Do you know what they say about the app development industry? -“It only gets better.”
In a time when the world is leading to absolute digitalization, mobile applications are obtaining enormous traction in all aspects of everyday life and are becoming an essential part of the digital world. For the past few years, tech giants are investing big time in the mobile app development industry. Now, small businesses have also started recognizing the importance of mobile apps and are including them in business modules.
Mobile apps help businesses build brand awareness, boost customer engagement by delivering personalized content, increase sales, and reduce costs. The demand for mobile apps can be explained by the fact that there are 1.96 million featured mobile applications in the App Store, and as of the second quarter of 2019, 2.46 million applications are available to download on Google Play.
2019 has been a remarkable year for mobile apps, and 2020 ensures to be so much more. The mobile app development industry has been very much impacted by the arrival of advanced technologies – Chatbots, the Internet of Things, Artificial Intelligence, Blockchain, Machine Learning, Virtual and Augmented Reality, etc. These technology advancements are ready to reshape the mobile app development business in 2020 too.
Let’s take a look at some of the most influential trends of 2020 that the mobile app development companies are going to undertake:
Apps for Foldables
With mobile giants announcing their OLED and foldable display, the operating systems are preparing to leverage this technology to enhance the smartphone experience. Google has officially announced the foldable technology support on Android devices by using the screen continuity API.
In a recent announcement, Samsung claimed that they have already optimized hundreds of essential Android applications for the Galaxy Fold, including Twitter, Amazon Prime Video, Spotify, VSCO, Facebook, and Microsoft Office.
Since foldable phones are going to be the next big thing, after sliced bread, of course, mobile app development companies need to sketch out their development strategies accordingly so that their apps run seamlessly on foldable devices.
Impact of 5G Wireless Services
5G is going to be in the limelight in 2020 and beyond. If you ask why does 5G hold so much potential, the reason is speed, which is said to be 100x faster than the current 4G network.
In 2020, 5G will take some time to get in the groove, but by the end of the year, we can expect to witness a shift from 4G services to the 5G network. The industry specialists are betting high on 5G technology so you can expect a great deal from 5G in the near future.
Now that we have said- “5G will be way better than 4G”, how much better are we actually talking about? Look at these estimated stats to get an idea:
Estimated 5G Network impact –
- 10X drop in latency
- 10X density of connection – Allowing more effective signaling for IoT
- 3X spectrum capability
- 100X traffic capacity
- 100X network strength
The benefits of 5G service are not limited to speed only. It is also expected to transform communication, data security, gaming industry, Augmented Reality, and more. To hop onto the 5G advancements, mobile companies have already started producing dedicated 5G-capable chips. With the broad scope of 5G technology, app development companies are expected to develop the apps accordingly so that the user can avail enhanced performance on the high-speed network.
Mobile Apps on the Cloud
Cloud integration allows applications to save a large volume of data efficiently. Mobile apps with bigger databases need cloud computing solutions to provide speed, powerful processing, reliability, and security while dealing with large piles of data.
Cloud-based mobile apps will run seamlessly across multiple platforms in 2020. Out of the numerous benefits, cloud technology is all set to transform some of the major aspects of mobile app development including:
- hosting Reduction
- Streamlining operations
- Reduced equipment cost
- Enhancing storage capacity of application
- Improved collaboration possibilities
Beacon Technology
We have known Beacons for some time now, and 2020 is going to make its presence even more powerful. Beacon-based notifications are helping various industries to reach their clients in a very contextual way.
In 2020 you are likely to witness it more than ever before in the form of mobile payment beacons, beacon-enabled airports, beacons in the retail sector and also automated individual beacons. The adoption of beacons can assist companies to personalize virtual tours and sharing information smoothly.
According to a study by GeoMarketing, “The number of beacon deployments is expected to reach 400 million globally by 2020, thereby generating $56,554M by 2026.”
Instant Apps
Google rolled out Instant applications in 2016 for making apps more convenient for users and developers, both. Instant apps are native applications that work like websites and offer some of the major functionalities of mobile apps.
To put it clearly, Instant apps can be viewed as a trial version for apps that a user can access without downloading the whole app.
Instant apps are expected to be super popular amongst the Android and iOS development companies in 2020 because they promise a higher conversion rate compared to mobile apps.
“Recently NYTimes and Hollar announced that their conversion rate increased from 20 percent to 27 percent by offering an instant mobile app.”
Final Thoughts
With all that’s been discussed, 2020 is surely a year to look forward to. The kind of digital transformation mobile phones are bringing to our pockets is mind-blowing and the amalgamation of mobile apps and promised future technologies is definitely very exciting for app users and developers, both.
References: Mindster, Business of Apps, Smart Insights, MobileAppDaily, Net Solutions, MindInventory, ZDNet, Statista, Hackernoon
Rachit Agarwal
