10 Android mobile app development trends that going hot
A mobile app development world is growing by leaps and bounds. Now everyone has a smartphone which helps him or her complete daily tasks, entertain, and communicate. Moreover, practically all of us always carry our devices at hand, shop through them, pay bills, and perform other activities.
As a consequence, there are a plenty of mobile apps that appear in large numbers every day and aimed at the solution of multiple challenges of either general people or employees. So, today custom mobile app development becomes in huge demand. In this post, we will speak about latest Android app development trends and try to list the main ones for 2017.
1. Enterprise mobile apps
Сompanies understand the potential of custom mobile app development for solving various operational challenges inside and outside the enterprise. They can include apps for business process automation, ensuring data security, document management, implementing convenient reporting systems, and much more. Those are the tasks inside the company for employees work simplification primarily.
By outside challenges we mean those aiming at customer service enhancement. For example, mobile applications that allow users to purchase goods and services, make payments, order food, receive discounts, and so on. As you see, there are a number of needs and goals app development can serve for, and companies all over the world use its opportunities to get competitive advantages and improve their performance. And it explains a huge increase of enterprise mobile apps.
2. Focus on security
Security is one of Android development trends that now have special significance. According to predictions this year about 50% of online transactions will be made through smartphones. So data security becomes of high priority.
Unfortunately, statistics show that most Android-powered devices fail security tests. The main reasons for that are running on outdated software, rather an easy app publishing, and poor encryption standards. Google fights against the problem and toughens the requirements to app data security and store publishing process. And today programmers also strongly focus on app security, using secure proven tools in Android mobile app development.
3. Rise of IoT mobile apps
Analysts predict that by 2020 the number of connected devices will reach 50 billion. It means a great increase of IoT mobile apps as well as the creation and distribution of different smart systems of smart things everywhere: smart parking, smart homes, smart lighting and heating, smart cities, and so on. However, for every connected factor and thing there is a need for applications powering them.
4. Kotlin programming language
This language was released in February 2016 by JetBrains. Though it’s very young, Android app developers quickly realized its potential. Having lean syntax, providing extension functions, and being easy to adopt, Kotlin is very simple, concise, and elegant. More about this language benefits, features, and introductions you can find in one of our recent posts “Custom mobile app development: sharing our experience in Kotlin coding”.
5. Emoji and Stickers
The implementation of emoji and stickers, specifically in mobile messengers and chat applications, is very trending. In our hectic and mobile world text words are often replaced by smileys: it’s faster and just more fun. And their popularity leads to an increasing number of apps with emoji packs and raise of custom keyboards.
6. Cloud-driven mobile apps
Cloud technology provides many advantages for mobile app developers. With cloud support, programmers can create small-size mobile applications as well as resolve product memory issues. Also, cloud enables them to synchronize their apps across various devices including wearables. So, the number of cloud-driven mobile apps will continue to grow in the future.
7. Wearables
Wearable technology is obviously a tech trend that strongly affects Android mobile app development. Today the healthcare industry is the very one that is leading in applying wearable devices. Also, mobile apps and wearables are closely connected: now a plenty of applications offer a wearable version.
8. Instant Apps
The presentation Instant Apps became one of the key ones at last-year conference Google I/O. Eight months later the first instant apps are ready for testing. The technology works in a simple way. Native apps are divided into smaller blocks that can be downloaded very quickly once a user clicks on the required URL. Thus users get access to necessary information and basic app features without even entering Google Play. Instant apps are expected to work with the speed of a web page while providing all the benefits of native applications.
9. Apps for free
There are more and more new mobile apps that go for free. Now, this number is about 90% and it’s constantly growing. The reason is simple: the market is filled out with thousands of apps every day and users just lag behind (supply outruns demand), so the competition among mobile products is very high. And why users will pay for the app while there are many with similar (or even the same) features and for free?
Thus, in today’s world, mobile app developers primarily choose other monetization strategies. The basic income is generated by in-app purchases. Also, there are such popular models as freemium, subscription, advertising based, and more.
10. Mobile banking and M-Commerce
Nowadays transferring money, shopping through mobile apps, making any payments is becoming as common as using credit cards. Moreover, the last ones are going out of date as it was with cash. So soon our smartphones will replace cards.
For custom mobile app development, it means that one of the most popular features will be the integration of payment gateways and ensuring data high-security level.