Three signals from the Mobile App Trends Report 2026

One of the strongest findings from this year's report is that 28 of the 30 highest-trust apps are built for a single market.

Products such as Rabobank, Tikkie, DigiD and NS are used in moments where people expect things to work without hesitation. A payment has to arrive. Travel information has to be accurate. Government services have to feel secure. Trust is built every time those expectations are met.

As AI makes new functionalities easier to replicate, trust becomes increasingly difficult to copy. Features can be launched quickly. Confidence takes much longer to earn.

The report also shows that trust extends beyond the product itself. Transparent data handling, clear explanations and predictable behavior all contribute to how users experience a product. Brand reputation and a proven track record shape that experience long before someone opens the app for the first time.

For organizations investing in AI, that changes the conversation. Shipping a new capability is only part of the challenge. The products that continue to earn a place in people's daily lives are the ones that invest in trust alongside innovation.

Journeys that may have previously started inside an app now start elsewhere. Someone comparing mortgage options may first ask ChatGPT before visiting Rabobank. A traveller might ask an AI assistant about disruptions before opening NS. Product research increasingly happens before someone lands on a webshop.

That doesn't make banking apps, travel apps or retailers less relevant. It does change where they first need to create value.

Every digital product now competes twice: with the alternatives in its category and with the AI assistant users already have open. For product teams, the challenge is no longer limited to improving the in-app experience. They also need to understand which moments in the customer journey are gradually shifting to AI, and where their product still creates unique value.

The report found that one statement correlates more strongly with product quality than any other: "Has all needed features." In other words, users feel positively about products that let them complete the task they came for.

Several products illustrate this well.

People open Tikkie to request or send a payment. Picnic is built around completing a weekly grocery shop with as little effort as possible. NS combines journey planning, ticketing and travel information into one continuous experience.

None of these products succeeds because it does more. They succeed because they remove friction from one specific task.

As AI lowers the barrier to building new functionality, the competitive advantage shifts elsewhere. Users are less likely to remember how many features a product offers than whether it helped them achieve what they came for.

AI is changing how people discover products, compare products and interact with them. The products that continue to earn a place on someone's home screen will not necessarily be the ones with the most AI features. They will be the ones that solve a meaningful problem as efficient as possible, fit naturally into people's daily lives and continue to earn their trust over time.

For product teams, that is the bet worth making: not who ships the next AI feature first, but who earns a permanent place in someone's daily routine.

Explore more insights by accessing the full Mobile Apps Trends Report 2026.