Nowadays, mobile app development is bold and creative, but most people have no idea of the hard work that goes into creating a unique and market-ready product. There are many reasons founders should care about all the details of their product, including the tech stack. Some might think the technical side isn’t so important when it comes to the proof of concept or the MVP, because it’s more important that it works or that it’s launched fast. But the development never stops there. On the long term, a founder will want to maintain their product, and add features, and scale it. Having a good technical foundation will make the work leaner and faster, instead of forcing the team to re-work existing code.
Here at Tapptitude, we spent years perfecting our methods by building amazing mobile apps for our clients. Through this process, we gained a lot of insight into both iOS and Android app development. We always enjoyed the challenges of starting with an idea or concept and bringing the project to life, and we’ve come to learn how important it is to use the right technology and the right tools for each client.
There’s a lot of work from conceptualisation to the release of a full-fledged mobile app, so we decided to present the technology stack we use for iOS app development. Read on if you’re curious about the tools we use, and if you have an idea for an app, don’t hesitate to reach out to us.
Let’s start at the beginning: What is a tech stack?
A technology stack is a set of tools that is used for developing not only mobile and web applications but any IT software. It is essentially a toolkit which consists of programming languages, frameworks, libraries, UI/UX tools and various other development tools.
In the early stages of development, picking the right combination of tools is crucial, and it’s also something that needs to be discussed with the client. When choosing the framework, both parties have to agree on whether the best solution is using a native framework or a cross-platform one like React Native app development, Flutter or something else.
Good planning of a product’s tech stack will bring outstanding results in the long term, ensuring its functionality and viability, as well as its competitiveness, scalability and further maintenance. This is something our product managers and tech leads at Tapptitude have always worked side by side with our clients, to ensure a product’s success in the long term.
Tapptitude’s iOS tech stack
We’ve polished our iOS app development process by trying and testing tools and technologies and figuring out what works best for each client, and what doesn’t. We don’t believe in the ‘one process fits all model’. You’ll see us reach into the same toolkit, but you’ll also see us turn and shift around the tools there to suit the client we’re working with at that specific moment. We’ve hung on to a handful of tools that proved to be efficient, robust and secure, and which optimise our development process significantly.
Check out our full iOS tech stack below.
1. Programming Languages
There are two main programming languages used in iOS mobile app development, namely Swift and Objective-C. Our team of developers are proficient in each of these programming languages, so you can rest assured that we’ll pick the best option for your project.
Swift
Swift is a powerful and robust programming language developed by Apple and the open-source community and was launched in 2014. Writing Swift code is interactive and intuitive; the syntax is concise but also expressive, and includes a multitude of modern features.
Our developers are also proficient in Swift’s declarative Framework SwiftUI, the newly released UI framework. With it, we can build interfaces for any Apple device by using just one set of tools and APIs. This framework allows us heavy customisation, including built-in views and controls that adapt to their context and presentation.
Objective-C
Objective-C is a general-purpose, flexible object-oriented programming language for OS X and iOS. It’s one of the main programming languages used by Apple. Nowadays, it’s mostly used in legacy projects, and we recommend using Swift for any new projects we start.
2. iOS Toolkit
Tapptitude’s iOS mobile app development Toolkit includes XCode and iOS SDK.
XCode
Receiving constant updates from Apple, XCode is a complete set of tools designed to create apps for Mac, iPhone, iPad, and other Apple devices. XCode shines when it comes to coding, testing and debugging, as well as user interface design.
iOS SDK
Developed by Apple, the software development kit is used for the development of mobile apps on Apple’s iOS operating system. The iOS SDK, combined with XCode, allows us to use Swift and Objective-C programming languages in the development process. The SDK also comes with an iPhone simulator.
3. Crash and product analytics
Tapptitude developers use a wide variety of crash analytics tools to diagnose and fix app issues effectively. These tools have multiple benefits, such as performance monitoring as well as alerting the user when a mobile app crashes and providing detailed reports of the crash, including the cause of the crash, duration and more.
Check out the crash analytics tools we use when developing mobile apps for iOS.
- Firebase Crashlytics
- Amplitude crash reporting (non-Google Play devices)
- Amplitude Analytics
- Firebase Analytics
- Google Analytics
- Mixpanel Analytics
- Flurry Analytics
- Appsflyer Analytics
- Instabug
4. Device Types
Here at Tapptitude, we’ve created mobile apps for a wide variety of devices, so we know precisely which development route to take when it comes to your unique product. Usually, our clients need apps for commercial mobile devices, though our area of expertise has a much broader reach.
Here are all the devices we’ve worked on:
- Mobile
- Tablets
- Smart TVs
- Smartwatches
- E-scooters
- Smart home devices
- DJI Drones
- TV set boxes
- Car infotainment systems
- Kiosk devices that have explicit functionality and clear use cases
- Mobile devices that have barcode scanners attached
5. App Integrations Tools
Our app integration assistance includes services related to social media platforms, payment platforms, cloud systems, and much more. Our work doesn’t end once the development process is complete: we make sure that your iOS mobile app always performs well across all devices and user channels, and that it’s fully integrated into the online ecosystem.
Here some of the tools we like to work with:
- Payment platforms: Stripe, PayPal, GPay and Square Payments;
- Social logins: Facebook, Google and Apple;
- Mapping technologies: Apple Maps, Google Maps and Mapbox;
- Cloud messaging systems (push notifications): Firebase Cloud Messaging, Fabric Cloud Messaging and others;
- Real-time socket-based data capabilities: Pusher, socket.io and others;
- Audio & video communication: Vonage (ex. Tokbox), Quickblox and others;
- Media playback integrations: Spotify and others;
6. Dependency management
SDK Distribution tools are tools for the distribution of the programming codes. The two main tools we use help us in adding, removing, and managing the distribution of the Swift code, as well as help us scale our projects effortlessly.
These are the two main tools we use:
- Cocoapods
- Swift Package Manager
7. CI/CD tools
CI/CD is short for continuous integration and continuous delivery (or continuous deployment), and is considered the backbone of modern-day DevOps operations. Our developers use these tools to bridge the gaps between development and operation activities and by enforcing automation in building, testing and deployment of our iOS mobile applications. Monitorization and maintenance is crucial for any mobile app.
These are the tools we work with:
- Fastlane
- CircleCI
- Buddy Build
The right tech stack in the hands of a great team makes for scalable products
Now that you’ve read through our entire set of development tools for iOS mobile apps. But here’s the deal, we’re probably not the first nor the last mobile development agency or even iOS developer or product studio that uses this same tech stack. If you’re looking to build a native iOS app that’s performing well and will keep performing well as it scales, remember that its performance is as much dependent on the quality of its design as it is on its business model.
Our team at Tapptitude is committed to being a hands-on, full-function product partner for every startup or scaleup we’re working with. If you’re ready to turn your concept into a fully native iOS product, tell us all about it and let’s start working on it.
Erika Kramarik
Full-Stack Marketer
Erika is a full-stack marketer passionate about the intersection between technology and social impact. She mixes research with content design and a human touch to help people and startups succeed in delivering value through their work. When not writing or talking to people, you’ll find her reading or quoting Hamilton for any life situation.
