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Based on the apps which mobile users are actively using, the 2018 trends in mobile app development can be determined. The patterns of app use and the popularity of the latest technology help in these predictions.

We are in the beginning of 2018. This is the time of year when iOS and Android developers review the analytical data of mobile app development to see what has gotten popular over the last 12 months. That way, they can see where the next app development trends in the app industry are likely going to be in 2018. If you want to understand what mobile app developers are going to be up to next year, you must first understand how dependent people currently are on their apps.

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. How far are these mobile app development trends going to go in 2018? We at ANODA mobile development agency

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 their labor will be performed by robots. 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 the biggest 2018 trend in mobile app development.

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 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 on the iOS 11 is working toward an option for peer-to-peer payment.

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.

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. By doing this, the storage space on their own phone is not used up. 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 are being used more often.

Mobile traffic on cloud-based apps is expected to rise by 90% until the year 2019. The compound annual growth rate is 60%. The rise in traffic can likely be attributed to social media networking, web browsing, online gaming, audio streaming, and video streaming.

4. VIRTUAL REALITY AND AUGMENTED REALITY APPS WILL RISE IN 2018

There is already augmented reality technology integrated into social media apps and gaming apps. A good example is the very popular social media platform known as 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.

Another social media app which uses this technology 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.

In 2014, augmented reality was first starting to become popular. Ever since then, it has quickly found its way to the mobile app industry and is predicted to completely transform it in 2018. 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 mobile app development 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 is expected 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.

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 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, so they 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. It is predicted that 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

Faster mobile applications and websites are always going to be better. 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 has also stated that they’re going to provide mobile users with a special mobile search box to search for mobile-friendly websites. If businesses optimize their own websites to be mobile-friendly, they’ll get listed in this mobile search index on Google.

AMPs have the power to load pages quickly, reduce the number of bounces, attract more traffic, raise CTRs, and increase search engine ranking. You won’t even need to use sitemaps.

THE FUTURE

With the mobile app development world seeing all these new technologies, things certainly look brighter for iOS and Android apps in the future. The year of 2018 will see a huge boom in the mobile app industry, especially with very innovative apps which will keep people hooked to their smartphones.