Trends that will change the mobile app industry in 2018

After a successful year with global revenue figures falling around the $100 billion mark, the mobile app industry is set to boom over the coming years. In fact, revenue figures are expected to hit $189 billion by 2020. The rapid market growth can be attributed largely to recent technological innovations and consumer-driven trends. Here we take a look at some of the trends that, if you’re an app developer, you will want to keep an eye on.

AR and VR

The rise of virtual reality and augmented reality technology has been a bumpy road but it seems that in 2017 the market finally found its feet. We’re expecting even bigger and better things this year. Huge global brands like Google, Snapchat and Apple have already invested staggering amounts into the development of these technologies and 2018 will see the rest of the industry follow suit by finding new ways to integrate them into their services. The fact that Pokémon Go was the highest grossing iOS app of 2017 with over $2 billion in revenue shows just how much interest there is for AR and VR technology.

Progressive web apps

The native app is far from dead but over the last three years, more developers and online companies have been moving towards PWA. These browser-based hybrid apps combine the best aspects of native mobile apps and web browsing, allowing users to access content much quicker without losing the seamless usability that apps are known for. A number of companies such as Alibaba and Lancôme have already managed to increase conversion rates, which is promising news for developers in 2018.

AI and voice search

Thanks to the huge investments from global companies like Google and Amazon into the development of virtual assistant technology, voice queries have sky-rocketed. 40% of adults around the world now perform at least one voice search every day and nearly half of those only began doing so in the last 6 months. This shows that while the voice search market is growing quickly, there’s still plenty of opportunities for developers to capitalise on the growing trend in 2018.

Privacy and data security

In the wake of numerous high-profile cases in which user data was leaked or exposed, more effort has been put into the security of mobile apps. As of May, the General Data Protection Regulation will come into effect. This will put more pressure on app developers and tech companies to create more digital barriers and provide tighter security measures within their apps. Google and Apple have already begun to make amendments to their developer policies which means we will see developers focus more on data security technology in 2018.