Trends Shaping the App Industry in 2018 

Apps are an intriguing field because they develop in-step with the ever-growing technology of mobile devices.

Yesterday’s trend might have seemed all-powerful at the time, but in the face of today’s technology, it’s just another piece of history. What this means is that the best apps take advantage of the latest technologies and approaches, allowing the businesses that use them to stay one step ahead of the competition.

The hottest ongoing trends of 2018 is where we’re putting our focus today so you can be sure you’ve got your finger firmly on the development pulse as the year begins to enter its final months.

The Voice Boom

It doesn’t seem that long ago that the idea of voice-responsive and activated technology was purely in the realm of science fiction. But today, both Amazon and Apple are throwing massive resources into the area. Indeed, voice might be the most important thing Amazon has going for it right now.

This explosion of voice-controlled technology and smart homes has created a need for apps to meet the demands of a large, growing base of consumers. As far as businesses are concerned, this means that consumers will – if they don’t already – start to expect a voice element in most business apps.

This doesn’t sound as scary as it seems, and the benefits of offering a voice option are something that will seriously separate your business from competitors.

In-built Chatbots

As AI and machine learning have grown in application and popularity, it’s now within reach of any business to offer 24/7 communication to customers in the form of a chatbot. This is great for business because it means that no opportunity goes amiss, but it’s also of enormous importance and value to customers.

Today’s chatbots are capable of guiding a customer through the conversion journey and bringing this capability in-app can provide considerable boosts regarding engagement, conversion, retention and overall customer service.

AR

Augmented reality went mainstream for most people with the advent of the wildly popular game ‘Pokémon Go’. But AR can do much more than provide entertainment – it can enable customers to see your products in their homes before they buy.

It’s hard to think of a technology – current or past- that provides customers with more insight into products in the pre-purchase phase. It adds real value to the customer experience in the form of real applications they can understand and appreciate. Aside from this, AR is also a bleeding-edge technology, and its adoption speaks to a business that is forward-looking and wants to provide customers with the best possible experience.