The Future of IoT: Industry Expert Opinions
The Internet of Things (IoT) is revolutionizing our everyday lives, steadily changing how we interact with smart devices around us. IoT market revenue is $212 billion worldwide. From TV sets to vehicles, IoT connects everything together and is therefore transforming lives. We have heard and seen mobile app developers building seamless products for Android and iOS platforms, but now slowly shifting their focus on integrating IoT with mobile applications as it is becoming increasingly prevalent.
Companies are now developing applications suitable for IoT devices such as wearables and home assistants to engage customers. 20.4 billion IoT devices were online in 2020 and the number is expected to rise to 75 billion devices by 2025. Hence, staying up to date with the latest trends in IoT development is arguably the most crucial aspect of success in the digital space.
In this article, I will share a few opinions from industry experts on how IoT technology is shaping the future of Mobile Application development.
Plugged-In Voice and Visual Interfaces
We expect to see more IoT devices with plugged-in voice and visual interfaces. Almost like miniaturized kiosks that process user requests and provide immediate feedback using Google Assistant or similar voice recognition APIs.
The upside for consumers is they don’t need to fiddle with mobile apps to set up and control IoT gadgets. Instead, they operate them using voice commands or touch screens. This is part of a larger consumerization trend we see in the healthcare IoT sector. DermaSensor is a great example of this movement, where they use both an app and on-device interface for controlling a skin scanner.
Joe Tuan, CEO @ Topflightapps
AI and Big Data Incorporation
IoT is already one of the key resources to generate real-time AI data from mobile applications. With an amalgamation of IoT, AI, and Big Data, the big data collected from IoT sensors will enable AI to provide detailed analysis and forecast issues well in advance to provide rich experiences on connected devices.
Ankit Thakor, Digital Marketing Specialist @ Software World
Minimalism
An IoT trend in mobile app development that we will see in 2021 is Simplicity. Minimalist apps do exactly what they are meant to do such as switching on the lights or opening a lock. A minimalist app design will encourage more people to adopt IoT and put an end to the debate that IoT apps affect a device’s efficiency.
Daniel Cooper, Managing Director @ Lolly.co
Cybersecurity
Security and especially API Security vulnerabilities are becoming an ever-growing trend and concern in the world of IoT and mobile applications. Device manufactures are competing on physical design, features, and time to market.
Consumers love mobile apps as management interfaces because of their familiarity and utility. The typical architecture of apps connecting to devices via APIs in a multitenant cloud system operated by the vendor means shared management, deployment and communications over the public network — thus, a vast attack surface. The legislation is lagging, market incentives aren’t there, IoT vendors lack API security expertise — hence, the trend is likely to continue in 2021 and beyond.
Dmitry Sotnikov, Chief Product Officer @ 42Crunch
Analytics
IoT enabled apps make it easier for companies to gather valuable insights about app usage. These insights are helpful in a lot of ways: delivering personalized content, improving user experience, and much more.
Shahmeer Khan, Research Analyst @ Invozone
Predictive Maintenance Applications
One IoT trend in mobile app development is the proliferation of Predictive Maintenance Apps. Smart devices like smart lighting, smart ovens, and smart thermostats are already a trend and have been for the last two years. Moving forward, the apps will come with predictive maintenance alerts. If the fixture is experiencing an issue or requires maintenance, the app will notify you. Not only will you be alerted, but you will be given a complete diagnosis with troubleshooting instructions.
With COVID, more people remain confined to their homes and are becoming more cognizant of home-related issues. Now is the time for home appliance and fixture developers to innovate with next-level IoT technology.
Antti Alatalo, CEO & Founder @ SmartWatches4U
IoT in Healthcare
The Medical App Development industry is booming due to the worldwide COVID-19 pandemic, and IoT is the technology that helps digital healthcare evolve. The integration of IoT into medical equipment allows doctors to monitor their patients’ condition remotely in real-time and give the necessary treatment faster, easier, and without extra costs.
Anastasia Dyachenko, CTO @ CadabraStudio
Decentralized Applications
A large trend pushing through in 2021 in the realm of IoT, is going to be Decentralized Applications, or DApps. A DApp is an application that is truly decentralized in nature, with all protocols and info stored on the blockchain, protected by several layers of cryptography. On top of this, with a preset, unhackable algorithm predicting the overall network’s governance, there is no worry of interference by any 3rd parties or politically motivated action taking place.
It is 2021, a year of political and civil unrest, and Decentralization is the only thing that can truly prevent this interference. That’s why Cryptography is a clear winner for one of the top IoT trends this year, and several moving forward.
Andrew Cunningham, Founder @ DailyPest
The Bottom Line
Internet of Things (IoT) is not a new concept anymore. But the rise in mobile applications across industries has created seemingly endless opportunities for the Internet of Things.
People have grown accustomed to using technology for convenience, accessibility and automation. Smart home technology is a perfect example of IoT and mobile app development. According to Rima Shah, CTO at Technostacks “IoT penetration into Mobile App development opens up endless opportunities.” She also adds, “Remote controlled access, ensuring the security of appliances, centralization of all networks in the App and cost-effective wireless technology are the benefits offered by IoT that elevates user experience for enterprise and consumers.”
IoT is capable of stirring up the digital world with its untapped potential. Hence, It’s vital to stay updated with the trends. Because as these devices become more intuitive and innovative, their presence will grow far beyond home comfort, transportation and security.
