In today’s world, the technological progress is moving so fast that coming up with accurate forecasts of what we will be using next year is practically impossible. However what we know for sure is that there is a growing demand for mobile devices, which dictates a lot of rules in the IT industry and producing new trends.
And that’s what we’ll be talking about today. Based on the recent data and past tendencies, we can identify current iOS development trends that are promised to play a big role in the upcoming years.

Why iOS?

Despite Android being a clear leader in sheer volume of applications on the market as well as total downloads, iOS App Store is still leading in the revenue, when compared to Google Play. The reasons for this are demographics and cost. iOS users typically have higher income and therefore tend to spend more on applications.
Apple has pretty much started the era of smartphones and applications as we know it today, so it is only natural that we look at iOS and new trends in the app development for iPhone, iPod touch and iPad to analyze the future possibilities.

AR (Augmented Reality). Pokémon is to blame

The Augmented Reality trend has seen an enormous growth in popularity in many industries. The cultural phenomenon the Pokémon Go mobile game was, made every developer think about possibilities of using AR in a non-gaming sector.
Now there are new apps utilizing both GPS and AR technology to provide a whole new range of services. One of the most prominent uses of such technology is in travel and tourism business. There is a great demand in the market for mobile guides that will navigate you through the town and not only show you all the important sights but also will provide you with the location’s description and history. Such application already exists, but it is not focused on the historical aspect. Yelp Monocle allows you to point smartphone in the direction you are going and it will provide you with business names and reviews.

Internet of extremely many Things

IoT is one of the most promising trends in the entire IT industry, so there should be no surprise that iOS app development sector has jumped on this technology in an attempt to generate more value. Internet of Things actually combines in itself a couple of more development trends, most noticeable of which are: great emphasis on cloud computing and networks of data-gathering.
The ultimate goal of IoT is to connect a variety of devices into a single system, facilitating data transmission between all of them, collecting valuable information and using it for analysis and predictions. The possibilities of applying IoT in iOS mobile development are limitless – creating smart home management apps (check out HomeKit), making room devices management available to hotel guests via apps, health care apps and more. And what makes managing these apps easier and at the same time creates a new challenge for software developers is Apple’s wearable – Apple Watch.
Apart from allowing for status tracking and management of many other data-generating devices, Apple Watch itself has a variety of Big Data sources:

• built-in GPS (location sensor);
• Wi-Fi (802.11b/g/n 2.4GHz) (tracker of wifi networks for better positioning and connecting other sensors);
• Bluetooth 4.0 (tracker of Bluetooth access points for better positioning and connecting other sensors);
• heart rate sensor (health sensor);
• accelerometer (speed tracking sensors);
• ambient light sensor
  All of them generate loads of information that can be used for various purposes. That’s why so many iOS apps are launched in tandem with their Apple Watch variation.

M-commerce, the biggest shopping mall in your pocket

Despite the fact that most people already have some sort of mobile device and it is no big deal, the popularity of smartphones continually grows. And the mobile traffic has already exceeded desktop traffic. So, naturally, we see a spiking interest in mobile commerce from consumers. And consumers are ultimately dictating the rules of any commerce.
Today, the average purchase value per transaction for mobile apps exceeds desktops and mobile websites, clearly showing that mobile-friendly retail websites are falling out of demand. Besides, in general, about 90% of all time that we spend on mobile is within various applications. And the rest 10% falls on mobile browsing. So, by combining these facts we can clearly see that e-commerce applications will be an even bigger earner for iOS developers than today.

Swiftly, we are short of/there is no time!

The shortening of developments cycles is among top priorities in any organization, and application development is no exception. Apple has introduced a brand new programming language in 2015, called Swift, which acts as an alternative to Objective-C for iOS development. The aim of Swift was to speed up and simplify the coding process for every Apple’s platform: iOS, watchOS and tvOS.
Despite being extremely young, Swift has even found its way into advanced app development. It is undoubted that we will see further expansion of this particular programming language in the following years. And it seems like it might even take its place in the industry as a new status quo.

What Can We Expect from the iOS Apps in the Future?

Based on these iOS design trends, we can see that the application development industry is going towards further user and developer friendliness. Coming up with a user-centric product is more challenging than ever, and it requires IT development businesses to quickly respond to major changes in patterns and trends. But at the same time, for consumers, this means better-quality products.
So, you have an idea for an iOS app? We at Softvelopers would love to hear all about it. With your vision and our technological expertise, we can develop a state-of-the-art application that will triumph on the market.