The introduction of highly smart gadgets such as the Smartphones, tablets, iPads and portable notepads etc. has witnessed not only the advent of mobile and web applications, but also their remarkable growth and response amid the end users. This incredible growth is significantly increasing with each passing month and year.

According to a survey, about 197 million apps has already been downloaded globally, whereas the data of App Annie says that about more than 25 billion iOS apps and around 90 billion Android apps were downloaded the previous year 2016.

Talking about the current trends prevailing this year, the social media apps such as Facebook, Twitter, Instagram and Whatsapp are still leading the way forward, followed by Google apps like YouTube, Gmail and Google Chrome etc. Even the popular gaming apps are also not lacking behind.

This huge drift in the popularity of app category has brought change in the mobile app development trends influencing the concerned business to a great extent.

Within less than a couple of months, we will be welcoming the new year 2018 and believe it, mobile app development industry is going to get even steeper where getting your apps visible on the App Store will perhaps be the toughest task for the app developers.

But as always the pre-preparations help before undertaking any challenge, having a wide knowledge on the mobile app development trends of 2018 will prove beneficial and fruitful.

1. Artificial Intelligence will Gain the Spotlight

If you ask an experienced app developer, the term Artificial Intelligence is no more alien to him considering the fact that it has gained a good prominence.

The word is although has been newly added into the dictionary of the technical arena but it has already created the buzz around.

One also cannot ignore the figures presented by IDC, which states that AI market is expected to shoot at more than $47 billion by the year 2020.

The rise of robotic sciences, the bright future of the cars being driven without drivers and the intensive growth of personal assistants like Siri indicates that help in placing orders are all evidences that Artificial Intelligence has reached a new height.

Within the time to arrive, we will perceive a new digital customer voice assistant that will identify the face and voice thereby instantly interacting with the users to solve their problems. It will also influence the modes of business making a huge difference.

2. Focus Will Remain on the Cloud Based Technologies

Often the Smartphone users face issues related to space and storage because every phone has a certain limitation. They complain that they are not able to store vital data simply because their phone memory isn’t allowing to do so.

But with the presence of cloud based mobile applications, their problem can be sorted out much easily. Therefore, it the (CBT Cloud Based Technology) is in the radar of being an emerging trend of the year 2018.

The issue will be solved as most of the data will be stored in the cloud and so the users don’t have to ponder much about their phone memory.

The Cloud Technology will also give rise to enterprise mobility, which is slowly and steadily catching up with the pace. Moreover, it is also expected that the mobile cloud traffic would get skyrocketed to 90% in 2019.

3. Enterprise Apps and BYOD will Attain New Heights

Enterprise apps since its inception has achieved phenomenal success in the arena of business. The success story is going to continue further as more business organizations and firms will be embracing this new concept.

If we take into account, the stats, then the 451 Research has predicted that by 2019 at least 50% companies will incorporate 10 enterprise apps.

One of the reasons why it has become so very prominent because it has made the work of the employees stress free and they can even get access to the data even from the remote areas.

The Bring Your Own Device Concept has truly changed the entire scenario. Secondly, these are mostly customized apps designed for specific needs. So, it will flourish more in the accompanying year.

4. Internet of Things (IoT) will have Stronger Grip

The Internet of Things (IoT) has been much discussed about and certainly it has given the business organizations and industries to breathe in more space. It is also helping a great deal in boosting the retail business and the real estate industry from where the concepts of smart cities has taken the birth.

The IoT will have its influence on other sectors also including the automotive, education and healthcare. Such is the impact of IoT that both Apple and Google are encouraging apps based on its concept.

Google also went a step further to roll out Android Things just to support IoT. The experts are of the view that IoT market will get a huge leap from $157.5 billion in 2016 to 661 billion in 2021.

5. 2018: the year of Wearable Apps

One surely cannot have a second doubt in mind that the year 2018 will be belonging to wearable apps. Recently both Apple as well as Google launched smart watches because they know that their demand is augmenting amid the customers.

Wearables are no more style statements but rather they have turned out to be necessity. They are proving to be quite useful specifically in the healthcare industry as they keep an eye on the fitness of the person, his eating habits and heart rate.

According to the report of the CSS Insight, the numbers of Wearables around the world around 350 million in 2018 and its sales will grow up to 172 million.

6. App Security will be More Robust

One of the prime reasons why users don’t download your app is because they are apprehensive about the security factor.

So, most of the app development companies will be predominantly emphasizing on providing a robust security that can please the users. It is an essential feature of the app because it helps in securing the private and confidential data.

The developers will try to develop apps that have in-built security, which obviously is a huge bonus point.

7. The Augmented Reality and Virtual Reality

The Augmented Reality and Virtual Reality is a new concept which quite familiar in the gaming apps as many popular games such as Pokémon Go have been designed accordingly.

But with the passage of time both AR and VR will be offering its services to diverse set of industries. While AR is focusing more on healthcare, retail, real estate and others, VR will be more helpful in gaming and events.

According to TechCrunch, the total market associated with both AR and VR is expected to grow at $108 billion by the 2021, out of which AR will have the lion’s share of $83 billion, while the rest $25 billion will be shared by VR.

Although Virtual Reality is receiving a positive response in the market, but still it will take some time to gain the ground You will get the Explorer with mobile VR, that is an installed base for VR with Google Daydream View.

As far as Augmented Reality is concerned, it has already proved to be a key player in the mobile app industry. But within the coming years, its primary focus will remain on improving the all-day battery life and to also make the connectivity better.

8. Mobile Payment and Digital Wallet

We all know that the world is moving towards a cashless economy and so the importance of payment gateway apps such as PayPal or Paytm has hiked a lot.

Within the approaching years more and more people are going to get associated with online payment methods because it is fast, safe and easy.

However, the app developers have to put in extra labor to make these make more secure, so that the private information of the card is not leaked out. The Business Intelligence data reveals that the online payment will reach to an apex of $503 billion by 2020.

9. Loading of Pages Will be faster with AMP

Last year Google joined hands Twitter to come up with a wonderful project known as the Accelerated Mobile Pages (AMP). The project was implemented on the 24th of February 2016. AMP will help in loading the pages of the mobile at a much faster pace.

The app developers will be able to design the apps quickly. Google is also said to offer an isolated search index for the mobile web.

10. Preference will be given to Hybrid Apps

In the upcoming year, we will see the hybrid apps excelling over the native apps. It is because more and more business firms will be preferring hybrid apps as it is flexible and suits the business needs more than the native.

It can help in creating platforms for businesses of all sizes. Moreover, it is easy to access and hybrid apps are cost friendlier too.

The hybrid apps are quite effective in enhancing the user experience, which in turn generates more traffic to the app. Besides it also accelerates the speed of app loading and is also easier to develop because they are based on cross platform apps. You can maintain them without much hassle and the apps can run offline as well.

11. The Rise of On-Demand Apps

With the trends changing, the popularity of on-demand apps will increase. These types of apps are basically designed for public usage such as taxi or travel booking apps, food or laundry apps etc. They are simple apps easy to use.

The rise and growth of the on-demand apps have made the market even stiffer. These apps are usually designed to offer services to the end users.

For example, apps like Uber has enhanced the traveling experience of the users and with online food delivery apps, you can order your favorite cuisine right from the comfort of your home. In fact, on-demand apps have a good capture over the App store.

12. Implementing Chatbots for Better UI/UX

One of the vital transformation that is going to be visible is that the apps will be implementing Chatbots to provide better UI and UX. Earlier, only a few Android and iOS apps use to adapt it. This will help to boost business.

Today customers want quick reply to their queries and Chatbots is an answer to that context. At the same time, the customer executive will also get an idea on what type of common queries are pouring in from most of the users and will look to address the issue better.

13. Welcome Lazy Loading

This is yet another advanced technology that will surprise the world of mobile app industry. Often it is seen that users avoid loading those images that take longer than the expected time.

In order to solve this issue, the experts have introduced this new trend where images will only start loading at the arrival of their turn.

14. Introducing Android Instant Apps

The Android Instant Apps are native apps that acts as a website with only a single click. As such you are not required to install the app. The apps will operate smoothly with great ease. This enables you to save space.

Google first brought it at I/O 2016 that allowed users to view the cloud based version of the app. The Company has stretched its live operations that can alert the users with special focus on the gaming apps.

This will increase the user engagement. Not only that the Google Play Console is also getting improved with addition of new and advanced features.

Another change that has been possibly made is the adding up of the subscription business. With this feature it will be easier for the developers to manage and maintain the subscriptions ever better.

15. The Blockchain

Blockchain is supposedly a new product of the technology that keeps the record of company’s all transaction history. You cannot change this record without changing the block. This saves data from hackers.

The Final Words

The mobile app trends keep changing year after year and we witness a new set of technologies arriving to provide more convenience to the customers.

On the other hands, the task of the app developers becomes more challenging as they have to remain updated with the new trends if at all they have to compete in the business.

The year 2018 is on the verge of arrival and so it’s time to sharpen your knowledge more and develop apps accordingly.