Top 11 Mobile App Trends To Watch Out Before Developing A Mobile App

Mobile App Trends: Introduction

Mobile apps are a large as well as a growing industry, with Statista projecting an almost 935.2 billion U.S. dollar revenue by 2023. 

Today, consumers search from their mobile devices more than their desktops when buying products online, making a case for developing a mobile app for your business. The 5G network is coming soon with better speed than the 4G network, creating more possibilities for app developers than ever before. 

With all of these new developments, it can be hard to stand out from the many apps that are sure to enter the market. But knowing what consumers want in a mobile app should help you position your business in the best spot. If you are a small business owner looking to develop your first app or improve your existing one, here are the mobile app trends consumers, as well as developers alike, will be looking for in 2023. 

Top 11 Mobile App Trends To Watch Out

11. Mobile App Trends: Managed Marketplaces

What is it?

A managed marketplace is a platform connecting customers as well as service providers. It is made famous by apps such as Uber and Airbnb while providing added value to the customer experience. This added value could be better pricing, convenience, or security surrounding the transaction. Managed marketplace apps offer users a better experience than what was previously available in the market.

What’s coming in 2023?

From food to finding personal trainers, on-demand services are becoming the norm for many consumers and will continue to evolve to fit different use cases. Managed marketplace apps offer customization as well as convenience to users, and 2023 will likely see the integration of mobile payments and an emphasis on UI design. With more managed marketplaces popping up, on-demand service apps must do more than provide a space for connection and include added features maintained by the app owner. The provision of security for users is a crucial component of managed marketplaces.

10. Mobile App Trends: Beacons

What is it?

A beacon is a small object emitting low-energy Bluetooth signals, enabling a mobile app to know a user’s proximity to a business’s location. Beacon technology also allows for special events to take place on the app depending on a user’s location within the venue.

What’s coming in 2023?

Beacon technology gives businesses real-time metrics on how users interact within a space and allows particular messages to be sent straight to the user. So far, the use case for this mobile app trend has mainly been in retail, such as helping users navigate through a mall or having advertisements sent to a user’s phone as they walk into a store. We predict more developers will expand beacon technology for use in other venues and integrate more features, such as mobile payments.

9. Mobile App Trends: IoT

What is it?

IoT stands for the internet of things, a system of computers, machines, objects such as home appliances, and more with the ability to communicate without human interaction. Each thing has a unique identifier allowing the object to identify itself on the internet and send as well as receive data from other things.

What’s coming in 2023?

Smart devices connected to the IoT system will need to be controlled from one app to make the user experience more accessible. More devices are connected to the network each year, meaning that consumers will interact with this app in their daily lives. IoT will continue to grow in 2023 with new user-friendly ways to manage connected devices.

8. Mobile App Trends: Blockchain-Dependent Apps

What is it?

A blockchain is a digital ledger that publicly records all transactions on its system. This digital recording is done without a centralized system, meaning no one service provider can potentially act as a gatekeeper to information. Blockchain-dependent apps have been seen in various industries, such as retail, manufacturing, healthcare, finance, marketing, and banking.

What’s coming in 2023?

A hot-button issue in 2019 was the idea of privacy after several high-profile security breaches led to the theft of personal data. The mobile app trends in 2023 will likely include more security features so consumers can feel confident about a company’s privacy practices. An example of this trend is the potential use case of hybrid blockchain technology by governments. Hybrid blockchain technology offers the benefits of both public blockchain and private blockchain. The public blockchain can verify the information stored in the private blockchain, which is ideal for governments wanting to ensure transparency while maintaining privacy.

7. Mobile App Trends: AR & VR

What is it?

Augmented reality (AR) and virtual reality (VR) create user-generated experiences, with augmented reality taking place in the physical world and virtual reality taking place in a simulated world. Both augmented reality and virtual reality allow businesses to connect with users in a more personalized way, creating stories and experiences that showcase an industry in its best light.

What’s coming in 2023?

Augmented reality and virtual reality are here to stay in 2023. AR and VR are the vehicles developers can use to create more immersive and innovative user experiences. The use cases for these mobile app trends exist in several industries, such as gaming and even real estate, and more apps can benefit from incorporating these technologies. In 2022, shipments from the wearable market should double, reaching 222.3 million.

6. Mobile App Industry Trends: 5G Network

What is it?

5G is the next-generation technology for mobile connections. It has yet to become completely available worldwide. Still, developers anticipate it will replace 4G technology altogether, becoming the most common way consumers can access the internet using their mobile devices. There will be three types of fifth-generation technology mobile users can choose from, each running on different bands determined by the operator. Current progress promises up to 1000 times the speed of today’s existing 4G networks.

What’s coming in 2023?

The faster connection speeds offered by 5G provide enormous possibilities for the products offered on mobile devices. Technologies such as augmented reality, virtual reality, and mixed reality are data-heavy, requiring high internet speeds to work correctly, and will have the opportunity to become more widely accessible. In addition, YouTube reports 70% of all YouTube traffic comes from mobile devices. With the help of 5G networks, YouTube and other streaming platforms could increase mobile user traffic as new-generation connectivity improves loading times. Currently, almost 60% of all mobile traffic is dedicated to videos; however, people usually watch them at a lower quality of 360p or 420p. A new, faster network will make it possible for mobile users to watch videos at a much higher resolution. Higher quality means better products. 

5. Mobile App Industry Trends: Cross-Platform App Development

What is it?

Cross-platform app development is a framework with various tools, allowing developers to build native or native-like apps for platforms such as Android, iOS, Windows, and the Web with a single codebase. This design method enables developers to expand the reach of the applications they design across multiple platforms. Cross-platform app development costs approximately 40% and requires roughly 25% less support over the long run than native app development. 

What’s coming in 2023?

Cross-platform applications come with a wide range of benefits that will make development as well as distribution simpler in the future. By being available on Android and iOS, these apps have an expanded market reach providing startups with more opportunities to increase their revenue and audience base. The single codebase used in developing these applications minimizes the time needed to write code for each platform, making it easier to reduce costs. Today’s cross-platform tools offer features that enable developers to create OS-specific applications from a single platform. No more platform inconsistencies. Low-cost development process. Easy audience distribution. Higher revenues.

4. Mobile App Industry Trends: Enterprise Mobile Applications

What is it?

Enterprise mobile development is creating and deploying portable, scalable, and trusted mobile applications to help large organizations engage with customers, partners, and employees. The objective is to establish a high degree of connectivity while maintaining various businesses’ security and reliability requirements. 

What’s coming in 2023?

Enterprises seek to make mobile applications available without incurring unnecessary costs or over-extended development timelines. While many ways exist, a services-based development strategy with integrated mobile capabilities is becoming the standard method for many enterprises. Integrating mobile app development into a more extensive system designed around cloud-native microservices has several advantages, including increased productivity, lower costs, improved security, and greater visibility and control.

3. Mobile App Industry Trends: Folding Display

What is it?

Yes, you heard that correctly. Foldable technology is making a comeback. With Samsung announcing its foldable OLED display launch, operating systems are preparing to shift towards this newly revamped technology to improve smartphone experiences. In 2018, Google officially announced foldable support on Android phones using its ‘screen continuity’ API. According to Samsung, hundreds of popular Android apps have been optimized for the Galaxy Fold, including Amazon Prime Video, Twitter, Spotify, Facebook, VSCO, as well as Microsoft Office. 

What’s coming in 2023?

Considering ‘the foldable phone was a major buzzword in 2021, developers and business owners should plan their mobile app development strategy to run seamlessly on foldable devices in the coming years. The ability to unfold the device will directly impact user experience, providing a larger screen to run applications on. Larger screens mean more space for detail and immersive experiences, while multi-windows allow users to perform multiple tasks simultaneously. Video streaming and gaming apps can also benefit from foldable devices by taking advantage of the increased screen size, which allows for more controls and information.

2. Mobile App Trends: Wearables

What is it?

Wearables are a group of mobile devices designed to be worn throughout the day, including fitness bands as well as smartwatches. While this technology has been increasingly common over the last several years, ongoing advancements in software and development are constantly striving to improve them. Currently, users can control their mobile devices, computers, smartwatches, fitness bands, heart rate trackers, blood pressure monitors, blood oxygen levels, and many other daily activities through their wearable devices. 

What’s coming in 2023?

By the end of 2021, the wearable software market value is expected to reach 929 million U.S. dollars, with revenues projected at 17,834 million U.S. dollars. Mobile app development trends point to developing these devices as a massive investment across multiple industries. It is no longer enough to plan how your website and apps will work on mobile devices or desktops. Business owners and developers need to consider how applications will work on wearable devices to ensure a seamless connection for users. The wearables segment has also begun to move beyond fitness trackers and smartwatches, offering more extensive real-world support. Wearable technology will make it easier to upgrade prosthetics, allowing amputees to have a near-normal function with their artificial attachments. GPS-enabling technology will also make tracking movement easier and provide accurate feedback for professional athletes and amateur users. According to Statista, there will be 1.1 billion connected wearables in 2023.

1. Mobile App Trends: Virtual Events Streaming

What is it?

The use of event apps is one of the most upcoming trends in the B2B sector, making the function and organization of large-scale events faster and overall easier to develop. Corporate event planners increasingly use customized event apps to boost engagement and communication. Such apps, especially those related to QR codes, not only improve the audience’s experience but also make it easier to collect data on brand activations and track the engagement level of an event. 

What’s coming in 2023?

The increasing shift towards remote working has left no industry untouched, and event management is no exception. With this change came a new framework for the live event sphere, including implementing technology as part of a hybrid event experience. It is expected that incorporating technology will make these events more innovative as well as interactive and provide an expanded audience reach as corporations continue to integrate virtual streaming into their plans. Live streaming events allow a more prominent audience member to access the content resources, helping them align with the context better. The real-time experience improves connectivity with event attendees and creates an authentic virtual environment. Companies have also begun experimenting with ways to incorporate facial recognition, projection mapping, and augmented and virtual reality activations into their digital events to elevate the audience experience further.

To Sum Up, Mobile App Trends

The common theme with the above app developments is personalization for the customer journey. More work is being done to provide easier access to services, products, as well as businesses. Mobile app developers are working toward delivering the ultimate user experience and integrating tech into users’ daily lives. Privacy and security are significant concerns following 2019’s data breaches, and users are now more aware and protective of their data.

Keeping these mobile app trends in mind as well as integrating them into your app, will benefit your business. If you’re ready for 2023 to be the year your app receives the recognition and downloads it deserves, contact us for mobile app development or marketing quote.