7 Mobile App Trends for 2018 to Follow for Business Growth

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7 noticeable mobile app trends to be followed for business growth in 2018.

2017 has been a year of significant transformations in the domain of mobile technology. It has seen a great leap in terms of customer experience. Where we had tech-leaders like Apple looking to grab broader utility scope and application references with bigger devices on one hand, we witnessed great changes in the way AI, AR and VR are interpreted into real-life mobile solutions, on the other.

As the year is on its way to end, there are various technological traces that should be leaving great impact in the way mobile technology behaves in 2018. And we can already see prominent trends lying ahead to explore further prospects and cater users with better and newer offerings, revealing great opportunities for businesses to benefit from.

To that, this e-paper attempts to cover the top mobile app trends that are most likely to be seen in 2018 and should be followed by you for business growth.

1. Time for mobile apps to extend their presence to web

Of the most talked about possibilities, it is highly expected that the businesses on mobile app would start focusing on their web versions. As, we have seen a lot of congestion building up in the mobile app space in the last couple of years, more businesses are looking to diversify and reinvent their efforts entering into the web app arena. Also, businesses that earlier chose to experiment with the mobile-only approach have reportedly analyzed to find it better to adopt the mobile-plus-web identity, as it proved to be strategically more relevant and penetrating. The major reason for this turnaround is the declining search engine authority businesses experienced going only with mobile app.

The app store for Android and iOS collectively have over 4.9 million apps and this number is continuously growing.

app stores

Image source: Statista.com

So, in 2018 you should see most of the top players and early-movers to take prominent steps towards their web presence. The businesses starting afresh would be joining the wagon too and contributing to the trend. While, users should show decent response as they would now get more space and bigger canvas to interface with.

What’s making the difference count

Progressive Web Apps (PWAs) are the lite version of native mobile apps. PWAs allow users to access the core functionality of apps without having to install and just getting them through their web counterparts.

Android Instant Apps allow users to access app functionality, without any need to download them. All they need to do is follow URL and get to use the app features and functionalities.

With the great level of possibilities that Progressive Web Apps and Instant Apps offer, there is a lot of value that both startups and established businesses get to fetch from here. With these apps they are not just able to access low-priced solutions but also get to access mobile services on the fly on web.

2. Get ready to see more of Virtual Reality and Augmented Reality

In 2016, Pokemon Go just made Augmented Reality so real and accessible and the popularity it garnered from users showed how big this technology is going to go. As we reached 2017, AR and VR began to rise beyond promotional and engagement purposes and started to be integrated with different facets of utility and value.

AR and VR

The VR journey that started with Google Cardboard in 2014, started getting big with other renowned technology brands joining in. The gig was followed by Facebook’s Oculus, Google’s Daydream,HTC’s Vive, that are some impressive VR products that have helped the technology to grow further.

Virtual Reality predicts its growth into a $30 billion market by 2020.

vr predicts

As the technology line-up is growing continuously to offer ever-better resources and facilities and is being adopted by businesses with great involvement, it shows all the potential to make it big in 2018.If you think your business can utilize such technologies to impact growth, you should take it up before your competitors snatch your share.

3. Expect more of IoT and Wearables to hit the market

Internet of Things is already very much there and is being used extensively in different forms and segments. It has penetrated exceedingly in the home automation segment in recent times. You can take the idea of it with the fact that over 60,000 users search for the term “Smart Home” every month on search engines.As a result of which, automation systems like Amazon Echo and Google Home are gaining huge popularity these days. And startups like Nest and AlertMe in the Smart Home domain are raising an average funding of $2.5 Billion.

If you talk about Wearables, there are a plenty of examples that evidently show how fast they are growing. And that’s not just in a particular realm or segment, they are virtually everywhere – in the form of smartwatches, fitness bands, smart glasses, and Bluetooth earbuds. Also, innovators and makers are picking up wearables as their mark of exploration because they’re looking at the technology as the next big, profitable thing after smartphones. That necessarily is the reason we have over 25,000 apps under the wellness and fitness category of app store and this number is going to incessantly grow in 2018. Which brings in a great opportunity of technological growth for forward-looking businesses.

Fitbit, Runtastic, Jawbone, Mio, Google Glass, Apple Watch, connected cars, and smart energy meters are some of the leading offerings that have interrupted the technology arena with innovative IoT and wearable offerings.

4. Artificial Intelligence in mobile apps

Artificial Intelligence is comparatively a new thing in the technology circuit but it is growing and being adopted at a blazing rate. And as we look around into the recent trends we find it to be reaching higher with each new spell of integrations and adaptations in the AI space. We are seeing driverless cars that themselves drive you places, there are personal assistants like Siri ordering food for you and then there are voice bots that intelligently reply to your customers for different queries.

So, what’s next? As anticipated, by the end of 2018, AI would be reaching new heights of auto-adaptations where the gadgets will themselves be absorbing and deep learning (with artificial neural networks) from environment and feeds. And they will be programmed to serve certain tasks through perceptions, reasoning and experiences. In 2018, you can expect a consumer digital assistant to recognize face and voice and responding depending on specific needs of users uniquely interacting with them on individual basis.

Taking up anything relevant to your format of trade and service offerings, can make a big difference to your business value proposition.

The AI technologies that are touted to rule in 2018 include Speech recognition, Decision Management, Deep Learning Platforms, Natural Language Generation and Processing, Robotic Process Automation, and Biometrics.

5. App security on focus

In a 2016 study by Hewlett Packard on Enterprise Mobile Application Security, 36000 apps were examined, of which 96.52% of those couldn’t pass all the privacy tests.

app security

These alarming numbers have put security of apps on question and businesses and technologists have been increasingly looking forward to work on high security options to protect apps from online risks and threats.

Due to the ever-volatile nature of the online databases and vulnerable integrated environments in which apps operate and serve, we have already reached a time when radical measures should be taken to protect user interest.

Hence, in 2018 we can see some highly sensitive and authentic measures coming in to serve the ever-growing needs for app security.

In 2018, we can see stronger password locks, encrypted storages, multi-layered validation access, remote wipe-setup and higher level of monitoring and authorization practices coming in.

6. Virtual Money and Digital Wallets to catch pace

Digital payment services are growing continuously with high-end technology resources interrupting the virtual money space with ever-compelling possibilities and inventive offerings.

Today, if we see at the market scenario, urban population has far evolved to purchase stuff online, pay through the digital mode for random daily purchases and pay the bills online. They are increasingly showing favorable tendencies towards making digital wallets and virtual payments a way of life and that clearly reflects in the way businesses are being committed these days.

According to CNBC, crypto currencies will account for over 10% of the average daily volumes of fiat currency trade by 2027.

As the online payment facility and allied resources grow consistently and with users showing high tendencies towards adopting online practices for payment, we can see more of this technology growing in 2018. And, you should not miss to integrate it with your business to go with the trend.

7. Hybrid apps over Native apps

App technology is expanding in proving more resourceful and compliant to evolved business needs and commitments. It is taking a flexible route to prove more valid and coherent in its offerings with cost-effective integrations and flexible compliances.

Businesses are going for comprehensive options and are increasingly showing interest towards hybrid mobile apps. No matter which domain, type or size of business it is, today you will see most of them present across all the platforms and that’s because most of them are going for hybrid app development which they can have easy and affordable access to. And the best part is if you are acquainted with skills required for web app development, you can roll out hybrid apps quite easily.

Further, as hybrid mobile app development utilizes HTML, CSS and Javascript, it makes it easy to use and refer to the codes, as required any time in future.

Final thoughts

The growth of mobile apps in the last couple of years has been phenomenal. Primarily because of the shift in needs of users from traditional approaches towards digital services, combined by the easy accessibility to latest mobile technology. And these phenomena have been supported and responded equally well by the businesses and service providers. In the present times things are moving on to favor the idea of mobility and serve users with ever-effective and user-driven digital supplies through mobile apps. Which is why the existing practices and ideas are looking to get more sophisticated and benefiting in their orientation and value. So, if we look into the possible mobile app trends coming up in 2018, they all look to enter the public zone where most of the daily communication and customer interaction needs are being served. While there is a considerable attention paid to advanced digital experience, with technologies like VR/AR, AI, IoT and Wearables being aimed to be explored further.

To have more idea on this topic you can contact us at [email protected].

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About Author
Tushar Vijay

Tushar Vijay

A marketing graduate, a deemed strategist, a sure geek - Tushar is a fine blender of the art and science of writing. When it comes to tune up content with commerce, he knows the trick. For him, if words don’t make you think and beat, they are not worth your time. A crazy foodie, an unfailing jogger – that’s him off the desk!

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