Despite all the horrendous mishaps across the globe, 2020 has pretty much been a year of tremendous growth for the IT industry. Lockdown impelled all age groups to spend, on average, at least 2–3 hours more than their usual time on their devices. And this, of course, has been a great boon to the app development market.
The year 2020 has brought about quick and steep growth in the current trends in mobile app development, and therefore 2021 is going to be a power-packed ride for the entire industry.
Today, we are going to discuss the top mobile app development trends in 2021, and make it worth a while for mobile app resellers, content creators, investors, and tech enthusiasts. Let’s start!
1.5G Technology
The newest iPhone series are 5G enabled and that’s all the proof we need that we have officially entered the Fourth Industrial Revolution. 4G offers a maximum speed of 100 Mbps, but 5G promises data transfer of 1 Gbps with a very low latency of 1 millisecond. It’s a huge boon for streaming services, IoT, driverless vehicles, etc.
So definitely, we’re going to see steady growth in the development of 5G. It won’t surprise us if it topped ios app development trends this year.
2.Android Instant Apps
They’ve been around since 2016, but are really picking up now. Essentially, they’re the kind of apps that run on android phones without installation. Users can get the native app experience through a URL. You can get instant access to them in the Play Store with the “try now” button.
They’re very convenient from a user perspective but demand a lot of effort on the development end.
This android app development latest trend is particularly useful for the gaming and e-commerce industries. Popular m-commerce app Hollar reports a 20% increase in total conversions after the launch of its instant app.
3.Multi-platform App Development
Multi-platform development through software like Flutter and Kotlin will lead the top mobile app development trends in 2021. With hot reloading functionality and consistent development in performance, versatility, complex UI support, and responsiveness, the single codebase system is here to stay.
4.APM and EMM
The two pillars of enterprise mobile app development — APM (Application Performance Management) and EPM (Enterprise Mobile Management), are witnessing steady growth in recent times.
APM enhances the speed, functionality, and performance of a user app, and EMMs allow the employees of the company to enhance their security and execution. With the uniformity and performance they offer, they’re definitely peaking soon.
5.Wearables
Wearable tech isn’t a breakthrough, but it certainly is growing very quickly, especially since the lockdown. Fitness tech giant Fitbit sold 2.5 million units of portable fitness bands in the second quarter of 2020 alone.
With steep growth in the use of fitness bands, a surge in wearable apps development is inevitable. By the end of 2021, 24.3% of the total population in the US is going to be active users of wearable apps.
6.M-commerce
Experts say that the pandemic has swayed users towards online shopping forever, in which mobile e-commerce is leading by a fair amount, and will continue to thrive.
Now is the critical time for businesses to go mobile-first. Statista suggests that, in 2021, m-commerce could be valued up to $3.5 trillion, which is technical, 72.9% of global e-commerce sales.
7.Beacon
App beacons are the leading latest mobile app development trends with a remarkable presence in the industries of retail, healthcare, and hospitality. They help a lot in navigating buyer behaviour and increase client conversion rates multi-folds through proximity marketing.
According to VynZ Research, global beacon technology will reach $14.7 billion by 2025, with a CAGR of 44.0% from 2020 to 2025.
8.Chatbots
With increasing consumer demand, chatbots have become a staple of convenient customer service. The development of AI chatbots has significantly contributed to their popularity, as the interactions with bots have become more human-like.
In 2020, 1/4th of the customer service was facilitated by virtual assistants, and the global chatbot market is growing by a rate of 24% each year.
9.Mobile Wallets
Growth in the consumer base is sky-high. Tech expert Alex Rolfe mentioned in a report that total transactions from mobile wallets in 2019 were worth $6.1 billion. This amount is expected to reach $13.98 (just double) billion by the end of 2022.
Wallet integration has become an absolute necessity for any app with transactional activity in 2021.
10.Blockchain
Blockchain enables highly robust security protocols with the help of decentralized app development solutions, and its popularity is skyrocketing by the day. According to PWC, 84% of global companies are already engaged in Blockchain technology. Finextra suggests that traditional monetary exchanges will continue to transform themselves digitally, given the keen interest in digital asset trading being shown by both retail and institutional investors.
11.Internet of Things
IoT has been in the current trends in mobile app development for three years in a row, and it’s not leaving the list anytime soon. Globally, the number of connected devices is projected to be 75.44 billion by 2025, and one of the main factors leading to a steep growth in the industry is the cost-effectiveness of this technology.
12.Augmented Reality
AR has penetrated a lot of industries — gaming with Pokemon Go, geolocation with Google Maps’ new feature “Live View”, and even lifestyle with Style My Hair app by L’Oreal. Face filters on Snapchat and Instagram, as well as video conferences with altered backgrounds — it’s all a part of a bigger picture of the development of AR technology, and the revolution it’s about to bring.
According to ABI Research, consumer AR software and content is projected to grow at over 100% CAGR from 2021 to 2025. Its total revenue will reach $20 billion by 2025.
13.On-demand apps
This tops the list of android app development latest trends. It has swept the industries of healthcare, beauty, grocery, retail, food delivery, and of course, conveyance. Currently, 42% of the total global adult population has reported using an on-demand app at least once in their life.
With growing demand and additional verticals, the industry is expected to generate a revenue of $335 billion by the end of 2025.
14.Cybersecurity
Mobile app security is going to gain a lot more traction this year, after Uber, Facebook and Google, all admitting their security lapses at some level in recent times. According to a survey by Net Solutions, 37.3% of organizations believe that digital security is the biggest obstacle in the way to digital transformation.
We’re moving towards a security-first approach. “Sign in with Apple” is definitely going to be the leading ios app development trend this year.
15.Artificial Intelligence
AI-based FaceApp generated a revenue of $3 million in 2020. Replika, Cortana, and Google Assistant have emerged with exceptional success. AI is going to continue to lead the tech market this year, being the intelligent core of robotic, automated, and contactless procedures. Data and privacy regulations will also have a big impact on the development of AI and ML
Global sales of AI-powered hardware is expected to cross $120 billion by the end of 2025.
16.Machine Learning
ML has proved its mettle time and again in the last half-decade. Newer use cases of Ml with advanced functionality are coming up by the day. According to Teks Mobile, the worldwide ML industry is growing by 42% CAGR and will be worth slightly less than $9 billion by Q3 of 2022.
17.Cloud Storage
Speed, accessibility, scalability, and security of IoT ready cloud technology have brought it to the forefront of the latest mobile app development trends. ML also has a positive impact on cloud adoption. According to a report by Market Watch, the global cloud storage market has risen from $30.08 billion in 2017 and is expected to reach $101.59 billion by 2023 (CAGR — 22.49%)
18.Subscription Commerce
Subscription-based services are growing exponentially. Netflix, Spotify, Google Workspace, and other popular software are rigorously normalizing freemium models. Research by McKinsey & Company suggests that 15% of online buyers have signed up for at least one subscription service in the last year, and that’s a huge number that is going to get bigger.
19.Motion Layout
It’s a layout that enables you to manage motion and widget animation in your app. It offers a rich choice of complex transitions. 2021 is going to be a year of definitive success for this layout.
20.Android Jetpack
One of the latest mobile app development trends, Android Jetpack is a full-blown suite for Android app developers with a set of tools, guidelines, and libraries meant for advanced apps. Its key pillars are UI, behaviour, architecture, and foundation.
The COVID Pandemic changed the way technology around the planet is perceived and nurtured. 2021 being the follow-up year took the purpose of sustainable technology development and innovation to the next step. More and more apps with newer and better functionalities are what we look forward to this year as well.
We at Valere take the digitization of businesses to the next level with top-notch website and app development. Our success stories have made noise on the app store time and again. May it be a sports app like Fitivity that garnered over 12 million downloads or The Mandarin Show that has proven itself to be one of the most innovative Mandarin learning apps in the US.
Want to develop your own app? Talk to our growth strategists, today!
Valere is an award-winning software development agency that has built over 300 top-rated applications for startups and Fortune 500 companies in all verticals like healthcare, finance, sports, fitness, education, and more. Their apps have been featured by the New York Times, and have been consistently recognized as Apple App Store’s top featured apps, TechRadar, and Google Play Store’s top featured apps! Schedule a call with us today to learn how we can help your team create the perfect software or application that can Accelerate Your Business Goals!
