Top 7 Mobile App Development Trends of 2018

This article looks back at the mobile-development themes discussed for 2018. At the start of that year, iOS and Android developers reviewed the analytical data to see what became popular over the last 12 months. That way, they can see where the next mobile app development trends in the industry are likely going to be in 2018. The enduring product question is which technology improves the task users need to finish. Chasing every trend adds cost without giving customers a reason to choose your app. ANODA turns the list into a use case, core flow and first release worth funding.

Smartphone users and their link with mobile applications

Think about what you do throughout each day, from when you wake up in the morning until you go to sleep at night. Do you go on your favorite messenger app first thing in the morning? Perhaps you check your Facebook profile and other social media accounts through apps on your phone. You may later listen to your favorite music app on the way to work and then binge watch movies on Netflix at night. Each one of these actions represents an app you are using.

Furthermore, there are technologies trending which are being combined with these applications to create something totally revolutionary. Sure, some of the trending technologies are at their very beginning and their implementation can raise the expected app development cost. On the other hand, technologies grow so fast and every year the path from “Revolutionary” to “must-have” shortens significantly. So, don’t worry about it. But how far are these mobile app development trends going to go in 2018? Let’s take a look.

Recommended Reading: “Guide to creating a successful app”

Mobile app development trends of 2018

1. Machine Learning and AI (Artificial Intelligence) will dominate in 2018

Most of the popular mobile applications of today already have AI technology in them somewhere. Audiences love it when an app is intelligent enough to adapt to their input. But as AI continues to get more advanced in many other industries, it may very well put more people out of work because robots will perform their labor. One of the biggest job sectors to get hit hard over the next 10 years will be the customer service departments of companies.

Companies integrate Machine Learning and AI into their own apps because it increases their productivity and it lowers their total operating expenses. Not only has AI helped automate customer service. They’ve also made significant changes in the automobile industry as well as the healthcare industry.

Here are statistics which prove that AI apps are likely going to be one of the leaders of mobile app development trends 2018.

• According to Juniper Research, chatbots will save companies more than $8 billion per year between now and 2022. This is an increase from the $20 million that it was in 2017.
• According to Gartner, chatbots are going to be responsible for 85% of the customer service performed by companies before 2020.
• According to an IDC report, ¾ of all employees who are actively engaging with enterprise applications are going to get AI personal assistants to help boost their productivity and efficiency by the year 2019.

2. More people using mobile wallets

You will be seeing more app developers creating mobile wallet apps with added security, due to the demand. This will allow users to conduct encrypted monetary transactions right through their mobile phone. The prediction of this trend is due to the increase in the number of internet booking systems and purchases. Apple Pay Cash launched in the US in December 2017 with iOS 11.2, bringing person-to-person payments into that historical discussion.

Tracking graphs can help you determine future trends in this area. The user adoption rate in 2016 showed a nonstop increase in the user percentage.

Recommended Reading: “The rise of mCommerce”

3. More cloud-based apps

Storage space is often a problem for mobile phone users because they have so many applications that they want to download and use. Plus, when you use a lot of these apps, it adds even more data to your phone’s storage. All this data usage adds up quickly and then you’ll be forced to uninstall something to make up for it. With cloud-based apps, this problem is solved because users can store their app data on a dedicated cloud server. Remote storage can reduce data held locally; the app, caches and offline content still need device storage.

When you have multiple apps using this technology, it allows users to be able to download a lot more apps onto their phone than they could before.

After more companies integrate cloud technology into their apps, this will spark a rise in enterprise mobility. You can already see the statistics which show that cloud apps became more popular. Mobile traffic on cloud-based apps will rise by 90% until the year 2019. The compound annual growth rate is 60%. Social media networking, web browsing, online gaming, audio and video streaming are the reasons for traffic rise

4. Virtual Reality and Augmented Reality apps will rise in 2018

Snapchat

There is already augmented reality technology integrated into social media apps and gaming apps. A good example is the very popular social media platform Snapchat, which uses this technology. As more people use Snapchat, it creates an incentive for mobile app development companies to develop AR technology for their apps. No doubt that AR is among mobile app development trends of 2018.

Instagram

Another social media app which uses this technology and makes a lot of money is Instagram. However, they’re already planning to enhance their app by making it even more engaging for users. They are likely going to make it just like other apps which allow users to interact with augmented reality technology. Also, virtual reality is going to be very popular as wearable apps become a more common thing. As sweet as it may seem we don’t recommend you implementing AR technology into the Minimum Viable Product until it’s the core feature of your app. But once your app is on success track and drives good revenue, AR technology can give a great boost.

In 2014, augmented reality technology was first starting to become popular. Ever since then, it has quickly found its way to the mobile app industry and will completely transform it in 2018 with a high probability. According to Statista, by 2019, there will be over 5 billion AR mobile applications.

5. Technology fashion will be big with wearables

More people are using wearables than ever before. This technology first became popular within the healthcare niche because wearable apps allowed users to track their exercise routines, heartbeats, eating rituals, and so on. As these wearables become more fashionable in appearance, mobile app developers will be creating new apps for smartphones in 2018.

You will see the manufacturers of iPhones and Android smartphones creating applications for their phones which can synchronize and integrate with more wearable technology. Therefore, wearables are going to trend right along with other mobile app development trends in the year 2018.

Here are some statistics for the wearables and smartphone markets:

• Employers that encourage their employees to use wearables has increased their productivity by 8.5% and their job satisfaction by 3.5%.
• In 2014, there were 29 million wearables that sold. In 2018, the number of sales will to go up to 172 million. That would mean there’d be roughly 350 million users around the world with wearables.
• A report by Business Intelligence shows there will be a 35% increase in the wearables market by 2019.

Of course, creating an app for wearable will certainly raise the app development cost but those investments totally worth it.

Recommended Reading: “Guide to creating a successful app”

6. Growth in the Internet of Things

In 2017, the IoT technologies seemed to be placed in many different industries. But that doesn’t mean it can’t continue to trend to the point where you find Internet-connected devices in virtually everything. Physical retail stores have even used the internet of things concept to compete in this new age of digital technology.

There are more Real Estate agencies and building companies using this Internet of things technology to construct smart buildings, smart parking lots, and smart cities with sensors everywhere. In the education industry, there are more schools using the IoT technology to allow parents and teachers to connect with each other. It lets them know what is happening at home and at school.

The healthcare industry has used the internet of things technologies in many ways. It has allowed patients to talk with doctors remotely and for doctors to operate on patients and treat them remotely.

This mobile app development trend will keep going in 2018. You will see much more powerful IoT apps for people to use. Right now, there are researchers who want to integrate the internet of things technology with automation technology. No doubt, this integration will be a big trend in mobile app development next year.

According to Cisco, there will be 50 billion mobile devices connected to the internet around the world by the year 2020.

7. Accelerated Mobile Pages

Fast mobile applications and websites are always going to be in demand. As users and search engines like Google become increasingly impatient towards these things, the rise of Accelerated Mobile Pages has emerged.

AMP has already allowed mobile users to load web pages quickly. Google states that AMP itself is not a ranking factor. AMP is a web-page framework rather than a native-app feature. Its performance constraints can support faster pages; search visibility still depends on the page and normal indexing requirements. Choose the implementation around the experience you need to deliver.

Turn the trend into a product decision

Connect the capability to a customer task before adding it to the roadmap. ANODA maps the journey, designs the unfamiliar interaction and keeps the first release focused on the value that earns adoption.

In AispireMe, AI-assisted education planning had to make sense across student, parent, counsellor and organisation journeys. Our work connected those roles through flows, a prototype and a UI kit for the MVP. Technology became part of a usable product instead of a feature label.

You get a clear scope and interface direction your team can assess before funding the build. Bring us the capability you want to introduce, and we will shape the experience that makes it useful.