A few years back, we were treated with mobile apps that could control electronic devices. We could turn on and off the A/C and other home appliances by just clicking on our phones. And it came as a surprise to us.
But this time, when Tesla came up with a self-driving car enhanced with Artificial Intelligence, it came as a no surprise.
Every day we see new technological advancements coming up in the world of mobile app development. With new business endeavours, customer demands, stronger connections, and many more aspects! The app development industry is continuously evolving.
Trends are emerging at a breakneck speed, and staying up to date with the latest trends is essential if you are a part of the app development industry.
In fact, many tech giants are already keeping ahead of the game with plans to integrate more immersive technologies in 2021.
It’s time for you to keep up the latest trends and create a brand new user experience. Because in the end, simplifying your users’ lives with the latest technologies is what will keep your game stronger!
Check out the top trends that can take the app development industry to the next level! (we mean your app! ; )
1) Apps for foldable devices
Remember those flip Nokia or Motorola devices that were available back in the 2000s? Yeah, it seems like a long time ago with most touchscreen & no button display phone ruling the market now.
But foldable devices are clearly making a huge comeback! Apple recently announced that it would launch Apple’s flip phone soon. Samsung is already topping the game with Galaxy Z flip 5G. Motorola & Huawei have also come about with their foldable devices.
Foldable devices can compress & enlarge its size as per the user’s preference. An example: User would be able to call while keeping the device closed but can unfold the device if he/she wants to watch a video on a large screen to have a seamless experience.
Now, your question would be what change are these foldable devices going to bring to the app development industry? So, here is the answer
App development companies will have to rethink their app development strategies. The app will need to adjust to the device’s display and fold-unfold feature
Foldable devices made a comeback in 2019, but they still share a small percentage of the market. Yeah, but according to reports, around 18% and 17% of Android and iOS users are excited about getting a phone with foldable design
Statista shows that over 3.2 million units of foldable devices were shipped in 2019 and is predicted that by 2022 over 50.1 million foldable devices will be shipped. And there seems to be much rising scope of foldable devices in 2021. An emerging trend for sure!
2) IoT integrated mobile apps
Imagine you forgot to close the gas stove and you realised after coming to the office. A situation you don’t want to be in, right? But what if you could close directly from the office without returning home! Yes, then 2021 is a year of the Internet of Things (IoT).
You will need to have an IoT integrated gas stove, IoT controller app and an active internet connection.
IoT is a comprehensive system of interconnected devices, which means that each & every one of your appliances/devices can become smart appliances and can be controlled by a single remote that is an IoT app.
Moreover, it is expected that spending on IoT is going to surpass $22 billion by 2022. IoT has a lot to offer as the consumer demands to control things remotely are multiplying. A consumer wants everything to be controlled by their smartphone, and smart home technology is an excellent example of IoT.
Future emerging IoT trends:
- IoT in medical services
- Automobile industry
- Smart cities
App Development Belgium, are already ahead of the game and are producing AI-enabled apps.
3) Artificial Intelligence (AI) & Machine Learning
Do you hear news of robots or machines that would serve food, complete tasks, and interact every other day? Yep, so all these things are developed through Artificial Intelligence!
What role AI has to play in mobile apps? If you may have noticed AI is also running in and around you. Google Assistant, Siri, Amazon Alexa are AI-powered technologies.
The answer which Alexa gives you is through Artificial Intelligence. Not only that, but plans are there to advance AI in more such devices embedded with Machine Learning.
In fact, Machine Learning is growing at a rapid speed and has become an emerging trend along with AI!
Apple also announced Core ML 3 (latest version of ML) in WWDC 2019. Thus, the year 2021 will bring in more possibilities to the AI and ML world.
4) App development for wearables devices
Wearable technologies are progressing speedily. Statista shows that the number of connected wearable devices is expected to outreach 929 million by 2021.
The trend of wearable devices is continuously rising. App development companies are looking forward to new enchanting apps that can support wearable devices. Even Apple at WWDC 2020 ruled out a WatchOS update that would not need a pair up iOS, as the new WatchOS will have its app store.
With that announcement, Apple has clearly tried to signify that Apple watches are independent wearable devices.
From the perspective of app development, app development companies should prepare themselves well with this emerging trend. It is observed that more exploration is going on in the field of wearable devices.
5) Beacon Technology
Beacons are a powerful way to drive traffic and get more conversions and revenue. Believe it or not, but Beacons will top the trends of emerging technology as they appear to be already adopted by many of the businesses.
Let’s see how beacons work:
Supposedly, you have a retail business; then you can get a beacon installed by an App development Belgium, that can connect users’ to your beacon via a Bluetooth connection. When your users’ pass by your beacon, they can be instantly notified about your store or any other discounts or sales prevailing.
The other benefit of Beacon Technology is that you can track the users’ behaviour in your store. Spends more time examining a product or time of expenditures, particularly exploring a section.
So that may help you rove the customer experience, which leads to better conversion rates & revenue.
6) Augmented Reality (AR)
Before informing you about AR trends, I would like you to search on GOOGLE – ‘giant panda’. Did you do that? You will find an AR integrated Giant panda that you can play with, Interesting, right?
One of the prevalent trends which continues to grow is Augmented Reality. Statista shows that the AR market is presumed to be rising from $27 Billion in 2017 to $209 billion in 2022!
Every day businesses are seen to be integrating AR-based apps to offer a seamless experience to their users. And it continues to evolve with other exciting AR features coming up.
The main motive of AR technology is to give a real-life experience. Check out how Donaghmore museum in Belgium, improved their way to attract more visitors by enabling AR-enhanced technology in their museum. Now, the museum is sailing heights and driving more revenue.
7) Mobile App Security
What’s the one device you fear to lose? Your handset, right? Because you know all your data is stored on your device and if you lose it, someone will get a chance to misuse it!
Mobile App security is one of the critical things in this digital era. Cybersecurity measures are one activity that every company wants to invest in. Hacking, data breach, security lapses have surprisingly happened to big tech companies like Facebook & Google.
As the digital era continues to evolve, data protection comes as an emerging trend of 2021. The objective behind this security is to secure data at its best. Apple also addressed this issue and introduced ‘Sign in with Apple’.
Thus, it’s becoming an essential task for the mobile app development industry to develop a robust approach to tackle this problem.
Conclusion
Millions of apps are present in the app stores. Suppose you’re still developing an app based on old technology. In that case, you won’t be able to succeed in this fast pacing digital era.
The emerging trends that we have mentioned in our article are the latest, to the mark. By following our extensive research, you will easily be able to adapt to 2021’s trends.
Take your time, All the best;
