The global mobile app development market is showing significant growth, with mobile-first downloads expected to rise from 178.1 billion in 2017 to 258.2 billion by 2022. Despite challenges posed by the COVID-19 pandemic, productivity, video conferencing, and fitness apps have gained popularity, driven by advances in technology and changing user needs. Future trends indicate a shift towards wearable apps, AI and ML integration, and the emergence of new technologies like 5G and foldable devices, which will present both opportunities and challenges for developers.

1. Global Mobile App
Development Market — How
is it Behaving Currently?
When you look at the stats, Statista shared the count of mobile-first
time downloads worldwide in 2017 which were 178.1 billion in 2017
and it was forecasted to grow up to 258.2 by 2022.
With these stats, you can understand that there is no stopping to the
adoption of the mobile-first approach.
In this Mobile Application Development race, Android users
have outperformed the adoption of iOS users. App Annie was the
witness to the adoption stating that 70% of the mobile apps were
downloaded from the Google Play store. This displayed the total
value in the year 2017 for Android apps, which were recorded as 3.8
million while App Store recorded 2 million.
Since COVID-19 spiked with agility, the consequences were faced by
the mobile app development companies.
Market Value of Apps Post Covid-19
Despite the pandemic, a few productivity apps for organizations to
collaborate became the most popular, such as Google Meet,
Microsoft teams, Zoom. These platforms also enabled students to
stay connected to their mentors and continue to train.

2. We may continue to see video conferencing, delivery, remote
education, and media streaming mobile apps are continuing and will
continue to dominate amid Coronavirus. These mobile applications
are helping people to adapt and cope with disease while meeting the
demands quickly.
With several mobile technologies accelerating in the app
development market, it becomes difficult to adjust during the
pandemic. The only advantage these applications have is the new
and advanced transmission speed that promises to deliver
exceptional speed and new features that were not possible earlier.
Another most important feature added was privacy. Privacy and
security cannot be neglected and will always be a part of the mobile
app development ecosystem as well as responsible for the growth
and success of a particular app.
App Market of Various Categories
A category that really poured light to app development companies
was building fitness apps for wearables. Having sensors on your
wrists, such as the SPO2 and other similar apps has become
necessary to track during this pandemic. The advanced and
continuous data exchange through satellite is providing the inflow of
data requisite is based on the analysis of patterns as well as
integration of Machine Learning that makes data meaningful.
The most profitable applications ranked and became popular when
there was no pandemic. Netflix was ranked in the first position in

3. Google Play Store in 2017. The revenue-generating apps such as the
video apps contributed 36% in total non-gaming app revenues.
Display ads and in-app purchases can also turn out to be profitable
in your monetization strategy. If we talk about the year 2018, the
total number of mobile users worldwide was 3.8 billion which
reached 4.68 billion in 2019.
Social media apps such as Facebook, Instagram, and Snapchat also
had and still hold a major place in the US mobile app market. And
the age group to use the app maximum is 18–34 years.
Future predictions of Global Mobile App Development
Trends
The market share of wearable apps raised from 453 million in 2017
to 929 million in 2021. Because people want to stay fit and healthy,
hence the global market of app development is shifting for building
and integrating wearable app features.
AI and ML are now advancing technology that is disrupting the
entire market. They promise to deliver a unique and exceptional
experience, hence many companies have started incorporating them
in mobile apps. Applications such as FaceApp got viral and favored
swiftly. Applications integrated with these technologies are hopeful
and have a promising future.
The emergence of foldable is a revolution in mobile manufacturing.
These dreamy and rich mobile devices certainly require unique

4. applications that support split-screen. One example, Samsung
galaxy Fold is the sexiest and alluring phone to date. The gigantic
Spotify, Facebook, and Amazon Prime Video, and more need to be
optimized as per new technology trends.
Internet of Things technology will also be booming and
amalgamated with 5G services that will make housing premises,
office premises, mobile connectivity as well as smart cities smarter.
The instigation of technology would require an application that can
convert unstructured information into structured to function.
Cross-platform app development has been adopted for a very long
time. This smart solution for enterprises will continue to rise and
save money on development for mobile apps on multiple devices.
In a Nutshell -
Every year, the emergence of new technology changes the way we
use mobile applications. From simple entertainment apps, such as
radio to AI and ML integrated applications, such as FaceApp,
technology has taken long steps to reach this far. Upcoming
technology trends, such as AR, VR, 5G technology, security
concerns, gaming, foldable, and what not will drive the global
market for the app development companies for new opportunities
and challenges equally.