WHAT ARE THE TOP SIX TRENDS IN ANDROID APP DEVELOPMENT?

It is said that the future of mobile is the future of everything; and when it comes to mobile, the first thing that comes to our mind are the various applications that we use daily, whether for our personal organization or social media networking, for entertainment, or our business. All these apps run on an operating system and Android is one such operating system that rules the world. It has 85% of the market share with more than 3.04 million applications on the Google play store. This makes Android the most popular operating system and with this title, Android has every reason to be known as a trendsetter in the app development process. Let us look at the top six latest trends to look out for, in android app development.

1) Android Instant Apps 

These are web-based apps that users can use without having to download them on their device, saving storage space and installation traffic, while offering impeccable UI/UX designs and compatibility across various android devices. These are also easy to develop as developers can create them using the same Android API and source code. Android Studio gives the option to transform an existing app, therefore, developers do not have to create two separate apps. Some examples of android instant apps are Skyscanner, Buzzfeed, and Redbull tv.

2) Multi-Platform and Cross-Platform App Development 

Kotlin and Flutter are the latest trends in multi-platform and cross-platform android app development. Kotlin allows developers to develop two native applications at the same time, for example, android and iOS. Developers can create a standard part of the application on Kotlin and then complement it with design and features specific to the operating system. Flutter, on the other hand, allows android app developers to create a completely native iOS app using their existing Java or Kotlin code. In simplest words, Flutter helps you build two apps in the time and cost of a single app.

3) Machine Learning and Artificial Intelligence

AI)Machine learning and AI are already embedded in many apps, for instance, voice assistants and photo editing apps that people use every day. But in the future, Android apps are going to have even more AI-based features such as voice translators and smart predictions. Social networking apps now show content based on user preference and previous interactions. Apps like Netflix make recommendations based on previous shows watched by viewers, thus personalizing the content using machine learning and AI.

4) Android Jetpack 

Android Jetpack is a complete suite of tools, guidelines, and libraries that app developers can use to build simple and complex mobile apps. This reduces the development time and complexity of mobile app development. It includes four major components namely:

• Architecture: Offers elements to design reliable and easy-to-maintain apps
• UI: Allows developers to make the application user-friendly through built-in widgets and assistants
• Foundation: Offers testing and integration features with Kotlin
• Behavior: Provides additional functionality in apps such as notifications and permissions.

Android Jetpack is becoming popular as it is easy to use with structured and understandable documentation offered by Google, which makes it instantly easy for developers to use.

5) Android Things 

The emergence of the Internet of Things (IoT) is not new to anyone. It is said that by 2025, 75 million gadgets will be connected worldwide. Android Things is the latest and trending technology that has been created to support IoT. It is a Google platform writing IoT applications that can be written by integrating standard Android API with a specific IoT support library aimed to provide access to sensors and actuators.

6) 5G

The prediction is that by 2023, the number of 5G connections will surpass one billion. The latest trends in android app development need high-speed data transfer technology, and 5G networks are the solution to this problem. Android developers will start creating applications, considering the technical capabilities of 5G networks, the most advanced data transfer technology today.