The summer of 2018 will see the completion of 10 years for the mobile application industry. During the previous years, the mobile app ecosystem, one of the biggest industries on this planet, went through massive development. Started out with a mere 500 apps in their database, the leading App Stores of Apple and Android today host more than two million apps each.
If we look at the previous year’s stats, the U.S. mobile apps report states that 57% of consumers spend their digital media time on apps. During the year 2017, users downloaded more than 254 billion free apps. An average adult checks their mobile phone 150 times a day while millennials or the age group between 18 and 24 years spend the most time on apps (93.5 hours per month).
Today, people are dependent on their gadgets for almost every task. From checking emails, playing videos, to learning numbers – the dependency on these apps continues to grow with each passing day. And if you assumed that the mobile app industry had reached its real potential during the past decade – then you are mistaken.
The year 2018 is going to be another impactful year for the mobile app industry.
In this guide, we have listed a few possible mobile app development trends for the coming years. To continue providing users with a seamless experience and generate more revenue, mobile app developers should adopt the emerging trends and make the most of the year 2018.
Here they are in no particular order.
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Augmented Reality and Virtual Reality
Presently, augmented reality and virtual reality applications are widely in use for gaming and entertainment industry. In fact, experts predict that this category of technology will have approximately 1 billion users by the year 2020. We can also expect the shipment of the augmented reality wearables to reach around 5.4 million units within a couple of years.
In the future, we can expect the augmented reality and virtual reality technology to shift their focus from entertainment apps to other sectors such as retail, healthcare, and real estate. The change in tactic will allow business owners to display their products in a more ‘real’ environment without compromising on physical location. The customers will also benefit from the new age technology and will get a chance to view products in real-time.
Simply stated, the demand for augmented reality and virtual reality applications will surge in the coming years. Major tech companies are continually investing in AR and VR projects while 543 startups are already listed for Angel List projects under this category.
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Machine learning
A personalized experience is lucrative for any business. The advancement in apps such as Netflix, Uber, and Lyst opened many more possibilities for business owners. For example, Netflix analyzes the interest of its users and suggests movies accordingly. It is because of these tactics that we usually see movies as per our interests in the movie recommendations tab.
Another similar example is that of Gmail. The email software introduced the smart reply feature in 2015 that suggests three responses that best fit your email.
The same app development trend will continue in the future with more apps utilizing the machine-learning algorithm to understand users’ behavior and provide them with a tailor-made experience.
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On-demand apps
With the introduction of Uber, Netflix, Airbnb, and BloomThat, the request for on-demand apps has surged rapidly. These apps provide us the convenience of receiving anything that we ask for, regardless of the location.
The trend has encouraged many small businesses to provide similar services. For example, the food delivery service, hotel booking, and even laundry services are growing day by day by providing their consumers with the convenience of using the service anytime and anywhere.
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Fast loading time
Did you know that 47% of users abandon a website that fails to load within 2-3 seconds? Another survey by Compuware claims that users strongly prefer apps ahead of mobile sites and expect them to load quicker than the website.
Unfortunately, the same survey found that during the past year, 56% of respondents complained about experiencing problems with their app. These issues included apps crashing frequently (62%), slow loading time (47%), and failure to launch entirely (40%).
Also, read: Mobile apps are the new lending space
Moreover, 79% of consumers agreed to retry the app once or twice before giving up altogether while 16% claimed to give it more than two attempts. As per the above stats, we can safely say that poor mobile experience will discourage the users from trying your app in the future as well.
To rectify these issues, mobile app developers are often making use of Accelerated Mobile Pages that increase page load time and reduce bounce rate; thus, improving user experience and retaining more visitors.
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Enhanced security
The mobile users of today are not only looking for smarter apps but also secured features within the software. The mobile phones are nowadays used for a variety of purposes including storing and sharing of personal information making them more vulnerable than ever.
Luckily, app developers are taking app security more seriously than ever and implementing built-in security features to enhance the safety of their users.
For example, 46% of consumers use banking apps, according to a PWC survey. Although these do provide convenience, security breaches in mobile banking apps can leave millions of users open to attacks. For minimizing this issue, most banking apps are developed using Software Development Lifecycle that ensures increased security in apps.
Chatting apps are also vulnerable to security breaches. During the previous year, mobile threat protection firm Appthority discovered a vulnerability in more than 700 apps of both – iOS and Android devices.
For making apps more secure and less vulnerable to attacks, app developers are practicing continuous testing during the development phase and using end-to-end encryption. For instance, popular messaging apps like WhatsApp and Telegram have been using end-to-end encryption to make the private chats of their users more secured. AirG reviews by consumers also suggest that their different chat apps are safe and spam free.
Final thoughts
These were just some of the mobile app development trends that the dev team can expect in the year 2018 and beyond. Overall, a developer should adopt a number of these mobile app development trends to make their app more popular, revenue generating, and relevant in the coming years for their end-user.
Michelle Joe is a blogger by choice. She loves to discover the world around her. She likes to share her discoveries, experiences, and express herself through her blogs.
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