Applications come in different shapes and sizes to cater to the needs of a wide variety of people. Whether they're for the desktop, mobile, or web, they're a vital component of our lives. Finding an app that fits our needs is no longer a nuisance. However, staying ahead of the curve and keeping up with app development trends is imperative as we keep redefining our needs with the changing times.
Look Out For Top App Development Trends in 2023
1) Extended Reality (XR)
While it is a far-fetched goal at the moment, technologies like virtual and augmented reality can become more mainstream in the coming years. Even today, AR gaming apps and AR filters on social media do a tremendous job of incorporating technology into our lives.
From redefining product experiences to facilitating virtual tours, several app development companies today are focusing on making the technology more accessible. However, it isn’t only limited to the world of gaming. Several organizations have long been on board for using it for training programs.
2) Location-Based Apps
Many businesses rely on location-based data to get a relevant target audience. Hence, without a doubt, these apps will certainly take the world by storm in the coming years. Location-based services already have a major influence on how businesses and users interact with each other.
By tracking places that users often visit, publishers and marketers are able to offer relevant promotions and ads. Furthermore, there is an anticipation of these apps undergoing major growth in the areas of travel and tourism, indoor mapping, payment portals, etc.
3) Growth of Virtual Assistants And AI-Based Technology
Users and their interactions with mobile apps have transformed immensely over the years. Several virtual assistants like Cortana and Siri play a vital role in helping people optimize their productivity and organize their schedules effectively.
However, machine learning is only one popular category of AI-based ventures. Nonetheless, it has significantly improved the accuracy of responses from virtual assistants. Bigger names like Google and Facebook are also majorly investing in machine learning solutions to develop groundbreaking conversational interfaces.
4) Instant Apps On Android
The app store on most Android devices is filled with mobile applications. However, downloading the entire app and then updating it from time to time can take a toll on your space and storage. Google was among those who realized how daunting it was for users to do it.
Hence, by introducing instant apps, the company allowed users to download only certain parts of an app while they accessed the remaining content through the URL. The surge in the popularity of these apps serves as proof of how much potential they have to revolutionize the way people download and use different applications.
More and more companies are looking to hire app developers who are well-versed in creating such apps. While Google already has 50 such applications to its name, developers are now focusing on transforming existing apps into instant ones so they don't have to build another application from scratch.
5) PWA or Progressive Web Applications
As the name suggests, PWAs will soon serve as the next generation of web apps on mobiles. However, why does one need them after all? For one, they don't accompany the problems that most mobile websites have, such as the incessant need for an internet connection and a ridiculously slow speed.
With facilities such as full-screen and offline modes, these applications carry a very native-like feel. Furthermore, they don't consume as much data as mobile websites and are also relatively faster. Last but not least, they also don't require installation and downloading, unlike many other apps.
With technology growing at such a fast pace, companies are bound to reconsider the cost to hire app developers. So far, the ball was in the court of native apps. However, slowly more and more companies are considering hiring developers who can create PWAs instead of ordinary, native apps.
One such example is that of Twitter, which has already introduced a lighter alternative (Twitter Lite) for its own native application. Telegram, AliExpress, and Flipboard are examples of PWAs that can certainly facilitate a shift towards more apps of this nature.
6) Chatbots
Chatbots are much more mainstream today than ever before. Their popularity is only expected to grow in the coming years and reach a market value of over a billion dollars by 2025. In fact, more and more companies are already making use of chatbots instead of virtual agents to engage customers. Furthermore, with improvements in NLP (Natural Language Processing) and advances in AI, chatbots are further expected to become better than ever before.
Companies are also employing voice and facial recognition, semantic search, and additional technology to make communication more organic. With a number of companies looking to hire a team of app developers for the same purpose, the day isn't far when chatbots will become the norm. In fact, Cortana and Siri are already considered applications that make use of the user’s voice itself.
7) AMPs or Accelerated Mobile Pages
As the name suggests, AMP focuses on making your pages load faster. While the name has already given it away, these pages can significantly minimize unnecessary coding and consequently improve the loading time of web pages.
What could it possibly mean for app development trends in the future? For one, it’s important to note that accelerated mobile apps won't completely replace them, but the technology is expected to wipe away obsolete ones.
Furthermore, apps are also expected to use these protocols instead of becoming an obstruction for the Google Play Store or the App Store.
Conclusion
By the next year, the market of app development will be well on its way to continuing at an even faster pace. The chances are that more and more users will demand mobile apps, causing the competition between developers to become more intense. From virtual reality to chatbots, there have been numerous transformations in how people interact with businesses and each other over the years.
With the changing needs of society, it’s only natural for more and more businesses focused on app development to emerge. So, which trends will stay relevant? And which ones will be wiped out in the blink of an eye? Only time or our experts at Hyperlink InfoSystem can tell. Hence, keeping up with the latest trends is the only way to stay ahead of the curve when you need to be.