Smartphones have become constant companions of our life. Our day starts with an Alarm on the phone, using Whatsapp to chat with friends, listening to music, checking emails. Not only has this phone all these features but also keeps us abreast of the latest news. Our whole life seems to be controlled flawlessly by the mobile devices. The current status shows that around more than 2 billion people are Android phone users. Due to this growth in the use of Android phones, today businesses are focused on attracting people by developing diverse and interesting apps for the smart users. In case users do not find your app up to the standards of the user, they might just reject it, since they may find the same service as your competitor and with a much better functionality. All the leading businesses achieve a particular status in the market by constantly developing and adapting to the latest roles and resources. We have seen that the trends of Android application development change every year based on updates Google makes.

Here we discuss the latest Android app development trends that may be followed in 2018 –

1. Android Instant Apps – Sometimes a user needs certain apps for a single time use. In the year 2016, Google introduced the concept of Instant apps. This new technology allowed the users to use the app without downloading the full size of the app. They can easily install an app in part and also experience the product without wasting their mobile data and time. At present Instant Apps traffic is nearly the same as Web page traffic. Google has launched Google Play instant which allows users to try a game without installing it. Some of the apps that support instant apps are Sky scanner, Buzz feed, and the UN’s Share the Meal app. These apps have a “Try it now” button on their store listings.

2. Cloud-based Android apps on the rising – Cloud-based apps are on demand, the main reason being companies having to deal with crucial data. Businesses need to save huge amounts of data and also keep them protected. Cloud computing offers a virtually shared facility and online storage space. Cloud-based apps make sure that the businesses can access data anytime and anywhere. It also brings security to the data of the users. Data can be streamed more conveniently using cloud storage.

3. Internet of things (IoT) in Android Development –Just like Artificial Intelligence (AI0 and Machine learning, IoT has also been in the top list of Google. This technology that creates a suitable environment for people by connecting the electronic devices i.e. app developers have made it possible for users to control different electronic devices using their smartphones. At present Android developers are in process of creating apps that offer an interactive user experience.

4. Rise of Kotlin – Kotlin is a recent programming language that works on Java Virtual Machine and is easy to learn. Kotlin offers few advantages due to which it is coming up. These advantages are - existing Java code can be called from Kotlin and vice versa and also offers Null Safety(eliminating the danger of null references from code).

5. AR and VR (Augmented Reality and Virtual Reality)– AR makes to give a visual experience of products in real time to the users and VR adds more to it by providing customers with an interactive experience with the use of 3D visuals. The entertainment industry is going to be the industry which is to make the most of AR and VR services. The biggest example of AR and VR was POKEMON GO game which came into existence in 2016.

6. Security Feature of Apps – Due to ever-growing technological difficulties and rising expenditure on the information technology, there are lots of instability and risks to the app security. With increasing leak of personal information, security is the biggest concern for Android app developers. Security apps give the customer a feeling of safety and improve their trust level.

7. Wearable apps – Tech world has come up with the concept of wearable technology that is more approachable than hand held apps. These wearable apps have superior sensors that make them more preferable to users and also increase user interaction with the app through voice commands. Demands for these apps have seen a growth since the start of 2018.

8. AI (Artificial Intelligence) & Machine learning based apps –Google was the first to initiate AI in their apps. Google came up with Android AI Development. Going forward most of the user interactions with their devices will be done using a virtual personal assistant and Google’s Android AI assistant has proved to be on top when compared with any other AI- assistant.

9. On-Demand apps –These apps have changed ways of business and are growing rapidly. Since these apps are customer friendly, convenient, easy to use and are used for the daily activities of the customers, they have become a favorite among users. Some examples are Ola, Uber, Swiggy, and Zomato. These are handled by hi-tech Android apps made for those businesses.

10. Innovations in Mobile payments – Mobile payments save a lot of time and energy thus encouraging customers to use them. Payment technologies like wearable payment solution, digital currencies, and contactless payments have paved the way for a noticeable change in the use of mobile payments. Customers prefer these payments to cash since these reduce their load of carrying paper cash everywhere thus making it more secure.

App Industry can progress only when it pays attention to the customer needs and thrives to improve their skills and technology-based apps.