Mobile phones have seamlessly integrated into our lives over the past decade and accelerated after the COVID-19 pandemic hit. The mobile application development market continued to thrive and evolve at a breakneck speed. Developers are constantly striving to innovate and gain traction as the globe shifts to contactless, mobile-first services. Let’s look at 8 recent innovations within the mobile development market that have redefined how developers do business.
How Mobile Applications Are Changing Businesses
Businesses have been using mobile devices for business since the late ’80s. Unlike the ’80s, mobiles evolved to mimic computers, offering fast user-friendly internet connections for personal and business use. Mobile hardware has also underpinned many diverse technologies, including augmented and virtual reality. Faster, multithreaded processors along with multi-camera support helped with adoption.
Software has also come a long way as users adopt Apple and Android-based marketplaces. A common theme exists in the mobile application marketplace; artificial intelligence (AI). This makes workflows smarter and has become commonplace within mobile apps.
That said, it’s also easy to develop mobile applications. Anyone can develop a free or proprietary application. You also have options for how and where you want to conduct business.
Let’s take a look at what recent advancements are driving modern businesses.
Top 8 Advancements in Mobile Application Development
Communication between a device and a SaaS or cloud solution has helped enable remote team integration into workflows. This has included collecting and sending cloud-point data from 3D scanners directly to teams to speed up workflows. 5G Technology helped make this happen, coupled with the growing network coverage.
This is only one of the new technological cornerstones that are making business easier than ever. Let’s take a look at the top 8 mobile innovations, starting with how faster internet speeds have helped business applications.
1. The Rise of 5G
5G-enabled devices are starting to slowly enter the market. That led tech companies to begin incorporating 5G at a full scale. This latest cellular communication technology promises to significantly improve speed and efficiency. It also boasts latency reduction from 50 milliseconds (4G) to 1 millisecond.
Developers can leverage the features 5G technology offers to create faster, more responsive applications. They can also build new features without affecting application performance negatively. 5G technology will also bring better opportunities for augmented and virtual reality, artificial intelligence, IoT, machine learning, and more.
That said, many issues are affecting 5G’s rollout. Some include government policy making, hardware barriers, and software to power the entire network. You can read all about these factors in these articles. Though it would take a few more years for 5G to become a reality, most telco vendors aren’t waiting. They already began testing pilot projects and even reached early-phase rollout for some projects.
2. Augmented and Virtual Reality
Many industry leaders are already using Augmented reality. I wouldn’t be surprised if it graduates and becomes a practical tool that businesses in all industries will leverage. For mobile application development, though, it was the impressive success Pokemon Go had that paved the way for AR. It showed how augmented reality can create an immersive user experience. It also highlighted how products and services can become more engaging to audiences.
For iOS developers, the AR kit enables you to design and create 3D virtual-based mobile applications for your customers. Apple has even fast-forwarded and introduced LIDAR. That’s an AR-powered technology advancement that enables capturing superior quality photos even in low light.
AR and VR are persistently shaping the mobile application development industry. That’s why you can leverage these trends to bring remarkable experiences to mobile users.
3. Beacon Technology
Beacon technology uses your phone’s Bluetooth to identify any store, museum, or other business’s proximity. The technology might reach $10.2B by 2024. As proximity marketing gains more momentum among businesses, this advancement provides a major opportunity to personalize application marketing.
When your phone enters a guide zone, the beacon in the location sends Bluetooth Low Energy (BLE) signals. These signals trigger the application to open on your phone to use it. You’d get all information on items in a store and/or the option to shop through the application, anything the application’s design supports. This technology possesses the potential to bring businesses and brands closer to clients by offering personalized services at their fingertips.
IoT and edge sensors become more prevalent as mobile devices become more powerful. That’ll drive Beacon technology to transform how we interact with the world around us.
4. AI and ML
It isn’t a surprise artificial intelligence (AI) and machine learning (ML) are on this list. AI and ML have constantly been among the top mobile application development trends for the last few years. That said, their versatility and power of innovations keep them relevant even in 2022.
We saw the most powerful evidence of AI and ML’s powers through the My Heritage app’s animation feature. It offered the ability to convert pictures into realistic animations. ML, when joined with Deep Learning, can help the mobile application development process since it provides real-time analytics and other valuable insight.
As technology advances, developers will be inclined to integrate AI and ML into mobile application development as they see how easy and versatile they are. You can read more about how AI and ML are transforming mobile app development in this post.
5. Wearables
Here’s another historical contender. Wearable devices have been around for a decade and have already taken the world by storm. That said, the pandemic also helped them gain momentum, with usage increasing significantly.
You can do anything with your wearables, like make a call, navigate to your destination, measure and analyze vital signs in real-time, and check personalized insights. It seems manufacturers are racing to offer their take on smartwatches and smart bands.
App developers and businessmen should focus on building applications that provide an excellent digital experience to users on wearables. That helps offer users a seamless digital experience. Check this post, based on a report by analyst firm, IDC, that analyzes the use of wearables in enterprises.
6. Predictive Analytics
Predictive analytics use existing customer data to offer insights into their habits, likes, dislikes, and buying patterns. These insights are valuable for improving processes and products. That led platforms like Amazon and Flipkart to use predictive analysis to personalize product recommendations. OTT platforms also leverage it to recommend TV series and movies through taking your shopping and streaming habits.
On the mobile application development front, predictive analysis can help improve the process and the user experience. It can help predict issues and suggest alternatives by collecting data from many developers.
It can also help companies benefit from user data to predict their actions, identify pages with the least retention rate, and recognize notifications with the best responses to personalize user experience.
Predictive analytics is essential in e-commerce. According to statistics, 80% of customers are more likely to buy from an e-commerce store that personalizes their experience using predictive analytics. Predictive analytics has also helped some e-commerce companies increase sales by 35%. That shows the power predictive analytics have on business and how it’s continuing to shape how businesses function.
7. Blockchain Technology
Blockchain technology has evolved beyond cryptocurrencies and Bitcoin. Through its provision of decentralized databases, blockchain provides complete security for all sensitive data and helps prevent data misuse. It also enables digital asset tracking, provides cloud storage solutions, secures digital identity, and tracks rewards and loyalty programs.
Blockchain technology skips any middleman intervention between providers and users to decrease the chances of easy data penetration. Applications backed by blockchain technology also benefit from end-to-end encryption. That means no one can retain data ownership rights but you. The world of blockchain has innumerable possibilities.
8. On-Demand Apps
The pandemic turned on-demand apps into a necessity and pushed them into the top trends’ list. These apps can fulfill all your demands as you simply place one request and receive the customized solution in no time.
Multiple delivery apps popped up In the wake of persistent lockdowns and quarantines. They ranged from food delivery apps to cab, grocery, and even medicine delivery. These apps have an expert database management system that helps facilitate the data movement based on user requirements.
The on-demand model is likely to grow as more service-based companies shift their focus on-demand apps.
Final Thoughts
A broad range of technologies, like 5G, AR, VR, AI, ML, beacons, wearables, blockchain, and more revolutionizing mobile application development. That implies mobile apps built 5 years from now will be very different from what we have today.
Technology is in a constant state of flux with new technological iterations hitting the market every year. That’s why, you need to stay on top of the latest trends and leverage them to deliver innovative, feature-rich applications. That’s imperative for a successful mobile application launch.
FAQs
What are the key trends influencing mobile app development?
Many technologies are influencing mobile application development. These include 5G, augmented and virtual reality, artificial intelligence, machine learning, beacon technology, wearable devices, and blockchain technologies. Some have been around for some time but received additional attention due to the pandemic. That said, developers may find it imperative to harness these trends’ benefits to launch successful mobile applications.
Is 5G available to use today?
In the US, carriers are rolling out 5G in select locations. So far, it isn’t available nationwide, but we can expect advances in the next year or so.
What is beacon technology?
It leverages mobile Bluetooth connectivity to sense your proximity to a store or business. This allows mobile applications to send targeted and personalized offers to you. That helps businesses expand their target audience and give you service or business options closest to you.
Do e-commerce shoppers like personalized results?
Yes, e-commerce shoppers are more likely to buy from an e-commerce store that personalizes and customizes results according to their interests. According to statistics, 80% of customers are more likely to buy from an e-commerce store that personalizes their experience.
What is blockchain useful for?
Blockchain powers the cryptocurrency ecosystem and governs smart contracts. In the future, these two innovations are going to revolutionize how we transact and do business.
Resources
5G Network Slicing
Get to know 5G network slicing, its applications, and use cases from this article.
AR and VR in Business
Learn about how AR and VR are changing enterprise organizations today.
Latest Gadgets
Want to see the latest gadgets? Check out our roundup of the best gadgets of CES 2022.
The Future of Marketing is Near
Read all about proximity marketing in this insightful article.
Blockchain 101
Learn the basics of blockchain and be in the know of this important technology.
Mobile Application Development Platforms
Check this list of the top mobile application development tools to choose the one that suits you best.
Mobile apps are changing the business in a new way due to the covid-19 pandemic most businesses are moving to digital platforms or making their own mobile apps to grow their own business.