As with any digital channel, mobile apps are constantly evolving. Driven primarily by consumers, mobile apps need to keep up with user demands and preferences, including the maturing generation of mobile consumers, and even more importantly, the emerging one. According to Consumer Barometer, 60% of millennials go online daily and 75% of millennials go online via smartphone at least as often as via computer.
So, what are the qualities of the modern mobile app? Let’s take a look:
Improved Mobile Experience
The most visible and obvious quality of the modern mobile app is the visual face. MindSea claims 37% of millennials think apps with better designs influence their decision. And we’re not just talking about pretty pictures and good color choices. A well designed mobile app enhances the user experience by making an emotional connection with users. The services of a good UX Designer are essential but the key to a great mobile experience is the use of Customer-First or User-Centric Design. Investing time and effort in getting this right will not only ensure a good user experience, it will also kick-start your development cycle and provide clear direction during development.
Mobility and Cloud
You don’t need to be a brilliant strategist to realize Mobility and Cloud is a match made in heaven. According to Forbes, 83% of enterprise workloads will be in the Cloud by 2020. In the same study, 55% of enterprises cite Mobility as a leading contributing factor to cloud-computing adoption. Mobility’s need for data access and consumption is easily implemented in the cloud via RESTful APIs. Further, the very nature of mobile apps—unbounded by geographical boundaries—is consistent with cloud computing’s benefits.
AI has Arrived
AI is no longer emerging, it’s already here. With the wide acceptance of Digital Assistants, AI has taken a strong foothold in the computing world. According to Pew, 46% of US adults use voice assistants and 42% use it on their phones. With relevant data, AI can learn and predict user behavior and provide valuable analytics to mobile developers. This is a game-changer in terms of personalizing mobile app UX to further enhance the emotional connection. The use of chatbots is also expected to grow. According to a Grand View Research, Inc. report, the global chatbot market is expected to reach $1.25 billion by 2025. The mobile phone is already a go-to communication tool so chatbots should complement your mobile apps as well.
Augmented Reality
With the release of Apple’s ARKit and Google’s ARCore, Augmented Reality has been unleashed upon the mobile world and developers are already exploring ways to use this technology in mobile apps. Embraced by the gaming and entertainment segments, this technology’s potential is only beginning to emerge. The IKEA Place app and the Zara AR app are great examples of current mobile app implementations of AR. Although the value may be somewhat limited today, huge potential has yet to be realized. A Statista report forecasts AR will be a $50 billion opportunity by 2021.
Internet of Things
Not that this should surprise you, but countless users already control home smart devices from their phone. Everything from light bulbs, thermostats, and door locks, to refrigerators and vacuum cleaners—all connected and accessible via your mobile phone. As with Cloud and Mobility, the Internet of Things (IoT) and Mobility is another heavenly match. Thanks to its strong presense in the consumer sector, according to Bain, B2B is predicted to generate over $300 billion annually by 2020. The same report asserts that enthusiasm for IoT has fueled more than $80 billion in merger and acquisition (M&A) investments by major vendors and more than $30 billion in venture capital globally. The ability of mobile devices to communicate with smart devices (including sensors) makes it a core component of an IoT network.
Conclusion
We’ve come so far since the early days of mobile apps. Not just in our personal lives but in the enterprise as well. At the very core is a desire to make our day-to-day lives more convenient. This hasn’t changed and is the reason mobile apps will always move in unison with the march of technology and innovation. As the world becomes more connected and integrated, the most logical interface we have with that world is already in the palm of our hands. For more information on how Anexinet can help your organization embrace the new generation of contextual mobile interfaces, please reach out to us. We’d love to get you started.
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