There are a staggering number of apps in the world today, more than 4 million in the Google Play Store and the Apple App Store alone. Despite the vast range of options, we already have, the app market is still growing and is set to continue to do so. Before taking a look at what will be hot over the next two years, let’s look at what we can expect from the mobile app industry by 2022:
- There will be 258 billion mobile app downloads annually.
- Consumer spending in app stores will rise to $157 billion per year.
- Average consumer spending per device will increase to $26 annually.
- By 2023, the mobile app market will be worth $165 billion. In 2018, this was just $106 billion, approximately $12 billion in the US alone.
With the advancements of AI, machine learning, IoT (Internet of Things), and even things like chatbots, more and more industries are implementing apps into their day-to-day operations. This drives the market forward and encourages developers to create new, innovative ideas to capture consumer interest. So which programming languages will continue to popular as we head towards 2022, and can we expect to see any new trends?
Hot Software Development Languages Over the Next 2 Years
Naturally, there are programming languages in use today that will remain at the top of some developers’ lists. Big names like Python, Java, JavaScript, C++, and Swift need no introductions. In general, from 2012 to 2018, all of these maintained their popularity, with Python, in particular, becoming more popular. All of these programming languages have average annual salaries of over $100,000 in the US.
But what about other programming languages that we haven’t heard so much about yet?
- Kotlin
Compared with many others, Kotlin is probably the “baby” of the list. The project began in 2010 with the official release in 2016. It has become a popular choice for developing Android apps, and the community is growing quite quickly. It is able to solve some Java problems, and as it has a lot of possibilities that Java doesn’t, some think that it may replace Java in the future.
- Rust
Another young programming language, Rust, was created by a Mozilla employee, and it’s now reaching its maturity. Despite being difficult to learn, it is fast and allows developers to make a variety of applications for different platforms. Some consider Rust to be safer than C and C++. On top of this, it has a management tool that languages like Ruby and Python don’t have.
- R
It’s possible you haven’t heard of R yet, but that’s not to say it isn’t one worth learning, especially in the US. R is already one of the most popular languages in Hawaii, Washington, and Ohio. It’s a good choice for statistical computing, data mining, and data analysis, as well as heavy projects.
- PHP
A favorite with developers in North and South Dakota, PHP may have had its ups and downs in terms of popularity, but it is on the rise once again due to the improved codebase. PHP is simple to use and is both functional and object-orientated. Another advantage is the large community behind this open-source software.
- Go
Go, or Golang is a Google creation that is exceptionally fast with a good set of built-in functions for primitive types. It is mainly used for web development and database development but is also a good choice for network programming and systems programming. In 2020, Go was ranked 5th most loved on Stack Overflow and 3rd as most wanted.
As technology continues to evolve, certain programming languages’ popularity will rise and fall depending on their preferred uses. One new innovative idea, and we could see a list with other emerging languages. That being said, for now, it is definitely worth learning the above mentioned.
