Mobile app development predictions for 2018

2017 brought us some great trends for mobile app development. Thanks to our dependency on smartphones, companies are realising that mobile apps are a necessary investment. The market for mobile app development is expected to rise to more than 14% from 2016 to 2022. According to TechCrunch, “consumer spend on apps grew 45 percent year-over-year in Q1, to reach over $15 billion across iOS and Android worldwide.”

Here are some trends and predictions to watch out for in 2018: 

IoT

Internet of Things or 'IoT' isn’t going anywhere, in fact, it will only continue to grow. IoT is present in everything from healthcare to education, smart homes, and modern wearable technology. Forbes predicts more than 12 million smartwatches will be sold in the US alone by the end of 2018. Google has also released Android Things—an Android-based device OS for the Internet of Things, which will help increase IoT adoption for developers. It is predicted that the Internet of Things (IoT) market is expected to grow from USD 170.57 billion in 2017 to USD 561.04 billion by 2022, at a Compound Annual Growth Rate (CAGR) of 26.9%.

Augmented Reality (AR)

AR allows us to see the real-life environment right in front of us, with a digital augmentation overlaying it. It was one of the biggest technology trends in 2017 – remember Pokemon Go? You could see Pikachu in your very own bathroom. AR started out in entertainment and gaming, but it’s predicted to go beyond that in 2018. There is currently a massive demand for new technologies, and AR applications are becoming more prominent in industries such as retail, healthcare, real estate, and engineering.

Cloud-based apps

Thanks to the increasing use of cloud technology, there’s been a rise in the development of cloud-driven mobile apps. Phones now require less internal memory, thanks to Dropbox, Boomerang, and similar cloud-based apps. Cisco research states that, “Globally, cloud apps will drive 90% of total mobile data traffic by 2019, and Mobile cloud traffic will be 11-fold with compound annual growth rate (CAGR) of 60%.”

Mobile Payments

At the end of 2017 a lot of banks connected to mobile payments technologies, and in 2018 the service is set to go mainstream. Customers can now use their phones to make everyday financial transactions with an increasing number of retailers. Instead of carrying around cash and bank cards, consumers can use their actual devices to make payments via POS mobile payment systems, closed loop payments, and mobile card readers. A great example of revolutionary mobile payment is Apple Pay, a mobile payment and digital wallet service that allow users to easily make payments using their Apple devices.

Mobile apps will continue to grow and change the way we do business.  At Zoosh, we offer enterprise application development services that result in apps that are intuitive and easy to use. If you’d like to know more about the power of innovative mobile apps, contact us to discuss the possibilities when it comes to mobile app development.