14 Things an iOS Developer Must Know
With more than a hundred billion iOS app downloads as of this writing, developing apps for this Apple OS is obviously lucrative. But there are things you need to know first.
1. Target audience and user profiles
Understanding the users of your product is essential. You can utilize tools such as Google Adwords/Trends and Statista to gather important data about the industry and audience. Understand geography and users’ demographics to build useful, appealing, and relevant applications. Decide on which platform you want to develop using the data gathered.
2. Costs and benefits
Developing apps can be costly, so if the plan is to make it your core business, evaluate benefits over costs to ensure it’s worth the effort. Use KPIs to measure the success of your mobility solutions. Mobile development is the future because it allows users to access mission-critical apps and bring new online revenue streams.
3. Development approach
Even iOS developers have to choose cross-platform vs. native mobile development. A platform such as Xamarin may speed things up via extensive code sharing, but it can’t be efficient when developing customer-facing apps with platform-specific custom UI. In this scenario, you will have to design the UI from the ground up.
4. UX and UI
While both come prior to code, UX and UI don’t end up with the final app mockups. iOS is well-known for strict policies and requirements with its formal UX and UI conventions, so you need to understand and follow the basic Apple guidelines.
5. Swift or Objective-C
The main confrontation Swift vs. Objective-C. The simple, yet powerful Swift programming language has matured since its first introduction and has amassed many die-hard fans. But if you’re developing a complex project, the robust Objective-C should be your language of choice, or at least combine with Swift. At least 89 percent of the top 100 iOS applications rely on Objective-C.
6. iOS version and device model
Apple releases a major iOS version every year, making older platforms obsolete. At least 90% of users will have the latest major version or the one before it, so you should focus on these versions in your development. It would help if you also consider which devices and models you will be developing for, e.g., iPhone 11, iPad Air, etc.
7. Coding style and architecture design
Make sure you have a consistent coding style throughout the process. You may use a guide by GitHub or Google. Proper architecture is also important. In iOS development, the Model-View-Controler or MVC pattern is recommended by Apple and also the most used. For better results, you may combine it with Model-View-ViewModel or MVVM.
8. Project and naming structure
Following Apple’s basic conventions for naming constants, functions, methods, classes, and others are vital if you want the names to be brief and precise while avoiding ambiguity and abbreviations. There should also be project-wide consistency in terms of naming principles, ensuring proper spelling and grammar.
9. Libraries, frameworks and open source
The popularity of iOS brought with it many libraries and frameworks that can solve various issues, such as work with device hardware and implement custom UI animations. Although very strict, you can still use open source projects in iOS development. Swift, for instance, is an open-source project.
10. Event-driven and object-oriented programming
iOS may be UI-focused, but you need to follow event-driven programming paradigms wherein the app’s flow is determined by specific events triggered by sensor outputs or user actions. Object-oriented programming should also be practiced by using objects as your key structure units.
11. Distribution model
There are currently three distribution models offered by Apple. First is by directly uploading the application to the App Store, making it accessible to all iOS users. Next is the Testflight service for beta-testing before a global launch. Last is the iOS Developer Enterprise Program for internal business tools and enterprise-level apps.
12. Security
For serious applications, such as those for internal enterprise, financial technology, and health care, important business data should always be protected, security practices and measures should be in place. Follow the guidelines in Apple’s Secure Coding Guide or best industry practices such as SSL and HTTPS certificates, keychain data use, and custom encryption.’
13. Analytics and monetizing
Once deployed, customer interaction with your app should be gathered and analyzed. Popular analytics include Localytics, iTunes Connect App Analytics, Firebase-Google Mobile Analytics, Yahoo’s Flurry, and Mixpanel. Monetizing the app may consist of offering in-app purchases and advertisements.
14. Third-party integrations and upgrades
To improve your app or the users’ experience, you may want to consider integrating third-party tools such as hardware APIs, data sources, payment processors, or analytics tools. Also, an app is never finished. You may want to add features in the future via upgrades.
