Mobile App Development Trends To Look Out For In 2022

In 2020, the global revenue for mobile apps was $318 billion. According to Statista, this number is expected to double by 2025. Despite the overabundance of mobile apps in App Stores, there seems to be an ever-increasing demand for them. This is because mobile app trends that incorporate advanced technologies always find their way on consumers’ smartphones. They enhance consumer experience, improve engagement, and as a result, attract more users.

In fact, to not keep up with these constantly evolving trends is to willingly let go of digital media success. Businesses that are unable to implement novel mobile app technological trends usually lose out to technologically dominant competitors.

In order to get you acquainted with these trends and prevent your business from going obsolete, we have compiled a list of emerging trends in mobile app development for iOS and Android in 2022, which you should definitely watch out for.

1. 5G – The adoption of 5G is close to becoming the new industry standard this year. It offers a bandwidth that is hundredfold more than 4G. A higher performance speed and faster data transfer takes user-friendliness up a notch. Moreover, its lower latency minimizes interruptions and gives a smoother connection. Technology companies have already started incorporating 5G at a large scale. It changes the very way mobile apps are built and used. High functionality, novel features, and optimal performance will no longer be mutually exclusive. Looking ahead, 5G can actually aid in the creation of sophisticated AR and VR apps and the interconnection of IoT devices. Wireless healthcare services, cloud computing, driverless vehicle technology – all anticipate the exponential rise of 5G.
2. IoT (Internet of Things) – The Internet of Things is a network of devices that communicate with each other over the internet. Even though not a new concept, the increasing reliance on technology in our everyday lives fueled by our urge for convenience and automation has largely extended IoT’s reach. From lining our walls with voice-controlled smart home devices like Google Home and Amazon Echo to using an app to adjust our thermostats and unlock our front doors, we have let IoT completely penetrate our lives and our homes. Its benefits include a reduction in operational costs, tighter security, improved efficiency, and an increased connection to other platforms. Companies like Microsoft have already begun to orient their apps around the features offered by IoT.
3. Wearables – The portability, user-friendly interfaces, and personalized insights offered by wearables like smartwatches, smart earbuds, display devices (like Google Glasses), body sensors, and other products, add extra layers of convenience for its users. With the public’s rising interest for health and fitness, the sports and healthcare industries, in conjunction with wearable technology features like fitness tracking and customized diet and lifestyle recommendations, have seen a positive upward trend. This means that businesses and mobile app developers in Kuwait should get ready to build mobile apps that can be integrated with wearables and provide users a seamless digital experience. Plus, in the coming years, accessing virtual assistants through contact lenses and virtual keyboards through nail polish might actually become a thing!
4. Artificial Intelligence & Machine Learning – AI goes far and beyond chatbots and virtual assistants. It can enhance user experience through personalization, use predictive analytics for better business decisions and forecasts, and improve security through behavioral algorithms that can detect fraud. Other current and potential features offered by AI and ML include self-driving technology, AI-enabled chips, automated machine learning, and interoperability among neural networks. When it comes to application development, the marketing, finance, IT, and customer service industries have successfully integrated AI and ML into their apps. Examples of AI features that can be brought to applications include image, speech, and face recognition, text and image classification, sentiment recognition and classification, predictive maintenance, and smart maps.
5. Augmented Reality and Virtual Reality - Whereas AR is achieved through the superimposition of artificial objects on objects of the real world, VR is the use of technology to offer a completely artificial environment. Apart from radically changing the gaming industry, AR/VR makes it possible for consumers to try on different clothes, accessories, and makeup products, see how a piece of furniture looks in their home, and get house and property tours. It permits doctors to perform live surgeries from across the world and allows people to virtually transfer themselves to their dream vacation spots. Moreover, it has revolutionized educational and training apps. Pokémon Go was just the beginning.
6. Foldable Devices – The smartphone market share of foldable devices is scheduled to increase in the coming years. They can offer multiple windows for multitasking and a larger screen size for a more immersive experience. One challenge for top app development companies when it comes to planning mobile app strategies will be to ensure that apps can seamlessly adjust its display as the user chooses to fold or unfold her device. This is going to be a big year for foldables, with nearly 3.2 million foldable phones shipped in 2019 to a whopping 50 million units forecasted to be shipped in 2022 (Statista).
7. Beacon – Introduced in 2013, Bluetooth beacons are small, wireless devices, that can connect and transmit information to other devices. So, when someone walk by a location, a beacon will securely transmit a continuous radio signal to their phone and the app will deliver an update appropriate for that particular location. Consumers can benefit from Beacon technology by receiving real-time, location-specific alerts and relying on convenient mobile payments, whereas businesses can use the data collected from consumer shopping preferences to create a more personalized shopping experience. Proximity marketing is a leading advantage of this technology. For instance, let’s say a storeowner installs beacons in her store. When someone with the app installed on his device walks by the beacon, he will be immediately notified about promotions and discounts in that store. Buyer behavior can also be tracked by detecting how much time a user spends in a particular aisle, and then automatically triggering, at a later date, a push notification about a sale on those products. Apart from shopping malls, airports, hospitals, and museums can also use beacons to offer real-time in-store navigation services to users. Achieving customer satisfaction through personalized services lies at the heart of Beacon.
8. Blockchain – Owing its birth to cryptocurrency and smart contracts, Blockchain has now grown into other areas. Blockchain provides decentralized databases and end-to-end encryption for secure digital transactions and exchange of user-sensitive data. A number of mobile wallets and currency converters use this technology to track digital assets and secure digital identities. Because of its ability to eliminate data infiltration, it can greatly contribute to the mobile app industry by facilitating the development of Decentralized Mobile apps, or DApps.

All of these mobile app development trends have one thing in common: they strive to deliver a more personalized experience to each and every consumer. The mobile app industry will continue to expand and evolve. It is your responsibility to move with the latest mobile app development trends and leverage them to your advantage. Effectively adapting to a rapidly shifting market is the key to staying competitive. We at Design Master, a leading Android and iOS app development company in Kuwait, are determined to incorporate these trends into your mobile app by introducing novel features and functions and guide your app through this digital transformation. Our team of excellent mobile app developers in Kuwait are always encouraged to undergo continuous learning and awareness in the realm of technology.

Have a look at our portfolio here, and contact us to help you update your app with the most in-demand trends: https://www.design-master.com/#Portfolio