COVID-19 Forced social alienation and policies of lockdown are driving the steady growth of mobile usage. According to a recent report, 33 billion new apps were downloaded worldwide in the third quarter of 2020 alone. Global mobile users spent 180 billion collective hours per month in the third quarter, spending a whopping $28 billion on technology apps. Undoubtedly, this pandemic will have a lasting impact on mobile app development trends and technologies, just as it has changed mobile consumer behavior.
A good, eye-catching business app will indeed strengthen branding and retain customers. Any specific business that would want to sell its products, offer services, help, or share information will undoubtedly strive to make its mobile app user-friendly and accessible to its customers. In addition to determining how your mobile app will work or what resources you will need, it is crucial to figure out what mobile development platform or technology in your phone will work better for your needs.
Whether you are developing Android mobile apps, iOS, hybrid apps, or cross-platform, you need to be familiar with popular mobile development app technologies.
The five main programming languages used primarily for mobile application development include.
- Swift
Swift is the language to look for if you're building something specific to the Apple operating system (Apple-specific). Swift is a popular iOS app development language that provides advanced functionality with minimal coding and is easy to maintain. Swift is an intuitive programming language loved by Apple developers who use it for macOS, tvOS, iOS watchOS, and more.
- C++
C++ is the simplistic foundation of most programming languages, with the ability to create dynamic technical applications. Today, C++ is highly sought after for developing multi-platform applications. You can write code in C++, develop applications once and use them on different platforms (Android, iOS, and Windows) without affecting the performance or security of the application. The simple compiler-based approach also makes it a pretty versatile tool that can be used on multiple platforms. Before introducing Swift in 2014, its sister language, Objective-C, was used for application development on Apple systems.
- Java
This object-oriented programming language has been a popular and official language for Android mobile application development since its introduction in 2008. Java is a general purpose language that helps keep your application modular, flexible, and scalable. Java is easy to handle. There're already a plethora of open source libraries available for users to choose from.
- HTML5
If your organization wants to develop web front-end applications for mobile devices, there is no better technology to use than HTML5. Organizations that find developing cross-platform mobile applications a daunting task often turn to HTML5 because it helps you deliver the correct functionality and a superior user experience. The "write once, run anywhere" benefits offered by HTML5 speed up your time to market, increase your application's visibility, make development costs lower, and support offline browsing.
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- PHP
PHP is counted among easy programming languages; it is object-oriented and uses a three-tier model to help create dynamic mobile applications and web applications. It is very suitable for applications that require database integration. In addition, some popular PHP frameworks such as Laravel, Lumen, CodeIgniter, and Symfony are widely used to build mobile applications that require complex backend and exhaustive data migration. Large-scale application projects like this open-source language because it simplifies caching, authentication, and even routing.
For those looking to create their mobile applications using these programming languages, many advanced technology tools are available. These developer tools are pretty perfect for creating feature packed mobile apps from scratch and even offer multi-platform capabilities to reach a wider audience.
Trends that's going to dominate the mobile app development landscape in the year 2021.
- Chatbots & voice assistants will automate frequent human interactions. AI integration will also increase user engagement and save businesses significant amounts of money. According to the report, by 2025, 95 percent of customer interactions are expected to occur through channels that support artificial intelligence (AI).
- Statista also reported that global shipments of AR headsets will top 30 million units by 2022, 12 times the number recorded in 2020. As augmented reality technology becomes highly pervasive today, key industry sectors such as training, security, education, industrial maintenance, and healthcare will also have to adopt AR-powered mobile or tablet applications.
- The growth of mobile wallets or digital wallets has been spurred by the increasing number of initiatives taken by e-commerce companies in recent years, such as PayPal, Apple Pay, and Amazon Pay.
- In the U.S. alone, the market size of mobile wallets will register a 15% CAGR during 2020-2026. Convenience, ease of use, availability of inexpensive smartphones, and widespread publicity from banking service providers are some of the reasons encouraging shoppers and consumers to adopt mobile wallets.
- Increasing consumer demand for faster data speeds, low latency, enhanced user experiences driven by augmented reality (AR) and virtual reality (VR), ultra-high-definition video, seamless video calls, and gaming experiences will force the adoption of 5G in 2021. The study discloses that the 5G services market is expected to grow at a CAGR of 43.9% during 2021-2027, with revenues forecast at $414.5 billion by 2027.
- Load times have a giant impact on your bottom line. An e-commerce site that earns $100,000 per day can lose $2.5 million in sales per year, even if its load time has a 1-second delay. The Accelerated Mobile Pages (AMP) plugin introduced by Google is becoming a mandatory factor in determining your mobile site's ranking. AMP-optimized web/mobile pages will rank faster and better and have a double chance of converting visitors into customers.
Let's sum it up
Thus, we conclude that mobile apps have become the most convenient source of connection between businesses and their customers. However, when choosing the best technology for native mobile app development, there are numerous options. The best way is to have a base plan and seek the help of a custom mobile app development company like ours to provide full-cycle app development according to your requirements.
