Our entire lives are captured on our mobile devices, from our daily calendars and our favorite pet photos to our social contacts and our work emails. Most importantly, our mobile devices have become our primary means of accessing the world wide web. Over 90% of people globally access the internet via their mobile devices. If you’re in the software market, not developing for mobile puts you at a major disadvantage. Even if you are developing for mobile, it’s vital to keep up with the latest advancements, technology, and compliance regulations so that you don’t fall behind your competitors. With 2023 right around the corner, the mobile app development industry is bracing for plenty of changes. Here are the mobile development trends you should look out for in 2023.

Augmented Reality, or AR for short, has become immensely popular over the last few years thanks to apps like Snapchat. As this trend continues to grow, more businesses will try to implement it into their own apps. Some major retailers have already made use of augmented reality by giving their customers the ability to “try on” their products through their mobile devices. This leads to a more seamless customer experience online and a more confident customer purchasing decision.

You’ve probably seen AR in action already across some of your favorite retail apps. Ikea’s app lets you place true-to-scale 3D models of furniture directly in your room. Wayfair’s app follows a similar concept. Want to try on a pair of designer glasses? You can do so without ever leaving your couch thanks to Warby Parker’s app. If you upload a selfie to the Sephora app, you can try on lipstick, mascara, and more before buying.

As you explore ways to improve your user experience in 2023, consider how AR can help. It may be one of the most innovative mobile development trends yet!

Cybersecurity has been and always will be a major concern in mobile app development. As technology advances, so do ways in which your software can be hacked.

In 2022, Uber, Cash App, and Twitter all experienced data breaches. DoorDash and TikTok also fell victim to hackers. Between Q1 2022 and Q3 2022, over 25 million people had their data exposed.

Taking preventive measures before a data breach happens is the best way to protect your software and product. For mobile app development, this can be done through thorough testing, code reviews, regular updates, and securing your servers. It’s also a good idea to work on your 2023 Disaster Recovery Plan in case the worst were to happen.

Location-based tracking will see a huge boost in 2023. Through GPS, companies can gain insights into what stores users have visited and what services they’re near.

There are four types of location-based services:

• Maps and navigation: maps, routing, and assisted navigation.
• Tracking services: traffic updates, vehicle tracking, and friends/family finder.
• Informational services: local contacts search, city guides, and user-generated content.
• Applications: context advertising and social networking.

If you’ve received advertisements for nearby restaurants or service providers while using apps like Waze, you’ve seen this trend in action. Uber and Lyft are other popular apps that benefit from this data.

How can you use user data like location to provide a better user experience? Perhaps by providing more accurate delivery times, or maybe by automatically calculating mileage for traveling employees so they can submit easier reimbursements. Keep this mobile development trend in mind as you brainstorm your next app.

Despite the hype surrounding 5G, it hasn’t been fully integrated into the commercial mobile app space. Yet. This is set to change in 2023 as more app developers make use of its benefits, including increased speed, rapid data transfer, and less downtime. With devices performing better, the possibilities for app developers are endless. No more worrying about latency or battery life drainage. 5G’s increased speeds (100 times faster than 4G) mean that more advanced features like AR, location tracking, cloud computing, and live streaming are possible.

As you develop your mobile app in 2023, you no longer have to worry about the limitations imposed by old technology. Instead, you can test the limits of innovation.

With so many changes happening in 2023, you need a mobile app development partner to help you keep up with the latest mobile development trends. At KDG, we have an incredible team of custom development experts ready to take your mobile app idea to new heights. Plus, our React Native experience means your code is maintainable, accessible, and transferable to multiple operating systems.

Ready to bring your mobile app to life? Contact us today!