Statista claims that mobile app revenue will reach $581.9 billion in 2020. There is lots of competition meaning that you need to be aware of the latest trends to stay competitive. iOS takes a significant part of the mobile app market. In this article, we’ll discuss iOS app development trends for 2020.
Here’s a list of main iOS trends in 2020 we’ve considered:
- Machine learning and artificial intelligence
Augmented reality
Internet of Things
Wearables
Cloud integration
Chatbots
iBeacon
Security
#1. Machine Learning and Artificial Intelligence
Regardless of the industry, many businesses try to apply ML and AI technologies to their iOS applications. Of course, Artificial Intelligence isn’t the phenomenon of 2020, but it brings a lot of positive changes.For example, Facebook shows relevant content, based on the users’ preferences. AI analyzes customers’ behavior and interactions (likes, comments, and more) and offer similar content.
According to the latest research by International Data Corporation, the AI technology will get the more than $47 billion in revenue by 2020.
Let’s consider some use cases of Artificial Intelligence.
Searching suggestions
This technology helps optimize the searching process. AI allows integrating the search suggestions along with spelling corrections. Spotify tends to suggest new artists and albums that customers may like. Also, the service can analyze the users’ activity and generate the playlist with their favorite genres, bands, and so on.
Siri
Siri becomes smarter. Artificial Intelligence and Machine Learning make Siri’s answers more accurate and trustworthy. In 2020, Siri is expected to analyze what’s happening with the user (e.g. location) and make appropriate and precise suggestions based on the collected data.
Deep Learning
AI-powered Machine Learning (aka Deep Learning) is used to analyze the customers’ behavior and predict their demands. As a result, businesses can reduce expenses due to more precise predictions. Netflix uses AI to improve recommendations to app users. That’s how the platform engage visitors.
#2. Augmented Reality (AR)
Augmented and Virtual Reality are among the next iOS app trends in 2020. In the last couple of years, we’ve experienced an obsession with AR games like Pokémon Go and Dino Trek.There are already a lot of apps like IKEA that use this technology to provide a better consumer experience. In 2020, AR applications become mainstream thanks to their abilities in marketing, healthcare, and other industries.
For example, well-known social media apps such as Instagram and Snapchat have already been integrating Augmented Reality. They offer users a bunch of cool stickers and animated masks.
Apple offers various tools to create Augmented Reality experiences:
- ARKit 3. This technology moved forward and enables showing content in front of or behind people, following up to three faces at a time.
- Reality Composer. It allows developing animations and interactions on iOS to improve application’s content.
- RealityKit framework. Using data provided by ARKit, this framework lets integrate virtual items into the real world.
#3. Internet of Things (IoT)
The Internet of Things technology brings a lot of changes to routine tasks. There is no doubt that IoT is one of the most significant iOS development trends.IoT allows connecting various devices and transferring the information. Statista claims that the IoT market’s size will reach $1.6 trillion by 2025. Internet connectivity becomes a new standard thanks to a great number of smart devices.
Industries like logistics, agriculture, and healthcare can benefit from IoT integration to their iOS applications. For example, iOS health applications can assist healthcare providers with checking patients’ condition at home and bring the data to the doctor.
For example, Triton Sponge helps determine how much blood a patient has lost. It uses various image processing algorithms to calculate the amount of blood.
Internet of Things has brought one more iOS app development trend — wearables. iOS applications powered by IoT tend to connect fitness trackers and smartwatches to smartphones. Their main task is collecting health data.
#4. Wearables
The stats are amazing: by the end of 2021, the market of wearable software expected to reach approximately $62 billion.There are a lot of wearable devices on the market like fitness trackers, smartwatches, smart jewelry, and more. Having similar functions, they may be completely different in design.
There are several most common features for wearables:
Health data collection
As users wear this device all the time, it’s perfect for tracking such health marks as heart rate, steps, burned calories, blood pressure, and more.
Notifications
Users can have push notification on their wrists which increases engagement. For example, you can send users notifications when they are passing by your store, using iBeacon technology.
Social media
Wearable devices allow looking through social media content. It can be quite profitable for businesses since social network is a perfect marketing channel.
Considering the future of iOS app development, it’s quite profitable to create applications for industries such as fitness and healthcare. Wearable devices are gaining their popularity due to their convenience. For example, such messengers as Telegram and Slack have versions for Apple Watch that allows receiving and sending messages.
#5. Cloud Integration
One more iOS app development trend for 2020 is a cloud technology that brings a lot of opportunities to the iOS app development. It assists with organizing and storing a large amount of information.Cloud-based iOS apps run on the cloud and increase the effectiveness and productivity of applications. Such a solution is beneficial for both — developers and users. This tool helps mobile apps store a large amount of data and manage complex tasks. As for iOS engineers, they can use cloud platform for the development, making it quicker and simpler.
Cloud technology has several more advantages:
Scalability. Any iOS app requires constant upgrades and updates to follow all the users’ requirements and expectations. Cloud solution offers higher scalability level.
Cost reduction. One more vital benefit of cloud technology is cost savings.
Security.
Such giants as Dropbox and AWS has already offered an opportunity to run an application on the cloud.
#6. iBeacon
This powerful technology from Apple is getting more and more popular in marketing. So it’s another iOS app development trend for 2020.But what is iBeacon itself?
Beacon stands for wireless transmitters that send signals using Bluetooth technology. Having established the connection, a push notification with set message appears on the user’s iPhone.
Let’s consider an example. The potential buyers are passing by the clothing store. And they don’t pay attention to the banners or ads. As soon as customers pass by the shop, sensors connect to the smartphone and send a notification.
This iOS app development trend can change the retail industry and boost sales. Let’s consider an example. The popular US department store Macy’s tend to use iBeacon technology. The customers get notifications about exciting deals and goods that may be interested in.
#7. Chatbots
More than half of the customers want to have more do-it-yourself services. So, chatbots fit this mission perfectly.For example, Starbucks has released an application called My Starbucks Barista. Users can tell the bot what kind of coffee they want, coffeeshop location, and other order details. After that, the customers just need to visit the chosen Starbucks and pick up their cup of coffee.
#8. High-Security Level
Last but not least trend in iOS app development for 2020 is security. Apple has already created a great security system. Due to a lot of cybercrimes, personal data protection is not only a trend but a vital improvement. These days, customers tend to pay via applications, so there are a lot of personal data to protect.iOS app developers pay a lot of attention to this matter. After the release of iOS 13, there are more opportunities to secure information.
Developers can integrate AppTransportSecurity (ATS) into their applications to offer a higher security level. This powerful tool increases the privacy and data integrity of connections between iOS applications and web services.
Apple's App Store has more than 2.2 billion apps. Consumers spend as much as 80% more on iOS apps compared to Android ones. Such a tendency led to $38.5 billion in revenue, $26.5 billion of which was paid off to iOS developers for 2017.
However, iOS is loved by developers from all over the world not only for financial reasons. The simplicity of development and minimalistic approach which company sticks to also make a difference. There are no fragmentation problems as the lineup of Apple devices is relatively small and all of them have a unified UI.
To build an iOS app, you'll need to hire iOS app developer working with Objective-C or Swift in Xcode or any other IDE. In this guide, we also cover the vital points you need to learn before you hire iOS programmers.
I would like to time this article to the simultaneous release of the second version of my successful and innovative application Word Wizard, and the fact that I have made $200k on the App Store. Next, I have decided to share figures about the education market on the App Store, and by the way to talk a little about my story and experience being the indie developers. I hope it can help some indie developers to make some decisions, as I did more than one year ago after reading some posts. It will also help to understand the size of the education market on iOS.
Actually, I will start with the sales and ranking figures, and then I tell more about my personal experience. I note that all figures are coming from AppFigures.
In the life comes a moment, when anyone who wishes to write programs for the products of Apple company has to learn a new programming language Objective-C. Here is a banal theory of the object-oriented programming (OOP) appearance
The problem of reusing a written code and its portability make the programmers constantly look for the new ways to organize, structure and abstracting it. In order to solve these problems are created the new programming paradigms, design template tooling, new languages, compilers, standard libraries, software platforms and frameworks. Thus were formed the paradigm of subprograms (procedures) that is implemented by the processor’s commands CALL \ RET and the stack (in fact, moving the implementing stream at the address of random rather than following the current command with further return). Then, the paradigm of modules (each file is a separate translation unit) that produced a two-stage translation: compilation of modules and their linking (static or dynamic) in the executable module.
id Software is a well-known company to most people that play such games as Dangerous Dave, Commander Keen, Wolfenstein, Doom, Heretic, HeXen etc. Some time ago, John D. Carmack made some statements at QuakeCon and promised to release the source code for Doom 3, but so far that has not happened.
ZeniMax company that presently is the owner of id Software (as well as Bethesda) has released an update for Doom Classic and Wolfenstein 3D for the iPhone. It added to them support of Retina Display and universality (now they can be played in iPhone and iPad), as well as it fixed some bugs in the updates.
The company offers an access to the current source codes for these games along with this update, so now you can make something of your own based on their development, or you can learn from the best game makers how properly make such games.
Codify is available in the App Store. It is a first code editor for iPad with the native interface and support for the touchscreen. It is very convenient: using a finger press on the object features and a pop-up window will appear with a list of options. Most importantly, the written code can be run any time in order to test the accelerometer and multi-touch. There would be no more problems with emulators!
Codify is built on the base of Lua language that is a simple and smart programming language, and it is well suited to create games for iPad.
Part Two
The first part can be found here.
The software part
iPad application
Overpatching of the application took only a week for the iPad. The main time was spent on rework of the user’s interface. Dimensions of screen resolution of the iPad and iPhone are different, so if we have not considered this when designing the interface - we have a problem (especially, if we have numerous screens).
If we lead 1024 without changing the dimensions to 480, then the resulting image will be 480x360, so we get 40 extra pixels vertically. One simple solution is to leave empty space above and below. I do not like this approach. Since I only have had three screens (almost everything is in the vector), I have reworked the source materials for expansion of 1024x768 and has written a utility that moving in 480x320, and cutting (shifting) the specific parts from top, bottom or both sides that I do not need.
I completely rewrote the dialog of posting to Twitter, the old was not designed for the iPad.
Transferring a binary file into universal format took exactly one click. So, select a target “Upgrade this target to ipad”.
I used this code below to find out if the iPad is software-based or not:
BOOL isPad ()
{
# ifdef UI_USER_INTERFACE_IDIOM
return (UI_USER_INTERFACE_IDIOM () == UIUserInterfaceIdiomPad);
# else
return NO;
# endif
}
Beginning
In October 2008, I have found out at an ordinary meeting with two friends that they are involved in the developing of games for the iPhone. At that time I already had almost completed shareware project for the Windows. I was inspired by the desire to port it for the iPhone, I started working in this direction.
Objectives
Create and adapt the development tools for the Windows platform without the purchasing of Mac device and related the development tools. Mac purchase was postponed until a full understanding of how it works. Almost finished project and tools for it were for the Windows, so I decided to do all for the Windows. I started implementing this idea after I spent a few days searching the internet.