March 04, 2020
By: John Tomblin, Senior Solutions Architect
PhoenixBizz, a division of Sofvue, LLC
Printed with permission of Data Titan, Sofvue LLC, and the author
Twenty years ago, smartphones didn’t exist. Ten years ago, only the iPhone existed, and even then, only about 40,000,000 phones were sold. Compare that to today’s annual sales of over 200 million, and it’s clear the marketplace today does not exist without the driving forces of mobile technology driving it. Further, according to Statista, 4.3 billion people used a smartphone across the globe in 2016. By 2019, that number was eclipsed to over 4.5 billion. In 2020, it set to hit the 4.8 billion mark.
Why is this happening? Simply put, portability, maturity of the platform and continually increasing functionality are driving our insatiable appetite for faster, more streamlined technology. Here’s some other trends driving the marketplace.
Artificial Intelligence. It’s not if, it’s when
Artificial Intelligence (AI) and the internet of things (IoT) are here. Not like what you see in the movies, but there are many apps and mobile technologies already taking advantage of the latest tools and platforms in the marketplace, and you can expect only an increase in the number of platforms and technologies that use these platforms. Some examples include voice translations, longer battery lifespan driven by adaptive behavior of users, Big Data Analytics at the click of a button, better imaging identification tools and so much more.
Blockchain Technology will witness a further improvement
Blockchain technology has dominated the headlines for the past few years, and for good reason. Blockchain goes far beyond Cryptocurrencies. Future advances and trends will include better privacy and protection, better tokenized assets, improved exchange in e-commerce as well as the growth of “Blockchain as a Service” (BaaS).
The “Internet of Things” (IoT) will become commonplace
With today’s smartphone technology, you can lock your car while waiting for the movie to start or lock your house while traveling in Switzerland. In the not to distant future, mobile app development will bring some additional changes, including;
- Smart cars with self-driving controls
- Advances in healthcare using IoT
- Having your refrigerator order your groceries for you, while you are at work
Chatbots will step up communication
You might not hear too much chatter about it today, but Chatbot Technology is going to be greatly improved as smartphone technology improves. Because chatbots can simulate a conversation using both auditory and text processes, expect user engagement to improve significantly over the coming decade. By the end of 2021, chatbot usage is expected to increase by 80% over today’s use, and although chatbot will never replace the personal connection and interaction with another human being, expect it use to increase significantly, along with the rise in demand for chatbot technology in smart phones and mobile devices of all kinds.
Applications using “On Demand” Services
You may not have heard the term “On Demand” application, but you are already using them. If you’ve ever ordered a pizza using your smartphone, called an Uber to pick you up from the bar or scheduled an afternoon of relaxation at the spa using your smartphone, you’ve used on-demand services.
In 2019, over 86.5 million American’s used some form of on-demand service from their mobile phone and the numbers will only rise. Mobile apps development companies, both in Phoenix and across the nation, are designing and building more of these types of applications, particularly for customized and specialized market segments like local babysitting, laundry services, grocery delivery, and domestic help services, to name a few.
Fifty years ago, the personal computer didn’t exist. Neither did the term “Personal Computer”. 30 years ago, the concept of a mobile phone wasn’t even on the radar. 20 years ago, the term drone referred to bees in a beehive, but having just read the word, what picture came to mind? A bee or the image of an aerial drone flying overhead. 10 years ago, the concept of a flying car was still science fiction. With all these changes taking place across multiple technology fronts, imagine the change that is about to happen with mobile app technology here in Phoenix, and across the country.
