What a remarkable way to begin the New Year! App Store experienced the busiest every day on January 1, 2017, with app purchases amounting to $240 million. And what an extraordinary year 2016 was for iOS developers, who earned $20 billion, an increase of impressive 40% from 2015. (Source: Apple Newsroom). This undoubtedly escalates the expectations from iOS development in 2017.
With many technological trends to empower mobile apps in the next few months, it would be interesting to know what Apple plans for its ever-growing base of app users. Here’s an exciting glimpse into what’s on the way.
iBeacon to Strengthen Location-based Services
iBeacon market is set to enjoy a compounded annual growth rate of 200.3% between 2014-2019. (Source: Beaconstac)
Apple has always targeted to blur the difference between online and offline and iBeacon is indeed its most impressive attempt in this direction. With iBeacon ready to break the traditional areas of use (like retail stores), iOS app developers are expected to develop apps taking the technology to restaurants, hotels, health-care and so on. Custom location-based marketing would attain a new level by the end of this year.
M-Commerce to Touch New Heights
US m-commerce sales are expected to grow to 65% in 2017, up by 7% from 2016. (Source: eMarketer)
With alternative payment methods (like mobile wallets) catching up fast and mobile app-driven shopping on the all-time high, the focus would be on developing iOS apps that cater to highly responsive shopping experiences. Soon, the smartphone owners would be able to extensively indulge in the practices like instant ordering while reading digital magazines, quick customization of products and rapid delivery orders.
IoT to Rule the Charts
By 2020, there would be more than 50 billion Internet-connected devices worldwide. (Source: CISCO)
And who better than the iOS developers would learn to leverage the technology through apps. Their focus would be on developing value-adding apps to help consumers make the best out of their internet-connected ‘things’. No wonder if people around you would be seen controlling their speakers, sprinklers, thermostats, door locks, lightings and many other things via smartphone apps.
Swift to Gain More Power
Apple’s Swift, which is fast substituting the good old Objective-C as the programming language for all types of Apple developments, would be released in the version 3.1 in 2017 spring. With numerous advantages like easy to read, easy to maintain, fewer codes required, fast app speed, highly interactive coding and so on, Swift continues to equip the iOS developers with amazing capabilities. And this would be definitely reflected in the quality of iOS apps coming out in 2017.
Augmented Reality to Go More Real
By 2020, augmented reality (AR) is expected to generate retail revenue of $120 billion by 2020. (Source: Retail Perceptions)
Obviously, customers experiencing products using AR-based apps would be happier to pay more, and this is expected to happen on a large scale this year. Though not expectedly active on this front, Apple is believed to be working on a serious AR plan. It is indeed a green signal for iOS developers to use not just AR, but virtual reality (VR) and combine it with GPS to come up with apps that may repeat the success achieved by AR-powered Pokemon Go.
Of Course, the Rise of Wearable Devices
By 2018, the global wearable market would attain the worth of $19 billion by 2018. (Source: Statista)
With Apple Watch Series 2 to create a buzz in 2017 (along with many other smart wearable devices that would attain limelight in this year), you can expect many iOS apps as well to see the daylight. It goes without saying that consumers spending on these devices would not ignore using a variety of apps designed specifically to enhance their functionality. So, it’s just another iOS app development trend to be in the news.
Don’t you think that Apple is bound to have another busy day about a year from now?
This article is written by Noel Chauhan. He is a renowned tech blogger with a specific affinity towards mobile app development trends. With constant feedback from the top industry players like Eminent Infoweb, he keeps up the work to enlighten readers about the present and upcoming developments in the field of technology.
