Top Fitness App Development Trends to Watch in 2022

Before the advent of the COVID-19 pandemic, the fitness industry was witnessing a steady growth pattern. Be it health clubs or fitness app, all were equal. But, the pandemic age has brought a drastic change in the way we work and live. All our activities have got affected due to movement restrictions and social distancing norms, and workout is also no exception! As a result, even fitness centers and health clubs have considered coming up with apps.

As compared to brick-and-mortar gyms, fitness apps have many advantages. But, at the same time, there are challenges to address for developing user-friendly fitness app. There, advancing technology lends a helping hand and the fitness app development company can meet these challenges effectively. Here in this blog, we are going to discuss the key advantages and the latest technology trends to watch in the domain of fitness app development in 2021.

Let’s start with some interesting stats about fitness apps.

Quick Facts

• Revenue in the fitness segment is expected to reach US$23,127 million by 2024
• 96% of app users use only one health and fitness app, in a way, fitness apps witness the highest retention rate
• Wearable will remain the largest segment for the fitness sector with an expected market volume of US$18,984m in 2020
• The number of fitness app users is expected to reach 378.7 million across the world by the year 2021

Before delving deep into the fitness app development trends for the year 2021 and beyond, let’s go through the challenges developers have to overcome.

Read more : How AI Brings Transformation in Fitness App Development

Major Challenges of Fitness App Development Domain

Data security has remained the top concern for the fitness application development company. The user’s data should be protected from being leaked or hacked, and therefore, developers have to pay attention to achieve this objective.

Another big challenge is making the app simple and user-friendly. When fitness companies or startups consult the app development company to build an app, they emphasize developing fast and easy-to-use apps with elegant UI/UX design.

Today, there are many health and fitness app available in app stores. It is a herculean task for mobile app developers to come up with a unique and interesting fitness app with some of the best USPs (Unique Selling Points).

It is an undeniable fact that technology has made our lives more comfortable by bringing automation in various processes. Talking about the fitness industry, this rapidly growing industry offers both opportunities and challenges. Whether you are a brick-and-mortar gym owner or an entrepreneur who wants to initiate a fitness services-related startup, you have to build an app that enhances the experience and enables fitness freaks to manage all the activities with ease.

Let’s have a look at the top technology trends that can assist you to bring a future-ready fitness app development in 2020 and beyond.

Latest Technology Trends for Fitness App Development

Wearable Technology

Wearable devices are gaining ground swiftly across the world. From smartwatches to fitness trackers, wearables have started to become a part of our lives. As wearable technology advances, its dependence on smartphones gradually decreases. Think of Fitbit and Jawbone- both these fitness trackers have an independent identity.

It was 2015 when suddenly people’s interest in wearables was skyrocketed thanks to the launch of the Apple Watch. Since then, the wearable market is building momentum. As per the Statista estimate, the number of wearable devices will be double in the period of 2019 to 2022. The shipment of smartwatches is also expected to increase by over 50% in the year 2022.

The time is just right to integrate fitness apps with wearable devices. In the coming years, the health and fitness apps will have features like seamless connectivity with various wearable devices and tracking information about vitals like heart rate, weight, and the like. In other words, wearable app development will be evolved to build a standalone tracking app that is compatible with a lot of wearable devices.

Fitness app developers can use special tools offered by Garmin and Fitbit or SDKs provided by Apple and Google to make wearable-friendly apps.

Also Read- 10 Unique Features Must-have in Your Fitness Tracking App

Artificial Intelligence and Machine Learning

The next to come are AI and ML. Siri, Alexa, and Cortana have already started helping us with various tasks including searching for some products or services to sending commands to apps. What is the role of AI in the fitness sector? Well, it can act as a virtual trainer for fitness freaks and guide them on maintaining the perfect shape.

Personal trainers do not come cheap especially when they come to the person’s home. This is a major reason why app development companies integrate AI-based features to offer at-home training in a virtual and personalized way. AI-based fitness assistants will be ubiquitous in every app in the coming years.

Machine Learning (ML) technology is necessary for analyzing the user’s data and movement recognition while doing exercises or workouts.

Virtual and Augmented Reality

VR and AR technologies have already mainstreamed in several industry sectors. But, they have a lot of potential in the health and fitness sector. The most promising use of virtual reality technology in the app is for movements and giving users a workout training or practice.

Virtual and augmented reality can make the fitness app capable of providing a richer and more personalized experience. What’s more, the fitness app development company can integrate gamification using AR and VR technology to make exercises more fun and effective.

Augmented reality can also assist sportspersons and fitness enthusiasts to gauge performance including elapsed time, power, and heart rate. In the coming years, apps with AR and VR-based features will gain more traction.

Streaming Services for fitness app

Online fitness training programs are not new, but they are now easily accessible through fitness apps. Yes, the integration of in-app streaming services has made it possible. Digital trainer apps are ready to take our lives by storm.

Such apps are useful because users can watch the training sessions as per their convenient time. There is no need to worry about scheduling a meeting with a trainer. What’s more, the monthly subscription for streaming services can be less than a single class at a fitness studio!

Yes, a fitness app with streaming services can work wonders.

Whether it is a fitness tracking app like Fitbit, yoga and meditation apps, exercise and workout app like Kaa-Yaa, or nutrition monitoring app- the app needs advanced features and a seamless performance based on these technology trends.

Concluding Lines

All these technology trends can give your fitness app an edge over peers. There is no exaggeration in mentioning that as the market grows and competition intensifies, apps with fewer features or performance glitches will be thrown out soon. However, it does not mean that you should put all your eggs in one basket.

Advancements of emerging technology are good to integrate, but if you want to make your app ready for the future, you need to focus on the performance and user-friendliness of the app. A reputed app development company can help you build a futuristic fitness app with the help of the right tools and technologies.

Solution Analysts has gained fame for developing high-end fitness apps that have got a good response on Google Play Store and Apple App Store. As a leading mobile app development company, we can handle any size of app development projects across various industry verticals including manufacturing, retail, healthcare, and hospitality.

If you are looking for the best-in-class fitness app development services, simply send us an email at sales@solutionanalysts.com. Our expert business consultants will get back to you soon.