Mobile Application Development – An In-Demand Career in 2023?
Mobile Application development is one of the in-demand careers that is getting revolutionized with recent advancements. Modern-day mobile phones are built on powerful hardware and software systems that are capable of handling complex processes. This has also made the mobile application development scale higher as the new apps are developed to carry out almost every operation right from the mobile phone, from browsing websites to running an online business. Instead of choosing a specific mobile application platform such as Android or iOS, developers are developing solutions that work on both equally well. All these aspects make mobile application development an in-demand career today and show no signs of slowing down. Let’s explore more about the mobile application development market and the latest trends in the industry.
Mobile App Development is a Booming Market
The mobile application development market has been active for over a decade and continuously generates billions of dollars annually. The revenue for both mobile tech giants Apple and Google is rising each day. According to the Business of Apps, the revenues of the iOS and Google app markets were collectively recorded at $128 billion in 2022. These figures indicate that there are plenty of opportunities in the field. To talk more about numbers, mobile ad spending crossed $336 billion in 2022, marking a 13.8% rise from the previous year’s spending.
Apart from the tech world, the demand for mobile application development is increasing in other sectors as well such as game development, marketing firms, and media agencies.
How Much Do Mobile App Developers Make?
The job market is competitive, but there are numerous opportunities in several types of mobile application development stacks. Depending on the skill levels, mobile app developers can make decent amounts. According to ZipRecruiter, developers make $50/hour on average. These salaries vary for each role, for instance, mobile app engineers and experts in application architecture make $164,062 per year while principal Android developers make significantly more, i.e., up to $178,999 per year. The US Bureau of Labor Statistics, predicts the number of mobile app developers’ jobs to increase by 25% in the future. This climb is expected between the ten-year period from 2021 to 2031, which is much faster than other professions.
Types of Mobile Application Developer Roles
As job opportunities and salaries vary for different types of mobile application development, let’s understand the differences between each type of mobile app development stack.
Native Apps Developer
Native mobile apps and software are those that are expressly built and created to function on a certain operating system (OS) or platforms, such as iOS for Apple devices or Android for Android smartphones. In native app development, mobile applications are created in platform-specific programming languages such as Swift or Objective-C for iOS and Java or Kotlin for Android.
Jobs in native app development include positions such as iOS or Android app developers, requiring developers to design high-performance programs customized for a certain OS, leveraging its unique features and capabilities.
Cross-Platform Apps Developer
Cross-platform app development is the process of developing mobile apps or software that can operate on several operating systems or platforms using a single codebase. This implies that developers can create code once and utilize it on several platforms, including iOS, Android, and web browsers. Developers can use cross-platform libraries like React Native, Flutter, or Xamarin (now evolving to MAUI) to create apps that can be delivered on various platforms with a single source.
Cross-platform development jobs include positions such as cross-platform app developers, where you’ll work on developing apps that can reach a bigger audience across several platforms while lowering development time and cost.
PWA Developer
Progressive Web App is an online application that can be accessed via a web browser yet provides an experience comparable to a native app. PWAs are created with web technologies such as HTML, CSS, and JavaScript and, like any other website, can be visited through urls. PWAs are popular for mobile app development since they can be put on a user’s home screen, function offline, and deliver push notifications.
PWA development jobs include roles like web app developers or front-end developers, where you may create highly responsive and dynamic online apps that deliver a consistent experience across several devices and platforms.
Mobile Game Developer
The development of mobile games involves producing specially built games on mobile devices such as smartphones and tablets. Mobile games range from simple 2D games to complicated 3D games, and they can be created with various game engines and programming languages, including Unity, Unreal Engine, C++, and C#. Jobs in the mobile game industry include those for game developers, designers, and animators.
In these positions, developers employ the distinct features and functionalities of mobile devices, such as touch controllers, accelerometers, and gyroscopes, to create engaging and immersive games for users of mobile devices.
Wearables Apps Developer
Wearable electronics include smartwatches, fitness trackers, and augmented reality (AR) headsets that are worn on the body. Wearable devices frequently have specific hardware and software requirements, necessitating specialist development in order to produce apps or software that can function on them.
Wearable app development job prospects include positions such as wearable app developer, where you may design unique apps for wearable devices that improve users’ daily life, such as health and fitness tracking, smart notifications, or AR experiences.
How Programmers Force Can Help
Mobile application development is a promising field to pursue a career in 2023. The learning curve varies for each type of mobile app development type. For native apps, you need to learn Android development and understand mobile app development software, i.e., Android Studio for Google’s OS and XCode for iOS development. If you are a skilled mobile application developer looking to kickstart your career in this ever-growing field, look no further as we are here to fulfill your objectives. The Programmers Force provides best-in-class mobile-friendly software solutions; we need people who are ambitious to learn, work and grow. Contact us for more.
