The past few years have been phenomenal for mobile apps, and their growing popularity and increasing significance mean mobile app development will reach new heights in 2017. If you want to stay ahead, here are the mobile app development trends that 2017 will bring, all imminent for the New Year.
The Rise of Location-Based Services
All mobile devices feature GPS tracking these days. This means we will see a rise in location-based services (LBS). A major reason for their potential is that LBS can be implemented across a range of areas, including indoor mapping, retail, location-specific payment portals, navigation, travel, and security. This is also one of the reasons some leading tech giants have made significant investments in the LBS space. On the flip side, since the service has been known to drain significant battery power from mobile devices, we could also see an increase in battery life in mobile devices due to the popularity of LBS.
Augmented Reality
The future holds many surprises for us, and one of them is the integration of AR technology into mobile apps. While quite a few companies are already using AR apps to enhance the customer experience, the New Year will see a significant rise in AR apps. According to many analysts, this is also going to be the year when AR apps make the transition from promotional gimmicks to more productive and efficient tools for users. And with the addition of AR tech, which is set to be released later this year, it is without a doubt that we will see many more apps using augmented reality in the future. So, in the coming months, if someone sends you a text or video message with a particular catchphrase and a correlated actionable item pops up on your screen, don’t be too surprised!
IoT Shall Move Forward Unfazed
It is no secret that the IoT industry is on the rise, and doesn’t seem to be changing any time soon. This means that more and more companies in the health and education fields, along with other industries, will start adopting IoT in their mobile applications. For developers, IoT integration will enable the use of more complex mobile platforms alongside enterprise-backed infrastructure. The use of data analytics will also come into play. When it comes to IoT, the implications are huge.
Growing Concerns on Mobile Security
With the number of mobile apps expected to grow in 2017, smartphone security will be more crucial than ever. Security will also be a major concern due to the amount of sensitive information smartphones hold today, especially for mobile transactions. The New Year will see a rise in apps with built-in security features, which will be a game-changer for smartphone security. We could see this in the form of an API or a simple code that’s used to access the mobile app itself. Even Apple is moving from Objective-C to its own programming language, known as Swift. At the end of the day, it’s all about providing the end user a smooth experience, which is key to an app’s success.
Beyond Mobile
Google Play is home to around 2.2 million mobile apps, and the Apple Store houses nearly 2 million, and these numbers are expected to grow two-fold in the coming years. In fact, according to market analysts, this year alone is expected to see an increase of 268 billion mobile app downloads, which is estimated to generate around $77 billion in revenue. But what makes mobile apps special is that they aren’t just built for the mobile platform, but for a wide range of other platforms as well, such as smart homes, smart TVs, IoT-enabled devices, and so on. With the addition of these platforms, the app space is poised to grow and offer more opportunities for companies and end users.