Technology continues to advance at a pace more rapid than ever, and these days, mobile applications have inched into every area of business. It’s become crucial to include a mobile strategy in a business plan to market products and services, and with iOS apps reaching an upwards of two million, iOS app development must be an essential element in that strategy. There is an app for everything, and if you aren’t in the app store, you are way behind.
To be a player in this field, one must keep up with the trends happening. They change frequently, but to be a part of this nearly $600 billion industry in 2020, it’s crucial to pay attention.
2019 saw many trends around AI, wearables, on-demand apps, and payment services. The future shows promise in these areas and beyond so let’s have a look at the rising current of trends for the coming year.
1. AR and VR
The line between the real world and the virtual one continues to merge closer together. The potential this shows for business problem-solving is huge. American Airlines, IKEA, and GE are already using this technology in ground-breaking ways. And the possibilities for gaming and education continue to skyrocket.
Augmented reality isn’t new itself, but it’s just beginning to appear on our personal phones and tablets. While virtual reality puts you in an imagined space, AR takes a real space and inserts imagined objects.
This year, these technologies are expected to break through fully into iOS applications thanks to ARKit 3, Reality Composer, and RealityKit, which allow the creation of unrivaled augmented reality experiences by using a device’s cameras and sensors.
It’s definitely the year for AR and VR.
2. Internet of Things
It’s a broad concept, IoT, and it’s hard to define in concise and understandable language. It’s not new, though, and most have heard the term by now. It matters because connecting things to the internet means making our world and everything in it smarter. It means quicker solutions, more convenience, and intuitive functionality.
IoT gives businesses (and the people in them) more insight into the world around them. It means more complete solutions can be reached for our everyday problems.
It is said that 30+ billion devices will be connected through this information web by the end of this year. This is definitely a trend to keep at the forefront for new developers.
3. Machine Learning and Artificial Intelligence
Machine learning is about getting computers to act as we humans do. We give them data and its capabilities continue to grow. While this has led to many movie and TV thrillers, it has also led to a more practical application in our day-to-day lives. Siri helps us schedule appointments and send texts while our hands are occupied by driving. This technology isn’t brand new, but it continues to improve as new advancements are made.
Apple’s framework, Core ML 3, allows for more advanced ML than ever. It opens the doors for computer vision and speech recognition, among other things.
AI helps with search suggestions and customer behavior (and the ability to offer tailored products to them). Businesses benefit greatly from this booming trend, as the opportunity to thoroughly understand buyers is at their fingertips.
4. Cloud Integration
Cloud integration has revolutionized the way companies deal with data. Allowing multiple devices to access data through a network or internet has been groundbreaking for business. And even for individuals. It’s fast, easy, and secure.
Integrating apps through the cloud means a huge improvement in the memory of smart devices, which improves the experience and capabilities. This provides a huge benefit for both the user and the developer.
Using this technology offers cost-saving benefits and higher scalability potential. 2020 is the year for more businesses to take advantage of these opportunities, as companies like Dropbox already have.
5. Swift Programming
Swift is the official general-purpose programming language developed by Apple, and version 5.1 was released in September of this past year. The recent updates make it possible to create and share binary frameworks compatible with any future versions.
Currently, the ways this language will be beneficial to businesses are being explored. Any future versions of iOS will include these Linus-compatible Swift libraries, and therefore, applications will be easier to build.
More than 300,000 apps on the App Store are written in Swift due to its efficiency, scalability, and security.
The Bottom Line for 2020
These are the top 5 trends for the coming year. New technologies continue to advance and expand, bringing powerful possibilities and momentous change to the industry. More and more iOS apps are being created regularly, and iOS developers would be wise to keep up with these advancements to create a better and more stimulating experience for users.
