With the development of mobile apps, our lives have changed dramatically, from the way we work, play, shop, and communicate with each other. They are valuable technological innovation. And each year brings new innovations and 2021 will be no different. They continue to change and evolve, a little like the games you can play at an online casino.
We saw in 2019, and again in 2020 how these advancements impacted the way mobile apps developed, with Artificial Intelligence (Al), 5G connectivity, Cloud-native apps, and virtual and augmented reality, and more.
Below we are going to look at the newest of these technology trends. They will have a huge influence on mobile development in the future, and we will begin to see this in 2021.
Augmented and Virtual Reality – otherwise known as AR and VR
With the release of ARCore by Google and ARKit by Apple, Android, and iOS app development has gained huge momentum. In many industries including, healthcare, education, trade, and travel, these applications are becoming ever more in demand. These new mobile app technologies are improving user experiences and create increased sales for many businesses.
Internet of Things – otherwise known as IoT
Basically, IoT is a network of Internet-linked devices that can offer the user automated control, and with it more convenient. This opportunity has come about by the huge increase in the number of mobile devices now on the market. An example of this is smart home technology. It is possible to use mobile apps to change the thermostat of something in your home from a remote location or to lock doors or connect to your home security mechanisms.
Artificial Intelligence and Chatbots
We are now seeing AI machine learning taking mobile app development to a whole new stage. The connectivity of mobile apps with AI upgrades makes them far more user friendly and by making routine tasks more automated saves businesses a lot of money.
At the same time, chatbots are altering the way businesses engage with customers by way of mobile phones. Because of Chatbots, mobile app services are able to respond to customer’s inquiries much faster. Some of these requests are for transport, food delivery or online purchasing.
5G Technology
In 2021 you can expect 5G technology to be some 100 times quicker than 4G networks. The Expected speeds for 5G are 100 Gbps. Using new radio frequencies, it is likely that 5G technology will lead the regular data transmission with 1.4 billion different devices globally in the coming 5 years. This new 5G technology has been designed for apps like augmented reality and virtual reality and also 4k video streaming.
Mobile Wallets
The number of mobile users has dramatically increased in 2020. Many industries use this technology which greatly improves user experience and is good for businesses. The most popular mobile wallets and payment gateways are Google Pay and Apple Pay. The focus for 2021 will be on better security and accuracy.
Beacons
Beacons are small transmitters that make location-based searchers easier by emitting Bluetooth signals that can be picked up by other devices. They are parts of indoor location systems and can offer very personalized services to customers. Together with a mobile app, a Beacon transmitter can enlarge your number of customers, give clear mapping and create an efficient display of your products. Beacons are also able to find your target audience and then make personalized offers to these new possible customers.
Cloud-based apps for mobiles
Cloud services income grew by 17% in 2020 to $266.4 billion, up from $227.8 billion the year before, in 2019. Cloud technology with its flexibility and size allows you to store data quickly and safely. It is also possible to link cloud technology with mobile app development, saving money, and making it more user friendly.
Instant mobile apps
These are software programs that allow people to use bits of a native app without having to install them on the device. Instant apps, have access to the hardware on the device and do not take up space on the device as they are not installed. Native apps are good for app demos. You can get a feel of an app before you decide whether to download it. These apps do focus on target audiences and then try to persuade them to install the complete app.
Analytics that predict the future
These predictive analytics are able to analyze large amounts of material and can predict future events. By analyzing statistics, machine learning, data mining, and artificial intelligence they are able to make these predictions. Many companies including Apple, Facebook, and Google already have integrated AI type predictive analytics into their systems which improve user use.
In 2009 Netflix was willing to award $1 million for someone to be able to improve its recommendation engine by 10%. Predictive analytics is on the rise and we will see a huge demand because of the increase in data, computing power, and storage requirements.
Building mobile applications
There are many different ways to develop mobile applications, from native, web or progressive.
Progressive (PWA)
These progressive web apps are developed to work on mobile devices. These are connected independently and are responsive. It is possible to connect PWA’s on your mobile or laptop and use it without the use of a browser. PWAs are great for uploading videos and images from browsers or from mobile applications.
Native Apps
There are two distinct platforms with native applications, each having their own programming language. Each of them has its own specific functionality and performance. With native architecture it is possible to develop apps that are fast and have higher mobile capabilities. But the downside is that updates and operation expenses tend to be on the high side.
React Native Framework
This framework was developed by Facebook and is good for iOS and Android. They use similar native features, have hardware access and are operationally inexpensive.
Google’s Flutter
Google developed this open-sourced UI toolkit. It allows developers to create cross-platform apps for use with Android or iOS. It includes everything that you might need to develop native applications.
In conclusion
2021 will bring with it more sophisticated mobile apps. We are advancing all the time with new technologies. However, not all trends are equal. Choose which ones will work best for you.
