Global Trends in App Development and Their Economic Effects

Introduction

The global app economy is growing rapidly these days, as there is a huge increase in the usage of apps though mobiles and laptops. These apps are changing our ways of working and interacting with others. The mobile application market is also making a huge amount of money and providing significant benefits to individuals, worldwide.

Major Drivers of the App Economy

Google Play and Apple’s App Store are the main drivers of the rapid growth of the app ecosystem. The Android ecosystem largely impacts its key stakeholders. One of the main stakeholders are device manufacturers. These people integrate the free and open-source Android operating system into their smartphones. LEDs, digital watches, and many more businesses create a large variety of apps that are accessed by consumers (users) on their smart devices, and consumers take advantage of the expanded choice and access to immense information on their Android devices.

Economic Benefits of Mobile App Development

By prioritising consumer empowerment, ecosystem collaboration, and interoperability, both Apple and Google help drive overall economic growth. Mobile app development is possible due to Apple and Google’s contributions to the global economy by improving choice, access, and safety.

Empowering Choice

Both Apple’s App Store and Google Play facilitate choice, cost savings, and convenience for consumers, businesses, and device makers. They provide benefits to consumers by expanding their choices of devices, app stores, and high-quality apps. They also provide benefits to businesses, as Android device makers offer a range of affordable devices that are calculated to save $33 billion till now in development and operating cost segments. Also, app developers publish their apps on multiple app stores, which are available on each Android device, offering consumers the same degree of choice on where to download their desired apps.

Easing Access

Google Play facilitates businesses’ access to the international app market, and Android facilitates consumers’ access to connectivity. The average cost of an Android phone is about 0.4% of an individual’s annual income, which makes these devices more affordable and allows for highly accessible internet connectivity. Although Google Play allows app developers to access the overseas app markets, which generate 79% of developers’ revenue through Google Play from overseas consumers, this access makes 1.4 million small app developers able to compete internationally.

Escalating Safety

Both Google Play and App Store provide a safe and secure environment for both consumers and app developers to interact online. Both invested in features, tools, policies, and processes that protect consumers of Android devices from online harm. 

Impact of the Recession on App Development

The global recession, due to COVID-19, had a huge effect on many sectors, including the app development industry. However, the restrictions on the mobility of resources had given a boost to the digital economy. This recession has both advantages and challenges.

Advantages

According to a survey by Clutch, in 2021, 33% of small businesses were ready to increase their investment in mobile apps, regardless of the economic uncertainty due to COVID-19. This means that there was a high demand for app development services, regardless of the economic downturns, recessions, etc.

Cost Saving

Businesses want to cut costs, so app development companies offer their services at lower rates than usual. This makes app development more affordable for small and medium-sized businesses that did not have enough budget to invest in the app development industry before.

Increased Demand for Digital Services

The demand for digital services increased during the recession as more people preferred to work from home at that time. The demand for mobile apps increases so that people can use those apps to work for remote companies, stay connected with them, and manage their finances easily. This led to an opportunity for mobile app development companies to meet the increasing demand for this kind of service.

Challenges

The following are some challenges that consumers and businesses faced during the recession:

Reduced Client Budgets

In 2020, a survey was conducted by Gartner, and he found that the average budget for mobile app development projects decreased by 5.6% as compared to the previous year. This data suggests that app development companies might find ways to provide high quality apps at low costs in order to remain competitive.

Increased Competition

In the first quarter of 2021, a report by Statista explained that there were probably 2.7 million apps available for download on the Google Play Store.

Strategies to Surpass Competitors

The following are some strategies that are used to surpass competitors:

Focus on High Quality Apps

App development companies need to focus on providing high-quality apps that are tailored to the needs and demands of users in order to reduce competition during a recession. A survey by ArcTouch revealed that 76% of users stop using an app within the first three months after downloading it. This consumer behaviour triggers app developers to provide high-quality apps that meet users’ demands and needs in order to remain competitive. For instance, app developers can use quality iOS app testing services to ensure the best quality of their apps.

Specialise in a Specific Niche

In a report by Grand View Research, it was explained that in 2025, the healthcare mobile app market size is expected to rise by $111.1 billion, which means that it is growing at a compound annual growth rate (CAGR) of 38.7% from 2018 to 2025. This report shows app development companies that there is immense potential for them to specialise in creating particular apps for the healthcare industry. 

App Economy

An economic system that totally revolves around mobile apps or digital app services is known as the app economy. The app economy consists of things like the development of apps by programmers and designers, the creation of app stores that provide apps to download, such as Google Play and Apple’s App Store, those companies that advertise their products within multiple apps, revenue generated by selling apps within app purchases or advertising, and the production of digital devices that are used to run the app, such as Android smartphones and foldables.

Top Money Makers 

The following are some top money makers that can be helpful in generating immense revenues in the mobile app ecosystem:

Ad Revenue

Hypercasual games dominate the app market because they generate a huge amount of revenue for developer companies and those who advertise through these game apps, like puzzles, simulations, and match games.

One-Time Purchases

According to the app store revenue, the TikTok app is at the top of the list for generating revenue. Other apps like Candy Crush Saga, Coin Master, Roblox, and Royal Master, including TikTok, are the top five apps for in-app purchases.

Subscriptions

Apps like YouTube Reigns Supreme, Disney+, HBO Max, Tinder, and Pandora are the top apps in the subscription-based apps category.

Total Revenue

Among all the other apps or digital services, social media is the main source of revenue on the online platform. It consists of Snapchat, YouTube, TikTok, Facebook, and Instagram.

Trends in Mobile App Development

The following are some trends in mobile app development:

AI and ML

Both artificial intelligence and machine learning are essential components of mobile app development. The size of the artificial intelligence market is expected to rise to $1345.2 billion by 2030. These are reported in a survey by MarketsandMarkets.

AI allows mobile app developers to make informed decisions and provide enhanced and personalised user engagement by analysing huge amounts of data, and ML enables apps to learn from user interactions and improve their time. Both AI and ML are improving the way we interact with digital mobile apps from personalised recommendations in streaming apps, such as Netflix, to predictive text suggestions in search engines like Google, Microsoft, etc. For example, artificial intelligence (AI) uses chatbots, such as Bank of America’s Erica, that are used to assist with customer queries, while predictive texts in Google searches refine the suggestions according to the user’s input. Multiple apps, such as Netflix, use ML for personalised recommendations to their users, while Google Maps uses real-time data to navigate a person’s location. 

Internet of Things (IoT)

The use of the internet of things impacts our daily lives. The powerful technology of IoT consists of a network of sensors that collect data from machines, people, and devices. By the end of 2024, the IoT will be predicted to connect with 207 billion devices worldwide, according to Forbes. The IoT triggers a new wave of innovation in mobile app development by transforming digital devices into a control hub for connecting multiple devices at a time.

For example, Tesla introduced mobile apps through which you are able to control your automobiles with your smartphones. The IoT mobile apps can be used in health and fitness tracking, such as Fitbit or Apply Watch, and automotive integration, like apps for Tesla owners.

Augmented Reality (AR)

Both augmented reality (AR) and virtual reality (VR) are the most disruptive technologies, as they merge the physical and digital worlds. For instance, online shopping apps, such as IKEA Place and Amazon AR, allow users to try new furniture virtually before buying it. In education, AR apps offer three-dimensional models to understand complex topics such as human anatomy for medical students.

Cross-Platform App Development

Business firms want to reach a large number of people using multiple smartphones and digital platforms. App developers write code only once and then use it on various platforms, which saves time and resources. Large corporations like Walmart and Skype use cross-platform development and enjoy improved performance and streamlined app experiences.

Mobile Commerce (M-Commerce)

Mobile commerce, or M-commerce, has now become a major trend as people prefer to shop from their smartphones as it is a more convenient form of e-commerce for them. Some retail giants, such as Amazon and Target, have D-to-C brands like Glossier. Individuals and businesses are now investing in m-commerce to enhance the personalised shopping experience of their clients. By improving security, user engagement, and personalisation, businesses can generate sales in the digital economy and capitalise on the growing trend of the mobile economy.

5G Technology

With its high reliability and ultra-fast speed, 5G technology has revolutionised mobile app development for laptops and mobile devices. Now, app developers can create heavy apps without the issue of bandwidth limitations. As a result, both app functions and user experience are improved.

7 Steps to Integrate 5G

The following are some steps to be considered when integrating 5G into mobile apps:

Improved Media Features

5G technology is used to improve the quality and speed of videos and images.

Faster Apps

Apps run smoothly on 5G devices with faster data speeds as compared to other devices.

Smoother Interaction

5G technology is used to experience 5G’s better connection for smoother interaction with multiple devices. 

Updated Look

The 5G’s better speed is used to enhance transitions and smoother animations.

Saving Battery

5G technology drains batteries very quickly, so one should carefully and wisely use the resources.

Upgrading Back End System

We need to upgrade the back end system in order to handle more data and manage more users.

Check and Balance

One must keep checking and balancing how the apps are working in different 5G situations. 

Conclusion

In conclusion, the app economy triggers progress in the fields of finance, retail, education, and healthcare. App economy also plays a significant role in developing mobile commerce, contactless payments, and on-demand services that improve consumer convenience and remove geographical barriers. The recent trends in the app development indicate upcoming developments in the app economy in the near future, which provide tremendous opportunities for app developers to embrace them.