What Is Fresh For Mobile App Development In This Year?

Since last year we observed a massive growth in apps’ development because most of the companies moved their center of interest on mobile devices due to their clients’ requirements. It is time to check the evolution of this domain for the next few months. You will see why in this fast moving ecosystem developers must keep their hands on keyboard for coding and their eyes on the new trends which rise like flowers in spring – time after being seeded the year before.

Android Instant Apps

Speaking of last year events, during I/O 2016 experts from Google announced one of their newest projects, called Android Instant Apps. Splitting your work in smaller modules will help users to run a minimal version of your app without installing it on their devices. Buzzfeed, Viki, Wish and Periscope are the ones chosen for early testing.

This product is aimed to facilitate the use of different sections of an app which by nature aren’t used so frequently, mainly those created for special occasions. After all, Black Friday is just once a year. For more details on the benefits of this feature and what you need to do to be prepared for the general use, you can check the official page of Android Instant Apps.

Location – Based Tech For Mobile Apps

We already covered the insights of Location – Based Technology For Mobile Marketing, but what exactly means this service for mobile development? For a better understanding of this new trend let’s see the three solutions for this type of apps.

Image Source: https://clearbridgemobile.com/location-based-technology-for-mobile-apps-beacons-vs-gps-vs-wifi/

Beacons And Bluetooth
Beacons are small devices which can be used together with Bluetooth Low Energy in order to send messages for some mobile apps. This method allows developers to perform specific actions within their apps after detecting users’ position related to beacons. It can be used only with customer’s approval and only indoors. For more information on how to create apps using beacons you can study Google Beacons or Apple iBeacons.
WiFi
WiFi is a widely used technology for detecting users’ devices. The only condition for interacting with users through this service is to convince them to have the WiFi option turned on. For Android developers interested in connectivity there is a detailed documentation provided by Google. Apple also talks about networking in one of its guides for the ones that code for iOS devices.
GPS
Developers which use GPS can determinate users’ location according to the coordinates sent by their devices, but only if they allow this option. The best results are displayed for outdoor activities and it can be used for larger areas without using other devices like beacons. It isn’t too easy to implement this feature inside your app, but there are useful tutorials offered by Google and Apple.

Contextual Apps Become More Popular

We strongly believe that apps are created for making users’ life easier in all possible ways. And there is a name for the ones which express this concept at a higher level: contextual apps. Whether they help people to lose weight and to learn a new language or even they entertain users during their commute to work, apps are becoming worthy companions in every moment of their lives. But this can’t be possible without intelligent apps that personalize the content provided according to customers’ preferences. Take a look at fitbit to see our point.

Strong App Security Must Have

As the mobile economy continues to advance, so are hackers’ techniques to break into the system. With the amount of information gathered inside the apps they will always find new gates to still from users. This is why every developer needs to be alert and to make sure that he removes all the flaws from his app. We all need to be prepared against malicious behavior. Apple and Google help developers to fight this phenomenon. Both platforms started purge programs for removing from the market apps that don’t take seriously users’ interests. In fact, Google just announced that Chamois, a fraud botnet on Android was detected and eliminated. It is recommended to read more about Potentially Harmful Applications (PHAs).

Memory Saving Features On Demand

Memory saving is a permanent issue for mobile world. Every developer must consider this problem whenever he builds an application no matter what kind of app he creates. Luckily, Apple helps its programmers with valuable Performance Tips and Google show how to Manage Your App’s Memory. Learn them by heart and share them with your fellow developers!

Wearable Technology Has Come A Long Way

With the new releases of wearable devices we notice that mobile app development doesn’t focus only on smartphones. From smart watches like Apple Watch Series 1 to VR headsets such as Google Daydream View technology amaze us day by day. As IDC predicts wearable shipments will reach 213.6 million units in 2020 all over the world. As for developers, they have to be prepared for this great evolution.

Image Source: http://www.idc.com/getdoc.jsp?containerId=prUS41530816

Chatbots Are Live Now!

One of the 4 Chatbot Predictions for 2017 published by VentureBeat is that chatbots will find their role at the office. And that makes sense since all big players in the industry, like Slack, Facebook, Skype or Microsoft developed virtual helpers for the ones that spend most of their day in their workplace. These assistants just need a little time to expand their support. But there are 9 more months for them to show their effects for 2017.

Image Source: https://api.slack.com/bot-users

Cloud Driven Mobile Apps Are Rising

Looking at the chart below published by Cisco, we realize that cloud computing is becoming mandatory for mobile development. And there is no wonder if we think about the benefits provided by the fact that most of the data is there in the cloud not on our smartphones. Customers can use that free space to try other and other apps.

FINAL THOUGHTS

Just like mobile marketers, mobile developers must listen to their users. It won’t be any surprise this year if building apps will reach some heights never seen before. It is mandatory for every developer to improve his skills and to create his apps using the latest tools available in this vast and dynamic domain.