In the past few years, there has been an explosive growth in the number of mobile apps with over 2.1 billion users reportedly having access to smartphones around the world. As per reports from Touchpoint- adults over 25 years use their smartphones almost 264 times a day, which includes both text and calling. The number is even greater among people in the age group between 15-24 at 387 times a day.

The biggest names in all areas of business such as Amazon, Bank of America, and Walmart have been actively using mobile applications for boosting their customer and brand engagement strategies. Even small and mid-sized firms are seen following this trend and mobile application development continues to grow at a rapid pace. In this post let us look at some options available in mobile app development and some future trends for mobile app technologies:

Refresher (Feel free to skip ahead if you know the types of Mobile Apps)

1. Native Mobile Apps:
   The first thing that comes to the mind while creating mobile apps is a native mobile app which is coded in a specific programming language such as Java for Android or Objective C for IOS. These apps are designed specifically for a particular platform and guarantee high performance with greater reliability to deliver a better user experience.
2. Hybrid Mobile Apps:
   Hybrid mobile apps can be developed using a combination of technologies such as HTML, CSS, Javascript etc. They can be installed on a device like a native app but they mainly run on a web browser. In 2015, HTML 5 seemed to attract a lot of attention from many leading companies such as Facebook, Xero, and LinkedIn. However, the trend seems to be declining from last year and companies still continue to rely on native apps.
3. Web Apps:
   Web apps are mainly of three types-traditional, responsive and adaptive. Traditional web apps comprise websites, whereas responsive web apps display a different design when viewed on the mobile devices. The biggest advantage of using web apps is they are developed using some of the most popular languages and to a great extent are cross-platform.So, you with us so far? Now onto the future.
   Trends that will shape the future of mobile apps.
   According to some recent predictions, an estimated 268 million mobile apps are likely to be downloaded this year, generating a revenue of $77 Billion for companies that use them as tools for their businesses. Mobile application development driven by advancements in technology is increasingly becoming a critical part of business success. This makes it critical for businesses to develop a solid vision for the future.

Here are some of the key trends that will change the future of mobile apps:

• Augmented Reality set to be a game changer:
  In 2016, Augmented Reality and Virtual Reality created a revolution in the gaming industry with games such as Pokemon Go, Sky Siege, IOnRoad, and myNav that grew immensely popular. According to statistics from Goldman Sachs Global Investment, the market size of different AR/VR software for various use cases in 2025 would be as follows: Healthcare-$5.1 billion, Engineering-$4.7 billion, Real estate-$2.6 billion, Retail-$1.6 billion. Over the upcoming months get set as AR and VR experiences start appearing more frequently in traditional mobile apps too.
• IOT and Wearable devices will be in vogue:
  Analysts have predicted that Internet Of Things will continue to grow from $157.05 billion to about $661.74 billion in 2021. As per Gartner’s predictions, there will be over 26 billion connected devices as we approach 2020 which will comprise of hundreds of smart objects including domestic appliances, LED, toys, sports equipment along with electronic devices. Most of these domestic smart objects will be an integral part of IOT and their communication will take place via an app or through smartphone devices.Smartphones could well be the center of a personal area network comprising wearable devices such as sensors, smart watches, display devices such as Google Glass, medical sensors etc.
• M-commerce trend to remain strong:
  The growing popularity of mobile-based payments like Apple Pay and Google Wallet will push the demand for mobile purchases further. A time may come when people will prefer using mobile phones for payment over credit cards or debit cards. Mobile commerce will continue to grow popular in the coming years with wearable devices also playing a crucial role in the growth and future of m-commerce.
• Cloud-driven mobile apps to grow popular:
  According to reports by Cisco, cloud driven apps will be able to attract 90% of the entire mobile data traffic as we approach 2019. This will result in a compound growth of 60% of mobile cloud traffic over a year. In the coming future, it may not be surprising to see high powered mobile apps able to retrieve data from the cloud and occupy less space in the internal memory of smartphone devices.
• Micro and enterprise apps to gain wide acceptance:
  The main purpose of enterprise mobile apps is to help businesses manage their processes better. For example, work organizer and planner Evernote. Then there are a plethora of enterprise apps for everything from CRM, to Logistics, and Supply Chain Management, On the other hand, micro apps are focused on a single task to achieve the end results such as Facebook messenger. According to a research by Adobe, 77% of business owners feel that enterprise apps are beneficial to them and over 66% of them are planning to increase their investment in them. As far as micro apps are concerned, they are set to become more popular with some of their excellent features which are targeted, nimble, ad hoc and HTML based. Look for these worlds to come together in the months ahead as Enterprise apps look to recreate a more consumer-like app experience and features.
• Location-based service to become popular:
  iBeacon from Apple and Beacon from Google are some of the widely-used location-based services now. These are at the vanguard of device data capturing apps. This trend is driving the integration of a growing number of external devices with mobile apps for business benefit. In a recent example, Google acquired Senosis, a company that helps make the phone a device for medical diagnoses.

Conclusion:

The revolution in technology is set to change the future of mobile apps. It will become critical for businesses to embrace these new trends to stay ahead and competitive in their business. Is your mobile app leveraging any of these trends?