The Top 11 Mobile App Development Trends You Must Know for 2021

We all have so many expectations from 2021, don’t we! 

Honestly, everybody wanted 2020 to just end and couldn’t wait for 2021 to start. 

So, 2021, it’s a new decade brimming with newfound hope for IT businesses. Thanks to modern technologies, software solutions, and mobile apps, the last year wasn’t horrible for hybrid mobile app development companies. Instead, it was one of the most profitable ones they’ve had so far. 

So, why do you think that happened?

Because the industrial market finally understood the glaring importance of digital evolution, especially mobile apps. 

Straightforwardly, mobile apps were already a big thing since smartphones came into being. With average human spending more than 3 hours 50 minutes on their mobile devices, it is no wonder that mobile app development services wish to cash on this lucrative opportunity. But then, they became even more critical when they served as a bridge between humans and their daily needs during the pandemic. This list included groceries, entertainment, deliveries, news, and everything else. Thanks to web apps, people could work from home, managing the entire industrial infrastructure from a comfortable and homely location. 

Many businesses now face a significant obstacle in front of them: adapting to the new consumer behaviours and shopping patterns. To stay competitive, industries need to move fast, explore opportunities, leverage the latest technology trends, and incorporate them to their operations. 

And this brings us to yet another article about how mobile app development would play an instrumental role in the industrial landscape and the top trends acting as its driving forces.

So, let’s look at what 2021 looks like for the cross-platform mobile app development market. 

Mobile App Development Trends For 2021

Undoubtedly, mobile apps have truly transformed our lives. 

You can conform to this feeling with the knowledge that the mobile application development industry is worth more than $189 Billion, as per Statista. 

With technology advancements pacing rapidly forward, it is no wonder that hybrid mobile app development companies and app entrepreneurs will witness several opportunities in the coming years. 

However, as for 2021, the following are some top iOS app development trends you must know!

So, let’s go! 

Trend 1- Subscription-based services:

We all love Netflix, Spotify, Prime, etc. Well, all of them work on a single business model: subscription-based. Since customers already are a fan of the model, companies aren’t shying away from adopting it. More mobile application development companies are jumping on this bandwagon, potentially in the sectors, you don’t expect. 

For instance, the gaming industry is trying to make it on the cloud, removing the need to update your PC hardware or buy new consoles for a better play experience. Google’s making advances with its Stadia, NVIDIA with its GeForce Now, and Microsoft with its XBOX cloud streaming services. 

And it’s not only with the gaming and console industry, but giants like Apple, Google, and Tencent fan the fierce fumes of the subscription-based model. 

At some time, all industrial genres would catch up to it. 

Trend 2- 5G Technology:

We’ve been talking about how 5G would revolutionize the internet-led services, but 2021 is the year it’ll be just around the corner. Apple is one company that doesn’t try on technology until they’re sure it will make a remarkable impact in the consumer market. Still, their adoption of the 5G technology in the newest iPhones line signifies that things are looking up for a 5G era. 

Some industrialists might even argue that 5G is the Fourth Industrial Revolution wave, and it will change the hybrid mobile app development arenas. 

That said, 5G speed is superfast. If 4G gives you a 100Mbps speed, 5G boosts it tenfold. So, that means, with 5G, you enjoy an average 1Gbps data transfer with a 1 millisecond or less latency. This combination of high speed and low latency will reboot the internet-streaming industry. 

More so, 5G will boost the adoption of other technologies like IoT, content consumption, wireless technologies, connected devices, AI, and Machine Learning. It is why 5G will be a significant mobile application development trend for 2021.

Trend 3- M-Commerce Apps:

It’s true that 2020 wasn’t a good year for physical retail; it was indeed a blast for the e-commerce market. The pandemic has swayed our shopping behaviours, inclining it more towards online stores. So, businesses that rely on physical selling will have to adapt to the online segment or close their operations completely. 

Circling back to m-commerce, as per Statista, it could earn over $3.5 trillion, which is only 72.9% of the global e-commerce market. Going mobile-first is an intelligent business decision, especially after witnessing 2020’s offline selling mess. Businesses shouldn’t just limit their operations to the website but expand it to the mobile models. 

While older generations might prefer shopping on websites since they are more extensive and easily navigable, millennials would love to access businesses on mobiles. Also, you can invest in progress web apps (PWA)- responsive webpage installed on your phone as an app. There are hybrid apps that’ll run on both Android and iOS platforms. 

So, all-in-all, the m-commerce industry will boom this year and further. 

Trend 4- Blockchain Technology:

Blockchain doesn’t only mean Bitcoin, but more. As people learn more about the distributed ledger technology, they try implementing into industrial verticals- from healthcare to logistics, travel, government, banking, and more. Its benefits like enhanced transparency, reduced costs, efficiency, and transactional security appear appealing to the industrial sector. 

As conglomerates like Alibaba improving its cross-border e-commerce unit with Ant Financials’ blockchain, 2021 will see a rise in blockchain-powered applications for both startupsand enterprises.

Trend 5- Wearable App Integration: 

Apple Watch might be the first wearable technology in the market, but it’s facing some tough competition now. It experienced a 10% decrease in sales since brands like Huawei, Samsung, and Garmin launched cheaper and Android-friendly versions. And then, the pandemic happened, getting people more concerned about their health than ever, increasing the sale of such smartwatches for health tracking.

With the boost in wearable technology, supported apps would grow as well. It is where android  app development companies can take advantage of the situation and grow their supported apps market.

Trend 6- Augmented Reality:

AR isn’t only limited to Snapchat filters now; it has grown into a prominent technology now. Augmented Reality is a powerful tool for marketers and to enhance customer experience. It allows you to add background images to your pictures, imagine products in a particular place, and address significant buying decisions. More so, combined with the 5G speed and cloud, it could revolutionize your business. 

Trend 7- Apps for flip phones:

We all know the super trendy Samsung fold phones. Since these phones come with additional space, UX designers would want to extend to standard rectangular apps, adapting it for such screen sizes. So, custom mobile app development companies in this business need to code apps that adjust to the changing screen sizes without causing any noticeable issues. 

Trend 8- Edge Computing:

Those who don’t know what edge computing is-it is a distributed computing model that brings computation and data storage closer to the location, hence improving response times and saving bandwidth. It provides robust low-latency and high-volume data exchanges with minimal delay in real-time. Moreover, its primary purpose is to avoid latency issues and enhance an app’s performance. It reduces development costs, and with 5G turning powerful, you won’t have to worry about an app’s speed anymore. 

With IoT-enabled devices gaining prominence, edge computing is on the rise.

Trend 9- IoT (Internet of Things):

As per Statista, the global IoT market will reach $1.1 trillion by 2023. Since IoT consists of several verticals like wearable devices, smartphones, smart homes, smart cars, smart cities, and more, IoT has some real potential. 

So, how does it impact mobile app development?

Well, such apps will make fabulous mention in the healthcare department. With IoT-powered apps, you can connect all your medical devices, and you’ll receive the report on a cloud platform, allowing doctors to give you the precise diagnosis and prescription medicines. 

Then there is Smart Homes device, like Alexa, Google Assistant, and Siri. People are investing more and more into intelligent applications that you can manage via apps. You can command light bulbs with it, operate other devices, get notifications delivered, and more. 

With 5G technology, IoT apps will be a lucrative opportunity for hybrid mobile app development services. 

Trend 10- Cloud-Native Apps:

We’ve been hearing about cloud-based applications for quite some time now. 

But, what does cloud-native mean?

It means coding apps with a cloud-first approach, removing the need to require a server for hosting your app. The cloud-native application service providers like AWS, Google Cloud, or Azure provide everything needed for such apps. 

There are several benefits to cloud-native app development. For example, suppose you choose Google Cloud for your mobile app development services. In that case, you don’t need to worry about purchasing a hosting server since it scales up and down depending on the incoming/outcoming traffic, cutting down the expenses monumentally. 

And then, there are several advantages for the developers as well. 

Considering the current technological state, a 5G-enabled future, IoT, and edge computing, cloud-native technology is the top mobile app development trend.

Trend 11- Instant Apps:

One of the freshest mobile application development trends, instant apps, although implementable for android app development, are a global trend. Instant apps do not require installation from the Google Play market. Moreover, these apps require no mobile resources or internal device storage as it directly runs from the internet. Since you don’t have to download such apps, users particularly love instant apps. 

That said, this android app development service sells itself to a large target audience, requires minimum resources to run, is a convenient, flexible, and user-oriented as native apps. However, you would need a stable and high-speed internet connection to run such apps. 

Conclusion

So, these are the top 11 hybrid mobile app development trends for 2021. As technologyprogresses quickly, there will be many new solutions requiring our attention throughout the year. The central idea behind any mobile application development trend is to boost user experience and break through the limitations of the pandemic. 

As for hybrid mobile app development companies, these trends will help them stay competitive and updated throughout the year.