Artificial Intelligence and Augmented Reality Will Spur Big Mobile App Growth - DZone Mobile

There's more evidence that artificial intelligence (AI) and augmented reality (AR) are the future of mobile - and that businesses and developers ignore that at their peril. Computerworld reports that "Global spending on mobile hardware, software and services will rise this year by 3.2% to more than $1.6 trillion, pushed by developments such as augmented reality (AR), artificial intelligence (A.I.) and 5G, according to a new report from IDC." Phil Hochmuth, IDG's program director of Enterprise Mobility, explained to the magazine, "Overall, businesses will invest more in new devices and apps that enable A.I. and AR use cases for the business. On AR, businesses will spend on new mobile devices [and] hardware to help support enterprise use cases, such as medical AR, real-time data/schematic integration in industrial scenarios, etc." The article notes that AR headsets and smart glasses will also spur mobile spending, as will Apple's inclusion of native augmented reality into iOS 11 last year, via its ARKit SDK. It adds, "Allowing businesses to leverage AR with devices they have already bought and deployed - namely iPhones and iPads - will only add to AR's growth in the enterprise." Also spurring AR use is Microsoft's Windows HoloLens ecosystem.