by region” report by Statista, mobile app downloads in North America amounted to 12.1 billion in 2018 and are set to increase to 15.2 billion app downloads in 2023.
With the number of mobile app downloads steadily increasing, it has become more important than ever to make an edge in your space.
But if you’re building mobile apps by relying on outdated trends and technologies from years ago, you will, unfortunately, lose the edge in your space to a competitor who’s relying on the latest mobile app development trends.
This post aims to help you understand how the market is shifting so that you can adapt to it.
Jellyfish Technologies is one of the leading mobile app development companies in Salt Lake City that builds mobile apps by implementing all the latest trends that dominate the industry.
