People’s lives now heavily rely on mobile apps, and the demand for them won’t be diminishing anytime soon. Digital products are no longer just a pastime and are now widely used in various industries to optimize processes, improve performance, and provide value to customers. The global mobile application market is expected to reach $170.2 billion in the next decade, growing at a CAGR of 8.6% between 2023 and 2033. At the beginning of 2023, it already holds a revenue of $74.3 billion.
In an ever-changing industry, staying informed and following the latest innovations is crucial to remain competitive and efficiently responding to customers’ demands. This article examines 4 of the most important trends in mobile app development in 2023.
Low-Code and No-Code Platforms
In recent years, low-code and no-code software development platforms have emerged as viable and convenient alternatives to standard processes. These solutions can be used to develop a wide variety of digital products, as long as they don’t require complex programming or advanced customization.
Low-code development is becoming a prominent substitute for traditional software development. Professional and non-professional developers don’t have to write extensive code, which enables them to quickly and easily create apps of varying complexity. Low-code solutions have recently gained popularity because they can significantly reduce the cost and time required for software development, making them a particularly desirable option for companies looking to meet modern demands with automation and accelerate digital transformation. Gartner predicts that the global market for low-code development technologies will grow by 20% in 2023, as a result of a rising number of business technologists and an increase in enterprise-wide hyperautomation and composable business initiatives.
No-code platforms allow businesses and IT professionals to create apps using visual tools and intuitive user interfaces instead of programming languages. While low-code involves developers assisting in terms of scripting or manual coding, the no-code approach is completely independent and entirely reliant on these visual tools. No-code platforms frequently use graphical features like drag-and-drop to simplify development.
According to Jay Gyuricza, VP of Sales at Wunderman Thompson, the proliferation of low-code and no-code solutions and tools like ChatGPT and Github’s Copilot, are already making the quick development of applications significantly more straightforward. Although there are ongoing concerns about these platforms posing a threat to software developers, the truth is just the opposite. Gyuricza emphasizes that these advancements will make code written by experienced IT professionals even more valuable as users’ demand for high-quality performance in digital products continues to grow.
Augmented Reality
The metaverse has yet to take shape in the realm of mobile apps. And until then, augmented reality has proven to be the tool with the highest ability to render immersive experiences on portable devices, allowing users to interact with digital content in a real-world environment.
AR is already being used in various digital products, with applications ranging from interactive museum exhibits, education, and fitness to virtual try-on for apparel or makeup. This emerging technology is instrumental in the retail industry—in today’s environment, with a recession around the corner, it is becoming increasingly difficult to engage customers in the shopping process. AR offers consumers a new, multi-dimensional way to research and interact with products before making a purchase while enabling retailers to find new ways to keep up with customer expectations, which can improve conversion rates.
As this technology becomes more accessible and user-friendly, we should expect to see more apps equipped with AR features, which can be a powerful tool for enhancing the user experience and creating a more immersive and interactive experience. Overall, the number of AR-powered apps will grow exponentially in the near future, and we will likely see high-quality content from unexpected sources this year. In fact, the market of AR photos and videos taken daily on mobile devices and posted on social media and communication apps worldwide is expected to reach $6.4 billion in 2023.
Artificial Intelligence
AI is being widely adopted across most industries and is expected to become the technology that will impact our everyday lives the most. Designed to resemble the human mind for tasks that involve analytical and decision-making skills, this technology offers endless opportunities for mobile application development.
With competition among mobile apps becoming increasingly fierce, a smooth user experience and excellent customer support are imperative nowadays. However, having one or more agents on duty around the clock can be expensive, especially when conversational AI systems can easily answer most queries. Chatbots are the most commonly used deployment of AI in mobile apps—they provide customer support, answer questions, and make recommendations based on user preferences. These AI tools can help automate the process of answering customer requests using natural language processing. The system decodes the query, obtains the relevant information, and communicates it to the user in the most contextual way possible. According to the latest reports from Tidio, the chatbot market is projected to reach over $994 million in 2023.
Security is one of the main concerns of users, especially those who use mobile banking apps, which process digital payments and handle sensitive information. AI and ML are some of the key trends that will impact mobile payment in 2023. These technologies are taking security to the next level—by processing large amounts of historical data at high speed and detecting potential cybersecurity threats, they can prevent attacks before they even occur. By using them, banks can efficiently prevent fraudulent actions on their apps, such as unauthorized logins or suspicious transactions.
Analytics should not be overlooked, as it is an integral part of any business. By gaining insights into users’ behavior and analyzing their activity on mobile apps, companies can significantly improve service delivery and customer satisfaction. AI-driven business analytics will take the lead in 2023. With intelligent algorithms being capable of continuously evaluating users’ behavior, companies can identify their preferences and develop solutions that deliver customized experiences. For example, music streaming apps like Spotify use AI to analyze a user’s listening history and suggest new artists, songs, playlists, or genres they might enjoy.
Gamification
More than ever, companies need to develop apps that stand out from the competition and improve user engagement as the market becomes increasingly crowded. A great way to achieve this is through gamification.
Gamification refers to the use of game-like elements in non-gaming contexts, which can be an effective way to increase user engagement and encourage desired behaviors. Developers can make mobile apps more rewarding and fun for users by incorporating points, badges, incentives, leaderboards, and other game-like aspects. Gamification is the most prevalent learning-oriented platforms. Duolingo, for example, uses this strategy to improve user experience and engagement with the app. And it’s doing that with great success—in the third quarter of 2022, the language-learning app generated more than $96.1 million in revenue.
By making actions and processes within an app more pleasurable and fulfilling for users, businesses can increase engagement, retention, and loyalty while fostering a sense of community. Many gamified apps are developed in-house, although most companies use gamification systems that can be integrated into their own platforms. This type of solution will become more accessible, as the global gamification market is expected to reach $95.5 billion by 2030, according to a report by Allied Market Research that provides a detailed analysis of changing market dynamics in the coming years.
Conclusion
Technology advances at an unprecedented pace, and 2023 will be an important year for innovation in the mobile industry. As the sector continues to grow, digital products and services will evolve accordingly. Therefore, companies need to closely monitor trends and implement innovative strategies to remain competitive in this volatile market landscape.
