The past couple of years have been very important in terms of innovations in the world of mobile. From phenomenal gadgets such as fitness trackers, Google Glass, Apple Watch, Android Wear and other wearables, to technologies such as cloud computing and the Internet of Things (IOT), it seems like mobile technology industry is certainly going in for a drastic makeover.

The past couple of years have been very important in terms of innovations in the world of mobile Click To Tweet

The app development sector in particular, is heading towards a huge transformation due to various trends. These trends are already dictating app development at present and will continue to do so in this year and the coming years. Let us take a look at four such trends, which will keep developers busy for 2016 and beyond.

Swift – the programming language of the future

Swift – the brand new programming language by Apple is getting a lot of attention from developers. Designed both as an application language as well as a systems language, it is built on a modern compiler infrastructure and gives developers the opportunity to write more reliable code right from the very beginning.

#Swiftlang gives developers the opportunity to write more reliable code right from the very beginning Click To Tweet

According to Apple CEO Tim Cook, “Swift became available in September as part of the Xcode tools and in the first month those tools were downloaded over 11 million times.” This shows the popularity of the language among developers, which is also fueled by the fact that it is going open source soon.

Integrated in Xcode, Swift is not going to replace Objective C (well, not for now at least) but will be way faster. Although it is at its nascent stage, developers are gearing up to learn the nitty-gritties of the language so that they can implement it in iOS, OS X, watchOS, and tvOS apps very soon.

Enterprise apps are going to get more traction

There is a rise in mobile device ownership, the number of active users and also, the number of apps available on various app stores. Among all the apps on the market, it is the enterprise apps, which are currently getting more ‘love’ from developers owing to the monetary benefits attached.

Sample this – As many as 20% of developers worldwide are now targeting enterprises and about 43% of developers who create enterprise apps, make more than $10K every month as compared to the developers who are associated with the development of consumer apps. Naturally, they will be drawn towards apps that are more profitable for them.

43% of developers who create enterprise apps, make more than $10K every month #indiedev Click To Tweet

The same trend is going to continue in the future with businesses becoming eager to pay for apps that can help them leverage their products and services, increase their productivity and of course, earn dividends from the app.

A new surge in cross-platform tools

There are hardly any enterprises nowadays which run on a single platform. With an overabundance of devices with advanced level features and functionalities, they have no choice but to support multiple platforms. Add to this the rise of cloud computing. This shows that mobile app development is not going to be restricted to single platforms and that, cross platform app development is going to surge ahead!

App development is not restricted to single platforms. Cross-platform is surging ahead! Click To Tweet

This is where developers need to rely on specific tools and technologies, which help them develop apps that can run on multiple platforms. Already, most of them are familiar with a number of cross-platform tools such as Sencha, PhoneGap, Appcelerator Titanium, Unity3D, Cocos2d, Qt, Corona etc. and have used them to develop cross-platform apps.

Apart from getting to try their hands on the best of cross-platform development tools, there are many other benefits, which provide incentives to developers to create apps in the future. Two such benefits are –

• They can work on a common language – Using a common language gives mobile app developers the opportunity to build native apps, with modern features and enhanced functionalities. This also paves the way for bettering user interface and therefore, the user experience in their apps. Also, a common language translates to faster app development and iteration.
• Maintaining the app becomes easy – Cross platform app development is also beneficial in cutting down the maintenance costs. This is due to the fact that there is only one team working on the app, which share common knowledge. Being on the same page as others, make each one of them individual resources, who can help in the support and maintenance of the apps.

Cross-platform app development: it becomes easier to create and maintain apps and games #Unity3D Click To Tweet

The Internet of Things is going to take center stage

Internet of Things – which basically works as a ‘system of systems’, is going to take mobile app development to a completely different level. Sample these statistics, which clearly point out at the pivotal role IOT is going to play in the near future.

Internet of Things is taking mobile app development to a completely different level Click To Tweet

• The global IOT market is slated to grow at CAGR of 31.72 % by 2019
• IoT product and service suppliers are expected to generate incremental revenue exceeding $300 billion in 2020.
• By the time we step foot in 2020, more than 5 billion people and 50 billion things will be connected to each other.

The global IOT market is slated to grow at CAGR of 31.72 % by 2019 Click To Tweet IoT product and service suppliers are expected to generate incremental revenue exceeding $300 billion in 2020 Click To Tweet By 2020, more than 5 billion people and 50 billion things will be connected to each other Click To Tweet

This opens the doors for the development of apps with advanced features and it is quite possible that users will be able to access these apps from various systems.

For instance, think of smart cars, which will be able to connect to other systems easily such as the traffic signal. The signal’s sensor will give directions about traffic, current weather conditions, alert about an accident and provide alternate route etc. to the driver. There will be many such systems and a lot of them will be operated/controlled from devices having in-built sensors such as a wearable.

This paradigm shift in digital technology is going to usher in a new wave of mobile app development. Security will be one of the major concerns, considering the exponential number of devices and systems connected across the world. This will be followed by enhancing user experience.

Already, IOT is being adopted and integrated by various enterprises at a fast pace. In the future, enterprises will have more private cloud networks and work with a broad range of sensor-embedded systems and not just mobile devices or wearables.

 

All these mobile app development trends are steadily gaining momentum and there is no doubt about the fact that they are going to get the attention of developers in 2016 and beyond. What about you? Have you tried your hands on these trends yet? Share your experience with us through your comments.

Author Bio :

Aanal Bhatt is a content marketer at MoveoApps, iPad App Development Company.She is a true believer in making the digital world accessible to all and covers latest technology, marketing & industry trends. She has an unending passion for learning and loves to explore new stuff.

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