Localizing an app implies that you are translating the app’s content into different languages and building an app framework that allows it to incorporate and present those translations in an aesthetically pleasing and culturally acceptable way.
For a very long time, app localization was a top strategy utilized by marketers and app developers to gain access to new emerging markets through customizing the app to suit native consumption.
However, by 2022, app localization will stand drastically transformed owing to the emergence of some newer platforms and technologies. Now, just localizing the app for different global languages won’t be enough. You will need to make your app suited to the emerging technologies as well and prepare to customize them in a way that they can obtain the necessary functionalities needed to support such technologies.
So if you are looking for mobile app development services currently, it’s better that you factor in these localization trends in your app development process and ensure that your app is in line with modern, emerging needs.
The top 3 localization trends for apps in 2022 are discussed in detail below:
Voice Search-Based App Localization:
By now, most of you will be quite familiar with voice search. From mobile devices to Smart TVs, it’s present seemingly everywhere these days. So an app that’s being developed in current times will need to be localized for voice search in order to keep in line with the growing trend in this arena.
However, the challenges in doing this are immense and the means to do it are not that well understood by most developers. This can make it increasingly difficult for firms to accomplish this task for their apps, and unless they have a firm that offers them top-notch mobile app development services, they won’t be able to surmount the numerous challenges faced during voice search localization.
The major reason why this is so difficult is that voice search localization operates on a completely different scale of requirements as compared to generic, language-based localization.
Language-wise translation only requires you to get one thing right i.e. the actual translation in the context of locally spoken dialects. However, when it comes to voice search, the app will need to become capable enough to handle a completely different set of requirements.
Take for example the case of Accents. For nearly every language, there are multiple different dialects in use for conversing. Voice search won’t be of much use in that language until it can understand the different dialects in which the same commands are usable for input.
This presents a two-pronged challenge for app developers. Firstly, creating a central repository where data on accents for every single dialect should be available. Secondly, the app will need to have a mechanism that helps to identify and match the input dialect or accent. This is only possible with the correct such accent-based data in its repository to complete a successful voice search-based command.
The app’s coding and development processes will need to transform radically; to face such a complex challenge when bidding for the internationalization of your app.
5G Based App Localization:
Compared to 4G, 5G was is 65,000 times faster in terms of absolute internet speeds in recent tests. The number indicates that businesses will face challenges integrating 5G into their apps.
Localization for languages is just one challenge app developers face, but as 5G is becoming common in major international markets, firms will have to customize and localize their apps for this as well.
But, what does this imply? How significant will the changes in this regard be?
Well, to put it simply, the advent of 5G will make the incorporation of technology possible on a level never witnessed before. 5G will allow apps to offer functionalities that were impossible otherwise on 4G or lower spectrums.
From becoming able to integrate better with IoT devices to delivering 8K quality in video streaming, the rise of 5G will transform the app landscape definitively.
Let’s look at things with a little more perspective. When you were trying to determine your location through 4G, the accuracy was up to 100 meters. But with 5G, the app will be able to pinpoint your location to within a meter’s accuracy. This will revolutionize delivery apps, ride-hailing apps, etc. and this is just one such feature that 5G can power.
The list for this is seemingly endless with many countries in the process of testing 5G connections. The goal is to make them mainstream soon; which makes localization for 5G on your app a trend you definitely need to look into.
Wearable Device-Based Localization:
While smartwatches continue to be the most mainstream form of wearables available out there; this sector has a lot of other increasingly impressive arrays of devices to suit a wide set of functionalities.
From head-mounted display devices to health vitals monitoring devices; the wearable industry is consistently churning out newer, more advanced, and custom sets of devices. For app owners who are intending to operate in the niche that these wearables are penetrating; localizing the app for such devices will become crucial as the number of such devices grows in the upcoming years.
Wearable devices will require apps to offer a much more “In-Control” & “Real-Time Data Relay” experience to users, which is not majorly seen among a majority of apps in today’s world.
For e.g. when we talk about wearables in the health category; a lot of devices are cropping up that. They combine with bionic chips in order to relay real-time health vital-based information to users. Apps available in the health category will soon have to offer functionality suitable to the kind of mechanism; these wearables operate upon, making things complex for app developers in upcoming times.
Wrapping Things Up:
A plethora of rudimentary apps now clog both the iOS and Google Play Stores, and unsurprisingly, most of them fail. If you don’t want your app to meet the same fate; then ensure the localization for different emerging technologies is the best way forward.
Today, there are multiple emerging technologies on the horizon that will surely transform the way users interact with apps currently. From AI to Blockchain, incorporating these technologies will require a drastic disruption of the CI-CD model of app delivery.
Just as Darwin put it, those who cannot adapt to change are the most vulnerable in any ecosystem.
This also holds true for apps in the current era, so don’t be among those who remain stagnant.
Consider these top trends to localize to make your app in line with modern, emerging consumer and technological needs.
Source: App Localization Trends For 2022 That You Need To Look Out For - cydomedia
