Despite the tremendous evolution of Android app development since its debut, 2024 opened the door to unforeseen challenges and requests due to the rapid technological progress encountered last year. Examples to emphasize the substantiality of the need to develop and launch applications conducting operations that one may have even had a hard time imagining years ago are numberless.
For instance, a very dynamic and swiftly developing digital market, namely decentralized finance (DeFi), puts a lot of pressure on competitors to further responsible evolution within the Android area. iOS isn’t spared; in fact, Apple’s going through a rough time as penalties and restrictions add up due to the company’s lack of involvement in promoting innovation and competition in the DeFi sector, seeing crypto apps on their iOS at a crossroads. There are growing numbers of people looking to buy Bitcoin when it’s reasonably priced, according to data from Binance, demonstrating that the trend isn’t going anywhere. Moreover, Bitcoin is no longer the only white-hot asset in this industry – the rapidly evolving digital market prompts Android companies to shift their perspectives to meet the ever-rising needs of consumers.
New applications catering to various requirements and industries are underway. As tech keeps evolving, new technologies and opportunities revolutionize Android app development. So, what trends are we exploring this year and how can devs stay on top of the competition in this continuously challenging industry?
Blockchain technology
General mobile app development ranks among the largest sectors that have benefited from the emergence of blockchain technology, the innovation usually associated with Bitcoin, Ethereum, and other cryptos. Blockchain technology has revolutionized multiple industries, providing decentralized solutions for digital asset management, data protection, wealth transfers, and more. The technology’s implications for Android app development boil down to the creation of uncompromisable, transparent, and safe applications.
Devs can navigate multiple use cases like supply management transparency and asset tokenization within modern platforms, applying the concepts generated by blockchain. Statista findings show that the blockchain tech market may hit a staggering $39BN by 2025, up from around $23.3 registered last year. This tendency can’t help but shake the realm of app development to the core, and since it has expanded dramatically lately, let’s discover three ways this technology benefits the app development industry.
- Blockchain helps launch payment and transactional applications to streamline everything from grocery shopping to utility bill payments in secure ways. Few of the nearly 4MN apps in the Google Play Store are really safe, which is where blockchain steps in to introduce cryptography and decentralization, remove third parties, and make P2P transactions more secure.
- Blockchain brings more transparency and efficiency to the supply chain landscape, enabling users to monitor their products live and track their items’ manufacturing parts transparently to demonstrate originality, among other things. While the blockchain supply chain market worldwide was estimated at $253MN in 2020, it could hit $3,27MN by 2026, registering a CAGR of over 53%.
- The gaming sector is one of the largest ones to impact app development, where blockchain will become vital for making peer-to-peer and multiplayer games safer and more trustworthy. Gamers may now believe they stand equal chances at winning a game, for instance, but the blockchain transforms a hypothesis into reality, providing fair gaming operations and building trust between gamers.
Machine Learning and Artificial Intelligence
Machine Learning (ML) and Artificial Intelligence (AI) are among the most ubiquitous buzzwords in today’s conversations. They have come a long way since their emergence and are revolutionizing areas like mobile app development in ways you can’t neglect. Everyone has interacted with these technologies at least once in their lifetime, whether by accessing chatbots like Google Assistant, platforms like Snapchat, or games like Dungeon 2, to name a few.
AI and ML change the way Android apps work, empowering them to provide customized experiences, better user interactions, predictive analytics, and more. From predictive text input to recommendation systems, these technologies find endless applications in Android, streamlining operations and improving user engagement.
Developers can employ AI and ML to build applications that automate tedious tasks, offer better insights, and adjust to their users. They’re unlocking new opportunities and birthing immersive experiences in retail, communication, education, arts, gaming, and more. App developers can get mileage from users’ increasing appeal for immersive content.
Internet of Things (IoT)
The mark left by IoT on Android app development is meaningful, but as it advances, so does the level of sophistication needed for app builders to create platforms compatible with Android-based mobiles. Investments made by Consumer Electronics companies in this area grow weightier by the day, and even if it’s not a modern concept, having its roots in 1999, the landscape these days brings new challenges for mobile app devs. From wearables to some alarms to smart home appliances, app devs work on apps that can be integrated within this endless range of acquisitions. Devs can tap into this new ecosystem to create apps that enable distant control, automation features, data monitorization, and so on, leveling up their adoption in numerous areas.
While this technology’s adaptivity unlocks new opportunities, devs must tackle rising concerns like data privacy, interoperability, and security to create apps that will meet mainstreamness. Giants like Amazon and Microsoft introduce IoT at almost every launch, so it’s fair to say that IoT will reach every software and app developer one day.
Cross-platform and progressive web apps
Two leading concepts in the app development ecosystem are gaining ground: cross-platform and progressive web apps. The former represents multiplatform software that functions on multiple devices or systems, also known as platforms, including Android, Windows, and iOS. Such an app may run on macOS or Linux, for instance, and is essential to help developers deploy mobile tools working on numerous gadgets. For numerous reasons, including better resource and time management, developers opt for cross-platforms in favor of other technologies.
On the other hand, progressive apps make app-inspired operations approachable straight via users’ web browsers, benefitting from feats like offline use or push notifications and improving loading times, besides other perks. Pinterest, for instance, is a noteworthy example of a progressive web app that offers a responsible and swift user interface, customizable experiences, and options to be used both offline and online.
Numerous emerging technologies transform the Android app development’s future, so stay close to see what other exciting opportunities developers unlock to stay ahead in this ever-evolving industry.
