The Top 5 IoT Trends in App Development

The Internet of Things, better known as IoT, has become one of the most popular forms of new technology because it offers a new level of convenience, both on the job and at home.

For medical professionals, IoT gives them the ability to quickly relay information and make updates on patients or the latest information. For the service and logistics industries, IoT helps companies coordinate shipments, deliveries, events, and other aspects of the business.

Virtually every industry benefits from incorporating IoT, which is what has made it so popular. However, it is the personal use that has made the technology so ubiquitous around the world. Smart cities allow people to connect with each other anywhere in the city. Smart homes allow people to check on home security when they are away from home. The potential of IoT has made it one of the fastest growing types of tech, including for mobile apps.

To better prepare for those changes, the following are the current five IoT trends for apps.

A More Secure Connection

The more online a device is, the more secure every aspect needs to be. For IoT, security is an even more critical aspect as anything connected on the network is compromised by a breach. The bigger the IoT network, the more robust the security needs to be.

When people set up an app on their phone that lets them close the garage door remotely, that gives potential hackers access to get into their home when the app isn’t properly secured. IoT makes things far more convenient, so in-app security is going to be a critical part of the design for an app.

Smart Homes and Smartphones

Most of us have had an experience where we are at work, the grocery store, or away from home and think, “Did I turn off the (fill in an appliance like coffee maker or dryer)?” While initially people felt that smart homes were just for lazier, younger people, it has quickly become obvious exactly why it is the kind of technology that benefits everyone.

A growing number of devices will connect to IoT in the future, making this a great time to start implementing apps that work with those devices. An added benefit is that the apps can be energy savers. While you are turning off appliances that shouldn’t be on when you aren’t home, you can go ahead and turn off lights around your home, too. If you have a dog, you can turn on some relaxing classical music so they have some pleasant sounds. There are a lot of uses for smart technology, and apps are one of the best ways to take advantage of that technology since it lets people do things within their home no matter how far away they are.

Industries IoT Is Likely to Benefit Most

Because of the pandemic, there has been a real rise in smart technology because people are stuck at home more. To better help people, there are several industries that will benefit greatly from IoT.

• Healthcare has had to go to a remote approach. For any healthcare provider, using IoT during this time is essential for protecting clients from exposure to COVID-19. While the pandemic will eventually end, it is likely that healthcare will increasingly rely on IoT going forward. It is simply an easier and more customer friendly way of helping patients.
• Exercise and fitness apps have shifted since going to gyms and traditional types of exercise have been narrowed to just a few methods of staying healthy. As more people have more exercise equipment at home, exercise apps will need to work with that equipment to give people a more accurate idea of their activity levels.
• Retail is an industry that was already moving toward being more app friendly, so extending that to smart technology is just another phase of the evolution in how we shop.
• Financial apps may not be affected as much, but they will still see some impact as people are increasingly less likely to go into banks or financial institutions. Blockchain (used with things like Bitcoin) is becoming more popular, and apps are one of the best ways to use it. As more people use Blockchain tech for their finances, this will be one financial area that will increasingly benefit from IoT apps.

Incorporating Artificial Intelligence and Machine Learning

Better known as AI and ML, having apps learn what the user likes and their usual behavior makes customers a lot more likely to continue to use the app. Think about Google and Amazon and how they learn what a user will likely search for when they visit their site, a feature that has made Google and Amazon incredibly popular. By combining IoT with AI and ML, it will make an app nearly essential, not just in the short term either.

Data Storage

There is a growing trend to store data on a nearby IoT device or network instead of saving everything to a Cloud. This means that data is then filtered and stored for what should go to the Cloud, saving not only storage space in the Cloud, but also reducing traffic instead of sending everything, whether or not it should be sent. It also increases security of data since less information is transferred away from the network.