Want to Know the Best Language for Mobile App Development in 2022? Then Read On.

You’d pretty much need to live under a rock with your fingers in your ears screaming “la la la la” not to realize mobile application development as a superpower force in today’s society.

Mobile app development companies have found themselves in a lucrative market with a vast target market, ready to engage with their products.

To the above point, there are 3.2 billion smartphone users across the world. And in most places, a smartphone is essentially another body part. The average American, for instance, looks at their phone 80 times per day.

What are people doing on their phones? We’re willing to bet you guessed, “using mobile apps.” If you did, you’re correct. Smartphone users spend 88% of their mobile time perusing various apps.

Furthermore, since projections show mobile apps generating more than $935 billion worth of revenue by 2023, it’s understandable if you’re curious about mobile application development. Profitable opportunities are lying in wait, ready and willing to be tapped into by all comers.

However, those just getting their feet wet in the industry need to familiarize themselves with the nuances involved in mobile application development before making any game-changing decisions.

We’re more than happy to be your guide and provide some helpful, actionable insights, such as delving into the most popular//best programming languages currently being used.

Moreover, you’ll need to grasp what language will best serve your mobile app, so when you take that crucial step, you’ll ensure a seamless development process and the highest possible return on your investment.

What Types of Mobile Application Development Are Most Popular Heading into 2022?

You don’t want to spend money on mobile application development without knowing what your target market wants. That’s one way to guarantee your company a net loss.

There must be a market fit for your app, or else the language you choose for development won’t make a single bit of difference.

With the above sentiments in mind, here are the types of mobile apps taking the world by storm as we head into 2022:

5G Mobile Application Development

5G is about to change mobile app development as we know it.

Much of the excitement revolves around 5G’s under 1-millisecondlatency, the amount of time it takes between a user’s action and the app’s response. That’s a level of speed like we’ve never seen in the app game. Just for context--a human’s reaction time is up to 300 milliseconds.

There’s also 5G’s exceptionally high bandwidth and vast connection density. As such, mobile application development companies will be looking to make strides in the following fields:

• Internet of Things (IoT)
• Augmented Reality (AR)
• Virtual Reality (VR)
• Connected Driverless Vehicles
• Wireless Health

That above list is only the beginning--5G will soon integrate mobile application development with seemingly all facets of life, whether eating, reading, exercising, or finances.

Here’s another consideration: improved latency and speed mean more efficient battery consumption. Many of the processes that drain battery life will be obsolete due to 5G. Plus, with its higher radio frequency and shorter wavelengths, 5G will further evolve geotargeting and geofencing.

Not convinced about 5G? Well, experts project the 5G mmWave chipset market to reach $56.3 billion by 2026. That number amounts to a compound annual growth rate of 37.3% from 2021-2026.

Progressive and Instant Mobile Application Development

Progressive web apps (PWAs) are a blend between apps and web pages. Another way to explain it is PWAs are websites that function like apps; thus, making app development take less time.

However, while the app and websites exist as one with PWAs, they go beyond just web pages, starting with the fact that users can save them to their home screens.

Consider this: apps lose 20% of possible users between their first encounter with the app and actually using it. With a PWA, some can use the app right when they see it instead of seeing the app and forgetting about it.

Among PWAs’ many benefits that offset the pitfalls of native applications, here are the highlights:

• Don’t rely as much on the internet
• Not much loading time require
• Take up very little space
• Updated automatically
• Incredibly adaptable and accessible

PWAs shone during COVID-19 when the eCommerce industry faced a drastic rise in online shopping customers. The results were significant, with a company such as AliExpress reporting a 104% increase in conversions due to PWAs. Also, Flipkart acquired half of its new customers through PWAs.

Lastly--focusing on a broader scale--PWAs have a 36% higher conversion rate than their native counterparts.

Wearable Mobile Application Development

Since 2013, wearable tech companies have raised $3.3 billion. Moreover, by 2022, it’s expected there will be over 1 billion wearable devices on the market.

Making wearable tech even more relevant is COVID-19. Such devices proved crucial in detecting asymptomatic and pre-symptomatic cases.

Exercise trackers like FitBit and other smartwatches take tabs on real-time physiological data that can flag early signs of potential COVID-19. These notifications get triggered based on changes in a wearer’s normal health baselines.

We’ll point out that these are only three of the most popular mobile application development trends heading into 2022, but they aren’t all that’s out there. Plenty of other types of apps are making waves heading into the new year, such as:

• Edge computing apps
• Beacon tech apps
• mCommerce
• On-Demand apps
• Artificial Intelligence (AI) apps

What Are the Best Mobile App Programming Languages for 2022?

Python

Right now, Python is ranked #2 in popularity out of all programming languages. However, heading into 2022, expect Python to keep escalating in usage. It should grow by 50% in 2022 after doing the same the year before.

What’s the reason for Python’s ascension up the ranks of programming languages?

First and foremost, Python is most known for its flexibility and versatility, used for a variety of purposes (e.g., video game development and web scripting) on top of mobile application development.

To the above point, Python is effective in making almost any mobile app or platform.

Python is also famous for ridding itself of complicated, clunky syntax, so reading and learning the language is a relatively simple pursuit.

Kotlin

Initially developed to replace Java, Kotlin is a preferred programming language for the following entities:

• Google
• Tiktok
• Instagram
• Microsoft One Drive

On top of that, it holds 15.99% of the market share.

Kotlin’s already made such waves and will only create more heading into 2022- primarily because of its compatibility with Android devices. Because, as we hinted at earlier, Kotlin is the official language Google uses when developing Android apps. Why? The code is concise and clear; it’s safe and consistent, and it works like a dream with Java.

Swift

What Kotlin is to Google and Android, Swift is to Apple and iOS devices.

One of Swift’s main selling points is that it increases performance by 40% compared to Objective-C (the old standard language associated with Apple). Furthermore, compared to Objective-C, Swift’s code is more succinct, necessitating far fewer lines of code to finish the same kind of work.

Also more secure and an easier fix than Objective-C, Swift compiles errors, reducing the required time for working out bugs.

Then there’s the fact that Swift is an open-source project, allowing anyone to contribute, leading to even more streamlined growth.

Here are a few other perks of using this state-of-the-art programming language:

• Swift’s memory management system empowers developers to key into app logic instead of spending too much time memorizing each object (like how it was with Objective-C).
• The Swift dynamic library can receive different pieces of code to improve, allowing developers to update apps at all times. Whereas other traditional static libraries only update when there’s a significant change

Rust

As recently as 2020, Stack’s Overflow’s survey showed that Rust was the most beloved programming language of its respondents.

Created by Mozilla, Rust is a safer option than C and C++, according to many experts.

Rust’s management tools make it a shining star in the field--even compared to steady-rising powerhouses like Python and Ruby.

It’s worth noting that Rust--which is just hitting its stride entering 2022--is quite difficult to use.

But programmers overlook the difficulty levels of Rust because it’s fast and--most important--safe. There’s also the versatility factor--the fast-rising programming language builds all manners of platforms and apps of varying scopes and purposes.

R

From 2019 to 2020, R jumped from 20th place to 8th place in TIOBE’s index of popular programming languages, says TechRepublic.

R also received the “least-hated” programming language distinction in the Stack Overflow Survey a few years back. While that’s not quite “most loved,” it shows that programmers do have a high level of respect for R as a programming language.

Being open-source makes R an ideal fit for user interface (UI) design.

In today’s landscape, visual data representation and storytelling are a top priority, and R brings that to life with vivid, eye-catching animations and graphs. Statistical computing is another area where R thrives, making it extremely viable in data science spaces.

Something else worth considering is how R supports cross-platform development and is compatible with an array of platforms.

How to Choose the Right Programming Language for Mobile Application Development

There are a few factors to consider when deciding on the best possible language for mobile app development.

On a broader scale, provided you’re making an app for one specific platform (i.e., iOS or Android), figure out the native programming languages.

We’ve pointed out that Objective-C has been made obsolete by Swift. So if you’re making an Apple-based app, you have a good starting point in Swift.

Conversely, Android-only mobile application development is most suitable to Kotlin. While Java still has its uses, you want to be on the cutting edge, and that’s where Kotlin stands.

From there, if you aren’t discriminating between platforms, or you want to get even more specific, it comes down to the purpose and scope of your app.

Provided data storytelling is a big part of what you’re doing, R will prove highly valuable.

Then there’s Rust, best suited to low-level code and developing kernel operating systems.

Python is most associated with game app development, command-line applications, blockchain apps, and much more. The programming language is so versatile it’s hard to imagine what it can’t do.

The takeaway here is there’s no one-size-fits-all approach to programming languages for mobile application development.

You must align your needs and objectives with your programming language of choice. Beyond that, you need to keep your skill level in mind and ask yourself if you could even possibly learn your chosen programming language in a reasonable time.

While we’re not here to discourage you from broadening your skillset and learning programming languages, we’re here to present you with another alternative. Namely, you should consider outsourcing your mobile application development project.

We’re a mobile application development company in Dubai with vast statewide experience. All you need to do is get in touch with us, and we can work with you to develop your app that’ll skyrocket your organization to new heights. You won’t need to spend hours upon hours learning an entirely new programming language. Just think up a genius app idea, and we’ll help take your company to the promised land.