Mobile Technology Waves For 2025

By Shalom Imafidon

In order to be successful in any business, you’ve got to always keep your finger on the pulse.

Stay updated with industry trends in addition to researching your competitors, it’s no secret that our world is moving in a mobile direction.

That’s why every business, regardless of the industry, needs to stay updated with new mobile trends. This is especially important for companies with a mobile presence, such as an app or mobile site. Whether you’re a mobile app developer or you run a local food store, it’s important to stay educated in the mobile space.

This statement holds true for those of you who don’t have a mobile app as well. That’s because you should be thinking about mobile application development if you’re not already in the process. But with so many channels of information at your fingertips, it can be difficult to determine what trends are legitimate and which ones are just a fad or a fake news. That’s what inspired me to create this guide.

As an industry expert in the mobile space, I’ve narrowed down the top 17 mobile technology waves for the coming year. Here what you need to know.

1. Augmented reality will be incorporated into more apps

 More mobiles apps will adapt to augmented reality in 2025.

These types of apps incorporate the real world with the app. Pokemon Go is a perfect example of an augmented reality app. Here’s an example of the game.

The sidewalk, grass, benches, trees, sky, people, and power lines all exist in reality for the image above. If you were to take out your camera, you’d see all of this on the screen.

But this type of mobile tech adds elements to your device that aren’t actually there, like the fictional pokemon character above.

Pokemon Go was downloaded 752 million times and generated more than $1.2 billion in revenue. There are more than 5 million daily active users playing this game across the globe.

It’s safe to say that this was a huge success. Because of this, more companies are going to try and use augmented reality apps to drive downloads, engagement, and revenue for their business.

2. Wearable technology is being paired with mobile apps

In 2025 we’ll see an increase of wearable mobile tech. I’m talking about things like:

• Smart watches
• Fitness bracelets
• Glasses
• Healthcare monitors

All of these devices, and more, will be paired and used with mobile apps, for example, look at the company like Fitbit. There wearable mobile tech can be accessed and monitored through their app. Users can see things like how many steps they took in a day, their heart rate, and other trackable information. The idea behind this concept is for consumers to track and monitor their fitness and health journey. With the app, it’s easy to compare data and see how you are improving over the course of a day, week, month, or even year.

125million units of wearable technology will be shipped this year. The lion share with these devices will be used in conjunction with the mobile apps.

3. Virtual reality apps

Earlier we discussed augmented reality apps. But virtual reality will continue to in 2025 as well. These are apps that require more than just smartphone or tablet to operate.

Users will also wear some form of goggles or helmet. They may even have separate controllers or joysticks paired with mobile tech as well.

According to the Zion Market Research, the global virtual reality market valuation is worth $26 billion.

4. Mobile applications for small businesses

Mobile applications are no longer for giant companies anymore. Any business in any industry needs to have a mobile app. It doesn’t matter how big or small your company is. Small business owners are recognizing this trend and are starting to develop. In fact, roughly 50% of small business owners plan to develop a mobile app. 55% of small businesses say that they’re developing an app to increase sales. While other businesses site an improvement in the customer experience and staying competitive in a specific market as the reasons for development.

Regardless of the reason, small business apps are still on the rise.

5. Geofencing and location-based services

It’s no secret that mobile apps are tracking the location of their users. In fact, users are giving them the permission to do so. Whenever you download and use a new app, you’ll get a notification that request permission to access your location. Here’s an example of what that notification looks like on IOS devices.

You can’t even use some apps unless you share your location with them. For example, if you’re using a rideshare app like Uber or Lyft, you won’t be able to get connected to a driver unless the app knows exactly where you are. But now location-based services are trending in anew direction. Companies that don’t need your location are still requesting it.

They are using it to improve their marketing efforts. In fact, 70% of apps share user data with third-party services. It’s easier to target users from a marketing perspective if you know their location. For example, businesses are using geofencing to make more money. If someone with an app downloaded into their device walks into a geofenced area, they’ll get a push notification from the app with some kind of promotion based on that location. We’re going to see an increase in this type of marketing strategy in 2025.

6. Mobile artificial intelligence

In 2025, we are one step closer to robots taking over the world. I’m kidding, of course. While we’re not quite there yet, we are seeing more and more advances in artificial intelligences, especially in the mobile industry.

Some AI software that you might be familiar with include:

• Siri
• Cortana
• Alexa
• Google Assistant

But now regular mobile apps are using voice recognition software and AI to enhance the user experience. Voice recognition also improves hands-free use. Some mobile app accessibility is also link to AI. Artificial intelligence is used to bridge translation gaps with voice recognition. Understanding the user’s voice will help developers and marketers learn more about these people. As a result, you’ll be able to target users better and generate more revenue with relevant advertisements.

7. Internet of Things

 The Internet of Things technology has been around for a while and has added tremendous value to businesses globally. With sensor technology becoming cheaper, IoT will continue to grow in the coming times. The UX of an IoT app plays a very important role in its success. The key challenge the UX designers of IoT apps face is to provide the precise information to the user so they do not get confused and overwhelmed with extra stuff.  In an IoT app the information flows between service providers, apps, things and people and one has to ensure that this information is clear, concise and engaging for the user. One of the key concerns of the UX professionals and business owners is the security of this information. Another important aspect of an app UX built for IoT is the level of customization that can be done for different groups of users. Personal users of an IoT app require a different experience from that of the business users. One has to clearly understand app functionality in each of the cases while doing the app UX.

Conclusion

No matter what type of business you’re in, you’ve got to stay updated on to newest technology trends. More specifically, you need to know what’s happening in the mobile world because that’s where your current and prospective customers are living. Understanding latest mobile technology trends this coming year will help your company prepare and make any adjustments to stay up to date. Whether it’s machine learning, VR, or AR, you want to consider applying some of these trends to your own app.

Based on the data that I’ve outlined above, these are mobile technology waves I expect to see on the rise in 2025.

How is your company adapting to the newest trends in mobile trends in mobile technology?