The Dubai and in fact the entire UAE have become the most digitally advanced and technology friendly nation in the entire MENA region. As per recent stats almost 99% of the population owns mobile phones and have access to the internet as well. The social media is very popular among the people. The UAE government’s vision is to transform the government with the help of digital technology. The government itself is offering tons of services via digital channels, specifically via the mobile apps. People spend hours on their mobile phone on daily bases. The large scale adoption of mobile apps and digital technology is exceptional in Dubai and other parts of UAE. The mobile phones have become an important part of our daily lives, one can’t imagine their life without the mobile phone. Whether it is accessing the internet, doing business or work, getting in touch with friends and family, the mobile phones are the center point of everything. It is an estimate that an average user check their mobile phone for a staggering 85 times a day. The impact of mobile phone technology is huge. This is what compelled businesses to take the mobile app channel seriously and the businesses have started investing in it.
The heavy usage of social media and other mobile apps have completely changed the perception of a mobile app in a common users’ mind. Businesses who are offering mobile apps have to be very vigilant of the emerging trends, their customers’ needs and the usability of their mobile apps. The businesses in Dubai and other parts of UAE are craving to get attention of their targeted audience through mobile phones. In case of mobile apps the users always appreciate a good user interface and higher usability. The mobile app trends also keep changing and they are changing on a rapid speed. In order to stand out a business must have to offer something unique, super-user-friendly and trendy. Here are some of the modern mobile app design and development trends in 2021 and 2022:
Mobile App Design and Development Top Trend No. 1: Super Apps
This trend have rapidly became popular, in UAE businesses are also looking in to it. Basically by definition the super app is a mobile app that contains multiple different mobile apps within it or a super app is a mobile app that can offer features and functionalities of multiple existing applications. That is a general definition, however for the businesses the super app is a mobile app that can offer a multitude of features, functionalities and services the business is offering to their customers through different channels and mediums. The trend had started from the Central Asian regions and quickly became widespread all around the globe. Businesses can have many benefits of building super apps, as a supper app can offer functionalities and services which are being offered by multiple different mobile apps, so it is a lot easier for the customers and users to interact with a single app to avail multiple services.
Moreover the super apps are easy to scale and can be upgraded by simple system integration with another system to add new functionalities, which not only reduce the development cost but it also make the management a lot easier as everything can be managed through a single platform. Another important factor is that usually businesses require KYC (know your customers) each time a new user sign-up for their mobile app or any digital channel. In case of a super app there will be only one time KYC cost. The super apps can target a wide range of audience with a single app, which is also very helpful in reducing the communication and marketing cost. The technology is rapidly advancing, the super app provide businesses a chance to offer new features and facilities to their entire audience with a single app.
Mobile App Design and Development Top Trend No. 2: Dark Background
The dark background or high contrast based User Interfaces (UIs) for the mobile apps are gaining momentum. The trend gain rapid adoption since the mid of 2021 and till now it is not going slow, we will witness more and more brands will be adopting this new trend in the 2022 as well. Basic idea behind is the higher readability and standing out design elements. Usually the user interfaces are designed using a minimalistic design approach with a lot of spaces between the elements and the text. Business in Dubai and all around the UAE are adopting to the trend because it is more modernized and the business can easily control the customer journey while keeping them focused on a particular message or topic. There are very less distraction with a dark background or high contrast background based mobile app designs.
It is not necessary that the high contrast is always achieved with a white on black color scheme, in fact the mobile app designers are using a spectrum of colors to achieve higher contrast to focus on certain elements of the user interface and the content. Geometric shapes are most popular with a high contrast based mobile app design and getting trendy day by day. Basically the businesses who have to offer some content along with the functionality are the one adopting to this trend the most. From functionality stand point the high contrast or dark background mobile apps are also performing well on both Android and Apple platforms.
Mobile App Design and Development Top Trend No. 3: Artificial Intelligence (AI) & Machine Learning (ML)
The Artificial Intelligence or AI and the Machine Learning or ML are two most advanced and modern technologies. Software and application developer all over the world are using both technologies to maximize their user’s experience and to improve the efficiency of their software and applications. Businesses are knowingly or unknowingly utilizing the artificial intelligence (AI) and machine learning (ML) based products in their routine operations and production facilities. These two technologies have equally penetrated into the most technical to the least technical fields for example production plant of sophisticated items are heavily using AI and ML based tools these days and the simple business tools such as customer relationship management or even simpler the customer feedback collection tools are also tapping into the vast potential of artificial intelligence (AI) and the machine learning (ML). The mobile app development is no exception.
It is been only a few years since the mobile app developers start realizing the potential of artificial intelligence and machine learning. From the early 2021 these two are rapidly adopted by the mobile app developer worldwide and also in UAE, the trend is gaining momentum and we will witness a huge influence of both technologies at our future mobile apps and tools in 2022 and well beyond. The biggest application of artificial intelligence and machine learning is to learn and understand the behavior of a customer and user. This features enables the businesses to offer a high-end personalized user experience and let them establish a strong relationship with their audience and customers. Another great application is the modernization and advancement of the user interface (UI) of the mobile apps. The mobile app developer can use both artificial intelligence (AI) and machine learning (ML) to make the user interface super interactive and user friendly. All such features are great to establish long term strong relationship with the customers and help business improve their brand image.
Mobile App Design and Development Top Trend No. 4:Thumb-Friendly and 3D UIs
Since the rise of the mobile phones and high speed internet the technologies have evolved a lot. In fact the digital technologies have completely transformed. Now we have 3G/4G and even 5G internet connectivity in Dubai and all around the UAE coupled higher power mobile phone. This provide a fertile field for the technology and we have witnessed various technologies that have delivered captivating user interfaces and excellent customer experience. With the passage of time the mobile phone have become more strong on computing side and also become bigger, there was a time when as smaller a mobile phone is as advanced it was considered but now a days we have big and wide displays. This demand far more accuracy in terms of user interface to ensure a smooth customer experience.
Due to the popularity of the large screen mobile phones the mobile app designer and developer have to rethink the designs and interaction of the user in their UIs. Now a day a new trend is gaining popularity which is known as thumb-friendly, the sole objective of this design trend is to make sure the users will be able to use the mobile app with a single hand while holding the phone with the same hand. Due to availability of high computing power and high speed internet the mobile app developer and designer got more space to play with the design. Now a days, incorporating 3D designs and bulky visuals is not a big deal. This also makes things a lot easier for the businesses to keep their users focused on the primary content or function of the mobile app. That is why thumb-friendly and 3D based UIs are gaining popularity in 2021 and will remain popular in 2022 and even in a few more coming years.
Mobile App Design and Development Top Trend No. 5:In-App Payment and Security
More and more businesses are including features that allow the user to pay within the app via their debit/credit card or any other available payment mode. The payment is a very sensitive matter whenever a business ask its customers to make payment using their mobile app the first questions that came into every user’s mind is will it be secure and safe? Will their private and financial information be safe with the business? Etc. Many business in Dubai and all around the UAE are allowing to avail their services by paying from their mobile app. More businesses are looking to adopt online payment methods. This raises the question of mobile app based payments and security of the data. Businesses worldwide are spending billions upon billions on security solutions. As the technology is evolving we are getting better and more reliable security solutions. The businesses as well as the mobile app designer and developer both are heavily focusing on the security to make sure their customers will remain safe in future.
This gradually turned into a trend, now a day businesses who even doesn’t require an extra layer of the security are also asking for it. The only reason is because the customers are very well aware of the security and they demand from the business to meet the highest standards of the security in mobile apps. Another factor that give rise to the security and privacy trend or you can say, awareness is the mega events in past few years. For example, we have recently witnessed huge multinational IT companies are facing trouble due to data breach or data leaked on the internet. The giant like Facebook, Sony and other big names are having scandals coming out. This all provide a lot of awareness on the subject and people are more observant and attentive when it comes to the security and their privacy on the internet. This is why the security has become a most popular trend and due to the convenient and easy-of-access online payments have also become an emerging trend in 2021 and we will witness the same going on in 2022.
A few Emerging Mobile App Design and Development Trends to Watch in 2021 – 2022
Apart from above mentioned mobile app design and development trends there are a lot many other things that are gaining attentions all around the world. A few of them have really good potential to dominate the future market in the coming few years. It is better to acquire some understanding of these too:
- 5G Technology: The 5G technology is rapidly making its way in the world. In Dubai and all around the UAE more and more regions are being added to the 5G connectivity. It is better to keep an eye on this trend.
- Micro Effects and Animations: With the rise of interactive user interfaces in the smartphone markets, the mobile apps are also looking forward to adopt to the micro animation or micro effects. As it makes the UIs more interesting and engaging.
- Cloud & Big Data: The cloud and big data is also helping businesses to achieve higher efficiency and to offer a lot many services and features via digital without exceeding the cost to a lot. With the 5G the cloud & big data integration is more promising in coming future.
- Hybrid Mobile Apps: The hybrid apps are a mixture of a web-based technology and mobile app building technology and platforms. It is less expensive, it can offer quicker and cheaper upgrades and it offer additional content management features which are not possible with the native mobile app designing and development technologies.
- Wearable Apps: The wearable gadgets and smart watches are at their peak right now and this trend is not slowing down in coming years. It is important to be ready with your mobile apps to tap into this channel.
- M-Commerce Design: The m-commerce is simply e-commerce via a mobile application but with some additional perks. Since the mid of 2020 this trend have risen to an unprecedented levels. Businesses who are offering online purchases should be ready to adopt to this trend soon.
- Neumorphism: The Neumorphism is basically an upgrade of an old UI designing trend known as Skeuomorphism. Such mobile apps are designed and developed in way to maintain the closest possible resemblance to the original/real-life controls and interfaces.
- AR and VR: The AR or augmented reality and VR or virtual reality was more related to gaming and entertainment. However, in the late 2020 and earlier 2021 we have witnessed noticeable rise in the demand and application of the technology. It could be a good candidate for future mobile apps, especially m-commerce applications.
- Cross-Platform Apps: There are tons of Android versions with different hardware specs, if we consider the iPhone or iOS too, that is altogether a different story. This really push the mobile app designers and developers to find solutions for cross-platform mobile apps.
- Blockchain: The Blockchain is a huge leap in digital technology, it could be as massive as was the internet itself. The Blockchain is the most secure way to conduct transactions and share data across the internet. It is rapidly gaining popularity all over the world. We will definitely see Blockchain integration in the mobile app ecosystem in new future.
It is always better to stay ahead of your competition. These days the businesses in Dubai and all around the UAE and in fact all around the world should have to be technologically advanced to cater the needs of their customers and to gain a competitive edge.
Conclusion
These days the rise of mobile apps is demanding businesses to offer more features and functionalities via their mobile applications. In Dubai and all around the UAE the use of mobile apps and the smartphone is at its peak, statistical data have suggested that almost 99% of the population of the country owns a mobile phone and have access to the internet. The UAE government itself is a big promoter of mobile app based services and solutions. The mobile apps are more convenient for the customers as well as for the business or organization as well. It is easier to manage the mobile apps and the operational cost is reduced. On top of that the mobile apps are very much capable of promoting a positive brand image and building stronger relationship between the business and its customers. In this blog we have mentioned top 5 most popular mobile app design and development trends in Dubai and all around the UAE. Along with that we have also enlisted some emerging trends that a business should keep an eye on in the coming future. RSI Concepts is a leading mobile app design and development company in Dubai, UAE. If you need any more help or want to enquire for a mobile app design and development project, feel free to reach us through our Contact Us page or leave a comment in the comment box below and we will get in touch with you soon.
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