Top Trends to Watch in Mobile App Development

With the world of mobile app development continuing to remain in a state of rapid fluctuation, four definitive trends have emerged this year. Driven by research from VisionMobile’s “State of the Developer Nation” report covering the first quarter of 2015, here are four key currents driving the mobile software development industry:

Swift has arrived

Swift, Apple’s new iOS programming language, has seen very impressive adoption rates so far this year. According to VisionMobile, 20 percent of the 8,000 developers who were polled said they were using Swift in the first four months following its official release. However, Swift’s rapid rise doesn’t spell the end of Objective C just yet. By and large, iOS developers are making extensive use of both programming languages, and Swift adoption rates are expected to continue rising throughout this year and into next.

Cross-platform thinking is becoming standard

Third-party tools are being used for everything from analytics and troubleshooting to beta testing and crash reporting. VisionMobile found that 83 percent of polled developers have adopted one or more third-party tools, with cross-platform implementation rising from 23 percent in the last quarter of 2014 to 30 percent in the first quarter of this year.

Enterprise apps have become major money-makers

While the enterprise sector has historically been viewed as underserviced, that is showing signs of changing. The revenue numbers suggest the underlying reason: right now, only about 19 percent of consumer-focused app developers are generating more than $10,000 per month in revenues, while 43 percent of their enterprise-focused counterparts are breaking that earnings threshold.

The Internet of Things is a game-changer

While the Internet of Things has yet to really arrive, Boston iPhone app development companies and software developers the world over are already looking to the future. VisionMobile reported that 53 percent of polled developers have one or more IoT applications in the works. The tremendous upside and profit potential offered by the IoT may take time to realize, but industry professionals are in unanimous agreement that it is coming, and sooner rather than later.