The modern pace of progress provides developers with a variety of technologies. To make an app that stands out, they have to be creative and deliver new features. So, this article will help iOS app developers to stay on top of development trends in 2020.
Here are the top 8 iOS app development trends to follow in 2020:
- Machine learning and artificial intelligence
- Internet of Things
- Augmented reality
- Cloud integration
- Wearables
- Chatbots
- iBeacon
- Security
Machine Learning and Artificial intelligence
Artificial intelligence is slowly, but confidently makes its way to the lives of people. Machine learning algorithms brought a lot of changes to how users consume content. Companies like Facebook and Netflix analyze user behavior and suggest content based on their interactions.
Let’s go through use cases of Artificial Intelligence
Suggestion system
Most of the applications tend to develop suggestion systems based on machine learning. Popular music streaming services propose AI-generated playlists to their users. Now, users spend less time searching for new songs and enjoy the content provided by the app.
Voice assistants
AI algorithms are used to improve voice assistants’ answers quality. Siri, for example, will analyze what’s happening with a user (e.g. location) and make suggestions relying on the gathered data.
Deep Learning
This type of AI can analyze big amounts of data and make predictions based on the collected information. This feature can help businesses to be one step ahead of customers’ needs. Netflix uses AI to provide recommendations to its subscribers. That’s a great example of keeping the clients engaged in your product.
Speech recognition
Voice assistants mentioned above would not exist without this feature. Actually, speech recognition can be applied to a lot of fields. One of them is education. A well-known ELSA Speak helps people to develop correct pronunciation. This app uses speech recognition to create short dialogues with users.
Augmented Reality (AR)
The next iOS trend to follow is Augmented Reality. Since Pokemon GO, we’ve seen a lot of AR games like Ingress, Minecraft Earth, and so on.
But AR can find use not only in the game development. SketchAR, for example, can help you draw a picture by projecting it on a blank sheet of paper. Civilizations AR app gives you an opportunity to place, rotate, and observe various artifacts of ancient times. In the nearest future, AR can become mainstream due to the upgrade that it brings to user experience.
Apple developed a cool Animoji feature that puts the animated mask on the user’s face and follows his facial expressions. The same feature is available on Instagram and Snapchat.
There are several tools for creating Augmented Reality applications:
- ARKit 3. With this technology, applications can show content in front or behind people, and it can track up to three faces simultaneously.
- Reality Composer. This one provides iOS applications with additional animations and interactions.
- RealityKit framework. With the help of this library, developers can transfer virtual items into the real world.
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Internet of Things
The Internet of Things has a great influence on everyday life. There’s already an enormous amount of IoT devices on the market, and each of them solves individual tasks.
The point of IoT is to transfer the data between different devices, thus creating an ecosystem. Due to a great number of smart devices, soon IoT will become a new standard among development directions.
For example, IoT technologies can be used in healthcare for tracking patients’ conditions remotely. Another example is agriculture, where remote devices can gather information about the soil condition. Then they transfer this info to the hydration system and depending on results it decides whether to fertilize the soil or not.
On top of that, IoT boosted the iOS app development of wearable devices. Fitness trackers and smartwatches can already track the health condition of their owners.
Wearables
Today there are a lot of devices like smartwatches, fitness trackers, AR glasses, and more. Usually, they have similar features, but the design may vary.
Let’s take a look at basic features for wearables:
- Health monitoring. These devices are always at hand, so they can permanently observe heart rate, burned calories, blood pressure, and so on. Wearable devices are a great example of IoT in healthcare.
- Notifications. Push notifications through wearables provide increased conversion because they are always within sight. That’s why, when users come across the store that uses iBeacon technology to send notifications, they’re more likely to come inside.
- Near field communication. Wearables that are equipped with an NFC module can transmit data to similar devices. The most common example is the NFC payment system, like Apple Pay. Besides payments, users can also open the NFC locks, get the information via NFC tags, and more.
It makes sense to develop applications for wearable devices due to their convenience. Some applications, like Telegram and Slack, already developed versions for Apple Watch.
Cloud integration
Cloud computing is one more trend to follow in 2020. Revenue of cloud-based technologies in the third quarter of 2019 was $27,5 billion. To see the difference, in the third quarter of 2018 the revenue was $20,1 billion. That’s a substantial difference for investors in this field.
The idea of cloud-based technologies is to improve the performance of applications. This can be useful both for developers and users. Users can store a large amount of data, and developers can take advantage of cloud development.
iBeacon
This is a new location-based technology that can be applied in various spheres, especially marketing.
What exactly is iBeacon?
The beacon sends signals through Bluetooth technology. When the iPhone receives the signal, it gets push notification with a preset message.
As an example, we can take a museum use case. When visitors approach the sight equipped with iBeacon, they get a push notification that explains the meaning of this sight.
Chatbots
Chatbots are definitely one of the iOS app Development trends to follow.
Self-service became one of the most useful tendencies in the retail and sales industry. Chatbots can be a great addition to this feature.
For example, Lidl has a chatbot named Winebot Margot, that can recommend wine by matching the type of food you send to it. It has over 640 grapes species and can make wine suggestions according to the price you wish to pay.
Besides, chatbots can be used by coffee shops and restaurants. Users order something beforehand by using a chatbot. After that, customers just have to visit the place and pick their coffee or enjoy the meal without waiting.
On top of that, citizens can order some government-provided services without their actual presence and standing in lines. Chatbots work 24/7 and provide answers instantly. That’s why clients don’t have to wait, and companies benefit from improving customer service.
Security improvement
In the last decade, cybersecurity became a top priority concern for a lot of companies. Due to the high rate of personal data leaks, security needs a vital improvement. According to Cyber Security Ventures, spendings on cybersecurity will reach $1 trillion in 2021.
Today, customers pay via applications and NFC modules and trust their data to cloud storage. These fields are the most vulnerable, so companies have to develop new protection methods. That’s why cybersecurity investments can not only bring profits to businesses but also serve for good to humanity.
Why you should follow iOS App development trends
Digitalization awaits for every company, so there are no chances to avoid mobile development if you want to succeed. So, how can these trends help you and your business?
- User experience. All of the applications mentioned above are meant to improve the user experience. Chatbots can instantly respond to users’ requests, suggestion systems improve the quality of users’ content, IoT devices simplify routine actions, and so on. So, your customers receive quality service, and you receive user loyalty.
- Involvement rate. If your application’s features match customers’ needs, they will tend to spend more time on your app. That leads to higher profits or conversion rates.
- Data security. While using desktop applications, users set login and password. Experience has shown that this security matter is not enough to prevent account hijack. On the other side, mobile apps provide TouchID, FaceID, and two-step verification to restrict access of unverified identities to the account.
Wrapping up
Finalizing, I’d like to say that following these trends can have a significant positive impact on your application. Customer care and user involvement never hurt anyone, right? The last thing to remember is hiring a reliable and dedicated team of developers.
Author’s bio:
Vitaly Kuprenko is a technical writer at Cleveroad. It's a web and mobile app development company in Ukraine. He enjoys telling about tech innovations and digital ways to boost businesses.
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Alicia leads content strategy for LearnWorthy managing a team of content producers, strategists, and copywriters. She creatively oversees content programs, awareness campaigns, research reports, and other integrated marketing projects.
