How IoT will impact mobile app development? Are you prepared for the massive shift?

These days, IoT and mobile apps go hand in hand. Considering this change, mobile app developers found their groove bringing some changes to mobile app development. We can see that, apps are more functional and streamlined now, compared to earlier apps. Users can seamlessly connect to the world via tablet and smartphone, as Internet of Things (IoT) begins to take off.

 

There are a number of things to think of IoT technology. In this post, I will help you understand the impact of IoT on mobile app development. Before getting into the point, I will explain what is IoT?

 

Well, Internet of Things (IoT) is the concept of connecting a device with other devices such as – smartphones, washing machines, televisions, coffeemakers etc. with a switch to each other and the internet.

 

IoT has changed the face of mobile apps, and to achieve goal of making everyone’s life easier developers should first go through the pain of creating compatible infrastructure and platform. Developing mobile app is same as developing web app with traditional software development. However, there is one critical difference that mobile apps take advantage of unique features that a mobile device could offer. For instance, gaming apps can take advantage of accelerometer of iPhone.

 

Impact of IoT on mobile app development

As IoT is continuing to evolve, the concept of smart cities and smart homes would flourish. In such an environment, mobile devices function as main interface through which we interact with IoT enabled devices. Mobile devices are already empowered with sensors and applications that give great information regarding the users. Besides this, smartphones could trace even the condition of light, orientation of device and many other things. Mobile devices come with variety of functions such as – Bluetooth, Wi-Fi, NFC etc — enabling the devices to communicate to other sensors and devices.

 

A smartphone can interact with fitness equipment as well as smartwatch to enhance user experience. Similarly, IoT can enable operating the office system remotely and let you monitor your office from anywhere.

 

In short, IoT has created a huge market demand for development of apps for them. The same connectivity enabled the world’s greatest developers to co-operate with one another easily than before.

 

Challenges of app development in IoT

IoT may affect the mobile app development process in some situations. App developers need to learn how the connected devices communicate, as a typical mobile app correspond via Bluetooth, Wi-Fi or 3G/4G service. With existing app development platform, developers may work on versions of software for a handful of different operating systems like – iOS, Android and Windows.

 

• Connectivity

Devices will no longer be connected via 3G or 4G services, when it comes to IoT devices. Developers must understand how their app is going to connect to IoT and how to integrate their app with a gateway or standalone device. This technology requires a different protocol and it is not easy to bring to life. Pairing IoT enabled devices with mobile apps may look like a hunt for novel. With data networks and Wi-Fi not being a constraint, developer should plan what capabilities they can add to mobile apps.

 

• Mobile app development

The software development is different on some type of tiers and hence developers should realize it from the beginning that the end tiers of development are different for IoT apps.  Coders will likely develop a new language so that everything can be correlated in a right way. However, it takes a lot of time and patience to do things in the right way.

 

App developers should try to ramp their efforts for delivering products with customization across different devices. Moreover, collaboration between IoT devices and app developers will play an important role in future.

 

 

• Follow the stream with new Platform

The main problem with building IoT compatible mobile apps is the platform. A lot of developers are not familiar with how an IoT compatible app looks. Most of the developers create and build from the scratch and it can be tough to proceed, when it comes to IoT app. If there is no web based platform to develop the app, it is understandable that the new software need to be coded.

 

App developers need to cope up with world run by a set of IoT devices and deliver products with customization across stimulated devices. Additionally, they should be ready to extend full lifecycle support, as majority of IoT apps are powered by AI technology.

 

• Gain advantage with open source development

If IoT is well integrated into mobile app development, new developers can expect ore programs to be funneled their way. This gives developers an opportunity to experiment on new type of apps. Many companies such as Microsoft and Google are offering wide range of features to give begi9nners an opportunity to get started with app development. As IoT becomes popular, more and more programs will be available to developers so that they can develop innovative apps.

 

Mobile app development service providers are sharing more and more programs so that app developers can build their own app blurring the lines between Iota and non-IoT devices.

 

Are you prepared for the change?

Mobile apps and IoT are going on the same track, and if you haven’t yet thought of the impact of IoT on mobile app development, you are lagging behind. The concept of smart devices flourish as the concept of IoT is evolving, where mobile devices function as main interface to interact with IoT enabled devices.

 

IoT can add a great value to our lives. Currently, a lot of open source platforms are offering useful tools to develop IoT friendly apps, which is contributing a lot in the growth of IoT environment. App developers are slowly embracing the IoT trend in app development. According to sources, there is an increase of 24% in the number of app developers working on IoT apps.

 

With constant development in IoT, mobile apps are leading towards a well-connected world. It’s high time for app developers to build IoT apps where information is transmitted by objects through sensors and received by the mobile app in real time.

 

Conclusion

No doubt, IoT is a complete breakthrough in app development. The expansion of IoT devices and wearables will have a drastic impact on the way we look at them. The main areas of concern are – data security, change in power consumption, overhaul of standard operating procedures, computing performance etc. IoT opens up more opportunities for mobile app developers. However, the change and growth is quite challenging and at the same time exciting.

 

If you are planning to take advantage of IoT, contact us today! We will help you build an app with IoT and succeed in future developments.