Each year brings new trends and technologies that shape the way web and mobile apps are built. One year is marked by artificial intelligence websites, another by chatbots, and another by responsive design.
All these changes taking place at the turn of each year can surely make you, or whoever needs to keep up with them, feel discouraged and overwhelmed. But that’s why you’re here reading this article – you realize the importance of being ready for the future. Keep reading to discover the next trends in web and mobile app development that will shape 2020.
The move towards Cloud
The year of 2019 was a great one for Cloud. Everyone has been making the shift towards cloud technologies from early startups to government organizations, health care, Banks, insurances and even the Pentagon. The trend will continue in 2020, where enterprises of all sizes will make the move towards Cloud, or at least will plan to do it. Take a look at the figures for 2020 from Gartner:
Gartner Forecasts Worldwide Public Cloud Revenue to Grow 17% in 2020
IaaS Secures Highest Growth in 2020 Due to Data Center Consolidation
The worldwide public cloud services market is forecast to grow 17% in 2020 to total $266.4 billion, up from $227.8 billion in 2019, according to Gartner, Inc.
So, if you are a decision-maker at your company and you're still thinking about moving towards the cloud, don't think twice.
Hybrid Apps: React Native
When it comes to Hybrid Apps, there are many use cases that show its pragmatism. Facebook has built React Native based on the highly successful and mature Web framework React.
React Native and React both share the same base, offer high code reusability and the option known as: “Write once, Run Everywhere”. And since Facebook uses React Native to develop its own Mobile App, we can chalk it up as another advantage of using it. Google is late in this domain but has gained significant traction in last year with its own Hybrid App framework Flutter. Although Flutter performs better, it still needed another not so popular Programming language Dirt. That's why React Native will rule this field also in 2020.
JavaScript will continue to dominate web app development
JavaScript is still the most dominant programming language on the planet and will not leave the top in 2020. It is widely recognized as the best in all indicators. But why is it the most popular front-end programming language in the world for developing web apps? Because it allows developers to create all the animations, set up a lot of buttons, manage multimedia and much more. In other words, Javascript it’s the best choice for front-end development.
JavaScript's popularity is largely thanks to:
- the highest performance
- easy integration of toolboxes
- high safety of end products
According to stats, despite the high competition, Javascript will still occupy the top of the rating, which means that the relevant specialists will be in demand.
The rise of Kotlin
Back in the 2000s, there was a popular misconception and most people thought there is no need for a new programming language other than Java, C, C++, JavaScript, and Python. However, the last decade brought to us many interesting programming languages, such as Rust, Swift or Kotlin. These changes are mainly because the existing programming languages were not capable of using the latest changes in hardware to its benefit. And as Google declared its official support for Kotlin in Android, it is a fact that Kotlin has emerged as the main competitor of Java in the JVM world.
Artificial Intelligence and Machine Learning
Without a doubt, the era of "robots" has already begun. Companies around the world are jumping at the opportunities to use the power of AI – it is growing and accelerating the pace in every industry. As AI is becoming more and more popular, here are a few use cases of what developers have already done in this area:
- Offers from online stores based on previous purchases and preferences,
- Voice search optimization
- Analysis of user emotions by comments.
Now, let’s look at some numbers to back it up. According to Forrester’s various studies, 53% of global data and analytics decision-makers have implemented or are in the process of introducing some form of artificial intelligence at their enterprises. By the end of 2020, nearly 25% of the Fortune 500 companies will use AI, such as text analytics to create new use cases across various industries from government to retail.
Chat Bots
For decades, telephone and email have been the dominant customer communication channels. However, chatbots are making a huge breakthrough. To prove that claim, reports show that in 2019 only 14% of users preferred filling out a form than using a chatbot.
Over the last years, the overall quality of chatbots has immensely improved and will only continue to grow in popularity. Chatbots remember answers if not entire conversations making it all that easier for us to navigate around the website, get answers to questions, and use products the way they are meant to.
IoT (Internet of Things)
The future of IoT is a bright one. As seen in the infographic below, by 2020 almost 31 billion devices will be connected to the Internet. From mirrors that answer questions and tell you about the weather to monitoring systems that track everything from vehicle behavior to packages to environmental sensors in the warehouse. It will be interesting to see which way this technology heads.
With that said, we can all agree that the Internet has a huge impact on all areas of life. In one way or another, we all depend on it. Companies or service providers can't even exist without it at all. The overall idea that the intellectual potential of devices and their sensors will take “business” to a new level is becoming a fact. The interactions between technology and apps will play a key role in service delivery and web development with the Internet of Things being a huge part.
Wearables on the rise
According to a forecast from Gartner, we will spend a total of $52 billion on wearable smart devices in 2020, with smartwatches being the leader in the wearables market. That is an increase of 27% from 2019. “More users coming into the smartwatch segment are replacing wristbands with smartwatches,” said Ranjit Atwal, senior research director at Gartner.
What influences the rise?
One of the factors of this growth is the fact that device makers will focus on smaller and smarter sensors that are capable of more accurate readings enabling more use cases.
How to continue with these trends?
With all these web and mobile application development trends, the industry will continue to expand at a rapid pace. With technologies, such as Artificial Intelligence, IoT, wearable devices being on the rise in 2020, the competition will be more intense than ever. So it's crucial to understand these trends before you start working on your app.
Every new technology in the app development industry has its pros and cons, and if you're new to it, it can be difficult to get the hang of things. We understand it - with our experts within your reach, you can always talk to us about the latest trends and find the right solutions for your product or service.
