Top trends in mobile development to look out for in 2018

The growth and advancement in the world of mobility technology is likely to witness an abrupt surge in 2018 owing to a massive chunk of population switching to Smartphones for accessing and using the internet. A major percentage of Smartphone users across the globe, browse the internet on a regular basis and prefer to use mobile apps as a means to cater to their everyday requirements. Tapping the advantages of this consumer pattern, most of the business owners nowadays are developing dedicated apps for reaching out to and engaging with their potential and loyal customers. With a series of major enhancements and innovations in the technology, the mobile app development will now consist of fascinating new designs and functionalities which will make is super easy to access the products and services of your choice with minimum number of clicks. Let us have a look at some of the hottest trends in mobile development that are expected to become a rage in 2018.

Augmented Reality

One of the most thrilling and fascinating new technologies in the world of mobile app development is the incorporation of augmented reality as a means of providing the consumers with a more holistic and delightful experience. Although until a few years back, the augmented reality was a mere concept limited to sci-fi movies and TV shows, the introduction of gaming apps such as Pokemon Go and Sky Siege and other utility apps like myNav and iOnRoad are fine examples of what this technology could provide its users. 2018 is the year that will probably witness a lot of other businesses and enterprises on the likes of eCommerce, healthcare, lifestyle and entertainment jumping the bandwagon and integrating the Augmented Reality technology in their in-house apps to enhance the user experience and provide a boost to their revenue.

App Security

Another crucial aspect of mobile app development that will drive the focus of the app developers is the provision of higher security measures to make their apps more secure across the various channels and devices. The app developers will incorporate more comprehensive security protocols to ensure that user transactions involving personal and sensitive information such as bank details, NFC payments and social security numbers are designed for utmost privacy and are foolproof against hacking. The fact that professional and illegal hackers are now exposed to more advanced and improved technologies will be the major concern for mobile app developers who will be required to deal with cryptographic issues and provide a greater level of security to their apps.

Cloud based development

Experts believe that cloud based development of mobile apps is the new trend in the market that is going to rule the roost in 2018. There are several benefits of this technology that will make it a quintessential part of all mobile app development henceforth. For example, cloud support will enable the app developers to deal with memory and bandwidth issues by maintaining the small size of their apps. Furthermore, cloud compatibility will allow users to sync their mobile apps and retain their functionalities across a variety of smart devices and platforms. The cross functionality and compatibility feature of cloud technology is also being touted as a boost for the popularity and demand of wearable devices such as the Smart watch for Apple users.

Location based technologies

By adopting the location based technologies such as Geo Fencing and iBeacon, most of the retail business owners are being able to provide the right information at the right place to the customers on the basis of their current location. The technology not only aims at providing a wholesome experience to the consumers but also ensures a steady growth and popularity of a business enterprise. The location based technology works on the idea that most of the public places nowadays such as restaurants, hospitals, malls and hotels offer free Wi-Fi to their customers that automatically kick starts an in-door mapping system which helps the business owners in tracking the exact location of potential customers.

Focus on user experience

Although, it has been a major driving factor in the growth and popularity of a business for years, user experience will witness an unprecedented improvement in 2018. In the rudimentary stages of the Smartphone technology, the consumers constantly faced a lot of variation in the experience of accessing mobile apps across multiple smart devices. In order to eliminate the issue, most developers will be now concentrating on maintaining a consistency of both the design and functionality of a particular app across various devices and even screen sizes. It goes without saying that the cross platform app development will probably gain massive momentum and become a major aspect of app design. The developers will need to use analytics data to keep a track of consumer behaviour and optimize retention by eliminating the chances of app abandonment.

Internet of things

Despite the fact that it is still in the infancy of its development, Internet of things is likely to become a Holy Grail for the propulsion of mobile app development to unprecedented levels. When a user integrates an app across various platforms and channels, he is essentially contributing to its establishment in the market.  The staggering rate with which the people are connecting to each other via the mobility technology implies that all the major platforms such as Android and iOS will be getting more involved in IoT, to enhance their customer engagement multiple times over. To cite an example, the introduction of a smart car would mean integration of traffic signals with navigation based mobile apps that will aid in a safe maneuver of the vehicle across the city.

To sum it up in a nutshell, the mobile app development industry is going to witness untapped levels of innovation which will aim to provide a rich user experience and propel the business towards success.