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Top trends in mobile app development to watch out for in 2024: Part #1

The year 2019 was packed with technological progressions, especially in the field of mobile app development. Businesses of all classes benefited hugely thanks to these advancements.  In this post, we will discuss the top trends that will be followed in 2020. Let’s get started: 

#1 – Artificial Intelligence & Machine Learning 

First in the list is artificial intelligence aka AI, which is not a new vogue. We are just finding ways to get better at machine learning and artificial intelligence with every passing year.  Regardless of the nature of the industry, businesses are ogling at this technology and finding ways to implement it in their business. A study by the National Venture Capital Association reports that more than 900 start-ups have been able to raise over 130 billion USD with the help of AI.  Let’s see what AI has to offer in mobile app development this year:

  • Offering personalization without human intervention by analyzing the preferences of the customer in real-time.
  • Automating daily operations that involve repetitive work, commonly known as robotic process automation. 
  • Unlike previous years, artificial intelligence will be more effective because of the accuracy of data-driven by improved simulations.
  • Artificial intelligence is predicted to make other devices more powerful including smartphones, watches and more. 
  • Our interaction with AI will increase significantly through customer care chatbots and robots without really knowing about it. 

Suggested Read: How to build an AI app? Beginner’s guide to AI app development

#2 – Augmented Reality 

Augmented reality has helped enhance the features of numerous mobile applications by making them more meaningful.  Mobile apps that are built around augmented reality gained more popularity in 2019 than in 2018. By making apps more pleasing to the eye, this technology is set to bring a revenue of approximately 18.8 billion USD in 2020.  The magnitude at which this technology heightens experiences is the main reason for its popularity. The gaming industry, in particular, has grown leaps and bounds by adapting the concept of going beyond the screen.  Let’s see how interactive we will be with augmented reality this year: 

  • Augmented reality is set to take yet another leap by joining hands with artificial intelligence this decade. The integration of these top-notch technologies will facilitate machine learning algorithms more efficiently. 
  • Retail industries are looking forward to collaborating with AR to make the shopping journey of customers more joyful and interactive. 
  • The excessive use of navigation by drivers has compelled companies to focus on improving the user experience by introducing AR technology this year. 
  • Both augmented reality and virtual reality have been a part of the consumer entertainment industry. However, this year, the technology will improve massively to upgrade their experience.

#3 – Blockchain Technology

After coming to limelight in 2020, there was no looking back for this technology. This year too, numerous financial companies are eyeing blockchain to make huge benefits.  Earlier introduced in the financial sector, blockchain technology is now being recognized in the health and wellness and agricultural industry too.  According to research by Statista, the widespread popularity of blockchain technology in the mobile industry has generated approximately USD 2.7 billion worldwide. This number is only expected to grow by USD 11.7 billion by 2022.  After being in limelight in mobile applications throughout 2019, it is believed to help businesses make huge revenue through other currency platforms.  Let’s look at the trends that this technology will follow in 2020: 

  • The idea of Stablecoins has been airing the market for a long time which will finally take face in the year 2020. Both private and government agencies will work towards developing it.
  • In 2019, many financial companies took advantage of Blockchain as a Service rather than building it and managing it themselves. This year, companies will take advantage of the cloud-based tech-solutions to their benefit by subscribing to it from experts. 
  • Besides developing Stablecoins, the financial sector will be seen moving towards digital assets in place of cryptocurrency to reduce the risks. 
  • Mobile app developers will bank the opportunity of this popular technology making it easily accessible to investors. 
  • Blockchain will be within the range of common people with the help of mobile apps. People with a keen interest in investing their funds in other currencies will be able to download apps and do it effortlessly. 

#4 – Wearable Mobile Apps

After hitting the market for the first time in 2013, the ever-growing love and popularity of smartwatches have still not died down.  Wearable apps came into the picture with smartwatch, particularly for health and fitness reasons; to monitor the step count, heart rate, pulse rate and more.  The revenue of this industry shot up by 4.2 billion in 2014 and the number has not declined ever since. The wearable technology is said to hit the market by USD 1.1 billion by 2022 from 526 million in 2016, specified by a report from Statista.  Let’s look at the latest trends that wearable technology will pose in 2020: 

  • Wearable apps are believed to enter the healthcare industry by helping doctors monitor heart rate, pulse rate, blood pressure and much more on a regular basis. 
  • Like last year, massive improvement will be seen in the user interface of this technology to enhance the experience of smartwatch owners. 
  • With the launch of Standalone smartwatches with sim cards, the reliability of wearable apps on smartphones will reduce drastically. 
  • The features of wearable apps will improve and will enable users to do much more they can currently do with their smartwatches. 
  • The wearable technology will also introduce new devices that can be integrated with mobile apps on Android phones. This is a trend that mobile app companies should prep themselves for. 

#5 – Mobile App Builder 

Building a mobile app was earlier only limited to bigger enterprises, considering the huge investment and excessive time required to create them. The launch of mobile app builders has given way to smaller companies to build an app for their business without emptying their pockets, in a limited time frame. 

As we move to 2020, mobile apps will gain more popularity in numerous industries and increase the value of this technology. 

This technology is more inclined to giving access to a small business holder with no technical background and limited funds, to build their mobile apps without any help at all. The technology is getting better with every passing month and now allowing businesses to build native apps themselves on an app building platform. 

Now, there are also options to build an app on a free app maker and test it on a real device before publishing it on relevant app stores. Let’s look at the promising features that reliable app builders offer:

  • It is now possible to build an app for free and make customization to various aspects to enhance the look and feel of the app. People can personalize their apps by changing the app icon, splash screen, and dashboard. 
  • The process of building an app can be carried out in a code-free environment. The app builder will facilitate turning the website into a robust app that will reflect the features of your app. 
  • For people building an e-commerce mobile app can provide multiple payment gateways to their customers to develop brand trust. 
  • The app includes features that a full-blown app that must be a part of an e-commerce app such as a smart cart, checkout screen, forgot password and more. For content only websites, every time a blog is published on the website, it will be reflected on the app too.  
  • Once the app has been tested well on a real device, app owners can publish the app on relevant app stores by submitting it through their developer account or the company’s account. 

#6 – Internet of Things 

Internet of Things

Popularly called IoT, this technology has been the talk of the town for a few years now. Following success in 2019, Internet of Things is believed to take another leap in 2020 by spreading itself to numerous industries including e-commerce.  There are many reasons why this technology has been trending for a few years but mainly owes to the ease at which it allows data to be shared securely. According to a report by Statista, the devices connected through IoT will amount to USD 30.7 billion in 2020, from USD 26.6 billion in 2019.  Have a look at the trends that will be followed this year: 

  • Like last year, this technology will be put to better use in homeware devices. IoT will be integrated into devices that we would never imagine using in today’s age. 
  • This year will contribute significantly to bringing together the Internet of Things with Artificial Intelligence and Big Data. This will make life easy for business managers and owners to make informed decisions.
  • The shopping experience of users will be improved with the help of IoT, which will be carried out through mobile apps. 
  • One of the most trending technologies in the financial sector, Blockchain technology, will join hands with IoT to launch devices for government setups, business owners and common people. 
  • SaaS-based products along with IoT will be a hot topic this year, especially for the gaming industry. Consumer entertainment is believed to reach greater heights with the help of IoT this year. 

#7 – Chatbots 

Chatbots took the mobile app industry to enhance customer support experience without any human intervention. E-commerce giants like Amazon have already been using this technology to save human time spent on customer support. This technology will be more accessible to smaller businesses this year.  With over USD 703 billion market value in 2016, it is believed that more than 80% of businesses will invest in this technology in 2020. Have a look at the trends to be followed this year: 

  • This year will concentrate on making chatbots more human. This will enable businesses to keep customers happy by understanding the customer’s intent while saving money on human resources. 
  • To make the technology within the reach of smaller businesses, investing in this technology will not dig a hole in their pockets. 
  • Businesses will easily be able to implement automated payments through this technology while assisting the customer to check their account balance, set payment reminders and more. 
  • Smaller organizations will benefit by using chatbots for handling basic HR queries and also act as a helpdesk for employees. 
  • With over 20% growth rate, the chatbot market is expected to grow multi-folds this year for customer support, internal support and more with the help of Artificial Intelligence. 

#8 – Beacon Technology 

The wireless transmitters to send signals through Bluetooth describes beacon technology in a layman’s language. Since this technology has been in the market for a long time, it is expected to make progress towards enhanced features. Industries that are still deprived of this technology will step into the world of beacon.  Over 60 million customers used this technology in 2019. This number is predicted to shoot up to 400 million this year, as per a report by Beaconstac. The steady growth of beacon technology will make it as big USD 52.4 billion by 2022. This year will be shaped by the following advancement in this technology: 

  • Artificial intelligence-enabled chips are still in their initial stage but are expected to lift off the heavy load from specialized processors that AI is dependent upon. This year will concentrate on creating these chips to ease the demands driven by AI. 
  • Beacon payment has enabled business owners to accept mobile payments of all kinds. This year will lead to the widespread acceptance of this technology amongst retailers of all sizes. 
  • Beacon will majorly cater to the event industry through mobile apps that will facilitate treasure hunting for fun activities in 2020. 
  • After being recognized in popular industries including hospitality, health and fitness, wellness and more, the location technology from beacon will be used in numerous other industries. 
  • Automated machine learning will be gaining popularity by making data more accessible within the organization for a better learning curve. 

Ending note 

The new technology that is being introduced this year or the ones that are improving is a clear indication that 2020 will be packed with high tech services and tools.  Artificial Intelligence along with other technologies including Beacon, AR, VR and more will be on the rise. This will further simplify daily business operations and also help them grow at the same time.

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