The invention of telephones was a revolutionary feat achieved by mankind. The technology is likely to change the field of communication technology. The gradual developments that later ensued made communication across long distances much easier and the technology widely available to everyone. However, few people would’ve guessed that the phones would become so sophisticated as they are at this age. Read the informative article about Top 12 iOS App Development Trends for 2021.
Portable mobile phones had become a thing through the 80s. Through the years, prominent manufacturers introduced mobile phones that would offer some useful applications and games for entertainment. But the introduction of iPhones by Apple in 2007 revolutionized the mobile phone industry with the introduction of smart applications supported by sophisticated hardware.
The operating system that the iPhones work with (iOS) has been a popular platform not only for the end-users but also for developers. Owing to its popularity, the applications developed over iOS offer wide reach and exposure, thereby opening gates to endless opportunities for App developers.
The world of technology constantly adds new concepts and innovative ideas to its arsenal. Such developments when pursued and offered to the public, define the iOS App Development trends of that time. If you too want to take advantage of that trend, you can anytime hire dedicated developers and start working on a project. The technological innovations also influence the application market as new and relevant applications flood the app stores with passing time.
Here are some iOS App Development Trends that will influence the iOS App market.
1) Augmented Reality (AR)/ Virtual Reality (VR)-
Virtual Reality and Augmented Reality are recent technological developments that allow people to experience simulated environments. The real-time immersive experience of an environment provides much more understanding of the scenarios than a written description. This technology, therefore, has immense potential in several fields like History, Medicine, Science and Technology, Tourism, Gaming, and many others.
Though there have been some AR/VR applications introduced to the market in the recent past, the technology is getting better with time and newer fields of implementation are being discovered. Since the development of Pokemon Go, several applications have implemented AR/VR to enhance their products like Snapchat, VRSE, Google cardboard, etc. The trend will continue and newer innovative apps will be introduced in the future.
2) Internet of Things (IoT)-
As the development in technology is seeing an unprecedented growth, computers and mobile phones are becoming more advanced by the day. However, the influence of digital development is also on several other things. General home appliances now have access to the Internet and can be therefore controlled using smartphones. Cooking food, managing lights, opening or closing the garage door, etc., are all now easily controlled just by a smartphone app.
This IoT system offers a lot of other possibilities as well, and therefore is quite sought after by investors and developers. By 2022, the investment in IoTs is expected to surpass $1 Trillion according to IDC. iOS offers several IoT applications like Blynk, IoTSense, and Home. The IoT app market is nowhere near saturation and newer applications will be introduced in the future.
3) Beacon Technology-
Location-based search has been quite helpful to people these days. It has helped both- the customers trying to search the vendor locations and the businesses in location-based marketing. A new technology that has come up enhancing the location-based search is the Beacon technology.
A Beacon is a small wireless transmitter that relies on Bluetooth to connect to nearby smartphones. Bluetooth helps the users determine accurate locations of the physical location-relevant to the specific application that is equipped with the Beacon Tech. Even though the technology is new and primitive, the possibilities that it offers are tremendous.
4) Blockchain-
Blockchain has come into the limelight to the common eyes right after the incredible inflation in the values of some crypto-currencies. Blockchain, in the literal sense, is a chain of ‘Blocks’, where block refers to the list of records. The blocks are linked together using cryptography, the transactions are recorded in an open distribution ledger and the data is managed by a peer-to-peer network.
Blockchain apps are in a similar sense, decentralized applications that work on a peer-to-peer basis without the need for an intermediary. Block-chain apps provide several benefits- that of privacy, transparency, integrity, security, and ease of transactions, all of these making them quite useful for financial businesses.
5) Chatbots-
Artificial Intelligence is the big thing today, and it is revolutionizing technology. Among all the innovations that have been possible because of AI, one of the major ones is the development of Chatbots or virtual assistants. Alexa, Siri, Cortana, etc., are some of them. People are becoming increasingly reliant on these assistants to accomplish their daily tasks.
Now if you could just instruct an assistant to do your work for you, that would save a lot of time and unnecessary effort. More businesses are therefore considering to develop an AI-powered chatbot integrated into their platforms that would assist their customers. Since iOS is an unavoidable platform for application introduction, there is a huge scope for chatbot development for iOS.
6) Accelerated Mobile Pages (AMP)-
Patience is not something that people possess these days. This is a huge determining factor for service providers, especially web services and applications. An application or a website that takes minutes to load is of no use to people.
Developers must develop pages and applications that load quickly to retain the traffic. The faster the page loads, the higher the possibility of conversation and engagement. AMPs (Accelerated Mobile Pages) enhances the loading speed of a website through an open-source framework.
7) 5G Network Services-
Mobile network technology is going through a transition phase and soon we will be seeing 5G networks taking over the currently prominent 4G networks. 5G networks are said to be about a hundred times faster than the 4G networks. Moreover, these networks are cheaper and more stable than the 4G networks. This enhancement will open doors to a lot of possibilities owing to its superiority over the 4G.
The benefits of 5G networks will be enjoyed not only by the end-users but also by the developers. The high-speed internet that will ensue with the 5G networks will make it possible for people to afford several lucrative services. These include 4k video streaming, online gaming, online VR and AR utilities, and so on.
8) Artificial Intelligence and Machine Learning-
Artificial Intelligence has had a remarkable influence on the technology that we encounter these days. Artificial Intelligence (AI) is the intelligence demonstrated by machines that technically resembles human intelligence. The intelligence is developed by a machine through a learning process that happens through several iterations of a problem, the algorithms that allow the machines to do so are called Machine Learning (ML).
By making machines capable of thinking and figuring out solutions to problems by themselves has immense benefits. It reduces human interaction, thereby saving costs and the powerful processors help make the decisions precise. Several applications rely on AIs- Netflix, Snapchat, and so on. The iOS App Development trend is still growing as AI is growing and the trend is supposed to continue in the coming year.
9) App Development Platform-
Coding is a complex process and requires highly skilled developers to accomplish objectives. Often there are instances where a person seeks to develop an application but cannot afford to spend a fortune on developers. Though the end product is imagined to be quite appealing, the process of reaching that goal is quite intimidating especially for someone with minimal coding experience and background.
Several platforms have lately come up providing application development services to laymen. They make the process simple by offering several features that can be easily integrated. This makes the process interactive and saves cost. Appy Pie, Build Fire and Zoho Creator are some iOS app development platforms that are prominent today, and there certainly are more to come in the future.
10) Mobile Wallets-
Hard cash is losing popularity every day. Numerous applications and interfaces have risen in popularity by making it immensely simple for people to make monetary transactions. The trending use of mobile wallets has compelled service-based businesses to offer mobile wallets services to the general public. Since the popularity of mobile wallets and cashless transactions is growing by the day, there is still a lot of scope for developers in this field.
11) Wearable Apps-
With the introduction of Smart-watches and Air pods, Apple has been iconic in popularizing wearable technology. With numerous functionalities that the wearable gadgets offer to the owners, they can prove to be even more useful when enhanced with certain sensors and backed by a suitable application.
Health care, fitness, and other recreational apps relying on wearables have become quite popular. Moreover, with Apple’s vision of introducing Augmented reality glasses in the future, the trend will continue in the future.
12) Cloud-based Apps-
Cloud technology has significantly grown in popularity. Offering huge spaces and centralized repository for efficient up-gradation and with enhanced security, these have taken the online world by storm.
Offering cloud-based applications cover a wide audience because they can be offered to both iOS and Android. Moreover, they take care of the data and relieve your device of the intense back-end work. Coupled with the robust 5G technology, these are going to be the applications of the future.
Conclusion-
Mobile App development is a prolific field in software technology. Mobile phone users are growing fast, and with them, the demand for these applications are growing too. With the development in technology, trends keep taking turns with each passing year as well.
An app developer must be aware of iOS App Development trends 2021 and develop relevant skills to remain at the top to deal with the ever-increasing competition. Though the list presented here isn’t exhaustive, it gives an idea of the popular fields that an aspiring developer can go for to try their luck!
About Author:
Harikrishna Kundariya, a marketer, developer, IoT, ChatBot & Blockchain savvy, designer, co-founder, Director of eSparkBiz Technologies, A Mobile App Development Company. His 8+ experience enables him to provide digital solutions to new start-ups based on IoT and ChatBot.
