How Will iOS App Development Evolve Over the Next Five Years?

A glimpse of what can be expected soon, to trigger the preparation of stakeholders for the change

The world has been dazed in recent years by trends in technologies that didn’t exist 10–15 years ago. What’s more interesting is the way the future is being created through these concepts. If you think you have seen it all with the apps developed and currently available on iOS thus far, you will be absolutely stunned at how iOS app development will evolve over the next five years.

Here are 4 areas you can watch out for:

1. Artificial Intelligence

Artificial Intelligence (AI) is a unique paradigm shifter. Every day, forward-thinking people in the iOS app development world are creating new AI-based apps. Starbucks, for example, released an iOS app, My Starbucks Barista, that places orders for you based on the type of coffee or snack you want that day. Other AI iOS apps are working in the finance field by following verbal instructions to make monetary transactions.

In the next few years, you can expect to see more AI apps on iOS that will challenge the traditional way of doing almost everything. There will be apps you would be able to delegate your routine choices. There is a very wide range of possibilities that can be expected in this area.

2. Augmented Reality

Augmented Reality (AR) is just as amazing as AI. AR made a big hit a couple of years back when Pokémon GO introduced the world to virtual monsters living in our world. This monster hunting game was such a hit that it raked in about $950 million in 2016 and close to $900 million in 2017.

In the next few years, AR is expected to produce a more stunning trend in games and events. This trend development will be seen in the iOS apps created over the next few years.

3. Internet of Things

Internet of Things (IoT) keeps getting better as time goes by. Today, you can have your exterior lights, doorbell, door locks, home security systems, speakers, television and Apple TV streaming device, watch, phone and tablets, and refrigerator all connected to the internet so that you can control them from wherever you are. While the iOS app development is not improving the IoT experience just so you can see how much food you have left in the fridge, IoT is improving the quality of choices that you make based the information you now have access to.

IoT is streamlining diverse industries such as the hospitality industry, auto industry, retail industry, and it is interesting to watch how the trend develops from there in the next few years. Furthermore, when combined with AI, IoT has the potential to revolutionize the customer experience for people all around the globe.

4. Cloud-Based Apps

In the cloud. (Picture Source)

Some iOS app development experts have predicted that cloud-based apps are the next big thing in iOS development. They say that within the next couple of years, more than half of all international businesses and organizations will have at least one native cloud-based app.

The odd aspect of this prediction is that nearly 80% of this market will be owned by Google, Microsoft, and (of course) Amazon. This leaves just about 20% for Apple, which means that if an iOS app developer wants a significant chunk of this $178 billion market, then the earlier and better to honing the necessary iOS app development skills on it.

Moreover, Apple might just end up dominating this sector with a few innovations in the coming years as they have done in a number of cases. We all know what Apple has achieved in the past and what they are capable of today.

Conclusion

In conclusion, the areas covered above are not the only areas you can expect mind-blowing growth and development in the iOS app development world. There are several others that show promises such as wearables, cross-platform functionality, mobile payments, and blockchain technology trends. Anyone of these areas could easily produce the most amazing iOS app of the next decade.

This article is not about predicting the future, it is more about identifying the potentially high growth areas and taking advantage of them while they are still young.

This article was co-written with Michael Kelley, Director of communications at Fueled.