Top 10 Mobile App Development Trends that are paving the Way in 2021

In an epoch when the world is heading towards digitization, mobile apps are gaining incredible traction in all spheres of life and are becoming an indispensable part of the digital ecosystem. A huge investment in the mobile app development services industry by a number of tech giants has been witnessed in the past few years. 

The year 2020 saw almost every business being impacted by the Covid-19 pandemic, owing to which a lot of buzz about taking businesses online was generated. Small businesses are also gradually realizing the importance of mobile apps post 2020, and are incorporating them into business processes.

The mobile app development companies have been significantly impacted by the advent of advanced technologies — the Internet of Things, Chatbots, Artificial Intelligence, Machine Learning, Blockchain, Augmented and Virtual Reality, etc. These technologies also continue to impact the way mobile app developers are going to work on projects in 2021. 

Let’s talk about the top 10 trends that are going to greatly impact mobile app development services in 2021:

1. Collaboration with Blockchain

To many, blockchain still means Bitcoin, which, as we know, is far from the truth. The knowledge about the distributed ledger technology is spreading as people are slowly realizing its numerous benefits. The technology is being implemented across every possible industry: from healthcare to logistics, to travel, to government organizations, to banking. In short, the technology is being applied everywhere where data immutability can bring vast benefits in a form of reduced costs, enhanced transparency, more efficient and secure transactions, as well as an increased public trust in combination with fraud prevention (especially in the GovTech sector).

2021 is sure to see a definite increase in blockchain-powered applications, as not only startups, but also the enterprise world completes their ongoing pilots or more advanced projects.

2. More Powerful Internet of Things

Internet of Thing is a vast network of interconnected digital, mechanical, and computing devices that enable the exchange and transfer of data and information. The use of IoT in mobile apps helps remotely control smart gadgets via smartphones. Moreover, mobile apps powered by IoT help connect bands, wristwatches, and other wearable to smartphones.

The projected global IoT spendings are likely to reach $1.1 trillion by 2023, with around 21.5 billion installed units. Since IoT consists of many verticals: from wearable devices to smart homes, smart cars, smart cities and more, we’ll see growth in the individual verticals in the following years.

3. Augmented Reality and Virtual Reality

The augmented reality has matured and is constantly showing more and more potential for being implemented into the day-to-day operations of many businesses.After the release of ARKit by Apple and ARCore by Google, iOS and Android app development have gained significant momentum. The stipulate for Virtual Reality and Augmented Reality applications is picking up pace in every industry — be it retail, healthcare, education, travel, etc. 

Mobile apps utilizing these technologies are creating amazing experiences for mobile users and helping businesses increase sales as well.

4. Artificial Intelligence, Chatbots, and Machine Learning

Artificial Intelligence (AI) and Machine Learning have changed the entire face of mobile app development and are expected to take it to a new level in 2021. The integration of AI with mobile apps not only saves a lot of money for businesses but also improves user engagement.

AI-powered chatbots have changed the way businesses interact with customers via mobile phones. Mobile apps with services like cab services, food delivery, and online shopping are integrating chatbots to respond to customers’ queries quickly.

5. Wearables

The pandemic completely changed the way we approach our health and its tracking. The wearables market is expected to grow to almost double its current value, which means that the demand for supported apps is going to go up as well. 

6. Cloud-Native Mobile Apps

We’ve been hearing about cloud-based applications for quite some time. The next big buzzword is Cloud-Native Applications. The code for such software is written with cloud-first approach, taking away the need to have a separate server for hosting an app. Every task is handled by the cloud-native solution providers, like AWS, Google Cloud or Azure.

There are many benefits to cloud-native development. For instance, it allows app owners to automatically scale up and down depending on incoming traffic, thus essentially cutting down their expenses.

7. M-Commerce

As more and more people converge towards mobile purchasing, the future of m-commerce looks promising. Apple Pay and Google Wallet have encouraged customers to shop via smartphones instead of their debit or credit cards. Retail & e-commerce businesses nowadays wish apps that let their customers shop easily and make transactions without cash or physical cards. The pandemic seems to have contributed greatly to this trend as well with more and more businesses offering mobile solutions for shopping. 

8. Cross-Platform Mobile App Development

Cross platform mobile application development means the development of applications that can be run on multiple mobile platforms. It reduces time-to-market and growth cost of the organizations and drives their business in the realm of tough competition. 

9. Event Streaming

The way our social interactions worked had to change.The offline event industry got shattered by the pandemic. However, something good came off it as well. People realized that they did not have to travel thousands of miles to attend conferences, meetings, concerts, etc. Event streaming apps understood the requirements of people and became better and better.

10. 5G Wireless Technology

5G wireless service is not just one of the top technology trends in mobile app development but also highly significant in the forthcoming year. Without doubt, the 5G network’s speed will be 100 times faster than the 4G network. Apart from the high speed, the 5G wireless services also serve other functionalities like:

• 3D Gaming
• Augmented Reality
• Data Security

Since the 5G services offer a wide range of opportunities, the remote mobile application developers should design the apps appropriately, so that all users can enjoy faster network speed for enhanced performance.

The above should be some of the main app development trends for 2021. The technology world is quickly adapting to the post-COVID era, coming up with a multitude of new solutions aimed at boosting user experience and break through the limitations that the global quarantine has showed everyone. 

As the New Year dawns, technological advancements made in the previous year is going to pave the way to a better 2021.

Summary: Mobile apps are gaining incredible traction in all spheres of life and are becoming an indispensable part of the digital ecosystem. A huge investment in the mobile app development services industry by a number of tech giants has been witnessed in the past few years. 2021 is ushering some of the most amazing advancements in the world of mobile app development.