Mobile App Development: What Clients Need to Know
Mobile apps introduce requirements and processes that differ from web development.
Native vs. Cross-Platform
- Native iOS (Swift/SwiftUI): Best performance, full API access. Higher cost — separate codebase from Android.
- Native Android (Kotlin): Same benefits and costs for Android.
- Cross-platform (React Native, Flutter): One codebase for both platforms. Lower cost, faster development, slight performance trade-off for complex UIs. Our default recommendation for most client apps.
App Store Submission
- You need: Apple Developer account (£79/year) and Google Play account ($25 one-off)
- Apple review typically takes 24–72 hours
- We manage submission — but accounts must be in your name
Testing on Real Devices
Simulators are useful but not sufficient. We maintain a device library for common iOS and Android versions. For apps with specialist hardware requirements, you may need to provide physical devices for testing.
Ongoing Maintenance
Mobile apps require more maintenance than web apps. iOS and Android release major OS updates annually — budget for annual compatibility maintenance as a minimum.