11 Mobile App Development Trends in 2017

Smartphones have become an integral part of our daily lives. Waking up in the morning with an alarm, using Whatsapp, listening to music, reading news, watching YouTube videos, checking emails, updating project status, etc. - everything can be performed seamlessly on our mobile devices. Currently, 2.1 billion people in the world own smartphones.

Adults over 25 use their phones about 264 times a day, including text messages and calls. For people aged 15-24, the number is 387 times a day. If the average sleep duration for this age group is 10 hours, that means they touch their smartphone every other minute.

It’s hard to believe, but it’s true. Of course, the use of smartphones and mobile apps will not decrease in 2017. It’s just that the mobile app trends may show some new colors. In this article, we will discuss the current mobile app development trends that are here to stay in 2017.

1. Accelerated Mobile Pages (AMP) changes the web app landscape

It’s been a year since Google started the AMP project. In addition to that, recently, Google announced that it will have a separate mobile web search index. This revolutionary step completely changed the mobile app development trends, especially from the SEO and web app perspectives.

Web apps powered by Google AMP will load much faster on mobile devices and significantly reduce bounce rates. Publishers will also benefit from improved ad visibility and more visitors. Therefore, this advanced technology will definitely appear on the list of mobile app development trends for next year.

2. AR and VR will show some magic

If you are a little bit aware of modern mobile app development trends, then augmented reality (AR) and virtual reality (VR) apps should be no stranger to you. In 2016, AR and VR were revolutionary in the gaming and entertainment industry. Games like Pokemon Go, iOnRoad, Sky Siege, and myNav are shining examples of AR games. VR devices like Samsung Gear VR, Google Cardboard, and Oculus Rift are also gaining popularity.

According to a Digi-Capital study, the expected market for AR and VR software in the next few years is:

While we can’t expect VR to show rapid growth, AR app development will surely reach a peak by the end of 2017. In the coming year, sprint towards AR and VR magic.

3. AI is now a reality

Gartner found that AI investments will increase by more than 300% next year compared to 2016. Through the use of advanced analytics, cognitive interfaces in complex systems, and machine learning techniques, AI will provide enterprise users with powerful insights that were never available before.

Because of these advantages, giants like Google, IBM, eBay, and Facebook have begun acquiring startups that excel in AI. The following chart will tell you more.

We’ve already seen some amazing AI applications like Prisma, Siri, and Google Now, and we expect to see even more in 2017.

4. Cloud-driven mobile apps are on the rise

From customers to technology experts, everyone has heard about cloud technology and how it is affecting our collective lives. Today, cloud computing has finally found its place in mobile apps. Now, we can expect powerful mobile apps that fetch data directly from the cloud and occupy only minimal space in the smartphone’s memory.

Google Drive, Dropbox and OneDrive are just the tip of the iceberg. Cisco research shows that by 2019, cloud apps will drive 90% of mobile data traffic, and mobile cloud traffic will increase 11 times, with a compound annual growth rate (CAGR) of 60%.

The above chart clearly shows that the trend of cloud-related mobile apps will continue for a long time.

5. Enterprise apps and micro apps will develop further

The main goal of enterprise mobile apps is to help you restructure, streamline and manage key business processes, while micro apps are designed to cater to very targeted operations and reduce load. Both have been successful in their endeavors and are expected to continue to grow.

An example of an enterprise mobile app is Evernote, which allows your team to collaborate on projects from their mobile devices. On the other hand, Facebook messenger and to-do list apps are good examples of micro apps that focus on just one task.

Adobe research shows that 77% of business owners find enterprise apps advantageous, and 66% further increase their investments. Moreover, by 2021, it is expected that there will be a market of 430 billion enterprise apps. Moreover, lightweight, targeted, HTML, and ad-hoc-based micro apps are on the rise. Therefore, these mobile app development trends are expected to remain unchanged in 2017.

6. Pay more attention to the security of the app

According to Gartner, 75% of mobile apps fail even basic security testing. In support, HP research points out that 70.6% of apps can access external storage and 94.7% of apps include logging methods. These surveys mainly show the following concerns:

Hackers will tend to continue to exploit known security holes in mobile apps to steal sensitive and confidential information. This is one of the negative mobile app development trends that will continue in the next year.

7. Wearables are gaining traction

According to the International Data Corporation (IDC), the wearables market will grow at a compound annual growth rate (CAGR) of 20.3% to reach 213.6 million units by 2020. We have seen some amazing wearable devices in the past few years, like Apple Watch Series 1, Google Daydream View, Pebble 2, Xiaomi Mi Band 2, Fitbit Flex 2, etc.

These devices show that it will not stop at the healthcare industry alone and it will be one of the promising mobile app development trends in 2017.

8. Mobile e-commerce is becoming the new standard

Nowadays, a considerable number of customers prefer to make purchases through Google Wallet and Apple Pay instead of using credit and debit cards, which has promoted the development of mobile commerce.

Coupled with wearables, mobile commerce payment devices will take different forms in 2017. In addition to predictive analytics and data collection, wearables will also play an important role in the future of mobile commerce and customer loyalty.

Here are the market predictions from these mobile app development trends:

Therefore, the mobile app trend for mobile commerce will remain strong in 2017.

9. The Internet of Things will get bigger

The rapid adoption of cloud-based apps brings us to one of the latest mobile app development trends that has fueled the interest of mobile developers in 2016: the Internet of Things.

Analysts predict that the IoT will grow from $151.5 billion in 2016 to $661.74 billion in 2021, with a compound annual growth rate (CAGR) of 33.3%. This directly affects the trend of mobile apps, as IoT devices are mainly controlled by smartphones. Here is the predicted growth curve for the IoT:

Therefore, IoT will definitely continue to be a major trend in 2017.

10. Beacons and location-based services are on the rise

Location-based integrated service applications such as Apple's iBeacons and Google Beacon are popular. The use of WiFi will no longer be limited to hotels, restaurants, retail stores and healthcare. WiFi-enabled applications will go beyond these traditional needs and will help people get relevant location-based information. Here is how Beacon works:

This advanced technology provides major scope for personalized app marketing, which is expected to take off in 2017.

11. Swift, Swift, Swift

Swift is the next generation programming language for iOS developers. Most mobile app developers attest that it is much easier than Objective-C. Although Swift will not replace Objective-C anytime soon, it will gain a lot of attention in 2017. With the release of Swift 2 (which offers many new developer-friendly features), this new programming language trend is definitely here to stay.

The following chart shows how Swift is leading among other programming languages:

Therefore, Swift will also maintain the trend for a long time.

Summarize

When it comes to mobile app technology, there is no way a skilled software developer can rely on outdated tools and trends during the development phase. 2016 is filled with a ton of potential, and if app developers can stay abreast of the latest mobile app development trends, then they can improve their skills.