From using cell phones for fun to making a living, we grew up and changed rapidly, and no one was able to stop the growth. However, we are still far from the horizon, and thus the question comes up - What's next? After seeing a many evolutions over the past five years, is there anything left? We have a list of changes that may come in 2021 and may change the ecosystem altogether. We believe that this will even further change the way we use our smartphones today.
The Era Of Automation and Machine Learning
Artificial intelligence (AI) was mostly in the foreground last year when we talked about mobile apps' development trends. From enhancing the customer experience to replacing human assistants (e.g., Google Assistant on cell phones), AI leads most markets.
Could machine learning with artificial intelligence be way ahead? You know the answer. Both technologies work together to improve solutions, find patterns, and make business processes 100 times faster and more comfortable for everyone involved.
AI and machine learning have grabbed the spotlight in front of every visionary and entrepreneur. They are having a significant impact on the mobile app development industry as they revolutionize fundamental concepts. The scope of building new features has just widened to another dimension just because of rapid development in AI & ML.
When Everything Met Internet
Perhaps one of the most popular and promising trends in mobile app development, the Internet of Things or IoT, is revolutionizing the industry. By collecting all the available data, various smart mobile devices analyse the data and then send them to the connected smartphone. Essentially, the smartphone acts like a hive where all the honey is collected and stored by various worker bees.
With this information, you can easily control various functions in your home, even when you are not home. This includes TVs, air conditioners, lights, fans, and other similar physical devices. But to apply these actions and get the data, there must be a remote control. This remote control is then integrated into smartphones as a mobile application. IoT uses smart speakers with AI voice assistants, but the central command is from the mobile app.
This app needs to act as a remote control without making it too bulky as the whole purpose of IoT is to make things easier for users. Therefore, mobile app developers usually consider these aspects before developing or designing such mobile apps. The way people work is changing the mobile app industry. With the use of IoT, the use of voice search and AI-based voice assistants also increases.
The Age Of New Big Brother: Big Data
Big data is mainly related to software or enterprise-grade solutions. Some technology leaders like Amazon and Uber are using big data to track and analyze their customer behavior, improve predictive analytics and data, provide good customer service, and empower end-users to make better choices. This not only helps them meet the needs of their customers but also improves their ROI.
Big data is more like a generic term for a range of tools and technologies used to accomplish the tasks of collecting, organizing, and analyzing large datasets of diverse data. This data helps discover various types of information, such as recent market trends, consumer demand, consumer preferences, patterns, correlations, and other factors influencing consumers' buying decisions. This will affect all retail, management, fintech, and other industries in a way that many of us never imagined.
The New Block & Chain
Mobile apps developed with blockchain are known for their high level of security and their stability and reliability. This is an essential factor for storing a lot of data in their mobile app or software. The growth rate of blockchain technology is also high compared to other upcoming technologies. The tools and processes for developing with blockchain are readily available, and there are many updates regularly. The number of these updates will continue to increase over time and will drive the growth of technology.
When it comes to simplicity, blockchain is paramount. It's also very transparent and mainly used for peer-to-peer transactions to reduce the need for a middleman and make the whole process easier. In short, blockchain is seen as an essential part of many mobile apps for various industries, such as retail and finance.
Apps For Bendy Phones
This is perhaps one of the most anticipated mobile app development trends in 2021. Foldable phones were announced in early 2019.
The latest Android 10 has added support for foldable devices and even more foldable models. On the other hand, Apple is not rushing to provide updates regarding this new technology. The problem with this technology is that folding and unfolding a mobile device changes the screen's size, density, and aspect ratio. However, this is not an entirely new problem as it is similar to multi-window usability and switching from portrait to landscape mode.
As a significant number of smartphone companies use Android for their operating system, it becomes essential to note that every company will make their foldable phone a little different from the others. So, the main issue here would be ensuring that the various screens' transition is smooth and smooth. The app should remain in the same position, and the mobile pages accelerated even if the user is switching between 3 different screens.
Typing For Searching Is So Lame
Smartphones are undoubtedly one of the most popular marketing tools at every stage of the buying journey. Combined with the Internet of Things, artificial intelligence, and wearable devices or smart speakers, nothing can stop the voice search revolution. From Siri and Alexa to the latest Google Duplex, which mimics humans, tech giants have come a long way. And it will only get better and brilliant. Voice search, integrated with artificial intelligence, is changing the e-commerce and mobile commerce we know (like a mobile wallet). As one of the hottest mobile app development trends in 2021, you can get the most out of this technology by developing AI chatbots or voice assistants with tools like Rasa and Google Dialogflow.
The Defence is the Best Offence
Not a day goes by that cyber incidents or cyber violations are not reported. Since new and sophisticated technologies are emerging every day, not everyone is fully aware of these new technologies. This leads to misinformation and high vulnerability to cyberattacks, such as phishing and hacking.
So while cybersecurity should have been a significant trend in previous years, we believe it will become even more critical this year. We hope that mobile app developers, software providers, and industry-changing companies like Google and Apple will emphasize cybersecurity this year. This is not a mobile app development trend, but rather a step that will focus on security and all the promising new technologies.
Light The Beacons
This is the era of competition, so being unique is the only condition for your company's success. One of the main reasons why many companies are flocking to beacon technology these days is to simplify location-based searches. Because Beacons are small transmitters that transmit Bluetooth signals to other devices, they help businesses target promising customers differently.
Remember Trump's digital election campaign? The Trump team used beacons combined with a powerful segmentation and targeted evidence that this campaign is winning. Forget the results, but how beacon technology made this digital campaign famous was huge. So, if you are interested in businesses such as restaurants and supermarkets or others where the location is the main trigger, this integration with Android application programming will save your life in 2021.
Lets Hail MAP (Minimum Awesome Product)
We know that MVP (Minimum Viable Product) is the most excellent mean for validating a business application idea to go to market. But, since there are already many options, customers are not ready to touch a product that is not complete (which is only built with the necessary functions). They want a 360-degree experience. So this is the main reason why MAP (Minimum Awesome Product) will be one of the new concepts by the end of 2021.
Plus, with MAP, when you're expected to go to market with compelling UX design, you'll go overboard with all other mobile apps out there. This means that you will only be different from your competitors with the first version of your MAP. So are you a future entrepreneur with a business idea? Get started with MAP today.
So those were some of the major mobile app development trends of 2021 that will change the way we work as a software development company. Not all of them were new and shiny, but they're as popular as hotcakes.
If you think we've missed out on some new app trends for 2021, don't hesitate to let us know. We've also created a list of trending app ideas for startups. We will continue to improve this list with your help and update it when we hear about a new trend.
