As it happens every December, most of us are already looking ahead at next year’s promises. And what does 2020 look like? Incredibly packed with new technologies. That’s especially true for the software development world that will see the rise of certain trends, tools, and approaches that will revolutionize our digital platforms.
From a new ally to software QA companies working with mobile apps to a new approach for designing vibrant interfaces, there’s a lot to pick from. Here are some of the most relevant trends you should keep an eye on for next year.
dApps
Talking about blockchain as a trend doesn’t cut it anymore. The decentralized ledger might not be skyrocketing to development stardom but it’s steadily growing in applications that exceed the cryptocurrency world from where it came. Yet, even though it’s spreading, the technology still has to make a splash in mobile.
There are numerous challenges to the popularization of decentralized apps (dApps), the blockchain-based apps for mobile. From debugging issues that would keep an entire QA company working to the lack of regulations and the maintenance needed to make it all run, dApps still have a long way to go.
Even when predictions around dApps have been mostly wrong, it’s safe to assume that developers will work on those problems during 2020 to boost the use of blockchain in mobile. The reasons are there for all to see: increased security for all the dApp users, more transparency in every in-dApp transactions, and higher involvement of the developers in the dApp governance.
Voice assistants
It just takes for you to read the names Siri or Alexa to know what we are talking about. That’s because smart speakers became a force to be reckoned with to the point that now over a quarter of US adults own one. If that sounds impressive, wait until you see what happens in 2020, as more and more people get on the smart speaker fever.
As a result, developers will keep working on them to improve these devices’ abilities during next year. This includes the integration of existing services and the addition of new features and skills. Brands are already seeing the importance of releasing features available on these devices, so developers will see more and more opportunities to work on branded skills for smart speakers.
Additionally, the advancement of core assistant abilities will have them working on artificial intelligence and deep learning specifics, such as perfecting text-to-speech algorithms and sentence analysis.
Instant Apps
Back in 2016, Google had a great idea: introducing Instant Apps, a new approach to mobile apps. These apps are native to Android and work just like a normal app with a crucial difference — you don’t have to download them to use them. You can think of them as some kind of crossover between native apps and web apps.
Interestingly enough, instant apps haven’t been the smashing hit they should seemingly be. They have everything in their favor: they don’t use up storage space, have superior performance, and boost conversions. What’s more — in a scenario where 90% of smartphone time is spent in apps, it feels like a golden opportunity for brands of all sizes.
It’s not that companies aren’t seeing the benefits of instant apps — organizations like Buzzfeed, The New York Times, and Skyscanner already developed their own. Yet, 2020 will surely be the year in which we’ll see a more widespread acceptance and an increasing number of instant apps in the market.
Motion UI
Since user experience became a dominant factor to analyze a brand’s offering, companies have tweaked a lot their products. Yet, they’ve mostly cared about performance and features, somewhat relegating the aesthetics aspect of it all. How can you tell? Most businesses haven’t taken advantage of a great UI design trend that’s been around since 2018. We’re talking about Motion UI.
The idea of using custom animations and CSS transitions to bring life to interfaces is more appealing now than it ever was. That’s because of the increasing sophistication of SASS (Syntactically Awesome Style Sheets) and the availability of SASS libraries for use in all kinds of devices.
Since websites and web apps that use motion UI are a fantastic way to capture users’ attention, it’s only natural that more companies will begin to use it more often, starting next year. That’s especially true thanks to the advancements in SASS libraries that are flexible and easy to use alongside CSS, HTML, and JavaScript, the building blocks of the modern web.
Biometric credentials
Finally, there’s also a trend that will become more popular, in part out of convenience but mainly out of need: the use of biometric credentials to replace obsolete passwords. Passwords are already suffering a decline in their use, mainly because they don’t provide enough security, are easy to steal, and hard to remember. With the rise of biometrics technology, it’s only logical for fingerprint, facial, and eye recognition to take passwords’ place.
This will bring a new wave of development surrounding biometric credentials, especially in their integration with existing and new software. Such a development trend won’t be without its challenges, though. First and foremost, the increasing presence of devices for the Internet of Things will force developers to come up with easy ways to integrate biometric credentials for most of those devices.
Secondly, there’s the underlying approach to biometric credentials that should take care of the worries surrounding the private data needed to power it and the issues that may arise from identity theft. Surely those challenges will keep developers occupied for most of 2020.
Final words
All of these trends are already among us, in some cases for a couple of years already. Yet, in 2020, they’ll find the right context to thrive. Be it because the field is finally ripe for the technology, out of a specific need, or because these trends are needed to take a step further in the sophistication of a certain experience.
Be that as it may, dApps, voice assistants, instant apps, motion interfaces, and biometric credentials promise to be the stars of 2020. They’ll bring new possibilities and challenges to the entire development industry, from the freelance developers to the software QA outsourcing companies. Only time will tell if these trends will become standard but, hey, we’re mere days away from the year we expect to see them bloom.
