Mobile development is directly affected by the progress in technology and evolving user needs, which in turn boosts its growth. As Exyte is one of the top companies, we are constantly keeping an eye on the latest trends.

So where is it all going, and what awaits mobile development in the future? We’ve talked to our programmers to find out.

More AR features

Augmented reality has long expanded beyond the limits of virtual games like “Pokémon GO”. People have realized how practical this technology can be, and how much money it can actually save. AR has already been successfully deployed by a number of large companies for their internal staff tuition. One of the best examples is Walmart and its unique approach to Black Friday training. Ahead of the massive sales, its employees were able to practice working under pressure using augmented reality glasses. This type of training has helped the staff members feel much more prepared for the real Black Friday madness.

The application of augmented reality speeds up the staff immersion process and makes it much more engaging, particularly due to the elements of gamification involved. At the same time, it saves the company perfectly real money: all the mistakes made in the learning process remain in the virtual world. Sounds too good to be true, doesn't it? We get the experience without incurring any costs!

Consequently, AR could not go unnoticed by marketers. The concept of "try before you buy" is gaining ground in e-commerce. However, it’s the AR’s engagement abilities that constitute its true value for app marketing.

Artificial Intelligence

Siri and Alexa have long been an integral part of our lives. Can you imagine your phone without a voice assistant? We bet you no longer can.

Artificial intelligence and machine learning entered the field of mobile app development years ago, but we're just beginning to understand how we can take full advantage of these technologies. Artificial Intelligence can improve the performance of an application on all levels: speech, text and image recognition, voice assistants, location-based application suggestions, automatic photo classification.

Super App

An app within an app is a delightful solution that meets many user needs at once. It combines a lot of features and functions - from social networking, online shopping and delivery of goods to financial services. The best example of such superapps is Wechat. The "one app for everything" model is expected to generate $23 billion in revenue by 2025.

On-Demand Mobile Apps

The key advantage of such applications is their ability to cater for all the needs of the consumers – anytime, anywhere and in the most convenient way, often in a single click. By now, on-demand apps have penetrated most industries and areas: transportation and logistics, health and beauty, food delivery and repair services, and so on. An on-demand app is a web or mobile solution that allows users to immediately receive or schedule services, or instantly buy products from a specific company. It also might compare the deals available from several on-demand providers to help you choose the best one. An example of a popular on-demand app is Uber, which is considered to be the top on-demand app.Uber became a link between the users who needed a ride and the drivers who wanted to earn some money. The market is expected to be around $25 billion by 2023.

5G

5G could revolutionize the mobile app market by changing the way apps are used and created. Let’s take a glance at the projected growth of the 5G mobile market by 2024: looks impressive, doesn't it?

5G technology can deliver a 10-fold reduction in latency while improving network efficiency and throughput. Compared to 4G, 5G will be up to 100 times faster, depending on the mobile network operator. Of course, its widespread implementation will immediately affect the functionality of the applications. In turn, it would allow equipping apps with a larger variety of features without any performance faults.

Mobile commerce

The year 2020 has taught the companies many lessons. When people around the world were forced to self-isolate and supermarket shelves were running short of toilet paper, apps became indispensable tools that helped us stay up-to-date and keep in touch with others. People turned to apps to interact with brands, shop and have fun. Those companies that didn't have an app were instantly out of the loop.

By the end of 2021, more than 72.9% of all e-commerce sales are expected to be processed with mobile devices. Just think about it: 66.6% of the world's population has a cell phone. If you don’t have an app that can run on those devices, you're out of the game: someone else is getting your customer.

Apps play a crucial role in modern mobile commerce and its future success.

Cloud

The more functional the application, the more memory and system resources of your phone it occupies – which inevitably affects the speed of your smartphone.

Cloud-based apps have proven to be an effective solution to the problem. Mobile cloud apps run on external servers, requiring little or no storage space on users' devices. Not only does it simplify the development process, but it also creates a cost-effective solution. It is expected that by the end of 2021, 83% of corporate workflows will be cloud-based.

Privacy of user data

In December 2020, Apple announced its so-called 'nutrition labels'. These labels provide users with an idea of what data will be collected by the app and for what purposes – all before they download it.

Nutrition labels are a part of the series of new privacy features that Apple intends to implement to ensure the safety of its users. We all prefer to have our data stored securely, and we don’t want any app collecting more information than it needs – especially when it involves sensitive information, which is often the case with financial and medical services. The regulation of these issues are in progress, and a step towards user safety taken by such a big name as Apple will definitely accelerate this process. Therefore, data security and privacy protection will certainly become an important topic for mobile app developers in 2021.

About trends

Obviously, trends are not intended to be followed blindly. But in order to stay competitive, you always need to refresh your overview of how the market is changing – so you can adapt flexibly and timely.

We shouldn't forget that 67% of Internet users access the World Wide Web from their mobile devices. That's why the best option for any business is to create an app using new and existing trends to be on the same wave with customers. Whatever your challenge, Exyte can help bring your idea to life. Contact us now for a free consultation.