“Consumer and business digital adoption has vaulted five years forward in only about eight weeks in light of COVID-19.”
McKinsey & Company Study
The impact of the pandemic on businesses has sure been merciless, but it has also served as a springboard for many exciting technologies. The mobile app industry has benefited from the socially distant and digital-first business model adopted by organizations to tackle the unprecedented challenges of COVID-19. Amazing mobility solutions have enabled organizations and communities to overcome obstacles, build resilience, and contribute towards the fight against COVID-19.
As we head into 2021, the growth story of the mobile app development industry will continue. Organizations will want to address more complex requirements by investing in new-age apps. Like all previous years, there will be new trends that will push the envelope of what can be achieved through mobile app development. If you want to develop afresh or modernize your existing business apps in 2021, then below are some pioneering trends to watch out for.
Top Mobile App Development Trends in 2021
1: Artificial Intelligence (AI)
According to an IDC report, worldwide spending on Artificial Intelligence by the major tech companies will be nearly $98 billion in 2023.
The integration of AI and Machine Learning (ML) technologies with mobile apps have made lives easier for users. Organizations can seamlessly automate various complex business operations and increase productivity through such smart technologies. AI is enabling businesses to quickly identify user preferences, provide user-specific suggestions, and simplify online businesses. Additionally, developers are tapping into the potential of analytics, supervised learning, cognitive learning, and machine learning technologies, to include facial identification and object identification capabilities in mobile apps.
Because of these advantages, tech giants such as Google, IBM, eBay, and Facebook have started funding and acquiring startup companies that are adept at AI and ML.
2: IoT Powered Apps
Want to control devices with a single tap? The power of the Internet of Things (IoT) allows you to achieve this and much more.
As per predictions by IDC, spending on IoT is expected to surpass $22 Billion by 2022! This will directly impact the mobile app trends, as IoT devices are majorly controlled by Smartphones. Giants such as Microsoft are orienting their complete app ecosystems around IoT and various use cases enabled with its application.
IoT helps in establishing a network of interconnected devices where data is interoperable. The data is transferred through mobile devices which allows users to control the devices remotely. Adjusting air conditioners setting, switching lights on and off and monitoring appliances remotely are some examples of how IoT has simplified daily life.
3: Augmented Reality and Virtual Reality
Augmented reality came in to focus with the release of Pokemon Go. This immersive technology submerges virtual objects in real surroundings allowing users to experience visually empowered surroundings. AR & VR have been revolutionary in the gaming and entertainment industry. Apps leveraging such technologies are quite famous among the youth due to their visually appealing characteristics.
Apart from the gaming apps, the application of AR/VR in mobile app development has been on the rise across all industries. The real estate sector is leveraging AR/VR tech to deliver a positive customer experience, while police officers in China are wearing smart glasses to identify the suspects. Various maintenance companies are also developing applications that could help detect the wear and tear in machinery through AR/VR.
According to Statista, the number of AR glasses shipments worldwide will reach around 22.8 million units by 2022. AR/VR technologies will be one of the important app development trends in 2021 and beyond. These technologies will open new doors of possibilities for organizations.
4: Accelerated Mobile Pages (AMP)
One of the main goals for developers is to create a fast and user-friendly website that performs well on any device (especially on mobile devices). People leave sites that take too much time to load, and the same logic applies for applications too. While JavaScript is a powerful language enabling developers to modify various aspects of pages, but it may block the construction of DOM, which leads to delay in the rendering of pages. AMP (Accelerated Mobile Pages) delivers new ways to tackle such problems. It allows asynchronous JavaScript which in turn leads to performance improvement in the rendering of pages.
AMP is an open-source library that provides a way to boost a web page’s performance and improve its load time. It was introduced some years ago and gained popularity among web developers because of its effectiveness. AMP can be integrated into mobile apps to deliver a fast browsing experience, enhance user engagement on a website, and also improve visibility over search engines, getting more traffic as a result. Hence, along with Progressive Web Apps (introduced by Google introduced in I/O 2017), AMP will certainly be one of the top mobile app development trends in the coming year.
5: Beacons
Beacons are wireless transmitters that utilize low energy Bluetooth technology to transmit signals that other devices can catch and act upon. A radio signal made of letters and numbers is broadcasted by Beacons. Real-life applications of Beacons can be seen in malls where they are tagged to either products or different sections. Users’ Bluetooth captures signals coming from the nearby Beacons and details about a product or section are quickly displayed on the mobile screen.
Integrated location-based service applications like Apple’s iBeacons and Google Beacon are already being used by app developers to transform their applications. In 2021, Wi-Fi usage will no longer be limited to hotels, restaurants, retail outlets, and health-care. This will lead to the rapid evolution of technologies that are dependent upon Wi-Fi. Beacons, being one such technology, will be widely integrated across mobile applications in the upcoming year. Organizations will utilize this technology to power their proximity and location-based applications.
5: Chatbots
A chatbot is an AI-powered messaging app that can engage in conversation with a user in natural language through messaging applications, websites, mobile applications, or calls. It is often described as one of the most advanced and promising expressions of human-machine interaction. However, from a technological point of view, a chatbot only represents the natural evolution of a response system to questions that take advantage of Natural Language Processing (NLP). There are various types of chatbots and virtual assistants available today, mentions should be made of Alexa, Google Assistant, Siri, and Bixby.
Integrating Chatbot with a mobile app allows organizations to deliver excellent convenience to the customers and also acts as an essential marketing tool. Most online stores are utilizing this technology to tackle various user requirements. In 2021, more organizations would integrate Chatbots into their apps, to deliver instant support and problem resolutions. It will become a norm rather than a good-to-have feature.
There are more than 2.2 million apps on the App Store and more than 2.8 million on the Play Store. Through 2021 these numbers will dramatically increase. Apps will continue to simplify lives, minimize risks, and improve business outcomes. New technologies will enable organizations to build apps with awesome new capabilities. Hope our list of mobile app development trends will help you plan better for the upcoming year.
If you want to utilize any of the above-mentioned technologies in your next mobile app development project, we can help. AgreeYa has been transforming businesses with its next-generation mobility solutions for more than two decades now. Contact us to discuss a project.