What pops up in our mind as soon as you hear the word “tech”? Do you think of fighter jets and 3D ocean farming? Or do you think of AI, ML algorithms, and smart devices? If you fall in the latter category, you’re far from alone since it’s hard to imagine our heavily digitized lives without smartphones and the numbers back it up.
There are almost 8 billion people in the world, and a whopping 4.7 billion of them own a smartphone and spend 90% of their mobile time on apps—which rings true if we take a look around. No matter where we go, we see people glued to their devices using their favorite apps. Whether it’s shopping, chatting, playing games, or merely ordering coffee, there’s an app for everything!
Consequently, we can’t ignore the fact that mobile app development is here to stay and clawing its way up as the revenue is expected to soar to $581.9 billion this year. Mobile apps are equally popular among both business owners and users. People turn to apps because they are convenient, entertaining, and user-friendly and businesses take advantage of this “popularity” to advertise their products.
Want to know how you can make yours popular? Let’s dive deeper into some of the biggest mobile app development trends in 2020.
Build with Blockchain
Blockchain technology is making incredible strides in the IT and Crypto Space and has mushroomed into different business sectors with its wide-ranging advantages. Now, Blockchain is making its way to the mobile app development economy and who knows, one day a Blockchain-based app store might even checkmate the mighty app stores we use nowadays.
A Blockchain network is a shared immutable ledger that has no central authority to ensure transparency and accountability. These immutable records or blocks of data are updated when new information is added, securing the previous blocks, and sending everyone a copy of the whole database so things remain crystal clear. This stops any data breaches and forgery.
But it goes further.
Blockchain also spots errors when someone makes a mistake. Bitcoin wallets and VPN apps use Blockchain technology to avoid potential data leaks. Simply put, Blockchain can be a payment fraud weapon that frees you from the stress of credit card scams.
The Rise of Chatbots
Chatbots, aka the conversational agents, are software apps that (almost) sound like humans and are used to mimic a conversation with a real person. Chatbots applications can be web-based or standalone depending on how you want to use them.
If you run a business, Bots come quite handy in improving customer experience. For customers, a Bot can work 24/7/365 without getting tired, unlike a customer service agent. Stats show that more than half of customers believe that chatbots work for them better than humans as they’re faster, highly-responsive, and save their time.
Therefore, many businesses like Misfit Media, Mellanni, and Daniel D have incorporated chat marketing to seal the deal with meaningful conversations and generate profit without any added expenses of hiring a customer support member.
Gartner projected that Bots usage will soar from up to 93% by 2022 and 80% of the companies will turn to chat marketing by 2020 and that’s why creating chat apps to promote chat marketing is a soaring trend this year and beyond.
IoT is Taking the App World By Storm
Imagine a world when you find your coffee already brewing when you wake up! The good news is, you don’t need to dream anymore for the possibilities are endless with IoT!
Statista suggests that the IoT global market is expected to grow around $1.6 trillion by 2025. This game-changing technology is both a rising and evolving trend in the mobile app development space as it controls and connects all the non-connecting things without human interaction.
For businesses like e-commerce,healthcare and education, this technology will cause massive reductions in cost by eliminating human factors almost entirely. Some of the real-world IoT apps including wearables, fitness trackers, and smart gardening connect your day-to-day tools directly to the internet, so you’re in control and can track your devices anywhere and anytime. All these factors make IoT one of the biggest app development trends to look forward to.
The Next-gen On-Demands Apps
Why on-demand apps are so popular? Simply because they fit perfectly into our fast-paced, high-tech, 21st century way of life so much easier. How so? Well, online grocery shopping is skyrocketing in the US, as people have access to high-speed internet connection in and outside their homes such as the AT&T internet service.
These days, people want everything to come to them. As more apps are being introduced in the realm of the app world, the on-demand economy is becoming stronger than ever. And why won’t they? These apps are no less than “Abracadabra” and can respond to your multiple needs at once.
You just need to place a request through the app and your needs are met almost immediately! The best bit, they come in all shapes and sizes! From food delivery and grocery to ride-sharing services – the list is never-ending. Some of the most popular ones are Amazon, UrbanClap, and Uber. That is why tech gurus have picked on-demand apps as one of the hottest app development trends this year.
Improved App Security
As the number of smartphone apps rising, users are becoming more vulnerable to cybersecurity issues. With more and more data being stored and used by apps, app security still remains a matter of concern and hence a top mobile app trend in 2020.
When it comes to app development, Cybersecurity is an indispensable feature that cannot be ignored. Apple switching from Objective-C to its Swift coding language is a good reminder for app designers to keep cybersecurity on top right from the beginning of the app development process so businesses can toughen up against any tech abnormalities.
Also, due to the BYOD trend, the risk of mobile apps being hacked is higher than ever. Considering that, app developers have shifted their approach and prioritizing on app security more than any other feature. Many apps have also added high-level security infrastructure like money payment to make their apps foolproof.
To ensure maximum app security, developers are embedding high-level authentication and solid end-to-end code encryptions so even if the data is stolen, it stays unreadable.
The E-wallet “Pay-volution”
No doubt, a traditional leather wallet is your stalwart buddy for keeping our possessions safe. Be it your credit card, bills, and receipts, it holds everything tightly for you. But sadly it grows thicker and bulkier with time. Plus it’s super insecure too and anyone can sneak in and suck all the cash out of your pocket. Well, guess what? It’s time for a wallet upgrade.
A digital or e-wallet is not just super convenient, but way safer, and transforms the way you pay for things. This life-changing trend spares you from standing in long queues; you just need to tap on your device to pay your bills!
Well-known brands like Apple, Amazon, and Samsung are using this technology to amp-up their customer service and provide a flexible and secure bill-payment platform. What is more, a report revealed that e-wallet transactions are expected to rise from $4,296 billion to a massive $13,979 billion by 2022! Therefore, e-wallets is another most promising mobile app trend in 2020.
Smarter Apps with Augmented Reality (AR) and Virtual Reality (VR)
We’re all familiar with 2016’s biggest instant viral smash – the Pokémon Go. But what exactly changed after the launch of its predecessor almost two decades ago? Well, Pokémon Go’s charm is that it blends AR with the traditional gameplay, leaving the gaming enthusiasts in awe.
The mix of AR and VR increases engagement and creates a more immersing gaming experience. However, the blend of AR and VR is not just limited to gaming apps anymore and has started to segment into high-tech as well as small and mid-sized industries. From education and healthcare to home décor businesses, these technologies have an endless set of uses and now a much greater potential to drive faster revenues.
Make Way for 5G!
Internet connection speeds have evolved by leaps and bounds over the past few years. From dialups to now a download rates as high as 1,000 Mbps, we all are spoiled to the core. Now we’re witnessing 5G, which promises to bring even faster connection speeds that can peak up to 1 GB per second!
This means near spotless online connectivity between devices, greater capacity, and more responsive and faster apps. 5G technology will also make your smart devices powerful enough for apps using AR and VR, IoT, AI, and machine learning.
Therefore, developers need to embed 5G features into their apps to stay relevant to this advanced mobile app trend that will transform wireless technology forever.
Winding Up
The mobile app development space is growing at full speed throttle, introducing groundbreaking technologies one after another. For an app developer such as yourself, the struggle is real to keep up with the pace of technology and come up with brilliant app ideas at the same time.
However, things will get easier with every hardware breakthrough, making the job easier as you’ll continue to upgrade and come up with new and improved app versions. These innovations will surely help designers to add more and more handy apps into the realm of app world that will provide even greater user-experience.
Baldwin Jackson is a successful digital marketer with expertise in search engine optimization and content marketing. The perfect balance of his analytical ability and creative thinking is what sets him apart from other practitioners in the digital marketing realm. He has helped a lot of small and medium-sized businesses in crafting their digital marketing strategies that are not only cost-effective but delivers results as well.
Baldwin is also a proud father of two kids and a Sports enthusiast. When he is not working, you will find him watching ESPN and NFL network.
