Mobile App Development
From sketch to the App Store.
Most app projects fail on scope, not code. Here's the sequence that keeps a build honest. Below is the actual sequence — sketch, design, build, QA, submission, and what happens after — not a sales page's version of it.
01 — How a build actually goes
Six stages, start to finish.
01
Sketch
Wireframes and a clickable prototype before a line of production code — the shape of the app is cheap to change here, expensive everywhere after.
02
Design
Screen-by-screen UI in your brand, built to platform conventions so it feels native to iOS and Android, not ported between them.
03
Build
Native or cross-platform, decided on evidence — see the guide below — with the data model and permissions settled before the screens.
04
QA & store prep
Device-matrix testing, privacy labels, account deletion and subscription terms handled before submission, not discovered at it.
05
Launch
Submitted under your own Apple and Google developer accounts. You own the listing, the accounts and the code.
06
After launch
Crash reporting and analytics wired in from day one, plus a maintenance plan for the OS updates every app has to survive.
02 — The judgment calls
The decisions that actually determine whether a build ships on time.
Decide what the first release must not do
A first release earns its keep by proving one behavior works. Everything that does not serve that behavior belongs in version two. Writing the exclusions down is what stops scope drift later.
Choose native or cross-platform on evidence
If the app leans on camera, background location, or platform-specific hardware, native pays for itself. If it is primarily screens over an API, a cross-platform build ships sooner for less. The wrong answer here costs months.
Design the data model before the screens
Screens are cheap to change; a data model is not. We settle entities, relationships and sync behavior first, so offline states and edge cases are designed rather than patched.
Plan for store review from day one
Privacy labels, account deletion, sign-in requirements and subscription rules all shape the build. Discovering them at submission is the most common cause of a slipped launch date.
03 — What you get
Every build includes this, not extra.
- An honest opportunity assessment first — including 'this shouldn't be an app,' when that's the answer
- Technical scope with an explicit out-of-scope list
- Interactive design prototype before any code is written
- iOS and Android builds, submitted under your developer accounts
- Payment integration — Apple Pay, Google Pay and card processing — where the app needs commerce
- A structured QA pass across your target device matrix before submission
- Source code, CI pipeline and handover documentation
- Crash reporting and analytics wired in before launch
Where AI actually fits in a mobile app
The useful AI in apps today is narrow and specific. Broad 'AI-powered' claims tend to mean a chat box nobody opens. We look for the places where a model removes a step the user resents.
- On-device models for search, categorisation and image handling — no round trip, no per-call cost, works offline
- Natural-language input replacing multi-field forms, where the form is the reason people abandon
- Agentic flows that complete a multi-step task from one instruction, with a confirmation step before anything irreversible
Real delivered work
The native Android technician app running 24-Hour Door National's field service platform — job detail, status updates and background GPS in the field.
See the case study04 — Questions we actually get
How long does a first release take?
A focused first release is typically 10–16 weeks from kick-off to store submission. The variable is not engineering speed, it is how quickly scope decisions get made.
Do we own the source code?
Yes. Code, assets and accounts are yours, handed over on completion. Apps are submitted under your own Apple and Google developer accounts, not ours.
What happens after launch?
Both platforms ship OS updates annually that can break older builds. We offer maintenance plans that cover compatibility, security patching and small changes.