Mobile markets can be difficult to predict. All we know for sure is that there are going to be new apps coming out at an incredible rate for as long as smartphones remain popular – and possibly long after, depending on what sort of device ultimately replaces what we currently think of as the modern smartphone. Even so however, there are certain trends and tech developments that can allow us to at least make educated guesses about forthcoming trends in the market.
There are a few we’d bet on regarding popular apps.
Augmented Reality Apps
This is probably the easiest prediction to make given that augmented reality is the most exciting trend in mobile apps to emerge in the last two years and it’s quite clearly just getting started. Market predictions for AR are fairly alarming (such as 216 million AR/VR games by 2025, or 22.8 million pairs of AR glasses shipped by 2022), and while they’re not necessarily exact, they’re probably in the right ballpark.
As AR programs are perfected, people become more used to the technology, and phones and glasses become better equipped to handle it, we’re going to be virtually (no pun intended) drowning in AR apps.
Wearable Apps
Wearable technology figures to expand fairly rapidly in the years to come. We already have devices and sensors we can wear to monitor heart rate, track our runs, and in some cases even keep tabs on blood pressure. It may seem for the moment like we’ve just about tapped out this technology, but in the coming years it’s likely going to get more sophisticated. We’ll be tracking all of the basic aspects of our health on a day-to-day basis, and measuring workouts with more precision. And while this will largely happen through additional devices, they also need accompanying apps. For that reason this is definitely an area to watch.
Betting Apps
Sports betting is always expanding with new types of offerings, new users, and new platforms. And now that the U.S. is on a path toward widespread legalization of this sort of activity, there is potential for a major industry boom. A lot of sports betting happens online, but it’s also been said that mobile device betting and in-play betting (meaning quick decisions made during a given contest) are two of the biggest trends in the industry at the moment. This, combined with the coming boom in general, should mean that we see a significant rise in betting-related apps in the coming years.
Cloud Apps
Cloud storage apps are already popular today and have been for some time. While a few of them have come and gone, there are several prominent ones that have stood the test of time, and which are now thoroughly established and trusted. But in the next few years, the idea of what constitutes a cloud app may begin to shift. The idea of what constitutes the cloud is quickly expanding to IoT technologies, incorporating various “smart” technologies and devices that more and more people have in their homes. The notion of home clouds connecting all devices is becoming more normal, and requires app support.
