App trends for 2023

Technology is built around people, and people change. Not in big ways, or even in ways that are immediately noticeable, but if we look at technology from earlier on in the century and technology today, we’re going to see a big difference in the kind of stuff that makes it to the market. Think of it like food: the hot new place with the sold-out tables might have initially started out as the place in the back of the Anaheim Packing District.

In other words, everything old is new again. That goes for tech and pretty much everything else on the planet.

App development also sees trends come and go. In our last couple of blogs, we showed you some of these with the evolution of Apple’s and Google’s stores into what we know today. Part of that evolution happened with the rise of social media and the increase of people with a mobile or tablet device on them at all times; part of that increase happened because things adapt and we figure out ways of doing things that are better, or at the very least different.

Here’s five trends we’re predicting for app trends in 2023.

1. Increase in IoT

 

For the most part, IoT devices make our lives easier, and by 2025, the estimated number of connected devices is projected to grow to over 30 billion, or approximately 3 IoT devices per person worldwide. That kind of leap in growth  means that apps which implement or work around IoT devices are going to become popular fast, and not just for domestic or private household use. There’s already a lot of IoT devices used in big corporations – FedEx has an IoT system equipped to its trucks to help improve its parcel tracking, and Walmart uses its IoT system to seek out shipping discrepancies in its supply chain, which has led to reducing about 97% of their previous discrepancies.

IoT and app development go hand in hand. For smaller, domestic-use cases, integrating an app with an IoT device simplifies what’s already simple, and puts control of that device in ways that are far easier to understand. As IoT becomes more popular, so will apps that dictate how those IoT devices work.

• AI integration

 

By now, everyone’s seen what AI is capable of: from camera filters that add or remove features to programs that can create one-click websites orart, and bots that can write professional academic papers.AI is one of those hot-button topics that people are just now starting to play around with and push the limits of. Tools such as DALL-E and Midjourney were introduced to the general public earlier this year, and since then, interest in AI as an entertainment tool has grown. There’s more use for AI than just entertainment – for example, AI and machine learning were a big part of FedEx being able to use their IoT devices as a parcel tracking system – but fornow, AI as a form of entertainment is where it’s at.

Apps that incorporate AI in some way – either as entertainment, or as a way of learning more about the user – are on the rise. AI can add a new dimension to app development and increasingly allow for personalisation in apps that would be otherwise difficult to pull off. If there’s one thing we learned in 2022, it’s that people love playing around with new technologies to see what they can customise. Just look at any of the AI generated artworks out on the market today. 

 

• Improved app and data security measures

 

It’s no secret that app security is of the highest importance for any developer, but it gets more important going into 2023. Apple has already set their sights on creating better security around their apps: just have a look at their new development laws. Additionally, it makes sense that as people do more on their phones, security around pretty much everything has to become a lot better. Admittedly, phone security is years behind what’s available for other technologies, but with companies now requiring far stronger security measures due to hybrid work policies, app security in 2023 will be more important. Developers can additionally improve security by keeping apps cloud-based, and using detection-based security measures to increase the level of protection you get from using the app.

• Advanced AR filters

 

We might not see this one until later on in the year, but the turn to the metaverse and online/real-life hybrid events means that we’re going to definitely witness a big boost for AI filters and for apps that use those filters specifically. We’re looking at adaptations that bring the online world into real life, or vice versa, and to do that, you need a level of immersive filter that we’ve only started to see recently with brand activations in the metaverse. For 2023, we’re probably going to see more of that – not just for brand activations, but also for building relationships between the person using your app and yourself, regardless of what business you own.

• Mobile commerce

 

In reality, mobile commerce isn’t any newer than apps are – but we’re seeing a lot more people use their phones or tablets as their primary device, so hand-in-hand with increased security and AR filters, we’re also going to see a big shift in mobile commerce, especially for brands who want to forego having a physical storefront for a digital one. We’ve seen similar projects with brands such as Nike, but with so many people using their devices as their primary for everything from grocery shopping to events, mobile commerce needs to adapt to volume. For 2023, apps that focus on mobile commerce will gain popularity as more people rely on their phones as an all-in-one device capable of getting anything done.

Honestly, there’s plenty of  trends for 2023 that we’ve barely scratched the surface on; these are just the most popular, the ones that we see driving change in app development for the years to come.

2023 is going to be an interesting year for tech, especially with the developments that have gained in popularity during the last couple of months, and personally, we can’t wait to get our hands on them – so if you have an app that you want to work on, drop us a line. Let’s work on it together.