Hottest Android App Development Trends That Are Ruling in 2017

Thanks to the emerging smartphone markets, Android’s share, by 2019, is estimated to touch 81.1 percent. Though iOS from Apple is in hot pursuit, Google’s Android is still the reigning, defending, undisputed champion at this moment.

With that in mind, it would be interesting to see the most prominent trends that are promising to shape up the Android app development eco-system. Let’s take a closer look at the movers and shakers dominating the headlines in the Android app development landscape.

Android Instant Applications 

Desperately need an app, but the slow Internet connection on your phone plays the spoilsport and doesn’t allow its installation from the Google Play store? Sounds familiar? Well, we have all been in such frustrating situations. Usually, we would give up at some point, but with Android Instant App, not anymore.

Google, for all of us living on the edge with slow internet speed, has developed the Instant App, with which users can download an app instantly like a usual web page. Since the Instant App’s traffic is almost similar to the traffic of a normal web page, it can free our phone’s memory from apps that we need occasionally.

The Instant App can be tested right now on Android 7.0 Nougat OS, with more support coming up for 4.1 and later versions.

Android Artificial Intelligence (AI) Assistant 

The integration of artificial intelligence, commonly referred to as AI, isn’t that rampant at present, but it is rapidly gaining traction than ever before. Today, we all use chat bots and voice assistants on our mobile devices, play AI-influenced games that make us feel like things are unfolding in the real world.

However, that is just the tip of the iceberg. In fact, development in robotics and artificial intelligence is advancing much faster than expected. The previous year, Google promised that it will bolster the integration of artificial intelligence into ‘Google Assistant’, and we are already getting a sneak peek of it.

Enhanced intellectual skills and improved features will be the key highlights of the upgraded Google Assistant.

The new AI-based Google Assistant will be able to establish smooth interactions with users, clarify required information in a more meaningful way, and serve as a smart chat bot.

The improved Google Assistant, besides allowing you to turn the lights off in your house, or booking a restaurant table for you, can also perform a slew of other tasks never thought of before.

Google’s progress with artificial intelligence is statistically reflected, with AI in Android rising from 89.6 percent in 2014 to 93.9 percent in 2016.

There are also talks in the air that Google Play will soon sport smart search features, powered by artificial intelligence. The network will deploy machine learning and predictive analytics to find results that are most relevant to you. The Google Play smart search is now in beta mode, gradually improving itself over time.

Integration of In-App Payments

With the steady availability of reliable internet connection, e-commerce is increasingly becoming a mainstream feature in the modern world. Till this date, there were basically two options to pay for the deliveries. It can either be cashless or cash on delivery.

Things are however changing, rather speedily, with people becoming more and more dependent on their internet-connected portable gadgets.

According to latest studies and surveys, nearly fifty percent of the entire online payments processed in 2017 were paid using mobile devices and wearables, such as smart watches. This, in fact, marks the dawn of a new era – m-commerce – which is triggering a paradigm shift from the yesteryear e-commerce module.

Quite naturally, Google wouldn’t want to lose its leadership in the m-commerce business, which started with Google’s very own mobile payment system – ‘Google Wallet’.

After the launch of Google Wallet almost seven years ago, Google, in 2016, launched its ‘Android Pay’ platform – an upgraded version of Google Wallet with added capabilities and security features.

Today, the system is widely accepted and preferred worldwide for storing confidential data, such as credit card and bank account details. However, users will need an NFC-compatible device that runs on Android 4.4 or newer versions to unlock the possibilities of Android Pay.

Throughout 2017, developers spent sleepless nights to develop applications that bring about good things to life for Android users.

Experts agree that new trends and innovations such as ‘in-app search’, and many more, will make the Android world exciting like never before with simplified and secure mobile experiences.