iOS Mobile App Development Trends That Matter in 2021

In the year 2020, the COVID-19 pandemic had a major impact on almost every other industry. Most of the business owners either changed their business models or the complete operations process to meet the changing demands and the customer behaviors. Yes, 2020 changed a lot and it sounds true that if your business is not on the internet till now, it will get out of the market soon. 

The pandemic not only forced the small, medium, and big businesses to shift to the online platform, but it also provided opportunities to various start-ups to put their feet into trending industries including e-commerce, healthcare, and finance with the help of mobile applications.

Talking about Statistics, in 2020, mobile and tablet users spent an average of 3 hrs 50 minutes each day on their devices. Already the average time spent on mobile devices was growing consistently and the pandemic gave it a good bump. The chances are that the trend will continue to grow in the future and the excessive use of mobile applications will increase the need of the tech giants to hire iPhone app developers in the coming years.

In this article, we will talk about the iOS mobile app development trends in 2021 and the technology that will hit the App Store in the coming years. So let’s begin.

1.  Internet of Things (IoT) 

Every other day we are getting more dependent on IoT and we cannot disagree with the fact anymore. Being the primary source of transferring information and interaction between various electronic gadgets and smartphones, the Internet of Things has made our life not only easy but also exciting at the same time.

IoT offers automated control on various electronic devices and the reason behind this is that the technology connects all the devices through a web network. With the advancement in IoT and mobile app development, there are possible chances that smart home technology will grow with a good curve in the coming years.

Besides deriving smart home technology, IoT is also capable of benefiting various industries in the market including healthcare, agriculture, education, etc. The reason that IoT can benefit the above industries is that the technology is capable enough of easing internal and external operations.

As per the statistics by the research firm Statista, more than 11.7 billion devices were found connected via the technology in 2020 and it is expected that the IoT market size will reach $1.6 trillion by 2025. Overseeing the exponential growth in the technology, iOS app developers have started developing applications that will support new technologies of IoT. Also, mobile developers are using IoT to make sure that they can integrate great functionalities in the mobile applications for the users.

Overlooking all the aspects, we are certain that the IoT will be one of the latest iOS app development trends in the year 2021.

2.  Machine Learning (ML) and Artificial Intelligence (AI)

Core machine learning is considered an exceptional tool for iOS mobile app developers. Apple has developed its own machine learning framework which supports activities related to  Camera, QuickType, and Siri and is also exceptional for face detection functionality.

 iOS mobile app developers nowadays are focusing more on creating customer-engaging and efficient applications. Developers are doing this by implementing Machine Learning (ML) and Artificial Intelligence (AI) technology. To initiate machine training, developers integrate the Core ML framework into the mobile apps which ultimately increases the user experience.

Besides using Machine Learning features, iOS mobile app developers are also using Artificial Intelligence features while developing mobile apps. Some of these features are image classification, text classification, speech and face recognition along with others.

Since the implementation of AI and ML in mobile app development makes the app development process time-saving and efficient, it seems to be the top mobile app development trend not only in 2021 but for many more years to come. 

3.  Augmented Reality (AR) & Virtual Reality (VR) 

Augmented Reality (AR) and Virtual Reality (VR) are one of the most expected mobile app development trends in 2021. But with the launch of iOS 11 and the introduction of features including depth capabilities and face tracking in the ARKit 4, the iOS mobile app developers are more inclined towards ARKit now.

With the plan to take ARKIt to the next level, Apple and Amazon have joined hands, which has ultimately benefited the iOS mobile app developers as they will now be able to develop 3D and virtual-based mobile applications more efficiently. This will enhance the user experience for sure.

AR and VR technology has been in everybody’s mind for years now and the reason behind this is its capability to make a unique connection between the digital and the real world. At first, AR and VR were used to keep the users engaged with the entertaining features including 3D effects and real-time interaction with virtual objects but with the evolution of the technology, it is now being used for other important activities including shopping, information research, and enhancing customer experience.

Talking about a few use cases of Augmented Reality and Virtual Reality, the technology is efficiently used by L’Oreal for their application “Style My Hair”.  The application uses AR to let the customers try different hairstyles virtually using the application and find out which hairstyle is the best fit for them. This not only enhances customer satisfaction by providing a virtual experience to them but also increases the sales figures of the brand.

Besides Loreal, Google has also implemented AR in the “True View” feature of its Google Maps. The technology helps the application find out the exact location of a person using the camera of the device pointed at the nearest buildings.

The scope of AR and VR in mobile app development is not limited and iOS mobile app developers can find even wider use of the technology in the development of mobile apps. The technology is more likely to be integrated with the iOS mobile apps in the year 2021. Integration of AR and VR in the iOS mobile apps will enhance the user experience. 

4.  Swift Programming Language

The next latest iOS app development trend on our today’s list is the programming language Swift 5. Swift is considered as the standard language for developing iOS applications, the reason being Swift is the official programming language of Apple and it is flexible, scalable, secure, and efficient. Apple released Swift 5 in 2019, and since then the programming language is used widely by the iOS mobile app developers to create some of the best iOS apps for the App Store.

Apple released Swift 5 in 2019 with binary compatibility and Application Binary Interface (ABI) and the programming language is equipped with future enum cases and raw stings. Swift 5.1 came as a later version of the programming language in 2020 with features including Compiler and language updates, Package manager updates, Module stability SwiftSyntax updates, etc. In September 2020, Apple launched the Swift 5.3 version which is considered the most recent update and comes equipped with lots of new features.

Talking about figures, 3000+ iOS mobile apps have been developed using Swift as the programming language and all of them are available on the App Store. There are reports that Swift libraries will come included in the upcoming macOS, iOS, and tvOS devices. The only thing which makes Swift stand apart from other programming languages is its compatibility with Linux OS which is again a plus point for the iOS mobile apps developers.

Swift being the latest iOS Mobile App Development trend in 2021 is likely to get better in the coming years. We can expect features like concurrency support,  better-debugging support, accurate diagnostics, faster build along with others. 

Read more: How To Find UDID on iPhone

5.  Wearable Apps

 Everyone is aware of the wearables trend nowadays, and the popularity that these devices have gained in a very short span of time. Talking about figures, global research and advisory firm Gartner has confirmed that by the end of the year 2021, the wearable market will reach up to $62 billion.

At present, there are dozens of categories of wearable devices available in the market and these include devices like smartwatches, smart glasses, fitness trackers, smart jewelry, etc. Usually, all kinds of wearables are the same and have almost similar functionality except the design part. Besides smartwatches and fitness bands being the most common smart wearables these days, people have started focusing on other unique wearables including smart rings which come equipped with some of the bizarre features including a panic button and the ability to lock cars.

Day by day increasing demand for smart wearables seems to be exciting news for mobile app developers as these devices are designed to support applications, which are capable of performing some of the very important functions required in a day to day life. Many tech giants have put their feet in the wearable segment and have started to hire iOS app development service providers to create the required apps and meet the market demand.

Wearable apps including apps to calculate blood pressure, oxygen rate, heartbeat, number of walking steps, etc. are the major attraction of any wearable device nowadays. Besides the common and popular wearable apps that we have discussed above, Apple Watch 5 has some very unique apps that are capable of identifying panic situations by just measuring the pulse of the users. With Apple releasing a new smartwatch model every year, the scope for iOS mobile app developers is very fast in terms of technology.

Wearable applications are one of the latest iOS app development trends in 2021 and the reason behind this is that these applications are even useful during the COVID-19 pandemic besides being used for tracking the day-to-day fitness activities of the users.

Yes, we can say that wearable iOS apps have created new limits and targets for the mobile industry. iOS App developers have a wider scope with respect to creating more efficient and feature-rich apps for various industries including healthcare and entertainment. 

To Conclude

In the above article, we discussed the list of the latest iOS mobile app development trends in 2021. We also had a detailed discussion on how the iOS mobile app developers will support the latest technologies by developing the specific mobile apps and how these apps will play an important role in the future mobile application markets.

The most important thing that the iOS app development service provider should keep in mind is that the customers are attracted to apps that are robust, user friendly, and trending. It is not at all necessary to make apps that include all the trending features as this will require more effort and time. The best thing is to identify the customer’s needs and develop an app that can best fit their requirement.