23 Trends in Mobile Technology for 2022

If you want to be successful in any business, you have to always know what's going on.

In addition to researching your competitors, keep up with trends in your industry. We all know that our world is becoming more mobile.

Because of this, every business, no matter what kind, needs to keep up with new mobile trends. This is especially important for businesses that have an app or mobile website.

Whether you make mobile apps or run a pizza shop, it's important to keep up with what's going on in the mobile space.

Even if you don't have a mobile app, this statement is still true. That's because, if you aren't already doing it, you should think about making mobile apps.

But because there are so many ways to get information, it can be hard to tell which trends are real and which ones are just fads or fake news. This is why I decided to write this guide.

As a mobile industry expert, I've picked the top 17 mobile technology trends for the next year.

1. The number of Android Instant Apps is growing.
   Android Instant Apps are probably well-known to people who make apps for Android or who have apps in the Google Play Store.
   Now, all developers can use this technology. So, anyone can do this kind of Android development, whether they have done it before or not.

Android Instant apps are a big deal for both developers and people who use them. Now, a user can try out an app without having to first download it.

The newest Android devices can use this. It works on devices with API level 21 to API level 26 (Android 5.0 to Android 8.0).

To get people to download your app, you'll need an Instant App that works well. If they don't like it when they try it out, they probably won't put it on their computer.

Will Apple follow this trend and add something similar to its app store?

Right now, this feature is only available on Android phones. But I'm curious to see what happens over the next year. You should also pay attention to this.

2. Mobile artificial intelligence
   In 2022, robots will be a little closer to taking over the world. Of course I'm joking.

Even though we aren't quite there yet, artificial intelligence is getting better and better, especially in the mobile industry.

You may already be familiar with some of the following AI software:

Siri
Cortana
Alexa
Google Assistant
Developers and marketers will be able to learn more about users if they can hear what they have to say.

Because of this, you'll be able to better target users and make more money with relevant ads.

3. Mobile security
   To protect user information and make sure all transactions are safe, businesses need to start putting mobile security at the top of their list of priorities.

Businesses that use mobile payments need to stop worrying about these things in the next year.

Even more US consumers (13% more) don't think it makes a difference.

Since so many businesses are going mobile and relying on mobile payments to make money, I expect that mobile security will be one of their top priorities.

Companies will find ways to make their customers feel better. Because of this, I think the way people think about mobile payments will change in the coming year.

People will feel better about making these kinds of purchases.

If your company has a mobile payment option, you need to fix these security issues as soon as possible.

4. Geofencing and services based on where you are
   It isn't a secret that mobile apps track where their users are. In fact, users are telling them they can do this.

When you download and start using a new app, you'll get a message asking for permission to access your location. Here is an example of how this alert looks on an iOS device.

Some apps won't even let you use them unless you tell them where you are. For example, if you use a rideshare app like Uber or Lyft, you won't be able to connect with a driver unless the app knows exactly where you are.

Location-based services are moving in a new direction, though. Companies still ask for your location even though they don't need it.

They use it to improve how they market themselves. In fact, 70% of apps give information about their users to other services.

From a marketing point of view, it's easier to target users if you know where they are. Geofencing is also used by businesses to make more money.

If a person with an app on their device walks into a certain geofenced area, the app will send them a push notification with a deal based on their location.

In 2022, there will be more of this kind of marketing strategy.

5. Small business apps for mobile devices
   No longer are only big companies able to make mobile apps. Any kind of business needs a mobile app, no matter what it does. It doesn't matter if your business is big or small.

Small business owners are starting to catch on to this trend and grow. About half of small business owners are planning to make a mobile app.

55% of small businesses say they are making an app to help them make more money. While other businesses say that they are growing because they want to improve the customer experience and stay competitive in a certain market.

Small business apps are still on the rise, no matter what the reason.

6. More apps will have augmented reality added to them.
   In 2022, more mobile apps will use augmented reality.

With these kinds of apps, the real world is part of the app. Pokemon Go is a great example of an app that adds to the real world. Here’s an example of the game.
For the picture above, the sidewalk, grass, benches, trees, sky, people, and power lines are all real. If you were to take out your camera, you’d see all of this on the screen.

But this kind of mobile technology adds things to your device that don't exist, like the Pokemon character shown above.

More than 752 million people downloaded Pokemon Go, which brought in more than $1.2 billion. There are more than 5 million people around the world who play this game every day.

We can say with confidence that this was a huge success. Because of this, more businesses will try to use augmented reality apps to increase app downloads, user engagement, and sales.

7. Transportation apps are getting better.
   Apps for getting around are changing.

We already know how to use apps like Uber and Lyft on our phones. People even use apps like Turo and Zipcar to share cars and get around.

There are apps that show you when trains, buses, and planes leave. All of the things I just talked about are things that we have grown used to over the past few years.

But now, more and more companies are starting to show up with mobile apps for different ways to get around. I'm referring to apps like Limebike and Bird.

If you download the Bird app, you can find electric scooters in your area. The app is used to unlock and start the scooter.

Then the user can take it for a ride and leave it anywhere by locking it through the app and finishing the ride. After the ride is over, another person can use the same scooter and pick it up right where the first person left it.

People don't have to take the scooters to a certain place or charging station, which is a big plus for them.

Bird started their business with more than $15 million. Since so much money is being put into this new technology, I expect this company to grow and other companies to copy their business model in the next year.

8. The money made from mobile apps is going up.
   Last year, both the Google Play Store and the Apple App Store made a lot more money from app sales. What made this happen?

First of all, the number of apps downloaded around the world went up by 13.5%. There was a 6.7% rise from the Apple App Store and a 16.7% rise from the Google Play Store.

This trend doesn't look like it will stop in 2022. In fact, experts predict that the number of hours spent using mobile apps will rise by 30% to 50% in India and Brazil alone.

Statista says that by 2023, the global revenue from apps will have reached $935 billion. That's about 2.5 times what the numbers were in 2018.

How can your business get a piece of that huge amount?

9. Putting together wearable tech and mobile apps
   In 2022, there will be more mobile tech that can be worn. I am referring to things like:

watch computers
bracelets for fitness
glasses
monitors for healthcare
Mobile apps will be used with all of these devices and more. Take a company like Fitbit as an example.

Their app can be used to check on and use their wearable mobile tech. Users can see their heart rate, how many steps they took in a day, and other information that can be tracked.

The idea behind this is to help people keep track of their fitness and health journey. With the app, it's easy to compare data and see how you're getting better over the course of a day, week, month, or even a year.

This year, 125 million pieces of wearable tech will be sent out. The vast majority of these gadgets will be used with mobile apps.

10. People will run their homes from their phones.
    More people will use mobile tech in their homes to make their lives better.

Honeywell, for example, has a lot of products in this area.

Here's an example of one of their thermostats that connects to a home's Wifi network. Users can change the temperature and set the thermostat from their devices, even when they aren't at home.

Honeywell and other companies also make home security and appliance products. All of them work in the same way and can be managed from mobile devices.

In the next year, more businesses and people will follow this trend.

In the near future, machine learning will also be used in this area.

11. Mobile development for multiple platforms
    Cross-platform mobile application development tools will be used more and more by people who want to make apps for both Android and iOS devices.

No longer is it a good way to run a business for an app to only be on one platform and not the other. Because of the high costs, businesses used to be hesitant to launch on both platforms at the same time.

They would have to make two very different apps. But now that cross-platform mobile development is on the rise, it is easier and more likely for businesses to do so.

Because of this, the number of apps that can be downloaded from both stores will also go up. This number is directly related to the total amount of money made by apps around the world, which we've already talked about.

12. More people are paying with their phones.
    Mobile payments will grow in 2022 because global app sales will go up and people will feel better about mobile security.

I'm talking about ways to pay with mobile tech like:

Pay with Apple
Venmo
Google Pay
Paypal
Even bank apps and mobile apps that let people pay for things without leaving the app.

Look at how these alternative payment methods have become more popular over the past few years. I don't think this will change any time soon.

Mobile payments should have another big year in 2022.

13. Apps for virtual reality
    We talked about augmented reality apps earlier. But virtual reality will also keep getting better in 2022.

Users will also wear goggles or a helmet of some kind. They might also have separate controllers or joysticks that work with their mobile tech.

Zion Market Research says that the value of the global virtual reality market will be more than $26 billion in 2022.

14. Biometrics
    Biometrics are now an official part of the world of mobile apps.

I'm talking about things such as:

fingerprints
voice recognition
signature recognition
facial recognition

Other apps are combining two-factor authentication with fingerprints and other biometrics to make security even better.

Mobile apps are also beginning to use cloud-based technology.

Even though it might seem small, cloud-based mobile technology is still growing and will continue to be a big part of apps and mobile devices until 2022.

16. Still, personalization is king.
    Personalization is one thing that won't change in 2022.

No matter what they're doing on their phones, mobile users still want a personalised experience.

New apps and technology will help the user's experience be more important. Think about some of the trends we've already talked about.

Geofencing will focus on making things more personal for each user based on where they are.

With so many trends to follow in the coming year, just make sure that your company doesn't lose sight of improving the user experience.

You've still got to make your mobile app as unique as possible for each user.

17. BYOD
    In the past, companies didn't want employees to use their own computers, laptops, phones, tablets, and other mobile devices for work. Here are some of the reasons why businesses were slow to adopt the "bring your own device" idea in the past.

But now that mobile technology and security have improved, more and more companies think that BYOD is safe.

Because of this, 87% of businesses rely on employees to use their own devices to get to work-related information.

59% of companies let their employees use their own devices at work. Another 13% plan to make this possible within the next year.

From the data, you can see that companies used to worry about security with BYOD, but its use in the workplace is still on the rise. I think that trend will keep going in 2022.

Having BYOD saves businesses money and makes them more productive at the same time. Studies have shown that employees are 34% more productive when they use their own devices at work.

18. In-App Gestures
    Touch is now a common feature in mobile apps.

So, gestures like taps, double taps, swipes, and scrolls have taken the place of buttons. Swiping is now the most common way to do things like share or delete an activity or piece of content inside an app. Gestures can be different from one industry to the next, and new and innovative gestures are becoming a big part of how people use mobile apps.

Why gestures are better than pressing buttons
Gestures add a lot of life and realism to the user's experience. They make sure that the app's interface stays neat and easy to use. When the user tries to do something, they don't run into any problems.
Now, all you have to do to get rid of an unwanted email in your inbox is swipe it away. In everything we do in the app, gestures give us useful shortcuts that speed up and simplify the process.
More Importance To Visual Cues In Gestures

The user can sometimes feel a little lost in the situation. So, progressive gestures are a trend that is on the rise in this area.

19. Simple User Interface
    An app that loads quickly and easily must also be easy on the eyes.

When an app has too many design elements, it can be hard to use. A simple user interface makes it easy for people to understand and use the app.

Users' attention spans are getting shorter, and they want fast apps, so a simple user interface is the way to go.

20. User Getting Started
    The first time a user uses an app, that app's fate with that user is decided by what they think of it. For the app to be successful, the onboarding process must be unique. When a user signs up for an app, it's their first time using it, and if you can sell the app to them at this point, your job is done.

Making the first experience better

When a new user opens your app for the first time, you need to tell them about some of its special features.

An introductory video can be a great way to get to know your users and let them know what's in store for them.

Give them a tour of the app and some simple tips on how to use its main features.

Adding the user's preferences to the app is also a common way to help them make it their own.

Get the users to feel good.

Apps that are made to be more like games are becoming more popular. Once the user knows how to use the app, you should make sure that the way they interact with it is always the same. Praise them when they finish a step or thank them when they finish something like signing up. You can send them these simple messages at each step to keep them interested and motivated.

21. Getting rid of a user
    The end of every story should be just as interesting as the beginning. Give your users a happy passage to read as they leave the app. For example, if it's a game app, you can tell them how many points they earned in the session that just ended. You can tell them how great they did and encourage them to come back for more action. If the user has a good time when leaving the app, they will talk about it and spread the word about it.

User off-boarding is quickly becoming a trend, and more apps and UX professionals are jumping on board. This is one of the most important things to keep an eye on in the next year.

22. Things on the Internet
    The Internet of Things has been around for a while and has helped businesses all over the world in a big way.

IoT will continue to grow because sensor technology is getting cheaper. The user experience (UX) of an IoT app is very important to its success.

Information flows between service providers, apps, things, and people in an IoT app. This information must be clear, concise, and interesting to the user.

One of the main things that UX experts and business owners worry about is how safe this information is. Users who want to use an IoT app for personal use have different needs than business users. When doing app UX, one must be able to understand how the app works in each case.

23. Design that is animated and based on motion
    Motion-based design makes users even happier. Animations are used to show how each feature and function works and what it's all about.

Why Animation Is Important

When it makes sense, animation works. You need to know who you're writing for if you want to tell stories that connect with people. Talk to people who might use your app and find out what they want from it. The next step is to learn about the user's journey and the situation in which the user will act.

During the app's user journey, there are times when the user wants to know things like:

What's going to happen next?
Have I finished this task?
What's the meaning?
These are chances to add animation and make sure that it helps users finish the action and move on to the next one.

Conclusion
No matter what kind of business you have, you have to keep up with the latest technology.

More specifically, you need to know what's going on in the mobile world because that's where your current and potential customers live.

Knowing the latest trends in mobile technology for the coming year will help your business get ready and make any changes it needs to stay current. You might want to use some of these trends in your own app, like machine learning, virtual reality, or augmented reality.

Based on the information I listed above, these are the mobile technology waves I think will be popular in 2022.