2017
proved to be a phenomenal year for mobile app development. A lot of
new apps were launched to meet the needs of modern living. Businesses
realized that mobile applications were no longer an optional
investment, but a necessity.
Mobile
apps have been the centre of innovation lately with social media,
lifestyle and gaming apps dominating the mobile application market.
Keeping this in mind, the trends that would determine the future of
mobile application development are as follows –
Accelerated
mobile pages for apps
This
is an important recent upcoming trends that is gaining popularity
with easy passing day. The page loading on mobile devices is
accelerated to a great rate by following guidelines laid down in the
AMP project by Google. Accelerated Mobile pages will help web apps to
load more quickly on any mobile device, thus reducing bounce rate.
Google has also declared to provide an isolated search index for
mobile web. From an SEO point of view, this step transforms the
approach of mobile application development. This would help
publishers not only to increase the visibility of their ads, but
create a boom in the number of visitors. AMP is expected to provide a
better user experience and enhanced mobile search engine visibility
that can be of great help to online businesses. Some of the benefits
of AMP are as follows –
No sitemap
required
Higher CTR
Higher Page
ranking
Increased
visitors
Mobile Search
Index
Increased
visibility of ads
Fewer efforts
of migration
Increased
number of visitors
Easy analysis
of visitors
Virtual
Reality and Augmented Reality apps
Recently
a lot of development took place in the field of augmented reality and
virtual reality apps. There has been a significant growth driven by
demands from consumers and businesses for new technologies. Both of
these domains possess huge potential to transform a diverse range of
industry sectors. The market for Augmented Reality will be driven by
industries like engineering, healthcare, retail and real estate.
Virtual Reality will the focus of apps from the game and events
sphere. More apps are expected to roll out in 2018 where Augmented
Reality or Virtual Reality will be integrated to provide a better
user experience.
Benefits
of Augmented Reality
It
allows detailed presentation of products and services with the help
of visual experience for different clients. Brands can also show the
relevance of their products in real time. The technology can also be
used to train employees in a high-tech manner which can lead to an
increase in productivity. Virtual Reality is ideal for company
marketing as it allows product showcasing in virtual showrooms
without taking much of space. To make the process more interactive, a
perfect blend of photography and technology can be used for promotion
of products. One can get 3D vision of the products which is
considered to be a revolutionary change in the field of application
development.
Internet
of Things and Wearable apps
IoTs will gradually become more prominent and popular in the year
2018. The concept of smart home, smart city, smart retail, and smart
health is growing gradually. From sectors like healthcare and retail
to education, the use of IoT apps are on the rise. Smart watches and
other types of connected wearable devices have already created a rave
in the technology market. Many of these devices are integrated with
standalone features while others need support from a mobile. For
instance, before the Watch OS4 was launched in the market, the Apple
watch needed iPhone's network for calling. Users prefer wearable
devices that synchronize with mobile devices to allow an easy access
of data. Google has also released Android Things to increase IoT
adoption. As we see a prominent increase in demand for connected
devices, apps will be required for smart devices besides smart
phones. So web developers are including new innovation to enable apps
to meet diverse needs.
Instant
apps are on their way
Android
apps do not require complete installation. Users can view the app and
its content easily without actually installing the app. Android's
instant app support with the latest versions of Android Studio from
5.00 to 8.00, provides all the required tools that you need to
modularize your app. With just one click businesses can have all the
advantages of the app within their site. Users need only load the
portion of the app they need without installing the complete app. You
can run these Android instant apps seamlessly without any hassle.
Instant apps save a lot of space on smart phones and are easy to
share. As there is no unwanted downloading of apps, Android Instant
apps are expected to bring about revolutionary changes in the market.
Mobile
payments
Consumers
who shop online using mobile apps usually pay using internet banking
or credit/debit cards. However, with the introduction of Google
Wallet and Apple Pay, consumers are shifting to m-commerce.
M-commerce is going to stay strong in the year 2018 as more mobile
pay mechanisms emerge in the market. Considering the recent scan and
pay system by Visa Cards and Samsung, it is expected that more mobile
pay apps will be launched to provide consumers with a comfortable
payment experience. So m-commerce is expected to get a boost up
because an increasing number of app developers are coming up with new
apps that ease payments online.
Security
apps
The
security of apps is a big concern now considering the amount of
personal data that smartphones contain. However, It is surprising to
see that many people do not take the security of their smartphones as
seriously as they should. This is a huge concern for app developers,
and they are trying to integrate high-end security features for
better security of mobiles. Apps that are developed with built-in
security features can make a huge difference in this domain. More
developers are trying rigorously to secure the codes of app they
develop, from scratch. Apps with better UX and additional security
features are expected to launch in 2018. There is also an increase in
the awareness towards better use of authorization and encryption. Web
developers are working hard to ensure that every app they design
comes with a safety guarantee.
Cloud
based app development
Nowadays
mobile app developers are designing more mobile apps that are cloud
driven. These cloud based app can retrieve data from the cloud and
thus reduce the load on the internal memory of your phone. Along with
Dropbox and Google Drive, other cloud based apps are expected to come
up during 2018. For enterprises, using cloud based mobile apps would
significantly remove security issues that are already inherent in Buy
Your Own Device (BYOD). There has always been a concern to protect
corporate sensitive data, especially the data that is accessed using
devices that are not secure. Nowadays many an mobile app
development company is opting to include cloud-based technology
into the apps they develop.
On
demand apps
On-demand
apps are very popular these days. These type of apps are useful,
convenient and easily accessible. They make our lives easy. Timely
services and easy payment options are advantages that these apps
offer. They are really good in offering services at your convenience.
Some examples of on-demand apps are cleaning services, laundry
services, food delivery, taxi service and beauty services. More
businesses want to gain popularity with the use of these on-demand
apps. So 2018 marks the emergence of more on-demand apps that would
make our lives pretty easy.
Machine
learning, Artificial Intelligence and Chatbots
With
the introduction of AI apps like Siri, Prisma and Google Now, more AI
apps are expected to launch in the year 2018. Customized chatting
with online shoppers is an important characteristic of any online
retail business. Apps are gradually learning about user preferences.
So developers are constantly thinking of ways to include chat-bots
and AI in the apps they develop to provide better user satisfaction.
The concept of introducing Machine Learning technology, chat-bots
into apps is something that upcoming apps may be integrated with.
Lazy
Loading Technology
Lazy
Loading is another great trend that is expected to rise to prominence
in the year 2018. Images that take a long time to load usually
prevent the user from opening the whole article. It takes a lot of
time to load the page and users leave the page midway abruptly. Users
do not spend too much time waiting for the page to load, resulting in
a loss of conversion rates. So tech experts have started to integrate
lazy loading technology. This use of this technology means that
images will only load when the user scrolls to where they are on the
page. Otherwise they do not overlap the loading of the page when the
user is going through the page.
These
are the some mobile app development trends that are expected to gain
prominence in the year 2018. A renowned
mobile app development company will always look for ways to integrate the latest
technology, innovative methods and high-end tools to provide apps
that are perfect for modern day comfortable living.
