Mobile technologies influence most business operations. Nowadays, lots of experiences created by companies should be mobile-first, from ordering food or booking rides to checking health records or attending virtual classes.
This can be easily supported by statistics. In 2023, mobile e-commerce sales reached $2.2 trillion in 2023 and now make up 60 percent of all e-commerce sales around the world.
Other studies show that consumers are 50% more likely to book or make appointments through a mobile app compared to other digital options.
Allied Market Research predicts the mobile app development market will grow from $195.7B in 2023 to $606.1B by 2032. Among growth drivers are smartphone adoption and tech advances, but saturation and competition may pose challenges. Given this data, it’s clear that the world is reliant on mobile technology.
With these numbers in mind, we asked Maxim Leykin, Head of Engineering at Bamboo Agile, to describe the challenges and opportunities of mobile trends that will shape the upcoming years in the industry. We hope you will find it insightful and helpful to positioning your business for the road ahead.
About Maxim
Maxim started his IT career in 2004 as a C++ programmer, then switched to Java and Android development. He has participated in more than 15 mobile projects of various sizes in different roles, from a programmer to a team lead and project manager. Since 2015, Maxim has worked as an engineering/delivery manager with a primary focus on mobile and cross-platform projects for IoT, automotive, and fintech domains.
As a Head of Engineering at Bamboo Agile, he is responsible for the company’s technical strategy and expertise growth, estimating and architecting new projects, consulting and assisting with complicated tech issues, prototyping, and managing pilot/internal projects.
In addition to his main work responsibilities, Maxim actively participates as a speaker at technical meetups and conferences and delivers lectures on Java and Android to university students.
Part 1. Choosing the right app development approach
Maxim, how do you assess the current trends in the choice of mobile app development technologies? Have there been situations where choosing a particular approach has influenced the success or failure of a project?
– Nowadays, the number of frameworks and technologies that can be used for mobile development is really large and continues to grow; each one has its own advantages and disadvantages, which makes the choice quite complicated.
Speaking of current trends, I would still mention that time and budget limitations in many cases are strong enough to dictate cross-platform frameworks as a choice, and the market share of new cross-platform apps will likely dominate over the native ones in the near future. However, for each particular project, the decision should be properly assessed and aligned with the project’s nature and requirements before making the choice.
It is important to choose the correct technology because this decision is irreversible. It is not possible to change it further without a full redevelopment of the app. Also, choosing non-optimal or unsuitable technology for a particular project can affect the overall result.
In my past experience, I worked on a project where a client was developing a mobile application that was supposed to control and monitor IoT devices for smart homes. They chose Adobe PhoneGap hybrid framework as their primary tech. The performance of the app was insufficient, and the latency in displaying device status and sending commands was unacceptable from the point of user experience. Despite significant efforts to improve the performance of the app, the client ultimately had to invest in a complete rebuild using a pure native approach.
What are the new tools and tech that have emerged on the market to assist in the development of mobile applications?
– Among such tools, I would highlight Android Jetpack Compose and iOS SwiftUI with its declarative UI syntax. While they may be not brand new, they have just recently achieved a sufficient level of maturity to be used in enterprise apps. Additionally, the Kotlin Multiplatform framework seems promising as a cross-platform tool for mobile development.
Part 2. The future of cross-platform development
We all know that cross-platform technologies such as Flutter and React Native continue to gain popularity due to lower development and maintenance costs. However, there are opinions that they cannot provide the same level of performance and quality as native applications. How do you see the future of cross-platform development?
– While these opinions are generally true, modern cross-platform frameworks are now quite close to native apps in both performance and quality. Thus, for many projects, the difference is not that critical since potential time and budget savings take precedence. Given this, I would predict a bright and clear future for cross-platform development, though there are still areas where the advantages of a pure-native approach are crucial and will not be surpassed in the near future (e.g., working with sensors, IoT devices, rendering video, AR and VR apps, etc.).
How do you see the future of Flutter in the next 3-5 years? Will it develop faster than React Native and will it be able to become the dominant framework for mobile development?
– In fact, Flutter already offers some advantages over React Native, such as great app performance, developer friendliness, tooling chain, and support of desktop platforms. Right now, I would probably vote for Flutter as the best cross-platform framework for new mobile projects. It will definitely remain popular over the next 3-5 years. At the same time, Flutter itself has competitors beyond React Native, such as the Kotlin Multiplatform framework.
In short, Flutter will develop faster than React Native, but I’m not sure whether it will become an overall dominant framework.
Part 3. Advanced technologies
How is the approach to mobile app development changing with the growth of IoT? What new requirements of IoT devices dictate applications?
– Mobile applications serve as an ideal bridge between IoT devices and users, as they allow users to connect to various IoT devices, send commands to them, collect and visualize data, and provide device maintenance. Communication between mobile apps and IoT devices can be established locally via short-range communication protocols (BLE, NFC) and remotely via HTTPS, MQTT, NB-IOT, and other protocols. Given these capabilities, it is easy to predict that in the near future we expect to see more mobile apps developed with IoT in mind. Household devices, automobiles, display devices, smart devices, and healthcare represent some of the most prominent markets for the app development industry. It is important to note that IoT is one of the main pillars for pure-native applications, as they impose strict requirements for performance and often need direct communication with hardware or low-level components.
What about flexible screens that are becoming popular in mobile devices? What specific technical knowledge and skills do mobile app developers need to work effectively with such screens? What problems can arise when designing interfaces and adapting applications for flexible screens?
– Foldable smartphones with larger screens and the ability to bring up multiple windows at once present a unique opportunity for app developers. The main issue is that an app should seamlessly adjust its display as the screen folds or unfolds.
To gracefully handle this, mobile developers need to create flexible and adaptable layouts. ConstraintLayout can resize UI elements dynamically, while Fragments enable creating modular reusable screens. Adjusting layout weights and constraints can help fluidly resize components.
But resizing an app’s layouts alone is not enough; we should also optimize and tailor the experience for each display mode. User flows may warrant changes too. Fragments and activities will need to be resized, replaced, or popped appropriately as the device folds and unfolds.
Part 4. Voice interaction and AI
How do you feel about the growing popularity of voice interaction and assistants in mobile applications? How much has this changed the way you approach the design and functionality of apps?
– Voice interaction is now becoming a “must have” for most mobile applications. It is especially true for the automotive domain, where traditional ways of communicating with the app sometimes are limited or prohibited by law. Key challenges in voice interaction include ensuring accuracy and addressing privacy concerns. Voice recognition systems must be capable of understanding diverse accents and dialects. Privacy issues, such as always-on microphones, must also be addressed to gain user trust.
Looking ahead, advancements in artificial intelligence and machine learning will further refine voice interactions. They enable apps to conduct natural conversations, understanding context and user emotions. This evolution points to a future where voice search and navigation become more integral to the mobile app experience.
And, considering generative AI, what are the biggest shifts in user behavior influencing app design and functionality?
– Generative AI creates new content forms based on user history and preferences. In mobile apps, it opens up great possibilities to adjust app appearance and/or behaviour dynamically. To describe this shift, I would say that in the past, people had to get used to the app; now, the app will adapt to the person and will become more and more convenient for the particular user over time.
Part 5. Other trending topics
What trends are you noticing in app security, especially with the rise of mobile payment solutions and health apps?
– The trend is that now security has become an immediate focus and top priority for mobile developers. To fulfil security requirements and prove that the app is safe to use, developers try to avoid storing any sensitive data on the device, use SSO with Google/Apple authorities instead of email/password pairs, and provide end-to-end encryption with strong keys and biometric identification where possible.
Do you think progressive web apps (PWAs) will overtake native apps in certain industries?
– It depends. PWAs are good for lightweight apps that do not need support for Bluetooth and other hardware components and do not provide strict requirements for performance and user experience. Only for such kinds of apps PWAs can be a better option than native and traditional cross-platform solutions.
Key takeaways
As time goes on, mobile technologies will only become smarter and more advanced. Mobile app development is a market that is highly responsive to innovation. We at Bamboo Agile always strive to keep up with the latest advancements, so reach out to discuss your next innovative and high-quality mobile solution.
