Trends in Mobile App Development to Watch Out For in 2016

Not so long ago, mobile application development was not considered a fruitful career choice. But ever since Smartphones became commonplace, the demand for mobile app developers has skyrocketed, and mobile apps development has become big business.

Each year signals both an end and a beginning of trends in the mobile apps development field. 2016 promises to be an exciting year for developers, and here are the trends to watch out for this year!

Emphasis on User Experience

Both Android and Apple Smartphones have introduced models with a ton of variations in terms of screen sizes, and this makes the job of mobile app developers all the more difficult to please each and every Smartphone user with their apps. With the introduction of smart watches and a whole host of wearable devices as well, expect user experience to be the focal point of mobile apps development this year.

Handling Security Breaches

2015 witnessed numerous security breaches and hacking attempts that affected private firms along with government organizations. According to several studies, the vast majority of mobile applications nowadays are nowhere near the expected safety standards and hence, one can expect a lot of work from developers to enhance applications’ security features.

The key point of concern regarding the attacks and security breaches is the fact that many applications store users’ personal data, and a lot of data may be quite sensitive. Attacks on applications compromise privacy, and this is something that is being looked at with a lot of attention. Apple and Google are striving to alleviate these security concerns as much as possible.

Focus on Cloud-Driven Applications

Mobile apps development professionals have been somewhat limited by size restrictions over the years. Due to limited storage space on mobile devices, users are reluctant to invest in something that would take too much space. While cloud-driven applications have been in existence over the last one or two years, they are expected to take center stage in 2016.

There are multiple benefits that are offered by cloud-driven applications. Developers can retain small application sizes, bandwidth and memory concerns are much less than in conventional applications, and applications can be synced across multiple devices too. With wearable gadgets expected to become a norm in the coming years, expect 2016 to be the beginning of the mainstream acceptance of cloud-driven applications.

Increased Development of Enterprise Apps

Surveys conducted globally in the recent past indicate that enterprise apps are far more profitable for mobile apps development professionals. According to a Vision Mobile survey from early 2015, around 43% of developers who were in-charge of developing enterprise level applications were earning over $10,000 per month¹. But a much lower percentage of app developers in the field of consumer apps were earning similar amounts. Such studies and surveys reveal that the increased profitability of enterprise apps would witness more developers in that field in 2016. Consumer apps would still be very popular, but for developers expecting better salaries, enterprise apps is the way to go.

Internet of Things

Wearable gadgets are still in their nascent stages, but 2016 is going to witness the first major steps to be taken in app development for gadgets such as Apple’s iWatch and Google Glass. Currently in development for consumers, in the near future IoT and wearable gadgets are expected to make their entries into both commercial and industrial sectors.

Development for Apple products with Swift

Most of Apple’s products thus far featured applications created using the programming language Objective-C. However, Apple’s recent introduction of Swift, a brand new programming language, indicates that application development for Apple products would be witnessing a huge change in 2016. More and more developers are getting to grips with Swift for developing applications for various Apple platforms such as iOS, tvOS, and OS X.

Mobile apps development training is more in demand than ever before. Application development for mobiles has drawn plenty of attention in recent years for bringing great career growth and salaries for developers. With an increasing acceptance of mobile devices and platforms around the world, mobile applications are bound to thrive even more in the coming years.

Sources:

1. http://tweakyourbiz.com/technology/2016/02/05/5-mobile-app-development-trends-will-dominate-2016/