At home, at work or on the go, mobile apps are our constant companions. There’s an app for everything, and with technological progress, we’ll have apps that take us into virtual worlds, make life easier for us without our intervention, and help our businesses scale new heights.
The creators of mobile apps must stay on their toes. There are always opportunities lurking, and not capturing them means losing out on potential revenue streams. As one of Singapore’s foremost mobile apps development company, Swag Soft has been quick to analyse technological trends and develop applications that are smarter, faster and valuable to their users. With 2022 drawing to a close, we look at the impact of technological trends on apps development in Singapore. Let’s dive in!
AR/VR Apps
Augmented reality and virtual reality apps are not exactly a new tech trend. But, for a couple of reasons, including 5G adoption, greater affordability of AR/VR technologies and the development of the metaverse, they will gain more focus in 2023.
Already, 32 percent of consumers use AR apps, although mostly for gaming and social media. Global spending on augmented reality and virtual reality (AR/VR) is forecast to rise to $50.9 billion in 2026.
AR/VR use cases can be built for virtually all sectors. They’re regarded as high-potential technologies and already in use in industries ranging from retail, gaming, real estate, automotive and hospitality to healthcare, space/military, manufacturing, education and entertainment.
Great AR/VR experiences will set the bar for how businesses engage with their customers and develop employee training programs. Those that miss out on incorporating AR/VR based solutions to build better experiences will have to play catch-up once these technologies become ubiquitous.
Our mobile apps development is catering to the AR/VR requirements of businesses across industries and purposes. We’re the developer of Sairento VR, one of the world’s top-selling and most highly-rated VR games. Our portfolio of AR mobile apps development in Singapore includes Republic of Singapore Air Force (One Force), BMW (All Access Pass), Caltex (Explore Your City Demo), and BASF (Shoe Material App). Heading to 2023, we expect to be busy working on immersive, next-gen AR/VR mobile applications.
Metaverse Apps
A metaverse app enables virtual interactions in 3D worlds. A number of existing mobile gaming apps already use metagaming elements like avatars and virtual worlds in their gameplay. Metaverse apps present opportunities for mobile app development companies in Singapore, particularly those in the gaming vertical.
Meta’s first metaverse app Horizon Worlds has 300,000 users who have created more than 100,000 virtual worlds. While Horizon Worlds is only accessible on VR hardware headsets, it’s only a matter of time before it becomes available on mobile phones. Once Horizon Worlds is out on mobile phones, more apps will develop to allow virtual interactions over networks of 3D worlds.
Non-fungible Tokens (NFT) Apps
It’s only natural that a discussion on metaverse apps should lead to NFTs. The explosive growth of NFTs has created numerous opportunities for investors and developers, who have begun building NFT-based games and marketplaces. You may have heard of OpenSea, a popular NFT marketplace, which is currently worth $13 billion. The OpenSea mobile app has over a million registered users, and thousands of NFTs are sold on the marketplace daily.
The growing acceptance of digital art and collectibles is expected to further propel NFTs. So it’s reasonable to assume that apps development in Singapore will likely trend towards creating mobile apps that allow the management of NFTs on the go.
The increasing uptake of NFTs will have users clamoring for apps that allow them to create avatars, explore digital collections, trade NFTs, and track their NFT collections from any place. The opportunities are ripe for mobile apps development companies in Singapore to establish a strong presence in the NFT mobile space.
Beacon Technology
The case for beacon technology in the retail, hospitality, payments and transportation industries, among others, is strong. The beacon technology market is expected to be worth $25bn by 2024.
More and more, businesses are looking to integrate beacon technology into their apps. Mobile apps development companies in Singapore believe that companies interested in driving ROI from proximity marketing will need quality standalone beacon apps to send targeted ads for maximizing conversion rates.
Apart from retail, beacon apps development in Singapore can be envisioned in various other industries, for purposes such as:
- Attendee authentication and registration, venue navigation and exit surveys (events industry)
- Informing customers on vehicle schedules and routes, managing ticket booking, and information such as weather conditions and flight delays (transportation industry)
- App based check-in/check-out, virtual concierge, information on amenities, vacancies and site, and digital content such as news and entertainment (hospitality industry)
5G
2022 was a landmark year for mobile connectivity in Singapore. The country became the first in the world to be fully covered by standalone 5G. Standalone 5G is where services are provided through an end-to-end 5G network, which ensures high-speed and super-fast response times. The other 5G deployment is non standalone, where services are provided by 5G and older technologies (4G/LTE).
What does this mean for apps development in Singapore?
- 5G will further encourage the integration of the internet of things (IoT) with mobile applications, helping improve connectivity across wearables, smart gadgets and sensor-based equipment.
- 5G can also play a part in improving the user experience of connected devices that make life easier without human intervention or what is known as ambient computing (Alexa for Business, Cisco Webex). Using ML and AI along with 5G will bring about smarter apps that use ambient computing.
- Developers have not been able to incorporate AR and VR into their mobile applications on a large scale due to network issues. 5G promises to deliver the data transfer speed and efficiency to improve the AR/VR experience on mobile apps.
- 5G will drive 3D and AR-based mobile app development. Businesses will have the opportunity to deliver immersive brand experiences to customers on their hand-held devices. Mobile app development companies in Singapore will have the opportunity to address the anticipated future demand for AR mobile apps.
IoT Mobile Apps
The typical IoT system has the following components – hardware (sensors), cloud connectivity (cellular, WiFi, WAN and more), data processing software (AWS, MS Azure, SAP Analytics Cloud) and a user interface – a mobile application that sends text or email notifications/alerts to users. Applications of IoT in industry are numerous, spanning inventory management and facility maintenance to precision farming and safety on construction sites.
Consumer applications of IoT are also growing, and mobile apps are essential for IoT-based products to serve their purpose. For example, smart infant monitors equipped with sensors on babies’ onesies/kimonos relay information on the babies’ movements and skin temperature via home internet to parents’ iPhones or Android devices. The smart tennis racquet Boblat Play has sensors that analyze players’ game over time and send information on the shots, spin and slice to smartphones or tablets for analysis.
IoT apps can connect to multiple smart devices to enable remote monitoring, predictive/forecasting capabilities and data visualizations. The demand for IoT apps is expected to increase in the coming years – it’s just the beginning for IoT apps development in Singapore and elsewhere!
Wrapping Up
Technological advancements and consumer trends shape mobile app development. Mobile apps development companies in Singapore are getting ready to embrace new and emerging technologies and trends. To be truly successful in building VR/AR, IoT, metaverse or beacon mobile apps, developers require – apart from technological know-how – a deep understanding of the customer. Ultimately, any app that meets a clear need will be successful if it’s user-centric, user-friendly, fast, secure and backed by quality support.