COVID-19 significantly impacted the way people work and live, leading to increased demand for mobile apps. This drove growth in mobile app development, especially in areas like remote work, online collaboration, AR, VR, and e-commerce. Going forward, there will be continued focus on cross-platform development using tools like Flutter and React Native, as well as low-code/no-code development options. Emerging technologies like 5G, AI/ML, and wearables will also impact mobile app development trends.
2. COVID-19 changed not only the way we live, but also the way we work.
There is a significant impact on the economic landscape, social
behaviors, and consumer preferences. There is a dramatic increase in
demand for technology solutions. Mobile app development solutions
that helped users maintain social distance, work remotely, as well as
facilitated online collaboration saw an upward trajectory of growth. It is
important to partner with an iPhone app development company or
Android development agency to leverage changes for competitive
advantage.
Companies heavily invested in development of apps to increase
capacity and bring new features. The year 2021 signifies rebuilding
of lives. With vaccination gaining momentum across the globe,
there is a strong feeling of resilience.
3. AUGMENTED REALITY & VIRTUAL REALITY
We thought AR and VR was limited to travel & tourism. But, then
came Pokemon Go, a gaming application that made Augmented
Reality go mainstream. Forward 2021, AR and VR are not only
popular in the gaming industry, but also created a profound impact
on diverse industries such as healthcare, tourism, education, retail,
marketing, architecture, and real estate.
MOBILE APP DEVELOPMENT TRENDS
THAT WILL CONTINUE TO GROW
$160 billion: Combined market share of AR and VR will be by
2023.
The AR and VR market size reached $12 billion in 2020.
4. AR TRENDS THAT ARE SHAPING MOBILE
APP DEVELOPMENT
AR Avatars
AR Indoor Navigation
VR training in the retail & education sector
MOBILE APP DEVELOPMENT TRENDS
THAT WILL CONTINUE TO GROW
Apple’s LiDAR scanner is changing AR. It is important to partner with
iPhone app development company to leverage the growing
technology.
The aim is to help iPhone developers “prototype and produce high-
quality AR experiences.” Both ARKit and RealityKit can add new
dimensions to retail experiences or combine with Machine Learning
and Computer Vision to build much smarter & intellectual apps or
games.
5. CROSS PLATFORM DEVELOPMENT: RISE
OF FLUTTER, REACT NATIVE & PWA
Cross-platform apps will continue to gain prominence and relevance
with its ability to reach users across different platforms. React Native
and Flutter are rising in the world of cross platform app development.
While still in a relatively nascent stage, Flutter is surging ahead with its
popularity with several success stories.
PWAs are also a feasible option, offering the advantages of apps.
They take less time to develop compared to normal apps. To put it in
layman’s terms, because they are websites with app functionalities.
They offer expanded utility as you can save them on your home
screen. Further, PWA apps are lightweight, run faster and offer less
dependency on Internet. They can be accessed and updated
automatically.
6. WEARABLES
CROSS PLATFORM DEVELOPMENT: RISE
OF FLUTTER, REACT NATIVE & PWA
Wearables are growing. Going ahead not only would websites and
apps work on mobile devices, desktops, but also seamlessly on
wearables. This would throw new challenges. Wearables play an
instrumental role during COVID-19 cases in detection of
asymptomatic and pre-symptomatic users. Equipped with features to
continuously monitor physiological data in real-time, wearables help
in detection of any deviations from an individual’s normal health
vitals.
7. LOW-CODE APP DEVELOPMENT
CROSS PLATFORM DEVELOPMENT: RISE
OF FLUTTER, REACT NATIVE & PWA
Like cross-platform app development frameworks, organizations can
use low-code app development frameworks for quicker time to
market. Low/no-code app development uses drag-and-drop actions
and intuitive UI to create an app. These apps will be a quick fix
solution for companies looking to hit the ground running without the
hassles of coding.
75% Development shops will transition to low-code platforms in
2021.
65% App development will be done using low-code platforms
by 2024.
Low-code platforms is expected to create more cross-
functional teams in 2021.
8. ACCELERATED MOBILE PAGES (AMP)
CROSS PLATFORM DEVELOPMENT: RISE
OF FLUTTER, REACT NATIVE & PWA
AMPs are an open-source project by Google and Twitter to make
pages load faster. As you can surmise from the name, accelerated
mobile pages improve web page load time by minimizing
unnecessary code. This means pages load much faster and use
fewer data. While AMPs will never replace native mobile apps, it will
make low-quality apps redundant. Get ready for more mobile-
friendly applications in addition to PWAs.
9. FINALLY
As tools and technologies continue to mature, new trends will
continue to dominate the mobile app development industry.
Emerging technologies will continue to make the development
process exponentially faster. It is important to understand your
business objectives and goals before implementing the process.