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Top 7 iOS App Development Trends For 2018

iOS strives to give its customers the best in class service and features. So every year the iOS releases advanced kits and tools for the developers to use and innovate in their iOS app development process. Every year there are some amazing iOS app development trends that top the charts. This year is no different. 2018 is the year of amazing iOS innovations so choosing the top 7 trends was a tough task indeed. So without wasting any further time let’s have a look at this year’s top iOS app development trends.

ios app development trends main image

Last year Apple App Store broke all records in terms of revenue. Including the 30% standard cut that Apple takes from all the developers 2017’s revenue were over $26.5 billion. This means the App store generated about $11.5 billion for Apple in the year 2017. Such high revenues can only be earned from the users if the iOS platform is continuously innovating and giving something new to their customers.

iOS App Development Trends of 2018

Without wasting any more time let us have a look at the top 7 iOS app development trends of 2018.

3D gaming and AR/VR

3D Gaming and ARVR development

Gaming and AR/VR have a really promising future in the mobile app market. It is predicted that this market will become a $200 billion industry by 2020. The entire craze started with Pokémon Go in 2016. It was the pioneer app that brought together GPS and Augmented Reality into a single gaming app and took the world by storm. Now there are many games similar to Pokémon Go in the app market and many apps that have used the base concept and developed something completely different and innovative.

Two months back Apple launched ARKit 2. A platform that allows developers to integrate not just stand alone AR abilities to their iOS app but also shared experience where multiple users can view the same AR object in real-time from multiple devices in multiple angles. ARKit 2 is such a strong tool that you can use it to build apps that can calculate accurate measurements just using the camera. These features are sure to make ARKit 2 an iOS app development trend for 2018.

Apple’s HomeKit for IoT apps

ios HomeKit for IoT apps

Internet of Things may seem a technology from the future and in true sense it is. A network of physical devices and appliances, IoT enables you to interact with daily devices from your homes and offices using your smartphone. Apple has given a new avenue of approach for IoT app development by introducing Apple’s HomeKit. With devices working in sync, to speaking with each other, HomeKit has tremendous potential to take home automation to new heights.

The HomeKit framework provides a configuration platform for appliances and creates actions to control them. It’s easy to group the actions for appliances using HomeKit and access them using SIRI. HomeKit is a must tool for companies planning to manufacture accessories or develop apps for IoT application. HomeKit is one of the best tools for IoT integration hence becoming one of the top iOS app development trends this year.

Siri and AI (SiriKit)

SIRI and AI development trends

Who doesn’t like to have an obedient assistant that will help you with almost every task? Well, not everyone has the means to hire an assistant but Apple changed that with Siri, a personal assistant on your phone that can help you with almost any task. Siri has always been adored by iPhone users and has been a very big reason why people choose iOS over Android.

With the latest SiriKit launched this year, Apple is taking the assistant to a whole new level. Using SiriKit now you can interact with Siri using your iOS app as well as the Apple’s watchOS app. There are some new additions like access from the lock screen and a hands-free mode with a tom of Siri shortcuts. Now Siri can understand requests given from the HomePod and send those requests to the iOS device making it the most sought-after iOS app development trend of 2018.

App Security

ios App Security

In the digital age where all the data is stored on devices and in clouds, security is a very important factor that can’t be overlooked. Mobile data security threats have grown at a frightening rate and to fight these threats Apple is always improving its security. Recently Uber accepted that they were hacked and a lot of user data was stolen. Apple’s App Store has always been known for its strict store rules that have almost always been successful in keeping iOS app related threats at bay.

Last year at WWDC event, Apple made App Transport Security (ATS) mandatory for every new iOS app. This was done in addition to the already existing two-factor authentication rule which is a quite mainstream approach now. Furthermore, Apple iPhones’ built-in security features are also growing each year. The data transfer tools and methods should also grow more robust.

Accelerated Mobile Pages (AMP)

AMP ios app development

No one has time for loading pages and buffering graphics. In the time where time is the most valuable asset if you can save your users’ time, you can win their trust. Enter, Accelerated Mobile Pages (AMP). It is a boiled down version of an HTML webpage. AMP is an open-source website technology used to improve the performance of web content (websites, advertisements, content pages, etc).

The main aim of AMP projects is to create websites and ads that load faster and are high- performing and visually appealing across all devices and platforms. AMP is actually a library that helps in building such websites that are smooth in working and instantaneous in loading. AMP is an iOS app development trend that is making some noise this year and is going to be a developer favorite in no time.

Swift 4

Swift 4 ios app development trends

Swift is the most preferred programming language for iOS app development. iOS developers find this language very adaptable, robust, and interactive because its syntax is very concise. Swift 4 was released in last year’s WWDC event and since has become the favorite language for iOS developers. With Swift 4 we can expect the iOS apps to be more secure and developed in a faster timeframe.

It is built on the strengths of Swift 3 and making significant improvements to the standard library with new features like archival and serialization. It can also be pre-compiled for macOS and tvOS. The app development will be simplified which in turn will reduce the memory consumption of a device. Swift 4 will be the programming language that is becoming an iOS app development trend for 2018.

Apple Pay

Apple Pay ios app development

Apple Pay is a digital wallet created by Apple Inc. The users can use Apple Pay to make almost any type of payment in apps for food, entertainment, work, shopping, ticket booking, reservations, etc. This wallet will change the whole approach of payment by making all the transactions cashless. This is the payment mode of the future where all the transactions can be done on a touch of a finger.

Apple Pay supports all the iOS devices whether they be iPhone, iPad, Apple computers and even iWatches. The security on Apple Pay is tremendous which has hiked its transactions by 500% since its launch. Apple Pay works independently so you don’t need to store any of your debit/credit card details. Apple Pay is the wallet of the future and iOS app development trend of today.

Conclusion

Apple is always on the fore to progress. Is your iOS app ready for these trends? With every year something new to offer you need to hire iOS app developers who are familiar with these trends and know how to make the best of it. So these were the top 7 iOS app development trends of 2018. We’ll be back soon with a new list of trends for 2019.

Mahil Jasani
Meet the COO of Excellent WebWorldand the web tech lover. Mahil has all the knowledge of Drupal Development, and iOS App Development. His blogs are helping lots of start-ups to understand how to improve the website performance and how to enhance the web designs.
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