The mobile application sector is currently the hottest industry out there. The number of new applications entering the space, across genres is at an all-time high and the trend only seems to be going upwards.
It’s not surprising that the competition between Android and iOS has continued to be cutthroat. While the intense competition has resulted in a great user experience for the users from both sides of the operating systems, app entrepreneurs and app builders also have reasons to be elated.
According to Statista, the revenue from mobile applications is expected to reach $693 billion counts in 2021. It’s observed that a key reason behind such phenomenal growth the platforms are witnessing is the doings of constant innovation and improvement in Android and iOS app development.
With that scope of growth in mind, let’s take a look into the list of iOS app development trends that we can expect from the successful OS in 2021 and beyond.
Swift 6 programming language
The year 2020 saw Swift 5 and Swift 5.1 entering the app development domain as an upgraded or better version of the iOS app programming language. There were a number of reasons that claimed why businesses should invest in Swift 5 like stable API and binary compatibility, compiler and language updates, standard library updates, package manager updates, module stability, etc.
Although the details of the features of Swift 6 are still kept under wraps, there are a few things we can expect to get better this year, they are – faster build, better debugging support and memory ownership model, accurate diagnostics, better tooling with package manager, swift language server at the center and the addition of concurrency support in the iOS app programming language, etc.
Machine learning
Machine learning is one of the most exciting new trends in iOS app development, more specifically how the app would build upon the Core ML updates that formed a great part of last year’s trends. The updates in 2020 around machine learning were structured in a way that restored AI as the norm.
This year seems to be no different, as we believe Apple will continue to build upon the improvements of the core ML updates that include new layer types, support for encrypting models, ability to host model updates on CloudKit, etc. There is one thing that can be surely said irrespective of the development in the iOS app domain – the introduction of a lot more intelligent applications in the market.
Augmented reality
Every year it’s expected that Apple will be launching its line of AR products in the market. The year 2021 is no different. There is news floating in the market that Apple is set to release AR Glasses. This news is enough for people who create iPhone app to rejoice. But it remains to be seen that whether Augmented Reality is the future of iOS app development or an unpredictable thing that the iOS app developers need to wait some more for.
But when we consider the iOS app development trends in 2021, it can be seen that there are various reasons for the app community to be happy about. Just last year, Apple had introduced features like face tracking and depth capabilities to ARKit 4 that made it easy for iOS app developers to place AR experiences at preferred geographical points. This year, it can be anticipated that we will get to witness a greater connection between ARKit and Apple Engine that will make virtual experiences extremely realistic and inventive.
Internet of Things
When talking about new trends in app development, it is a must to discuss the Internet of Things. On the IoT front, we can expect Apple to update the efficiency of HomeKit. It is more than likely that we’ll witness the iOS developers using the HomeKit framework to configure accessories and coming up with actions for controlling them.
Although there are no concrete data backing it, we are positive that this year, Apple will integrate watchOS, iOS, and tvOS with the HomeKit accessories on a number much higher than the years that have gone by. The efforts being taken for HomeKit development will make it one of the key latest trends in iOS application in 2021.
Cloudkit
One of the most promising and appealing iOS app development trends to look forward to would be the consistent innovation and bettering of the Apple cloud service. With free storage of 1PB, developers and iOS app builders can store their entire app data in iCloud backed by the functionalities of simple sharing, real-time syncing, and promising services like authentication and server-side storage and scale.
Privacy updates
The development services of the iOS apps are renowned for their robust security features and the iOS14 update is a testament to that. The privacy update of the iOS14 was armed with a series of features that reinstated the fact that security is the one thing that is left uncompromised when you build an iOS app. The features included, modification in app install attribution and geo-location access, changes in store-level control and IFDA, and a privacy report highlighting companies that track you.
It is safe to assume that every iOS app builder and iOS app development company will revisit their development approach to ensure that there is no loophole in the application.
These were the trends on the horizon of 2021. However, it remains to be seen whether they would dominate the market or Apple comes up with something revolutionary that sets the benchmark for future iOS development trends.
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