Mobile application industry has flourished even during the COVID-19 pandemic and is expected to grow in 2021. The increase in the popularity of mobile phones, tablets gave a huge opportunity to a mobile app developer in India, and in other parts of the world to harness this potential business trend and serve users with advanced and innovative technologies. But, what exactly is mobile app development? What are the different types of mobile app development? and what are the mobile app development trends in 2021? We have prepared a guide to answering all these questions and tried to provide all the important information about mobile app development.
Mobile App development
Mobile app development is a process that involves developing software specifically for the mobile environment. The process takes on account the limitations and unique features of mobile device hardware; help business owners balance cost with functionality. The direct approach for building a mobile application is taking a desktop-based app and importing it to a mobile device. The only disadvantage with this approach is when the app becomes more robust this technique sometimes becomes problematic.
Key mobile app development technologies
Take a look at the different mobile app development technologies to have a clear understanding of the process of mobile app building
Native Apps
Native apps are built for a single mobile platform like Android and iOS that’s why they are called native apps. One of the major advantages of these native apps is their high performance and excellent user experience as they are native to a particular platform or device. Access to a different range of APIs also helps to speed up the development process and extend the boundaries of app usage. These apps can only be downloaded from app stores and installed directly which means they first need to pass a strict publishing process.
Web apps
Web apps are somewhat similar to native mobile apps and work on mobile devices but there is a significant difference between both. These apps use a browser to run the application and are written in CSS, HTML5, or JavaScript. They redirect users to a specific URL and then offer them to install the application. One of the advantages of using these apps is that the personal database will be saved on the server which means less device memory will be required. However, these apps require a good internet connection to keep working properly.
Hybrid apps
The apps basically work like web apps disguised in a native wrapper and are built using web technologies such as JavaScript, CSS, and HTML 5. These apps are easy and fast to develop, and a single codebase for all the platforms means lower maintenance cost and streamlines the updating process. A developer can take advantage of many API features such as geolocation or gyroscope, while on the other hand, these hybrid apps may lack in speed and performance. Design issues can also be there as the app might look different on two or more platforms.
Mobile App Development Trends for 2021
Chatbots & AI
Artificial intelligence has transformed and further transformed every industrial or commercial segment. Capabilities like voice recognition and face identification enable the apps based on this technology to identify users, provide high-end security features, and identify objects scanned with the camera.
AI chatbots are one of the major improvements in the service sectors that are enabling organizations to serve their customers better. These chatbots interact with customers without any human assistance thus giving organizations the to help customers 24*7 and support them whenever needed. Many organizations are using these on their websites and looking at the future advantages of this technology it is going to trend even in 2021 as most industries want to use this in their service and other sectors.
Flip Phones – Apps
Flip phones are believed to be the highlight of the year 2019 & 2020 and many considered these phones as the hallmark of luxury when they were launched. These phones are expected to make a comeback in 2021 with companies like Samsung and Huawei rolled their first smartphones in the market. The best thing about these phones is that they can be folded as per the user’s preference and provide options to have a dual-screen size to view information. Looking at the upsurge in the demand for these flip phones, it is expected that in the year 2021 there will increase in the demand for applications specifically for these phones. From a mobile application development companies will now be looking to optimize their mobile apps for these flip phones as well.
Instant Apps
Instant apps are in trend and this trend will most likely continue even in 2021. The best thing about these apps is that they provide basic functionalities of an application to a user without downloading it. These apps are helpful for giving a demo and user-friendly services about the native full-scale application. This helps a user to look at the usability of the application and decide whether they would like to install the app or not. These apps come more in handy as an advertising strategy and marketing digitally to reach target audiences and influence them to download the app. Looking at the benefits of these applications it is expected that the Instant apps are going to be in huge demand this year.
5G Technology
The speculation about 5G technology is going for a while now, but in 2021 it is going to be just around the corner. One thing that will confirm this is Apple’s adoption of 5G in their current line-up of iPhone indicating transforming into the 5G era. Some experts even believe that 5G is going to be the fourth industrial revolution that will definitely change app development. Today, 5G is associated as a standard to determine internet speed, traffic capacity, spectrum efficiency, and network effectiveness. The other way to comprehend the growth of the mobile realm is by understanding the increase in the range of cellular connectivity all over the world. This growth will definitely have an impact on app development as well and the features of 5G cellular connectivity are expected to empower 3D multiplayer gaming, AR implementation, and enforce data security.
Wearable Apps
The pandemic has made people more health conscious and health tracking devices gained huge popularity both in the pre and post-pandemic era. Health tracking devices such as smartwatches, healthcare monitors, and fitness bracelets have seen growth in the past few years and expected to continue even in this year. This market expansion of wearables also increases the app development demand specifically for these devices. The mobile applications that help properly sync these health tracking devices with smartphones are in huge demand right now. Many experts believe that in the year 2021 with an increase in the demand for these health tracking devices the market for wearables apps will also grow this year.
Blockchain Technology
Whenever someone hears the term blockchain technology, Bitcoin is the first thing that comes to their mind. Which, we all know is far from being the truth. Organizations are realizing the benefits of the distributed ledger technology which is good for the future of this technology. Even though the trends are showing the huge demand for blockchain technology it is far from being at its peak. Blockchain technology is being implemented across various sectors such as healthcare, logistics, travel, government, banking, etc. This technology is providing huge benefits in all these factors such as transparency, more efficiency, secure transaction, data protection, etc. All these benefits will definitely make this technology in huge demand in 2021 and definitely increase the demand for blockchain-powered applications this year.
Augmented Reality
Remember the times when it first came out and everyone’s reaction was it was funny but pointless. Started with simple advancements like Snapchat filters but this technology is showing its potential by making its way to day-to-day business operations. Even during the COVID-19 pandemic when video calls became an important communication source AR allowed adding more life to it.
Those important business calls during work from home where you need to hide the mess in the background these AR became your saviors, The best thing about these technologies is that they are easily compatible with mobile phones. Mobile apps that leverage this technology are in huge demand as they are famous among youth. Photography apps and games are using this technology to provide an improved and better gaming experience to the users. With all these benefits this technology is also opening new doors of possibilities in mobile app development.
IoT Powered Apps
We are not far away from a world where everything will be controlled with a single tap from your smartphone. The Internet of things is playing a huge role in making this into reality. This technology will not only benefit the industries but its implications can be seen in the home too. IOT powered apps create an interconnected network that helps in sharing data. This data can be controlled using a mobile app that gives users to regulate their devices remotely. A user can control the air conditioner at home with the help of a mobile application is one such example of IoT powered apps. These apps can also be used by a user to monitor appliances, access security systems & cameras from anywhere.
Demand service Apps
The idea of demand service application is not new but surely an innovative concept. These apps become extremely important during COVID-19 pandemic as they ease out the procurement of products and services. This is one of the reasons why these apps saw an exponential growth during the pandemic period. Easy to use and offer quick provisioning of items as per customers’ needs makes these apps extremely useful. Food & grocery delivery, home services, healthcare & pharmaceutical, ride-hailing are some of the sectors these apps are dominating their presence. With their huge progress in the past, these apps are expected to offer more unique features than they already have and expected to dominate even in 2021.
Location Tracking by Apps
Nowadays, applications are tracking the user’s location for the sole purpose of serving them better. These apps are collecting data about users’ demographics which is helping companies to improve and enhance their marketing strategies. Companies can now run location-specific ad campaigns to get a more effective and better ROI on their investments. In 2021 and upcoming years the same marketing approach will be used by brands and organizations to improve their conversion rate and online sales by following a location-specific targeted approach. All these app developments will make locations tracking apps to be in trend and demand for the upcoming future.
Final words
This is almost all you need to know about mobile app development, technologies, and app development trends for 2021. In the post-pandemic era, businesses are quickly adapting to new changes, improving technologies, and searching for better solutions that can help them provide a better experience to users. The mobile app development company India, or in any part of the world are planning to provide innovative mobile apps that can take advantage of cutting edge technologies like IoT, AR, VR, and more. The one benefit of COVID-19 pandemic is that it has shown businesses their limitations and they are now looking for better and innovative applications to make their business competitive and future-ready.
That would be it for today. Just an awesome quote I read today – Stay positive, test negative!
