7 mobile app development trends for 2025

The mobile app development industry is continually evolving and expanding, driven by consumer demands, technological advancements, and emerging trends. As mobile app developers, we have been tracking these trends closely. In this article, we will share the most noteworthy trends that we believe deserve your attention.

Even more mobile banking and e-commerce

Banks have been going digital for a long time and the popularity of mobile banking, at the expense of internet banking, is growing by leaps and bounds. The ČBA has already noted this trend in 2021. Another major sector where we have long observed a focus on mobile is e-commerce. Mobile e-commerce's share of all e-commerce is expected to grow from 56% in 2018 to 62% in 2027.

Hand in hand with this trend is Mobile First design, which could be simplistically explained as platforms being developed primarily for mobile devices (especially smartphones), and then scaled for larger screens.

Thus, in 2025, we expect companies in the banking and e-commerce sector to focus even more on how to provide the best service and customer experience to users through mobile apps.

AR is becoming a reality

The concepts of AR and VR have been with us for a long time, but it's in recent years, mainly due to the growing popularity and capabilities of mobile devices, that we've seen the integration of AR and VR into mobile apps on the rise. Examples include apps like IKEA Place, SketchAR, and Pokémon GO.

A place where AR features are used by a significant number of consumers is social media, specifically filters on platforms such as Snapchat, Instagram, or Tiktok, and online communication platforms such as Zoom or Google Meet, where AR is used to create virtual backgrounds and effects.

However, we still see the greatest potential in the use of AR in the e-commerce sector. An example is when a user is choosing furniture for a room, but is not sure if it will fit in a certain space and how it will fit with other accessories. On the other hand, another user wants to order a pair of glasses or a watch, but does not know whether it will fit. In this case, an app using AR technology can make the decision much easier by projecting the product into the room or, in the case of a watch, onto the wrist. Not only is this effective, but it also opens up the possibility for developers to provide a unique user experience.

It is also important to mention the recently introduced Apple Vision Pro - virtual and augmented reality glasses. This product, which is virtually unprecedented, shows us what the virtual future can look like in practice. Although the development of complex virtual or augmented reality solutions and applications is still in its infancy, Apple Vision Pro is beginning to sharpen our vision of how far we can go with AR and VR and, more importantly, how we can develop mobile applications that are even more effective and offer a whole new dimension to the user experience.

More focus on privacy

Increased emphasis on privacy has recently been observed in individual applications and services, as well as by mobile device manufacturers. This trend is evident, for example, in the growing popularity of privacy-focused services such as the DuckDuckGo search engine, the Brave and Firefox web browsers, and chat platforms such as Telegram.

Companies such as Apple are also taking steps to improve privacy on their devices and services, including introducing features that limit user tracking across apps and websites.

AI integration

Artificial intelligence has been regularly appearing on the list of technology trends for several years now, but the recent rise in popularity of ChatGPT suggests that we may only be beginning to discover the true potential of AI. Furthermore, the integration of machine learning and language models into applications is becoming increasingly popular and is changing the way we interact with technology.

There are many ways to use AI in mobile apps. Examples include:

• Face detection
• Personalized recommendations
• Predictive analytics for smarter app behavior
• AI chatbots
• Enhanced speech recognition
• Health monitoring and diagnostics

Using the potential of 5G networks

At the end of 2023, operator T-Mobile announced that it had increased 5G network coverage in the Czech Republic to more than 70 percent over the past year. According to Vodafone's data, by the end of 2023, the operator is covering almost 90% of the population. However, what matters most for mobile applications is what 5G networks can offer.

In addition to increased data transfer speeds, which are valuable for streaming applications, or lower latency, which is essential for online gaming and real-time applications, 5G networks offer better connectivity, higher reliability and advanced geolocation features. These enhancements will allow developers to further scale and improve mobile applications.

IoT integration

While IoT is far from a new concept, the number of connected devices is growing and the adoption of this technology is becoming more cost-effective, encouraging its deployment across industries. In short, people have become accustomed to using technology to make their daily lives easier, and with ever-evolving technologies, the possibilities for IoT integration are broader than ever before. Mobile apps in particular can benefit from this trend, as they often represent a kind of central control point in many IoT ecosystems, especially when it comes to the smart home phenomenon.

Voice User Interface

Voice User Interface (VUI) is revolutionising the way people interact with mobile apps. Most of us already know and probably use VUI technology. Examples include popular voice assistants such as Siri and Alexa. However, the use of this technology in individual mobile applications is still rather rare. We expect that advances in natural language processing and artificial intelligence will make voice UI technologies even more effective, giving mobile app developers more opportunities to leverage these technologies.

Conclusion

Although mobile app development is a dynamic field, we think that most of the above trends are not just some hot new innovations, but long-term trends that will be around for a while. At the same time, these trends bring new opportunities and we expect them to have a considerable impact on the future of mobile apps.