Future of App Development in 2025: What Businesses Must Know Before Hiring a Tech Partner

From our phones to our homes and even cars, apps are used everywhere. In 2023 alone, 257 billion mobile apps were downloaded worldwide. Apps have come to stay and are a big part of our lives today.

But when it comes to building an app, especially for small businesses and startups, choosing the right partner who understands your goals and users is important. 

In this blog, we will explore the future trends in App development that you should be aware of.

How Has App Development Evolved Over the Years?

The first mobile app ever developed dates back to the 1990s, well before the smartphones we know today. They were built into phones and were extremely basic ( the contact book, calculator, alarm, and ringtones). 

However, in 1944, the IBM Simon Personal Communicator, which is considered one of the first smartphones, was introduced with more sophisticated apps pre-installed, like the calendar, appointment scheduler, note pad, fax capabilities, and many more.

Then, in 1996, Palm OS allowed third-party apps like games and productivity tools to be downloaded onto a phone. Nokia’s Snake (1997) is also one of the earliest and most iconic downloadable mobile games from that era. 

Apple introduced the iPhone in 2007. The iPhone set the stage for modern mobile apps. With the limited functionality of its pre-installed apps, there was a need for custom apps. So Apple launched the App Store, which allowed third-party developers to create and distribute apps. Google followed with the Android Market (now Google Play). This was the beginning of the app economy.

In 2010, developers started building platform-specific apps (iOS and Android separately) to deliver better performance and user experience.

Writing code for two separate platforms wasn’t cost-effective and time-consuming. Developers needed a “write once, deploy anywhere” system. Tools like PhoneGap and Xamarin made it possible.

From 2014-2016, App design became a key differentiator. Businesses started focusing more on intuitive interfaces and smooth user experiences.

Fast forward to 2024 and beyond, and we have generative AI that is helping developers to code and test faster. Voice-enabled apps are also becoming more common, especially in e-commerce, gaming, and training industries. 

Top Trends Shaping the Future of App Development

These trends are redefining how mobile apps are developed and changing the future of app development. 

1. AI-Powered Personalization and Automation

AI is soon becoming a big part of the use and development of mobile apps. It makes apps feel personal, as if they understand what each user wants. Some use cases are that it can suggest products you might like in an e-commerce platform, adjust what you see based on your habits, or even answer your questions through a chatbot.

It is believed that 95% of all app interactions will soon involve AI in some way. If you’re shopping online or booking a trip, there’s a high chance that AI will be working in the background to make the process faster and easier.

Zendesk says this is already happening. AI is helping businesses respond quicker to customers, reducing waiting times, and giving better recommendations as well. As a result, people are happier using apps, and businesses can work more smoothly.

2. 5G App Innovation

5G is the newest and fastest mobile internet. It’s a big upgrade from 4G. Telecommunication experts say that 5G can be up to 100 times faster than 4G. That means that downloading a video or playing a game on your phone can happen almost instantly.

Researchers explain that 5G can reach speeds up to 1 to 20 gigabits per second. Compare that to 4G, which usually gives you about 100 megabits per second. So that’s a huge difference.

But apart from speed, 5G also has very low latency, which means there’s almost no delay when your phone sends or receives data. This is helpful for apps that need real-time responses for innovations like AR (Augmented Reality), VR (Virtual Reality), and Cloud gaming.

Because 5G can handle more devices and faster connections, it’s opening the door for apps that just weren’t possible before. Developers are already starting to build more interactive and more immersive apps for this powerful network.

3. Augmented Reality (AR) and Virtual Reality (VR) Expansion

Augmented Reality is a technology that adds information to the real world around you through your phone or special glasses. For example, when you use your phone camera to see how a sofa would look in your living room, that’s AR. 

Most people think AR is just for games, but it’s now being used in shopping apps, education, healthcare, travel, and even real estate. It helps people understand things better before they make a decision.

Because AR is becoming so popular, experts believe that the AR market could grow in the next few years. One report from Goldman Sachs claims that the combined AR and VR market might reach over $110 billion by 2025. This shows that many companies are investing in this technology.

This growth is happening because phones and devices are getting better at handling AR, and businesses are finding new ways to use AR to help their customers

4. Super Apps

An app that lets you chat, pay bills, shop, and book a ride in the same app is called a super app. Instead of having many separate apps for different tasks, a super app puts everything together in one.

This idea of a super app started in parts of Asia. WeChat in China or Grab in Southeast Asia are some examples. It’s now becoming popular in many other parts of the world too.

Because of the usefulness of these apps, the market for super apps is growing very fast. A report by Allied Market Research says that by the year 2032, super apps around the world could be worth over $722 billion. In 2022, the value was only about $58 billion. So it’s expected to grow more than 12 times bigger in just 10 years.

The report also says that this market is growing at a rate of 28.9% every year. That means more companies are building super apps, and more people are using them every day.

People love convenience. It’s easier to do many things in one app than to switch between many different ones, and smartphones are everywhere. So it is reasonable that super apps are growing. When partnering with a tech partner, ensure that they are skilled in building super apps so that you may catch the wave early. 

5. Blockchain Integration for Enhanced Security

Blockchain sounds technical, but the idea is simple. It is a digital record book that keeps track of payments, transactions, or contracts. But the special part is that once something is written in the blockchain, no one can change it or erase it. It’s safe and can be trusted.

Many businesses are starting to use blockchain in their apps, especially for money transfer, making smart contracts that run on their own, protecting data from hackers, tracking where products come from, and many more, because it is safe and trustworthy. 

A research report says that the blockchain market could grow from $4.9 billion in 2021 to over $67.4 billion by 2026. That’s more than 13 times bigger in just 5 years.

For app development, it means more and more mobile apps will be built with blockchain. This helps people feel safer when they use apps to shop, pay, or sign digital agreements. It also means that apps that couldn’t exist without this technology will be created.

6. Low-Code and No-Code Development Platforms

There are new tools today called low-code and no-code platforms that make it much easier to build apps even if you’re not a professional programmer.

Apps are built by dragging and dropping blocks or choosing options from menus in low-code and no-code development platforms. These need no coding at all. You just click and drag to build an app.

This is great news for small businesses that can’t afford big development teams, as well as startups that want to launch their app quickly.

More and more people are using these platforms. This means that in the future, we’ll see many more apps built by non-developers, and companies will be able to move much faster when they want to launch new ideas.

What does the Future Hold for App Development?

The future of app development is moving toward being faster, smarter, and more personal.

Soon, more apps will be built using AI tools that can learn what users like and suggest things to them. Also, with low-code and no-code tools, people without tech skills will be able to build apps too. That means more small businesses and individuals can bring their ideas to life.

5G internet will make apps run smoother, with less waiting time. Apps will work better with wearables, smart homes, and even in cars.

Finally, security and privacy will become a top focus, as people want to feel safe when using apps.

Conclusion

All that we are saying in this blog is to choose the right path forward in terms of what’s trending now and what the future will look like. And if you are not sure where to begin, read our guide on how to choose a mobile app development company, and make your next move with confidence.