Mobile app development may be one of the most demanded technologies at the moment, as it’s the base of what we use on a daily basis ―music streaming, weather apps and social media. Everything from push notifications to personalization is part of mobile app development, but the challenges faced when assessing these aspects make them difficult to achieve.
Although there are numerous apps on the market, the demand for enhanced applications and technologies troubles developers. It’s more difficult than ever to stand out in the mobile market, as customers want top UX and immediate device compatibility. But before that, teams have to seek funding and choose the right development approach.
Moreover, developers have to quickly adopt new trends in development, such as decentralized applications. These solutions live on the blockchain, where users leverage cryptocurrency by connecting their digital wallets to dApp. Since most are built on the Ethereum blockchain, users have the Ethereum price chart in mind before making a transaction, from where they check the Ethereum price USD.
But this is only one of the many trends in mobile app development, so let’s see what 2025 has prepared ahead.
Enhanced integration of artificial intelligence
Artificial Intelligence is all around us now, as several applications, like ChatGPT or Gemini, focus only on AI functionalities. But since it’s slowly receiving more institutional attention, AI is slowly becoming legally and officially a part of our future.
That’s why various features in mobile applications currently use artificial intelligence, such as Netflix’s movie recommendation based on advanced algorithms or the chatbots and virtual assistants from Apple or Amazon.
X is one of the applications endorsing artificial intelligence. The platform recently announced that it is training its AI models on user posts to improve the app. Although this may pose a problem for European users due to GDPR, the practice might extend to most apps in the future.
Superior speed from a 5G connection
5G is already dropping across the world, but it’s yet to be worldwide. When it happens, we’ll access the internet at unprecedented speed, but this will also impact developers like nothing before. The speed, low latency, and increased network capacity will make it easy for developers to enhance user experience and integrate advanced features.
Of course, challenges will also arise. Developers must devise ways for apps to be optimized for 5G, improve data management, and improve security since data is transferred faster than ever, meaning vulnerabilities can infiltrate quite easily.
In addition, 5G will be a great start for the IoT revolution, especially for companies, since they’ll be able to support enterprise mobile app development and interact with connected devices quickly and efficiently.
Higher-quality AR and VR experiences
Augmented and Virtual Reality are familiar to today’s internet users. However, the experience could be improved and expanded across multiple industries. Retail companies now use these technologies to provide customers with 3D product reviews and virtual item visualization, elevating their buying decisions.
VR, for example, has brought considerable improvements in the gaming and education sectors, creating immersive and interactive experiences for enhanced customer engagement. Although we know how hardware limitations hinder further innovation at the moment, in a few years, we’ll see it in all the apps we use daily.
Still, AR and VR have significant benefits for mobile app development, as they ensure increased engagement, conversion rates, and customer satisfaction. They will bring gamification closer to users and effortlessly support data-driven personalization.
Notable progressive web app development
Progressive web apps (PWAs) have increased in popularity recently as they allow users to leverage an app within a web platform instead of having to download the specific app from the shop. PWAs require a single codebase to run on multiple platforms and devices, ensuring their integration with the device once they are installed.
Progressive web apps ensure great performance, low data consumption and features like offline mode. However, their compatibility with IOS and legacy device issues pose significant challenges to developers. In addition, PWAs are not entirely efficient, as they might not be efficient in native languages or offer Bluetooth.
The creation of progressive web apps includes cross-platform development, as specific frameworks are needed for the underlying code to support multiple platforms. The two technologies ensure high accessibility and cost-efficiency during the development stage.
However, developers must overcome the upcoming challenges
As technology evolves, the difficulties of designing and publishing successful apps also increase. One of the most prominent issues in web development is market research. Considering the market saturation—there’s an app for everything these days—coming up with a functional and adequately equipped app that solves a problem can be difficult. Defining the target audience through thorough user surveys can solve the market’s competitiveness problem.
On the other hand, budget management is equally challenging since there are various costs of add-ons and application development itself that will be accompanied by unexpected ones. The contribution of app testers, UI designers, and QA engineers must also be considered when making a reliable and useful app.
In addition, performance optimization is the most crucial element in keeping the app viable for the long term. Any inefficient code or lack of data storage can lead to a massive lag, which isn’t quite what most customers want. According to Statista, few users are willing to wait more than five seconds for a website to load before leaving it, which could also apply to an application. This means developers must already tackle any possible interruptions before they reach the app in order to sustain its efficiency.
What’s your take on the future of app development?
Mobile app development is one of the most important processes of the modern age, as it allows people to use their mobile devices as tools for payments, guidance or communication. Mobile apps must also innovate, so we expect that, in 2025 and beyond, they will benefit from enhanced AI integration, as well as support from VR and AR. However, developing teams must tackle market research and performance optimization like nothing before as customer demand becomes more sophisticated.
