14 Mobile App Development Trend for 2024

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The mobile app development market is worth USD430.9 billion. Its worth is expected to grow to USD 673.8 billion by 2027. So, the market will enjoy a CAGR of 9.59% a year over the next three years. There may be lots of opportunities with that growth, but there will be a great deal of competition as well. That’s why it’s important to take note of these 14trends for 2024.

Privacy is More Important Than Ever

Many users place a premium on data privacy. Cisco recently did a study that revealed that 32% of adults who switch companies or providers did so because of their (the companies’) data or data-sharing policies. Many people are ditching some Google apps because of privacy concerns as well.

There are some web and mobile apps included in this trend:

●    End-to-end encrypted messaging apps. Telegram is a good example. This app saw a 428% increase in usage over the past five years mainly because it focuses on data privacy.

●    Browsers like Firefox and Brave -they focus on privacy.

●    Cookie-free search engines are also surging in popularity. A good example is DuckDuckGo which has a tracker Chrome blocking extension. Another good example is Pi-hole which operates at the network level.

App Developers Have Fallen in Love With Low-Code and No-Code

Developers want low-no-code apps. It’s why them asses can now build an app with few issues. You can use Zapier. It is an app builder with plug-and-play integrations. You don’t need to know anything about coding to build an app using it.

Bubble is another ingenious no-code app builder. You can build fully functional apps with it even if you don’t know anything about the Net. App Sheet is another great no-code app builder platform. Many people now use productivity apps like Air table and Norton to build no-code apps and websites.

Even with the introduction of low-code and no-code apps, it will still pay to know coding, at least for now. But it could impact coding job opportunities in the future. The reason is that it will open up new job opportunities for apps and businesses that don’t exist right now.

More Camera-Focused Apps

Remote work is here to stay, even if more companies require their employees to come in at least a few days a week. It’s time to examine the data that supports that. People downloaded videoconferencing apps 62 million times in 2020. Even older apps like Skype, Zoom, and Google Meet have surged in popularity since the pandemic.

The same is true with video-based social networks like Facebook Watch and YouTube. However, they are facing stiff competition from trending new apps. A good example is TikTok.

Premium Apps Are Taking Google’s Turf Over

Google is starting to lose the immense global popularity that it once had. They are turning to paid apps that have better features and functionality than Google’s free apps. As an example, Super human, a USD 30 subscription-based email service is fast replacing gmail. The reason is that Superhuman promises to serve email to their inboxes faster than gmail does.

Zoom is also fast replacing Google Hangouts as a video conferencing software program. Also, Air table is replacing Google Sheets because it is faster and easier to use.

Audio-Focused Social Media Platforms Are In

A good example of that is the audio-focused social network Clubhouse. It does what old-school AOL chat rooms used to do, only much better. But it operates only off of voice content. It’s easy to use too. Just jump into a room and start talking.

Clubhouse now has iOS and Android apps. Maybe that’s why their user base is growing so fast.

However, Clubhouse may fade soon because it doesn’t have video capabilities. Wave may last longer because it transforms short audio clips into shareable wave-based video clips. These new innovations let people share content from popular social media platforms to a wider global audience.

Podcasting is also taking off. About 356 million people around the world listen to a podcast each month. That’s why Anchor and other apps are rapidly coming on the market. They’re designed to help create new podcasts faster and easier.

Banking Services Will Go Mobile

The proof is in the pudding because 86% of all American banks let people pay their bills over their smartphones. Fintech startups like Chime Bank are also offering mobile pay services. They will pay fewer fees for mobile banking services. Other companies are jumping on the mobile banking services bandwagon too.

Indonesia has an app called Pay fazz which is being funded by Y Combinator. Germany has N26 and the UK has Starling bank. China currently has WeChat Pay which does USD 1 billion in transactions daily. Peer-to-peer payment apps like Venmo are also emerging.

The Rise of Smart Apps

More established companies are acquiring AI startups. An example is Apple which recently acquired Xnor.ai for USD 200million. It also acquired Inductiv. That brings its total number of recent AI acquisitions to over 12. Snap also recently acquired AI Factory for USD 166billion.

There have been other recent acquisitions. So clearly, AI will be integrated into apps in the future making them smart apps.

AR is Reality

Unfortunately, the rise of AI has brought deep fakes, or fake videos. However, AR has many legit uses. Sketch AR is an AR app which lets iOS and Android smartphone users use AR to transfer drawings from one surface to another. People can use Zoom to broadcast their sessions from the Starship Enterprise or the Simpson’s couch.

Medical Apps Will Be More Patient-Focused

The healthcare industry is embracing mobile apps like never before. The market was worth USD 2.17 billion in 2016. It is expected to grow at a CAGR of 45% by 2027. You can currently choose from over350,000 mobile healthcare apps. They are either generalized or specialized in function.

The interesting thing is that these apps vary in quality and usability. Some score excellent marks in both areas while other fare miserably in these two areas. The industry has tried to regulate these apps in recent years though.

The industry is also trying to make these apps more effective and useful by integrating AI.

Mobile Apps Integrate Cloud Computing

Over 94% of businesses are in the cloud. So cloud computing is clearly here to stay. Mobile apps are expected to embrace the cloud like never before this year. The market is expected to grow at a CAGR of25.28% by 2028. These types of apps will work on multiple platforms. It’s that versatility that makes them useful.

They also perform faster than conventional apps.

Smartwatches Will Feature Fully Functional Apps

There will be 1 billion wearable devices in usage this year. They will feature advanced and fully functional apps in the future.

Apps Will Be Designed for Foldable Devices

Foldable phones are all the rage now. People can view multiple screens simultaneously. So that gives them new uses and opportunities with these phones. Tick Tack has responded by coming up with an app that offers a tablet-like viewing experience. App developers are facing some challenges in developing apps for folded screens though.

Numerous Solutions for Touchless UI

Touchless UI will be the wave of the future for all devices. They will increasingly operate with gesture controls. A good example is the wave of a stylus.

A Final Note

The trends that were listed above will continue to change the mobile device world for many years to come, and not just for this year.