7 important mobile application development trends that you should pay attention to

There has been continuous growth in the mobile application development market as more companies are adopting the mindset of the first mobile. However, as user behaviors change at a rapid pace, businesses must adapt to meet the demands of their users. Here are 7 trends that will define the landscape of mobile application development in 2018.

1. Wallets and mobile microtransactions.

According to Juniper Research, 1.5 billion mobile wallets were used throughout the world in 2017, and this is expected to continue until 2018.

This year, more users will turn to their mobile phones to make daily payments, since people are less likely to carry cash. The mobile wallet is undoubtedly the way of the future, so if you have not considered offering mobile payments as an option for your customers, it is probably a good step to make this year.

The mobile architect, Marco Cirillo, explains that we will also see more microtransactions: "We are already getting used to paying money to play mobile games, for example, users will spend $ 2 to turn the wheel before, instead of waiting 24 hours. more of this in a wide variety of applications, not just games, I imagine more news applications will give a number of free articles per day before users have to pay more. "

2. A focus on safety

There will be a big push towards security in 2018. Both Apple and Google are committed to making security their top priority in 2018. It will be crucial, especially in terms of mobile payments, mobile banking, emails and the list goes on.

It is important that the security of the mobile application is considered at the beginning of the development with code encryption, secure back-end and API, reputable payment gateway. You should always test your application in all possible scenarios before launching it into the app store.

Marco predicts that "security will be a top priority." The end of 2017 is already a trend in this direction, as a result of the hacking of the empty password of the High Sierra of Apple macOS and the hack of the Intel Management Engine ".

3. Chatbots and Artificial Intelligence

AI chatbots are increasingly present in mobile applications, as pioneering companies such as Amazon have demonstrated the success of AI in mobile devices. Large companies must have AI on their radar, since consumer demands are taking a trend in this direction.

The CTO of Clearbridge Mobile, explains Sanjay Malhotra, "a year ago, building AI in mobile applications would have been extremely difficult and expensive. Today, it is much less expensive and we can incorporate Microsoft Cognitive Services, Google services or Amazon services that use artificial intelligence to make the mobile experience more intelligent, anticipate the wishes and needs of users and Present information in a context that we could not do. even a year ago. " 2018 will be the year of the corporate chatbot, since cognitive services have advanced exponentially.

Users are looking for easier interactions with brands and now expect communication channels to be open 24/7. They want accessibility and availability when it comes to interacting with a company. 52% of consumers prefer to interact with businesses through a messaging application instead of by phone or in person. These changing user demands will encourage companies to implement man-machine communications that are efficient and accurate to meet these demands.

This year, chatbots will be much smarter with the ability to respond to voice commands or even make contextual recommendations. As the chatbot APIs become more advanced in the next year, security will be a priority for companies.

A recent study by Gartner even revealed that each mobile application will incorporate artificial intelligence to some extent in the coming years. Companies are investing rapidly in AI with billions of dollars spent on the acquisition of AI in the last year.

4. Virtual and augmented reality

In an era in which experiential retail is becoming increasingly important, there are many ways in which AR and VR can improve the way customers interact, browse and shop.

We will see that more companies use AI to help users visualize a product in their own home. Some examples include Ikea and Wayfair, which help customers visualize furniture in their own home. AR is especially accessible because it's simple: it can be used on virtually any smartphone without the need for additional equipment.

Marco Cirillo says: "Last autumn, Apple introduced Animoji’s and I'm sure there will be growth here as we find useful applications of AR." They are also investing more resources to accelerate the development of their AR glasses. "These are only the first attempts of a new technology that will eventually become the mainstream In 2014, Google introduced Google Glass and, although consumers were not prepared for such an innovative product, it seems that 2018 may be the year. Several months ago, Google revealed Google Glass Enterprise Edition (GGEE) that has been working for two years This time, Google offers new opportunities to solve business problems This marks a turning point towards the widespread adoption of AR wearables A Forrester Research report states that by 2025 millions of smart glasses will be sent to companies.

In addition, we are seeing that travel companies use it to create simulations of tropical escapes, real estate agents use it for virtual tours of houses for sale and the car companies use it for virtual test units.

5. Services on demand

Non-gaming applications recorded a higher growth rate than mobile gaming, with approximately 66% growth year-over-year, reaching $ 38 million. This is mainly generated from streaming applications such as HBO NOW and Netflix. In 2017, users spent 98% more on entertainment applications compared to the previous year, according to Sensor Tower.

It also expands beyond the online transmission applications with users who want other services on demand, such as haircuts, food, laundry, etc. "Uber and AirBnb are already cornering taxis and bed rental markets, but I think Uber for tutors, merchants or haircuts will experience great growth," says Marco Cirillo.

6. Surge of IoT.

Analysts predict that IoT will grow from $ 157.05 million in 2016 to $ 661.74 billion by 2021 and we are just in the initial stages of this growth.

Last year, we predicted that IoT applications will increase along with smart home technology. This proved true in 2017 and will continue to grow in 2018 as houses become much more interactive. Sanjay Malhotra predicts that "the devices will tell us what to do instead of waiting for us to be told". Forrester Research even predicted that IoT will become the "backbone" of value for the customer.

However, instead of explosive growth, this year will be a constant growth. Currently, companies are struggling with the fragmentation and security issues that will need to be addressed this year. The retail, health and supply chain industries will experience the most growth with IoT: retailers are taking advantage of the ability to interact with their customers in a personal way, the health sector is using portable devices and supply chains are tracking products in the factories. The future of IoT looks very promising and 2018 will show a positive trajectory as companies realize the full potential of IoT.

7. The Rise to Kotlin for the development of applications for Android

Last May, Google announced that it was adopting Kotlin as a high-level language for the development of Android. This open source language is based on the Java Virtual Machine and can also be compiled with the JavaScript source code.

Kotlin is an object-oriented (OO) and functional (FP) language. It supports OO and FP styles, allowing developers to incorporate elements of each form. Kotlin offers support for higher order functions, function types and lambdas, making it an excellent choice for functional programming.