In today’s world, the smartphone has fundamentally transformed business models, operating models, and marketplaces. The global pandemic in which we seem to have been living for these past two years now has only strengthened the app development industry which has begun to evolve at a break-neck speed.
By 2022, mobile app market revenue is expected to reach $693 billion. To stay relevant in this competitive world, development companies must stay on track and also leverage the latest mobile app development trends. Last year, when we tried to predict mobile app future trends for 2021 our bets were on, among other things, 5G, IoT, and mobile-first leisure. We were not wrong.
It seems like nowadays every brand has a mobile app. Over 900 publishers are projected to surpass the $1 million mark in 2021, up 91% over 2016. It’s likely that lockdowns in light of the pandemic played a role in this dramatic increase.
To make your mobile app a success, to outrun the technologically adaptable competition, and to thrive in the mobile environment, apps should stay relevant and deliver an elevated experience as compared to websites. The first step to do that is to stay updated with the latest mobile app industry trends. Let’s take a closer look at some application development trends for 2022 in detail.
Blockchain
Blockchain has come a long way since the cryptocurrency boom. The technology is now applicable in many different areas, from securing medical data to supply chain and logistic monitoring. It also plays a pivotal role in mobile apps which makes it a very strong mobile development trend. Decentralized applications (dapps) based on blockchain technology grant users more control over their data by eliminating the need for centralized intermediaries to manage it.
This advantage is particularly meaningful in developing apps for security, governance, identity, social, and finance categories. Blockchain wallets, for example, reached over 70 million users by the end of March 2021.
The rapid growth of cryptocurrency enthusiasts using blockchain-based wallets, enabling users to keep their currencies (such as bitcoin) in a safe place is influencing new standards of reliable sources of information about crypto and apps for its management. And this will make blockchain a more and more mainstream technology.
Apps for foldable devices
Making a surprising comeback from the 00s, foldable devices seem to be only a small part of the overall market share regarding smartphones. But this is going to change in the upcoming years. According to Statista, global foldable phone shipments are expected to reach 50.1 million units by 2022.
There are viable premises for that: the improvement of usability and expansion of the user interface, as well as the possibility of using the device as a phone and as a mini-tablet at the same time, as the display can be easily unfolded as needed. Users may love that. This is a fairly strong reason to stay technologically savvy in this particular mobile app trend.
The Rise of 5g
5g was already among app development trends last year and all indicators are that, after it became a buzzword, we are to observe a significant rise in the incorporation of 5g technology worldwide. Lightning-fast speeds of up to 319 terabytes per second (Tbps), near-zero latency, high connection density, and wide bandwidth are what are making apps faster and more efficient.
5g connections are projected to grow to 40 percent of all connections in Europe and 15% among all mobile connections on the planet by 2025, while next year it’s expected that 47.5% of all smartphones will sport 5g connections. No wonder then, that maintaining 5g standards is one of the future trends in app development.
AR integration
One of the emerging mobile development trends that are supposed to significantly boost user experience on Android and iOS in 2022 is virtual reality and augmented reality technologies.
The global market for AR and VR is forecasted to reach 30.7 billion USD in 2021, rising to close to 300 billion USD by 2024. The particular areas in which businesses can get way ahead of their competitors in incorporating these technologies in the mobile app development industry are retail and e-commerce.
The next level of customer interaction and enhancing user experience thanks to mobile apps using augmented reality is making this technology a revolutionary trend in design and mobile app development and is very likely to become more and more mainstream.
Super Apps
Super apps work as an ecosystem, in which various activities such as work, shopping, leisure, and social interaction may happen all at once. This idea first gained popularity in China, thanks to the WeChat messaging app, which works more like a platform on which users can not only message their friends but are also allowed access to a wider array of things people do online. Voice and text messaging, group messaging, payments, and games are other examples of WeChat activities.
Social media apps in the Western World are now starting to catch up with super app development. They are now transforming into platforms on which people can do more and more online without switching to other apps, Facebook with its Marketplace and shopping features and Instagram being no longer primarily about sharing photos are great examples.
The “one app – one purpose approach” is changing. As convenience is what everyone seeks in the end, super apps are definitely among mobile app industry trends to watch for 2022.
Enterprise Mobility
In times of the Great Resignation, many employers have to redefine their hiring and working models. Offering remote work options with the possibility of using personal mobile devices is becoming a new standard. The mobile-empowered workforce allows employees to work in a more flexible way – for example from mobile phones – and has been proven to boost productivity and work satisfaction levels.
Enterprise mobile apps are built with business and corporate needs in mind, such as collaboration, human resources, or marketing automation. It has been estimated that about 85% of global organizations have been dependent on their employee’s personal devices during the coronavirus situation to ensure market competitiveness and business continuity. With the rising adoption of BYOD (Bring Your Own Device), a market which is supposed to be worth 366.95 billion USD by 2022, and the utilization of cloud technologies alongside the massive social changes regarding the way we work, the expected rise of the mobile enterprise app market seems inevitable.
With workplace flexibility being key to employees’ happiness and retention, no wonder enterprise mobile apps are one of the strong trends in app development for the coming future.
p2p Mobile Apps
Peer-to-peer payment apps allowing the transfer of cash from one person to another quickly and securely, like Venmo, are gaining popularity essentially thanks to their convenience. Users can quickly pay, while sellers can receive payments directly into their accounts. Clean and easy.
Apart from solutions based on mobile OS built-in systems like ApplePay or Android Pay, this technology is being used as a built-in payment feature in additional mobile app categories, like social media apps or cryptocurrency mobile wallets. 2022 seems like a convenient time to bring a p2p mobile payment app into a reality, as it’s definitely going to stay a mobile app development trend for a while.
Wrapping Up
Unless you stay up to date with the latest mobile app development trends and you know how to leverage them to deliver an outstanding product, it’s hard to stay relevant in the highly competitive mobile market. All signs point towards the fact that the mobile app industry is about to expand. If you intend to create a successful mobile app, it’s wise to follow the trends and cooperate with a reliable partner with a cutting-edge technological approach who delivers delightful mobile experiences.
If you have a hunch that some of these mobile app development trends might benefit your business or represent a good opportunity to expand your growth, don’t hesitate to contact us and have a chat about the possibilities!
