7 App trends to follow in 2017

What are the most important app trends to follow in 2017? Read our vision on the most important developments in app development.

The number of downloaded free apps will rise to 253 billion this year, compared to 2012 billion in 57. This equates to an average of thirty-seven apps per person on Earth.

But the number of downloaded paid apps per year is also still growing. This amount has grown from 3 billion in 2011 to 15 billion in 2017 (so the market has grown five times as large).

Because the amount of downloaded apps has increased so much, the profit has also increased considerably. It is expected that the profit of 88 billion last year will rise to 189 billion in 2020. Apps are therefore a good market to invest in and it is important to keep an eye on app trends.

The mobile market universe is maturing and expanding at the same time. For example, the smartphone has already taken over most of the basic functionalities such as flashlight, watch, communication and entertainment. New markets are also being created as apps and smartphones become faster, smarter and more advanced.

This article takes a look at the trends we think are important to follow in 2017.

According to the International Data Corporation, the number of wearable devices will increase by twenty percent in the coming years. With an expectation of 213 million wearables sold in 2020. Because this sales is growing so fast, we believe wearables are one of the important app trends to follow.

Internet of Things (IoT) applications will continue to rise sharply in the coming years. Every home and office is getting more and more advanced devices, which makes integrating these apps more accessible. We also notice the increasing interest in the types of assignment requests. Forbes expects this market to grow to 250 billion euros in 2020.

Although downloading and installing apps on mobile phones seems much simpler, it is in fact exactly the same process as on the computer. Yes, the App Store and Google Store were a lot easier to use, but the same thing still happens underwater. Namely, you install an app on your mobile, after which it is locally available.

This is an important process because, according to a study by Google, lack of space is the second biggest reason an app is removed.

App streaming technology is built for this scenario. Just like streaming videos, app streaming allows you to use certain functionalities before installing the app. See our article about Android Instant apps .

It is expected that 100.000 apps will use App Stream functionalities in 2020. That is why we have included app streaming in our app trends.

Many mobile apps focus primarily on design and experience (UI and UX), but are not concerned with security at all.

Many small apps ask for all kinds of permissions that they don't even need, making it easier for hackers to steal private data.

According to HP, 96÷ of all apps fail one or more privacy tests.

App developers would do well to take into account at least the following guidelines:

• Avoid storing unencrypted data in external storage.
• Analyze apps before and after use to identify unnecessary data usage.
• Test whether all network connections are over HTTPS.
• Verify that all passwords or encryption keys are stored as text.

It is expected that the majority of interactions will become mobile (no less than 70% according to Gartner). This means that companies will move from mobile first to mobile only. This will be done in the same way as desktop applications have been moved to the cloud.

Many companies currently feel that mobile apps are a nice to have, but in some industries it can be a matter of survival. According to Adobe, if you don't have an app right now, you're missing out on about 47% of your potential new customers. Almost all medium-sized companies (90% according to ARC) will invest more in mobile apps in the coming year.

Performance has of course been in the spotlight for years. But in the past we mainly focused on performance in websites. Performance in apps is also completely hot and happening this year. With the arrival of Android O, Android will also consume a lot less energy. Apple has of course already taken a lot of steps in this, but there is always room for improvement here too. To serve mobile devices faster, Accelarated Mobile Pages (AMP) pages have been brought to life. These pages are optimally readable for the user and because of that display they also have a greater chance of conversion.

Pokemon Go has been heralding the new era of Augmented Reality (AR). The arrival of the CardBoard and the Google Daydream are the start of the new era of VR. Every company naturally wants to respond to this with an AR or VR application. Both Apple and Google are working hard to better support AR and VR in their platform.

The Google Glass was not a success, but the Hololens is already a lot better. With the Hololens it is possible to project virtual projects in 3D on the real world. This technology is promising, but because of the price, the Hololens is not yet suitable for the consumer at the moment.

[embedyt] https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qPEVtqtKw0A[/embedyt]

Artificial intelligence is one of the app trends that has been going on for some time. Webshops such as bol.com and Amazon, for example, use this to give you recommendations on what you could buy with a certain product. Homes are also getting smarter with Smart Home systems such as the Amazon Echo or the Google Home. These are systems that you can connect to everything and ask everything, such as: Turn off the lamp or show my ski holiday photos on TV. Of course, these smart assistants are already intertwined in our Smart Phones by means of Google Assistant and Apple Siri. However, the stakes are much higher, these smart networks could also capture your emotions and improve your health. According to the Verge, 40% of all people's questions will be solved by AI by 2020. This will of course have a mega impact on the market, and mobile will provide the first platform for this.

We expect that these app trends will make the app market even more attractive. For that reason, it is even more important to have an app that stands out through a stunning design and a rock-solid realization. Are you interested in developing an app? Then take it without obligation contact up, we are happy to talk to you.