Technology has always brought something new with time. And with these ever-changing technologies, you need to stay updated to get all the benefits from what's new.
Also, when we talk about technology, one of the first things that probably comes to our minds is mobile phones and mobile applications. We are also well aware of the name and fame of iOS devices. And as we've learned from a report from Above Avalon, the number of i-Phones in the wild likely now exceeds 925 million.
Now, it's time to look at the top iOS app development trends in 2020. We should take a deep dive into iOS mobile app development trends because iOS has become one of the leading development platforms in the market in recent years. iOS is also supposed to be safer than any other operating system.
We can see all this in these stats from Statista.com:
These statistics show the cumulative Apple App Store earnings of mobile app developers as of January 2020. As of the last reported period, Apple had paid a total of 155 billion U.S. dollars to iOS app developers. A year ago, this figure amounted to 120 billion U.S. dollars.
According to Goodworklabs.com, with an 18% market share and a combined share of 99.6% with Android, Apple’s iOS is one of the most happening operating systems of the world.
Well, after going through the various stats and facts, it's time to jump into different trends to watch for iOS app development in 2020.
Improved app security
Security features are one of the most helpful and important trends of iOS mobile app development. You might all be aware of Apple's security algorithms. Indeed the company is famous for its hardcore security layers and highly secure policies which help to stop hacks into Apple devices.
Given the number of hacking attacks these days, one mistake can destroy everything. And Apple has around 1.4 billion active devices.
Forbes published an article titled “iPhone Hack: Google Warns 1 Billion Apple Users They May Have Been Attacked” on 30th Aug 2019. This was just before the launch of iPhone 11 and almost every iOS device was found vulnerable. The vulnerability was fixed in the latest iOS updates.
According to one statement by Phil Schiller, the Senior Vice President of Worldwide Marketing at Apple Inc,
“(Apple is) helping to protect our children from technologies that could be used to violate their privacy and security.”
This sheds some light on potential security loopholes. And to help close them, Apple has initiated an enterprise-wide culture that caters to the user’s need to create a safe environment. So their aim is to help improve overall security as well as prevent cyber-attacks and data breaches.
Let’s talk about password auto-fill, for example. Did you know that Apple has deployed ASWebAuthentication Sessions which help coordinate cookies and website data for signing in? With this, the device is able to use the authentication service's frameworks in order to incorporate password manager apps.
Cloud Integrated iOS Apps
Cloud technology has brought a revolution to the tech space as well as many opportunities. With the help of cloud technology, organisations can store vast amounts of data in the cloud without any fear of using too much data space.
Because of this, most iOS apps are now built on cloud technology as this is one of the most trustworthy platforms where you can store data. You can also access it anywhere with full security, quickly and easily.
You've probably heard about "iCloud" services. This allows iOS device users to store their content without worrying about space. Content stored in iCloud includes stuff like images, files, notes, and much more.
iCloud can be accessed on any device with your login id and password. According to Wikipedia, 850 million people trust iCloud.
A significant advantage of having cloud-based apps is that they do not need any physical space in your system, as you can run your data directly on the cloud.
The cloud helps enhance and extend the internal memory of your smart devices. This major feature of cloud-based apps helps increase productivity and collaboration with mobile apps.
This trend is going to revolutionise app development in the coming years.
Enterprise Development
Enterprise development is one of the most essential and primary parts of many businesses, and this is why most of the developers prefer to build Enterprise software through iOS.
Enterprise development should be done in a customised way so that the user can get all the benefits. It provides the best user experience, improved security, and high productivity.
This is why most iOS developers trust iOS because it is useful in scalable enterprise development.
Source: The Verge
Swift 5 Programming Language
The Swift 5 programming language has become quite trendy. Apple has released it with a stable Application Binary Interface (ABI) and binary compatibility.
In addition to ABI, Swift 5 has raw strings, future enum cases, a result type, checking for integer multiples and a lot more. Now iOS app development companies are focusing on using Swift to the best of its abilities for optimal business impact.
Source: 9to5Mac
According to Reddit, “Of the top 110 apps on the app store, 42% are using Swift. If you ignore games, then 57% of the apps are using Swift.”
Swift libraries will be incorporated into every future macOS, iOS, Wearable OS, and TVOS device.
Swift 5 is source compatible with Swift 4, Swift 4.1 and Swift 4.2, as well as with X code 10.2. It has a code migration that is designed to handle some of the necessary source changes automatically.
One of the significant advantages of this software is that it is highly compatible with Linux, so it will be easy for developers to increase their knowledge base for Swift 5 when designing apps.
IoT Focused Apps
There is no doubt that the internet of things has become part of day to day life, so there is no need to introduce it. This technology is becoming more well-known by the day among developers worldwide.
The Internet of Things is a source of communication between you and your smart device. This is why it is creating a revolution.
Today developers are more focused on building iOS apps that, for example, can connect to internet-enabled devices. So we could say that IoT has helped developers create exceptional offerings for users by embedding better connection facilities in their apps.
There is no doubt that IoT is going to revolutionise the technical world. This is why iOS developers should use this technology as their main tool. It is definitely beneficial and makes things easier for end-users.
Let’s look at an example: pharmaceutical companies use IoT devices to help develop temperature monitoring apps. These apps can detect whether temperatures for certain processes (as desired for the same) do not exceed the allowed limits. So, there are many fields where IoT is leaving its impact with great positivity.
Globally, the number of IoT devices that are active is expected to grow to 10 billion by 2020 and 22 billion by 2025, says IOT-analytics.com
Final words
Well, on the basis of this information, you can now see that the above-mentioned iOS app development trends are going to rule 2020. So you should definitely not forget these trends while working on your iOS apps this year.
If you still have questions you can explore this vast topic more. Otherwise, you can leave a comment to let me know how this article helped you.
A related interesting read: Top Mobile App Trends For 2020