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Spring is upon us, and the 2015 mobile trends are changing how we connect and do business. Mobile phones are bigger, used more and are integrated in to all facets of our lives. Wearable technology is hitting the mainstream, and will have an impact throughout the rest of the year.
Most new mobile phones released to the Canadian Market (Apple, Samsung, HTC, Sony…) have screens that are larger than 4.5 inches/11.5cm. This translates to users spending more time on these devices and their tablets and less time on computers. In turn mobile consumers are doing more and more of their online business through applications on their phones; this provides both an opportunity and a dilemma. This trend presents an issue for companies seeking to engage their clients through native apps and browser friendly versions of their sites, while increasing the assurance that transactions and data are being secured properly.
The relatively low cost of cloud technologies has already led to some innovation in the mobile application space. Cloud applications are usually a combination of desktop and web apps, often leading to a great UX, with fast response and offline capabilities that allow flexibility for users. They also allow the versatility of uploading/downloading different files and sharing information over various devices seamlessly. The integration of functionalities and the ability to manage data with applications from smart phones, tablets and watches continues to provide a new opportunity for developers to enable sharing in the office and at home. If you have internet access, you have the ability to synchronize your life, data and devices, while storing it for easy access in the cloud.
April 10th approaches, which will mark the beginning of pre-orders in Canada for the Apple Watch, slated to hit the market later that month. It will be one of the first products released by Apple this year and launches the brand’s entry into wearable devices, adding yet another layer of connectivity between iPhones and iPads. Though other products exist that are compatible with the iOS, this is Apple’s first product, providing new opportunities to mobile applications that will seek to integrate the watch. Most applications that currently integrate with wearable devices are focused on on fitness and health; but now that Apple has increased their focus on wearables, there will likely be a shift for developers to increase the scope of industries integrated in to this market. There are also rumours that the next version of Apple TV will feature wearable technology in the App Store, capturing some attention away from smartphones and tablets, toward wearable devices and Internet of Things applications.
Whether it is a more connected home, answering a text on your watch or doing banking through an Android app, mobile technology affects us more and more every day. These trends do not seem to be slowing down; instead they look to be ramping up our connectivity through cloud applications, wearable tech and our mobile devices. Though security concerns may slow down our desire to adopt all of these tendencies, the rest of 2015 will undoubtedly lead to a greater focus on mobile development rather than less.
