App development is a huge market worldwide with more than 6.6 million apps available on the mobile App Store. Statista estimates that in 2017, around 197 billion apps were downloaded. Businesses recognize that mobile app strategy adoption is a critical need. Businesses will have many opportunities in 2018, but they must keep up with the latest trends in app development. We will walk you through the top 10 app development trends for 2018. This will help you identify what needs to be implemented in your business app and what to watch out for in order to create compelling apps.
1. Continual Growth of IoT and Wearables: Statista reports clearly demonstrate the steady growth of IOT over the last few years. The number of devices supporting the Internet of Things is expected to reach 31 billion by 2020. Forbes predicts that the Internet of Things will become a huge market in 2018.

Statista reports also indicate that the market for wearable tech is very promising. The global number of connected wearable devices is expected to rise from 325 million in 2016 and reach over 830 million by 2020.
2. Accelerated mobile pages: AMP, also known as Accelerated Mobil Pages, is a new way to speed up the loading time of mobile apps’ web pages. Google launched AMP to allow developers easy access to web pages on a variety of devices. Developers can now use AMP to make their websites accessible on a variety of mobile platforms and devices. AMP speeds up page loading and reduces page bounce rates. Developers can use AMP to increase traffic, speed up content replacement, boost ad visibility and improve mobile searches. AMP can also be used to enhance the user experience for various cross-platform web-based mobile applications.
3. Cloud-Based App Development: There has been a remarkable increase in the development, testing, deployment, and maintenance of enterprise apps. Forbes predicts that the global public cloud market will grow by $178 billion in 2018, compared to $146 billion in 2017. The expected growth at a compound annually growth rate (CAGR), is 22 percent. Cloud-based apps allow startups and small businesses to launch and manage their apps easily without having to invest in infrastructure. Cloud-based mobile apps not only streamline business operations from anywhere, but they also allow for collaboration and enhance productivity. These apps retrieve data from the Cloud, thereby reducing the system’s memory load. This allows developers and business owners to focus on other areas of their business.
4. Artificial Intelligence (AI), also known as Artificial Intelligence, is a powerful feature in mobile apps that offers personalized experience, recommendation engines and behavioral targeting. It also allows for the use of chatbots. Chatbots are a new type of AI tool that stimulates human conversation. Chatbots are not yet featured in many apps today, but many apps will soon integrate them to synchronize to Facebook Messenger Bot.
5. AR & VR: Augmented Reality (AR), Virtual Reality (VR), and other modern mobile app development trends include Augmented Reality, VR, and Mixed Reality (VR). AR & VR were used in a revolutionary way in 2017’s entertainment and gaming industries. The development and accessibility of AR-enabled apps was the focus of the previous year. ARKit from Apple, and ARCore (Google) were launched to provide solid augmented reality app development platforms that can be used on mobile devices. AR apps contribute to an unparalleled user experience.
6. Advancing Enterprise and Micro Apps: An Adobe study found that 77% of businesses believe enterprise apps have increased their ROI. 66% are considering investing in enterprise app development. By 2021, the enterprise app market will reach 430 billion. Micro apps with appealing features like increased targeting, lightweight requirements and HTML based building are becoming increasingly popular. This is a sign that the app development trend will remain constant in this year’s.
7. App developers are increasingly focusing on enterprise mobile security. BYOD (Bring Your Own Device), policies are becoming more popular, but they pose significant risks and can pose threats to apps. App developers must take a lot of care to protect app codes. App developers must take additional measures to ensure the security of their apps by implementing data encryption and authorizations that are effective.
8. Machine Learning: The machine learning algorithms have been used in recent iOS and Android versions to provide a better user experience. 2018 will see the use of machine learning algorithms to create market-ready, feature-rich mobile applications with the capability.