The best way to hit the iOS or Android market is by building your own application with a unique and smart solution approach.
Planning to build a new app that offers a seamless user experience besides its original utility?
In most software development strategies, mobile application development has a major role. According to a report by Statista, the global mobile application revenue is projected to reach $613 billion by 2025.
When building a mobile application, you have two choices for a platform, Android and iOS. While Android has a considerable share in the market, iOS also has a large user base and yields more revenue despite a smaller share.
The Apple store has around 2.2 million applications for iOS users as of 2022, and about 60% of mobile app developers work on the iOS system. Before starting to build a mobile application, there are various key factors to keep in mind, the first and the most important one is hiring an iOS developer.
Since hiring the right professional is a daunting task, this guide will walk you through the best hiring practices and things you should watch out for in an iOS developer.
The Importance of iOS Development for Business
Apple still leads the market because potential clients paying for app services are more for Apple than Android. These clients play one of the most crucial reasons for considering iOS development for business.
Another big reason is that iOS users are more satisfied than Android users. This is why iOS users are the first choice for business apps. No lags, glitches, and smooth customer experience make iOS apps less likely to glitch on apple devices.
Mobile App Development: The Latest Trends
Analyzing the trend and working according to it will increase your app’s reach and potential target users.
Here’s a list of trends booming in 2023
1. 5G
In 2022, tech companies started focusing on incorporating 5G at full scale, and every smartphone user now looks for 5G-enabled devices. Year 2023 is going to further accelerate it.
2. Foldable Devices
The trend of compacting things has started, so developers must focus on their app performance on foldable devices.
3. AR & VR
Web3 is ready to capture the tech market very soon, pushing AR and VR in mobile app development.
4. App Security Gets Primary
Regarding Apple, security is always pushed first; thus, mobile apps should focus more on security than new features.
5. Wearable App Integration
Wearable devices are also getting into the trend, so developers should focus more on the seamless Integration of these wearables with application algorithms.
5 Must Consider Points Before Building an iOS App
Building your iOS application is a smart choice to have complete access to application working, modifications and revenues. But, before building an iOS app from scratch, you must know these five crucial things:
- Research on Apple Users
Apple users are way different in terms of requirements and UI/UX needs compared to Android users.
- App Must Be Compatible With Various iOS Versions
If you want a good user reach, your app must be compatible with various iOS Versions as various age groups use Apple products.
- Social Media Integration
Social Integration is a must because billions of iOS users enjoy at least one social network to connect with friends and the world.
- Match Apple’s Speed
Apple is well known for its smooth and undisputed speed. To match this speed, ensure your app works glitch-free in all device types.
- Choose The Right Program And Platform
For a perfect user experience, you must build your application on the best app-building platform with the most advanced programming tool.
iOS Developer Role and Responsibilities
iOS developers develop applications compatible with Apple’s iOS operating system. Technically, a good iOS developer is proficient in both complex and (technical skills, including programming and tech tools) soft skills.
iOS developer hard skills
- Excellent knowledge of Swift and Objective-C language.
- Being able to write clean code. This can only be possible if a developer can:
- Understand and edit others’ code.
- Understand the requirements and obey the rules of the App Store.
- Knows Apple app guidelines.
- Ensure UI/UX requirements.
- Use MWM, Services, Rx, etc.
- Understand C ++.
- Understand the concept of object-oriented programming.
- Understand HTML, JavaScript, and CSS.
- Use the Core Data, iOS SDK, APNS, and GCD.
- Test applications and fix bugs.
iOS Developer Soft Skills
- Spatial Reasoning: Visualizing things in a three-dimensional before implementation.
- Self-reliance and Proactivity: Good iOS developers can quickly respond to various tasks simultaneously.
- Creativity, Adaptability: Being creative doesn’t just give new ideas but also helps find solutions when things get stuck.
- Communication skills: A developer has to communicate with different team members and software engineers.
- Stress tolerance: A developer under stress can push the entire team into difficulty; thus, resilience against stress is a crucial skill that iOS developers should have.
Experience
Experience comes with time. In an iOS development project, there are several vital tasks, like requirements definition, formulating development approach, architectural decision-making, testing, review, deployment, etc. A developer gets experience by performing these tasks again and again.
Based on these, a developer’s experience is subdivided into three different levels:
Junior
It determines the beginner’s level and ranges from 0 to 2 years of experience. Junior-level developers work under the direction of more senior colleagues.
Middle
At this level, developers have 2-5 years of experience and can now work on different projects independently with little or no guidance.
Senior
This is a proficient level, and developers at this level have more than five years of experience. They can guide Junior-level developers in more complex-level projects.
Choose Between Hybrid vs. Native Development Before Hiring iOS Developers
Before hiring an iOS developer, you must ensure whether you need a native or hybrid app. A native app gives the best user experience using device-specific hardware features. This is why native apps offer better performance and security.
On the other hand, hybrid apps work with one codebase and can be used on both iOS and Android.
Other Skills iOS Developers Need
Apart from the significant hard and soft skills, there are three other skills that you need to look for in a good iOS app developer.
- The developer must know how to work with Xcode, the most popular IDE.
- A good iOS developer should know how to use popular APIs like Cocoa Touch, UIKit, etc.
- The iOS developers should know in-depth about the “Core Data framework.”
Hybrid iOS development: What skills do you need?
Hybrid iOS development builds applications that function in both Android and iOS. For Hybrid iOS development, a developer must know the popular hybrid development frameworks like React Native or Xamarin. Going with any of the frameworks, a developer learns the following skills:
- JavaScript (or TypeScript)
- HTML5
- CSS
- Mobile web optimization techniques
- How to structure an application
- Platform-specific design and interface conventions
- Domain-specific knowledge relevant to the app
- APIs
- Data structures and access are relevant to the app you’re creating.
Benefits of developing an iOS App
iOS apps are best known for high-end quality and large revenue-generating. There are thousands of clients ready to invest in iOS projects with the ability to meet current business needs and give a return on their investment. Apart from revenue, iOS apps have some other benefits as well:
- Enterprise Data Security
iOS apps are more secure for enterprise data compared to Android apps. - High-Quality Standards
Apple is known for its standard, and every app available on App Store has passed various parameters. - Customer Base
Apple’s USP, or the customer base, is one of the prime benefits of iOS application development. - Exemplary User Experience
iOS apps support the inherent capabilities of Apple’s iOS to provide the best user experience. - Low Fragmentation and Ease of Testing
Apple typically develops just one update on its existing OS every year. - Less Development Time
iOS apps take nearly 28% less time than Android apps of similar specifications.
How Much Does it Cost to Hire an App Developer?
Whether you want to develop from scratch or improve an existing application, the cost of hiring an iOS developer depends on various factors. These factors include.
- Project Complexity
The complexity of the project demands experience, which costs high. However, hiring an experienced iOS developer can deal with complexity, idea, integrations, design, features, and functionality. - Location Of Developer
As per the developer’s location, the hiring cost varies. - Type of App development
When hiring a developer for a specific application, the cost of hiring the developer can vary substantially.
What are the rates of iOS Developers in Different Countries?
Surprisingly, location plays a crucial role in deciding the rate of iOS developers. For example, in Canada, the rate of mid-level iOS developers is around $95,000. At the same time, a developer at the same level gets $120,000 per year in Australia.
In the US, salaries vary in different states and cities.
For example, in Raleigh, North Carolina, you will pay $88,754 per year for your iOS developer. In New York, the same-level specialist will get $97,084. In LA, the average salary is $104,589.
So let’s dwell upon the discussion about the effect of location and developer experience on iOS developer salary expectations.
How to Hire iOS Developers
Project Description
Before hiring an iOS developer, you must first plan the project upon various parameters and platform support (native or hybrid). Project description refers to a project blueprint that includes all minor to prominent edges.
Choose the Most Suitable Model
As per the project description, you need to choose a suitable model for hiring iOS developers. These models are-
- In-House
In this model, you hire an iOS programmer as a full-time team member; you have to pay them a full-time salary. Bringing them in-house will require space for their physical office. You can track their progress on a full-time contract and transfer them from one project to another if needed within the agreement period. - Freelance
This is part-time hiring an iOS app developer for your project. You can use freelancing platforms like GitHub and Upwork to hire. This hiring method is a type of outsourcing where your in-house project manager interacts directly with the developer. - Outsourcing
An outsourcing company takes care of the whole project you have assigned. They are responsible for your project design, entire project management, tech stack, ongoing support, and quality tracking.
Interview
Whether you choose in-house, freelancing, or outsourcing to hire iOS developers, you must conduct an interview process to check developers’ capability before handling any task.
The interview process can be different rounds, like technical, managerial, communicational, and HR, to check upon different aspects.
The Agreement, Contract, and Onboarding
After the interview, it’s time to discuss the project outline and deadline. The agreement determines the contract between the developer and company to complete the given project or task. It may vary from project to project, and in the case of in-house, the developer’s ultimate tenure is set irrespective of the number of projects.
Lastly, it’s the onboarding process after successfully approving the agreement or contract. In this onboarding, the process developer learns about the company’s or client’s working model.
Need Help Finding the Best iOS Developers?
Hiring good iOS mobile Application Developers does half the job by filling the skill gap in your development team. When hiring the right iOS developers, you save time plotting investment structure and design. iOS application development is complicated due to App Store rules and different versions.
If you need assistance hiring talented iOS app developers, partner with OnGraph for the best staffing solutions. With 14 years of industry experience, 250+ experienced developers, 100+ delivered applications, and 500+ completed projects, you can outsource your iOS development to world-class developers to create seamless, next-generation apps with high scalability and performance.
OnGraph Technologies provides you with the best remote iOS developers who provide scalable and robust solutions, timely delivery and follow the agile development methodology.
It’s all set! Kickstart your iOS app development journey by hiring the best iOS developer.
