#iOS Archives - anteelo

Outsourcing App Development? Here’s how!

Posted on 13/05/2021 by Anteelo Master

App Development

Maybe you have a great idea for a stand-alone app, or that you’ve decided your existing business could use one. Either way, there’s a big difference between having an idea and seeing it through, especially when it comes to mobile apps.

App development is not a simple process. A successful app must perform a useful function, boast appealing design features, and be easy for users to navigate. Understanding these goals is easy; achieving them is not.

If you don’t have much experience in technical design, it’s often smart to outsource your app development project to a web design firm. While you could hire people on a full-time basis, this poses a significant risk: You can’t be completely certain that your app will excite users. If it fails, you’ll be stuck with a department that’s of little use to you, and will cost significant money.

Better to collaborate with professionals who have a track record of delivering quality products to their clients. However, in order to find the right web design firm for your needs–and to ensure that you meet your goals–it’s important to keep certain, key points in mind.

Prepare Thoroughly

When you’re enthusiastic about a new app idea, it’s easy to forget that not everyone will share your vision exactly how you imagine it. You may have detailed plans for how the finished product will look and what it will do, but if you don’t effectively communicate those details to the people actually involved in creating it, there’s a good chance that you’ll wind up with something that misses the mark.

Before meeting with a web design agency, prepare thoroughly. Determine exactly what your app will offer users. If it resembles other popular apps, elaborate on the similarities and how you plan on differentiating.

When you plan to outsource your app development needs, it’s essential that your goals are made clear to the developers. You should also decide whether or not you want the app to be available on iOS, Android, Windows, etc. early on in the process, so you’re not stuck with a team that can’t accommodate your plans.

With the app market as highly competitive as it is currently, it is best to have your app function across multiple platforms. Try to source a development team that has expertise across more than just iOS, and have them show you how each platform will perform to meet your goals.

Establish Timelines & Communication Procedures

If you don’t know much about developing an app, you probably don’t know how long the process generally takes. Save yourself any confusion be establishing milestones and timelines with the team you hire for the job.

Agree upon communication procedures. Even though you won’t be actively working on the project, it’s still yours, and you should be kept in the loop. Know when and how you can reach out to the vendor for updates.

Using a collaborative, organization software can come in handy here or virtual communication methods (e.g. Skype). Whatever the method you choose, make sure it’s easy for you to communicate with each team member throughout the process, and be able to keep track of development goals.

Stay Involved

When you outsource your app development work to a web design firm, you’re most likely not going to participate on a day-to-day basis. That said, along with project milestone timelines, you should put in place timelines for reviewing and testing the product at various stages in its development. This is necessary to confirm that certain key features work properly before moving forward to the next stage in the process.

During these review sessions, you should be involved, especially as the developers get closer to finishing the work. Sometimes, a potentially groundbreaking app fails because issues or problems got overlooked due to lax review processes. You want the opportunity to address these types of issues early.

Be Understood

Just as you may not know a lot about app development, it’s also likely that the team you hire doesn’t know a lot about your business. However, if they’re developing an app related to your brand, it’s important that they have a reasonable familiarity with it.

When considering which design agency to hire, pay attention to how clearly they seem to understand your industry. There are a number of ways to do this: You could seek out development teams that have created similar apps before. You can deliver a thorough presentation explaining the field in as much detail as possible. Or you could simply pay attention to the questions they ask when discussing your project; if they’re truly comfortable with your industry, they’ll often ask the types of questions people in that vertical would ask.

Review Previous Work

When you hire a contractor to paint your house or remodel your kitchen, you look at examples of past work to determine if they’re right for the job. It’s the same with app development.

After you’ve decided upon a list of potential candidates for the project, find out what apps they’ve created in the past and spend some time using them. Ideally, you should find apps that are reasonable similar to the one you’re planning.

Many vendors can tell a good story about their experienced programmers and dedicated approach to customer satisfaction. The ones worth your attention can also supply you with proof that they’ve delivered quality results in the past.

A good place to start are the case studies listed on a developer’s website or profile. Delve into these to really gauge what they’re capable of, and how their past experience can apply to you.

This is an especially important point to remember if you have very little experience or familiarity with the process of developing an app. In order to confirm that your design team understands your thinking and knows how to execute on a concept, it’s useful to test out other apps they’ve developed. This will give you a better idea of how their products work when they’re actually completed.

Outsourcing app development to a software design firm is frequently a better choice than sourcing in-house. In order to get the best results, you need to take the time to properly vet the developers.

Once you have, you also need to remain involved to some degree. While they’ll handle the details, you’re still the one whose vision fueled the project in the first place. With a collaborative approach, you’ll boost your odds of success.

React Native vs iOS

Posted on 07/04/202117/05/2021 by Anteelo Master

In the last blog I wrote, I shared my knowledge on how React Native collaborates with the OS to yield the native experience in cross-platform apps. If you haven’t read it yet, please give it a read to understand the sorcery used by this magical framework. In this blog, I will explain how the development cycle with React Native differs from that of iOS. To make it easy to comprehend, I have listed certain criteria based on which we’re going to compare the complexity/ease of development in both environments.

Let’s begin with an illustration of how the transition to React Native feels like to an iOS developer.

After adding React Native to your bucket, you will be able to implement your ideas on both platforms without a hitch. That sounds cool. Right? Let’s get started.

Reloading

In iOS apps, making a small change in code is a Pain as it requires you to rebuild everything from scratch. Then, you have to wait for the app to launch again on the device so that you can verify the changes. If the project contains a large number of files, then multiple runs just add fuel to the flame, and you spend a lot of time just waiting.

In React Native apps, we have a JS bundle that holds the application code and other assets. Your development machine acts like a local server hosting the bundle and the app just downloads it at every refresh/reload. Contents of the bundle are cached on the device which makes the reload process really quick and you don’t have to rebuild your app ever again.

Layout

Laying out screens for the iOS app using Interface Builder in XCode is indeed a blessing for developers. It can use size classes to position views differently on screen sizes using a single interface. Constraints make it really easy to animate views on the screen at runtime. Styling based on certain flags helps in modifying the app behavior without having to write a single line of code.

In React Native, you’re definitely going to miss that ease of laying out views using drag/drop and constraints with XCode. React Native rather uses Flexbox to style and position views on the screen. It’ll take you a little time to get familiar with its syntax and attributes but once you master it, making views with dynamic content will be a cakewalk.

Localization

iOS apps have to manage separate files for localizing strings used in code and Storyboard/Nib files. There are frameworks that take a much easier approach to do this but there is no standard way to keep all the translations in one place.

There is a popular module named react-native-localization to do the localization in React Native apps. It uses just one file that holds the translation for strings used all over the project. It means that you just need to build a simple JSON file holding translations for all languages supported by your app. That sounds pretty easy, right? React Native is even smart enough to capture the locale used on your device and apply translations accordingly.

OTA (Over the Air) Updates

This is something that makes mobile developers envy web developers a lot. Any bug/improvement requires time to recompile everything and submit the app for approval again. This whole cycle takes around 3-4 days to ship the new app to users. In short, it takes some time to fix the issue, and then some more, to deliver it to your audience.

React native has come up with a remedy. With third-party libraries like Code Push, you can have all of your live app’s code on your server. Whoa! Guess what? Apple approves it unless you turn your taxi app into a social media app with an update. You can configure the tool to update code on the live app either at the launch or even when the app moves to the foreground from the background. Did any new update induce regression issues in the app? No worries. You can revert the code back to the last stable version without having to go through the approval process again.

iOS pod lovers will have npm/Yarn in React Native

Many of us love using CocoaPods for linking third-party libraries in iOS apps. Pods installation keeps all developers from the pain of manually placing/managing the required files in project architecture. Just one command and there you have your workspace with Ready to use libraries.

In React Native, you got npm (node package manager)/Yarn at your rescue if you need to use any third-party library in the project. Both operate via terminal commands and can quickly install all packages listed in the package.json file.

Reusability of code (especially for views)

React native has a clear advantage here. In iOS apps, if you need a similar view on other screens then you manually need to copy/paste the view components. In React native, all you need to do is “Just import the component and place it with the start and end tag in the render() method”. That’s it! Imagine just four/five reusable tags building a complex layout for you which looks purely native.

App Size/Performance

For small apps, you might find React Native app’s size larger than that of an app built using native. It’s because of the tools and utilities it’s shipped with but for large-scale apps, size will be significantly less compared to a native app. Fewer lines of code due to the strong reusability make it really easy to manage big projects in React Native.
You might find a React Native app little laggy in debug mode. Don’t be disappointed and try running it in Release mode and voila, it got the same fps as that of a native iOS app.

Debugging

Debugging with XCode is indeed unbeatable. You can debug your code, your views on the go without any hassle. It gets really easy to debug issues in the app and track memory/CPU usage as well. Exception and Symbolic breakpoints help a lot in tracking down the ‘hard to find’ issues.

I tried two ways of debugging a React Native App- one is with google chrome by enabling “Remote JS debugging” right from the device and another by using the inbuilt debugger by Nuclide in Atom IDE. With Nuclide, I find it really easy to put breakpoints and query variable values at every debugging step.

Testing

Compared to iOS apps, there is more scope in React Native to test your code. You can use the Jest module to do unit testing, UI testing, and API testing. UI testing is also supported on XCode but in React Native environment, you can test all screens of your app in one go without even navigating to them. Felt pretty cool to be notified in advance about a little change breaking the views in the app.

What if something to be implemented on iOS is not available as a module on React Native?

React Native’s got your back here as well. It gives full flexibility to let you make function calls to native code and get the callback with the result of the execution. Your experience in iOS development comes really handy when you need to build a similar feature in React Native app. I tried Augmented Reality implementation in iOS as well as React Native app and it worked great. The guide to building your own native module in React Native is easy to follow. Try it and you will be impressed.

Conclusion

Once you start the development with React Native, you are definitely going to miss the X-Factor yielded to developers by XCode. But, if you look at React Native’s power to share the code between platforms while keeping the native feel intact then it’s really worth giving a try. Once you get used to it, you’ll be able to unleash its power on both platforms. Hope the blog gives you an idea of the challenges and perks of using React Native. The new era of cross-platform apps apparently belongs to React Native.

ARC for iOS Development

Posted on 05/02/202121/05/2021 by Anteelo Master

Coming from a .Net background, I wanted to understand how iOS or OS X does memory management. Here’s brief post on what I’ve read and understood so far.Until a few years ago, Apple developers had to manually manage memory while writing Objective-C code. It was called the Manual Retain-Release model, and is exactly what developers have been doing all this while for C/C++.
But managing memory manually has always been painful and error prone, and takes up valuable time of application developers, which could instead be used for building useful features.

Enter ARC, acronym for Automatic Reference Counting.

Apple introduced ARC in 2011 along with Max OS X Lion and iOS 5.

With ARC, Apple has tried to make the compiler mimic what disciplined C/C++ developers would do. They would manually track the memory they are allocating for their code, and then ensure they release that memory whenever the objects go out of scope, and their memory is no longer required. So instead of the developers, now the compiler is doing all the hard work.

Its not like ARC was entirely Apple’s creation, Reference Counting has been around for a long time, and is one technique of implementing Garbage Collection.

How is ARC different from a Garbage Collector?

Garbage Collector:

— Is part of the runtime infrastructure – i.e. part of CLR, JVM, and the runtime is responsible for running and monitoring the Garbage Collector (GC)

— Is indeterministic, so objects stick around until the GC runs, and therefore are not released as soon as they go out of scope

— Affects application performance when it runs, as other threads are paused, while it is runnning

— Is able to clear entire Object graphs, as it is able to figure out the application root object references while the application is running

— Is less prone to memory leaks

ARC

— It is not part of the runtime

— Instead the compiler injects reference tracking and clean-up code, similar to what a developer would do

— Deterministic reclamation of memory, at the time when the object goes out of scope

— Since there is no background or runtime processing, it requires less CPU and RAM, making it efficient on mobile devices

— Cannot cope with retain cycles/object graphs – gets stuck with an object graph, whereas a GC would look for an external reference to an object graph, and if not found would clear up the entire object graph

— Is more prone to memory leaks based on the quality of code written

Retain Cycles

A Retain Cycle is created when two or more objects are referencing each other in a circular fashion. For e.g. when we have a Parent – Child relationship between two objects, both instances would be referencing each other until they both go out of scope. This creates a circular reference and ARC is not able to figure out when to release these objects as it does not do a stack walk which a GC would do to find external references to these objects, instead ARC just tracks the count of the references to a particular object.

To solve this issue, Apple came out with Strong and Weak references. The Parent object creates a Strong reference to the Child object, which means that until the Parent object is deallocated, the Child object needs to remain alive. And the Child object creates a Weak reference to the Parent object, which breaks the circular reference cycle, and now the Parent object can be cleared whenever it goes out of scope, which in turn will also clear the Child object.

However, for the scenario above, developers need to handle missing or nil Parent objects in the Child object implementation, for when the Parent object gets deallocated and before the Child object is cleared, Child object code might be executed.

There is a concept of unowned references as well to prevent retain cycles, which I left out for now.

LLVM and Clang

Apple has used the LLVM compiler toolset to implement ARC.
“The LLVM Project is a collection of modular and reusable compiler and toolchain technologies”

The aim of LLVM is to provide a common backend compiler infrastructure to different compiler front-ends for different languages.

At a high level LLVM accepts code in an Intermediate Form and then is able to emit machine code based on the target architecture.
Ultimately we should be able to write code in different programming languages, run it through LLVM to generate native code for different platforms.

Apple developed the Clang frontend for C, C++, Objective-C and now Swift to use with LLVM. Clang is where the ARC magic happens.

Earlier Apple was using the GCC compiler for Objective-C and XCode, however as GCC is old and has a massive codebase to allow easy addition of new features and advancement, Apple decided to switch to the LLVM toolset. GCC also uses the GPL license, which would have forced Apple to GPL XCode’s source whereas LLVM uses the more lenient BSD license to protect proprietary software.

The modular nature of LLVM has helped Apple create Swift, implement ARC, improve XCode to easily target different platforms like Mac OS X and iOS. Seems they are also using components of LLVM to optimise Javascript bytecode in the WebKit browser engine.

This was a short introduction to how iOS uses ARC to manage its memory, and about the tools that are used for ARC, do send in your feedback via comments. In future, I am planning to write a post on the tools which are available with XCode, which help diagnose memory related issues.

Avoid those security vulnerabilities in your iOS

Posted on 10/01/202121/05/2021 by Anteelo Master

Every program is a potential target for hackers. They would want to tear you down and make you kneel. So, what do we do? I think we should stop writing programs and put our laptop lids down?Naah…. Just kidding!!Attackers will try to find security vulnerabilities in your application. They will then try to use these vulnerabilities to steal secrets, corrupt programs and data. Your customers’ private information and your reputation are at stake.

Security is not something that can be added to software as an afterthought; just as a shed made out of cardboard cannot be made secure by adding a padlock to the door, an insecure tool or application may require extensive redesign to secure it. You must identify the nature of the threats to your app and incorporate secure coding practices throughout the planning and development of your product.

Secure coding is the practice of writing programs that are resistant to attack by malicious or mischievous people or programs. Secure coding helps protect a user’s data from theft or corruption.

Most software security vulnerabilities fall into one of these small set of categories:

Buffer overflows
Unvalidated input
Race conditions
Access-control problems
Weaknesses in authentication, authorization, or cryptographic practices

I am not going to bore you with the theory of each type of vulnerability here. Duhh!! Who does that nowadays??

Instead, I am going to share a few examples from my own experience which I came across while going through an enterprise based security scan of my code.

Observation 1- Buffer Overflow

Abstract- The program writes outside the bounds of allocated memory, which could corrupt data, crash the program, or lead to the execution of malicious code.

As you can see in line 2 of the method, variable ‘has_storage’ has been declared as an unsigned 32 bit integer and assigned a value. However in line 3, a value is assigned to some index value of it. This is the classic example of possibility of Buffer overflow.

This code snippet is a part of Google’s Firebase/Messaging pods framework.

Fix

Avoid declaring the variables by keeping such vulnerabilities in mind i.e you can define this as:-

uint32_t _has_storage_[0];

Observation 2- Privacy Violation: HTTP GET

Abstract- The identified call uses the HTTP GET instead of POST method to send data to the server.

Explanation- HTTP requests which utilize the GET method allow the URL and request parameters to be cached in the browser’s URL cache, intermediary proxies, and server logs. This could expose sensitive information to individuals who do not have appropriate rights to the data.

Example 1: The following code makes an HTTP request using the GET HTTP method instead of POST.

…
let url = URL(string: “https://www.somesvr.com/someapp/user”)
let request = NSMutableURLRequest(URL: url!)
request.HTTPMethod = “GET”
let connection = NSURLConnection(request:request, delegate:self)
…
Example 2: If the application uses NSURLRequest then the default HTTP method is GET.
…
let url = URL(string: “https://www.somesvr.com/someapp/user”)
let request = URLRequest(URL: url!)
let connection = NSURLConnection(request:request, delegate:self)
…

Since most of us are not aware that while making a URLRequest in Swift, if we do not provide any HTTP method then the default method is “GET” which can be treated as a major vulnerability in many of the Static Code Analyzers.

Fix

Make an extension of the URLRequest class and add a method with some added parameters as per your convenience.

Observation 3- Insecure Storage: HTTP Response Cache Leak

Abstract- The identified method performs a URL request without configuring the URL loading system to prevent the caching of HTTP(S) responses.

Explanation- The HTTP(S) responses may contain sensitive data such as session cookies and API tokens. The URL loading system will cache all the HTTP(S) responses for performance reasons, storing them unencrypted in the {app ID}/Library/Caches/com.mycompany.myapp/Cache.db* files. Developers may think that by setting the diskCapacity or memoryCapacity properties of the URLCache class to 0, they may be effectively disabling the HTTP(S) response cache system. However, the NSURLCache documentation states that both the on-disk and in-memory caches will be truncated to the configured sizes only if the device runs low on memory or disk space. Both settings are meant to be used by the system to free system resources and improve performance, not as a security control.

Fix

The combination of two solutions works best for plumbing these types of leaks. Firstly, after the response has been received, remove all the cache that has been saved to the memory by using this small snippet

Observation 4- Insecure Transport: Weak SSL Protocol

Abstract- The SSLv2, SSLv23, and SSLv3 protocols contain several flaws that make them insecure, so they should not be used to transmit sensitive data.

Explanation- The Transport Layer Security (TLS) and Secure Sockets Layer (SSL) protocols provide a protection mechanism to ensure the authenticity, confidentiality and integrity of data transmitted between a client and web server. Both TLS and SSL have undergone revisions resulting in periodic version updates. Each new revision was designed to address the security weaknesses discovered in the previous versions. Use of an insecure version of TLS/SSL will weaken the strength of the data protection and could allow an attacker to compromise, steal, or modify sensitive information.

Weak versions of TLS/SSL may exhibit one or more of the following properties:

– No protection against man-in-the-middle attacks
– Same key used for authentication and encryption
– Weak message authentication control
– No protection against TCP connection closing

The presence of these properties may allow an attacker to intercept, modify, or tamper with sensitive data.

Example 1: The following example configures the session to use SSL v3.0:

Fix

In most of the networking libraries that we use in iOS like Alamofire and AFNetworking, the default setting is to use SSL Protocol and hence if we explicitly update the minimum supported protocol in our code to the latest TLS protocol version, then we can easily prevent this vulnerability in our code.

Observation 5- Input Interception: Keyboard Extensions Allowed

Abstract- The application allows third party keyboard extensions to be allowed.

Explanation- Keyboard extensions are allowed to read every single keystroke that a user enters. Third-party keyboards are normally used to ease the text input or to add additional emoticons and they may log what the user enters or even send it to a remote server for processing. Malicious keyboards can also be distributed to act as a key-logger and read every key entered by the user in order to steal sensitive data such as credentials or credit card numbers.

Fix

If you want that no third party keyboard can be installed while using your application, then add this code snippet into your AppDelegate.swift file.

Observation 6- Insecure Storage: Lacking Data Protection

Abstract- The identified method writes data to a file lacking sufficient encryption settings.

Explanation- Even though all files on an iOS device, including those without an explicitly assigned Data Protection class, are stored in an encrypted form; we can specify NSFileProtectionNone which results in encryption using a key derived solely based on the device’s UID. This leaves such files accessible any time the device is powered on, including when locked with a passcode or when booting. As such, usages of NSFileProtectionNone should be carefully reviewed to determine if further protection with a stricter Data Protection class is warranted.

In the following example, the given data is not protected (accessible anytime the device is powered on):

Fix

-NSFileProtectionComplete, NSDataWritingOptions.DataWritingFileProtectionComplete:
The resource is stored in an encrypted format on disk and cannot be read from, or written to, while the device is locked or booting. It’s available in iOS 4.0 and later.

-NSFileProtectionCompleteUnlessOpen, NSDataWritingOptions.DataWritingFileProtectionCompleteUnlessOpen:
The resource is stored in an encrypted format on disk. Resources can be created while the device is locked, but once closed, cannot be opened again until the device is unlocked. If the resource is opened when unlocked, you may continue to access the resource normally, even if the user locks the device.
Available in iOS 5.0 and later.

-NSFileProtectionCompleteUntilFirstUserAuthentication, NSDataWritingOptions.DataWritingFileProtectionCompleteUntilFirstUserAuthentication:
The resource is stored in an encrypted format on disk and cannot be accessed until after the device has booted. After the user unlocks the device for the first time, your app can access the resource and continue to access it even if the user subsequently locks the device.
Available in iOS 5.0 and later.

-NSFileProtectionNone, NSDataWritingOptions.DataWritingFileProtectionNone:
The resource has no special protections associated with it. It can be read from, or written to, at any time.
Available in iOS 4.0 and later.

Oh!! My God… So many observations. Who writes such a vulnerable code anyway??

Me, you??

Let me tell you something folks! Privacy and Security are two important constructs of today’s digital umbrella which covers a huge part of our society. And moving forward we are going to be more dependent on all these digital devices lying around us exploiting the technologies like AR, AI, IoT etc. Did I just sound like Mr. Snowden?? Believe me, I am “No One”(pun intended).

But, it’s the least, we as developers can do to make our code less prone, a little bit more secure by keeping in mind certain techniques while coding. After all, good code is contagious. It spreads.

Use JMeter for Mobile Performance Testing

Posted on 05/01/202121/05/2021 by Anteelo Master

What comes to our mind for the very first time when we hear about JMeter? Is it Performance Testing? Or Web App Load Testing? Well, most of us are unaware that JMeter can also be used for performance testing of Android/iOS apps. It’s quite similar to recording scripts like in case of web apps, all we have to do is to configure a proper proxy on mobile devices. So here in this blog post, we would be listing down the process to record a performance test script in JMeter for Android and iOS platforms.

Prerequisites: JMeter version 3.0, Android phone (versions above Jellybean) or iPhone (version 8.0 onwards)

JMeter Configurations

1. Launch JMeter -> Navigate to File option -> Templates -> Select Recording -> Click on Create (So now we have added all the necessary parameters for Recording scripts)

2. Go to HTTPS Test Script Recorder -> Set port to 8080

Now find your IP Address by ifconfig for Linux and ipconfig for Windows. We will load up this IP address on our phone Android/iOS phone to setup proxy.

Mobile side Configurations

iOS proxy configuration:

Go to Settings–>Wi-Fi option.
Click on your connected network.
Select ‘Manual’ option from the HTTP Proxy section.
Set ‘Server’ value as your computer’s IP address and ‘Port’ value to 8080 as JMeter configuration. Refer above image to get an idea about this setup.
We need appropriate JMeter Certificate and save it to our phone.
Install this certificate on your iPhone.

Android proxy configuration:

We need appropriate JMeter Certificate and save it to our phone.
Download the zip file for the certificate and send the certificate on mail. And install through the mail. Once the certificate is installed phone will ask to apply a lock. And a notification appears showing Network may be monitored.
Now click on Wi-fi Settings -> Long press on the Network you are connected to -> Click on Modify Network -> Advanced Settings -> Change Proxy to Manual -> In Proxy Host name enter the IP of your computer -> Set Proxy to 8080 -> click save
Now we are set to start recording and running the scripts.
Go to Jmeter -> HTTP(S) Test Script Recorder click Start (this would start the recording). Remember that the port in JMeter Global Settings and Mobile must be the same.
Add a Listener -> Add Result Tree to HTTP(S) Test Script Recorder
Perform any actions on mobile devices and the user can see the actions getting recorded on JMeter.

Replay the actions by increasing the load and monitor the performance

In JMeter go to thread groups and alter the number of threads, Ramp up period and Loop count.

Thread means the number of active users.
Ramp-Up is the amount of time JMeter must take to send threads for execution.
Loop Count is used to specify the number of times to execute the Performance Test.

Adding Appropriate Listeners and analyzing the performance on different loads. Listener that we have used here is Response time over time Listener.

These Listeners don’t come by default with JMeter we need to download the jar and put it into JMeter’s lib/ext directory. Now restarting JMeter shows these Listeners in JMeter’s list of Listeners.

Advantages of using JMeter for mobile performance testing

First of all, JMeter is an open source software. So zero investment.
It’s very user friendly with a interactive UI
It’s easy to learn
Every test script results can be best monitored using different Listeners in JMeter
By far the easiest though effective way to check the mobile performance

Android or iOS: Mobile Platform App For Startups in 2021

Posted on 17/06/202007/06/2021 by Anteelo Master

Back in 2008, the iOS App Store was launched with 500 apps. Today that number has skyrocketed to 1.85 million apps that are available for users to download. Android users have a bigger app universe to browse from that consists of over 2.56 million apps available in the Google Play Store. It is safe to say that we are living in the digital era! To prove we are in the digital era, let’s recall the numbers. Did you know that the number of smartphone users worldwide surpasses 3.5 billion? As per the Statista- Smartphone User forecast, it is estimated to further grow by several hundred million in the next few years. There are 7.94 billion devices connected worldwide and this number is more than the number of people in the globe! Hence, there is no denying the fact that mobile applications are an integral part of our daily lives. Keeping the above data in mind, many entrepreneurs are planning to start a mobile app centered business. If you are amongst those businessmen who are looking forward to creating a mobile app, then the first question to address is – which is better among Android vs iOS development?In this article you will walk through certain factors that will influence your choice, and embibe you with the iOS and Android App Development Platform.

Let’s get right to it.

Apple vs Android: Market Share

According to Statista, in 2020 the market share of Android and iOS was 86.6% and 13.4% respectively and these numbers are expected to reach 87.1% for Android and 12.9% for iOS in 2023.

Looking into the above graph, you can conclude that Android is a clear winner in the mobile operating system market share worldwide and is expected to remain so in the years to come. It is so because the Android startup apps are the most adopted ones for almost every smartphone vendor other than Apple.

Also, Android is an open source platform that allows and makes it easy for mobile phone manufacturers to add their own look to the operating system.

Apple vs Android: App Downloads

According to Statista Market Forecast 2016–2021, there will be 196 billion annual downloads from Google Play store by 2021, all thanks to growing smartphone and app adoption worldwide.

While from the iOS store there will be 42 billion downloads. Android again wins when it comes to app downloads worldwide and it is expected to enormously grow in the years to come.

After reading all the above facts and data it is highly advisable for you to make yourself familiar with the process of startup app development.

We have curated a complete guide on apps for startups, with A to Z information about the process of getting your idea live on a mobile application. In this article, we will answer all the questions that every entrepreneur who is new to the app industry might have.

Which Is Better – iOS Or Android?

Android vs iOS development is a never ending debate between software developers. The quest to- Which platform should startups choose has no one word answer. There are solutions that depend on various factors that an entrepreneur should consider before making a decision.

Let’s go through all the factors one by one:

1. Demographics

There is no denying the fact that Android smartphones have a larger demographic than apple users.

Also, there is no denying the fact that Apple is considered a high end device in which users are willing to purchase apps. So, Apple users are generally found in prosperous parts of the world.

For example: The USA is considered among the highest revenue making countries, thus you will find a larger number of iOS users there.

As per the reports by Statista, currently there are more than 113 million iPhone users in the United States, accounting for about 47 percent of all smartphone users in the United States. So if you are targeting the western demographic, I suggest you to hire iphone app developers.

2. Fragmentation

In simple words, fragmentation refers to when users are running different versions of a mobile operating system and using different mobile hardware models or mobile devices.

We are aware that iOS devices and their release cycles are controlled by Apple alone. As a result, once a year Apple synchronizes iOS version releases with device releases. Hence, fragmentation issues are less.

However, when we talk about Android, fragmentation issues occur constantly, further making life of the android application developers difficult at the time of testing and quality control. Thus, Android fragmentation increases development cost and maintenance time.

3. Design and development

In terms of designing, Google Material Design has a greater influence on UI and UX. Mobile app developers feel that when it is about coding mobile apps then Swift is a much easier language to start as compared to Java.

However, design and development is one factor that depends less on the platform and more on the skills of your partnered mobile app development company. When you are linked with a brand that has it specialization in the development of both Apple and Android apps, it is of the least matter about which platform requires less developmental efforts as both are done within equal efforts.

Now that we are aware of the factors involved, let us discuss the reasons to go for android startup apps and iphone startup apps separately.

Why Choose Android Startup Apps?

You should go with Android first if your audience is not concentrated on any one specific demographic or target audience. Also, if there are a good number of customization elements in your mobile app, go with Android.

Below are the advantages of using Android.

1. Greater user base

Majority of users globally use Android devices as compared to other devices, which gives you a large pool of potential users. Not having an android app for business means losing limitless opportunities and audiences for your product or services.

2. Open source platform

Android is an open-source platform which means Google doesn’t charge any fee for using this platform. Wherein, Google also provides Android app development tools and technology for free to the developers. Thus Android app cost is comparatively lesser than iOS app cost.

So, it is a cost-effective solution for your startup budget.

Hardware device manufacturers such as Samsung, Oppo, Xiaomi, etc., all use Android as their default OS.

3. Customizable apps

Android app development allows the app developers to customize the applications as per the business requirement. This means your business app development will get done with the right requirements and required flexibility which might not have been possible with any other platform. It is always a good idea to hire an android app development company that can help you with your startup app.

4. High ROI

The moment you publish your app on the store, you get a big pool of potential users that you can tap into. Since you have such a wide market to target, the return of investment on your android app would be instant and always on a higher end considering your Android app development cost.

5. Compatibility

One of the biggest advantages of choosing an android app over iOS is that there’s no restriction on devices that is to be used for building an android app. You can build an app on any device, be it Windows desktop, Mac, or the Linux system.

The fact that makes Android a go-to platform for all the sectors with interoperability needs is that it allows you to expand your brand across devices and systems .

We now understand the advantages of choosing android apps. Let’s dig deep and see what are the reasons to go for iOS app development for your startup.

Reasons To Choose iPhone Apps

You should place your startup’s first mobile app on iOS by investing in a sound reputed iOS app development company if you wish to come in the sight of the app store’s target demographics.

Let us discuss the advantages of choosing iOS apps for startups:

1. Security

Security is the utmost requirement for any business because sensitive enterprise data is lodged in apps. Android apps are a big risk when it comes to security while iPhone users are cushioned against hacking and malware. When you compare the iPhone vs Android on the basis of security, iPhone apps protect firmware and software through stringent security measures such as :

Integrated data handling systems
Measures to prevent duplication of data
Measures for loss of security by data encryption

2. Revenue

The ones that have a greater ROI than Android apps are the iPhone apps.. The best revenue generation opportunities that you can get from your iOS application development process, is to keep an eye on the mistakes, tips and tricks, and other related information would be a big advantage. You can look for iOS app development services that can help you with your vision.

3. Established customer base

The biggest USP of Apple is its established customer base. Apple is a pioneer in technology and applications. Apple has a well-established niche of its customer base that swear by Apple’s quality and performance and are loyal to the brand. That’s why it is said that once a smartphone user experiences the iOS platform, they will never be satisfied by any other OS and will stick to Apple.

4. Low fragmentation and testing

As discussed earlier, Apple generally develops just one updation on its existing OS every year. Also, the number of Apple devices are lesser than Android-based ones. Thus, Android apps should be tested comprehensively to get its better functioning on all the versions of Android OS.

On the other hand, iPhone apps just have to meet testing criteria of its previous iOS versions. This constantly reduces testing time and guarantees a rapid time to market for its apps. This also results in saving apple app development cost.

Wrapping Up

After reading the write up you must have understood that there is no right or wrong answer, it all depends on your requirements. We have seen specific scenarios favouring the iOS platform and others suggesting us to go for Android.

By keeping all the above information in mind, you can contact a mobile app development company that will help you build your app without worrying about the operating system.

Businesses develop their next iOS apps using Swift 5- Reasons

Posted on 16/06/202007/06/2021 by Anteelo Master

Swift is a highly intuitive programming language for Apple’s operating systems like iOS, macOS, and watchOS. The programming language has been growing in popularity and it can be attributed to its unique and valuable features. Swift is a widely used language for iOS app development globally. The iPhone app development platform has evolved considerably in the past. After going through four massive version updates, Swift released the latest two versions, Swift 5.0 and Swift 5.1. The remarkable functions of both these versions play a significant role in strengthening the language. The programming language is poised to become a game-changer in the mobile app development industry, with its latest version, Swift 5.

Whether you want to grow your business as an entrepreneur or looking for ways to scale as a startup, Swift offers you all the advantages of developing the best in class, highly functional and completely customised iOS applications. That’s one of the reasons why LinkedIn, Lyft and others have upgraded their iOS mobile application in Swift.

Let us first look into what both these versions have to offer. Then, we’ll look into Swift 5 features that make the updates an ideal choice for iOS app development companies.

What was introduced with Swift 5 Update?

Apart from the revolutionary ABI stability, the Swift runtime is also now added in the present and future Apple platform’s OS versions: iOS, macOS, watchOS, and tvOS.

Swift 5 features also come with a plethora of new capabilities that act as the building blocks of Apple’s vision and give a new direction to the advantages of the swift programming language.

*For in-depth insights, head on to Swift 5 release notes.

Language Updates

1. Binary Compatibility and a Stable ABI

ABI was declared stable for Swift 5 app development. As a result, Swift libraries have been incorporated in every iOS, tvOS, watchOS, and macOS, which was earlier a problematic element whenever engineers had to develop apps for iOS. The applications will now be easier to develop and much smaller in size since they will not include any libraries.

2. Standard Library Updates

Swift 5’s standard library comes with the following new feature set:

The string has been reimplemented with the UTF-8 encoding which results in faster code.
Better support for raw texts in the string literals.
The SIMD vector and Result types have been added.
Performance improvements in Set and Directory.
Enhancements in String implementation, giving flexibility for constructing text from data.

3. Additional Compiler and Language Updates

Swift mobile development facilitates exclusive access to the memory, both for debugging and releasing builds. It supports dynamically callable types which help in improving interoperability with dynamic languages like JavaScript, Python, and Ruby.

It also implements these language proposals:

Handling future enum cases
Literal initialization through coercion
Introduce user-defined dynamic “callable” types
Supports ‘less than’ operator in the compilation conditions
Identity key path
Flatten nested optionals emerging from ‘try?’

4. Package Manager Updates

The Swift Package Manager comes with a series of new features in the Swift 5 app development version, which includes: Dependency mirroring, customized deployment targets, target-specific build settings, and the capability to generate the code coverage data. In addition to this, the swift run command includes a capability to import libraries in REPL with building an executable.

Swift 5 also implements these Package Manager proposals from Swift evolution process:

Dependency Mirroring
Platform deployment settings
Target specific build settings

What was introduced with Swift 5.1?

Swift 5.1 grows on the strength of Swift 5 with features like module stability and other new features that extend the ability of language and standard library like: opaque result types, property wrappers, new APIs for String, diffing for appropriate collection types, etc.

Together, Swift 5.1 makes it easy to design APIs and lower the common boilerplate code.

Here are the features that Swift 5.1 comes with:

1. Module Stability

Swift 5.1 makes it possible to create binary frameworks which can be shared with others who leverage language’s added support for module stability. This, in turn, makes it extremely convenient and speedy for developers to develop apps for iOS.

It defines a new text based module interface file which describes the binary framework API, enabling it to get compiled with codes with the help of different compiler versions.

2. Standard Library Updates

The Swift 5.1 standard library comes with the following new features, making it extremely easy to understand how to make apps with Swift 5:

Support for updating and handling diffs on the collection of appropriate types.
Greater flexibility for initialization of an array.
APIs for working with Strings – developing and handling contiguous strings, helper for working with Unicode text, and general initializers for Range and String.index.
Identifiable protocol for extending reductions, vector swizzles, and vectors.

3. Language Server Protocol

The Swift 5.1 OSS toolchain packages for Ubuntu and macOS include binaries for the SourceKit-LSP, which is an implementation of LSP for C-based languages and Swift.

4. SwiftSyntax Updates

It has been re-architecture with a separate focus on improving the performance by using a parser from the Swift compiler. Additionally, the performance of the syntax tree visitation and its related operations have been improved through the re-architecture of internal data structures.

5. Additional Language and Compiler Updates

Swift 5.1 comes with these new language features:

Property wrappers introducing consistent context for defining the custom access patterns for property values like – delayed initializers, thread-specific storage, atomic operations, etc.
The return keyword is not needed for single expression getters or functions.
Self can be used for value types and classes.
The compiler synthesizes default values for the properties with default initializers.

How do Businesses benefit from it?

Although the majority of the features introduced with Swift 5 and Swift 5.1 are in favor of Swift app builders, some of them can be translated into business benefits as well.

One of the key features that directly impact businesses – the one that the Apple industry had been waiting for since Swift 1.0 – is ABI (Application Binary Interface) stability.

While sounding much like a developer’s problem, what this means in practicality is that Apple couldn’t include Swift programming language support in the operating systems, because an app written in Swift 2 couldn’t run with Swift 3. Simply because it wouldn’t work with the language support binaries of Swift 3.

The solution that was available to the developers was to include the Swift libraries in the app bundle which would get downloaded from the App store. This, in turn, increased the size and the storage requirement of the application. And became one of the biggest disadvantages of the swift iOS programming language.

But with Swift 5 making ABI stable, the industry has now received a permanent solution to these user-side issues. It would enable the developers to run the application in all the upcoming Swift versions. Meaning, the code is written in the Swift 5 app development process will run on Swift 6, 7, and so on, an event that makes Swift a preferred language for Enterprises and Startups.

This move is speculated to be the one that would bring language several strides ahead in the Swift vs Objective-C comparison.

Here are the business benefits of the Swift 5 update:

Smaller app size: Swift 5 makes the language binary compatible. Meaning, the end result of Swift mobile development would be significantly smaller for the users to run on their new operating system – iOS 12.2, watchOS 5.2, macOS 10.14.4, and tvOS 12.2.

Faster Launch: Another advantage of this is the faster launch time, since every dynamic library which is used by an application (which increases the launch time) will be cached in the memory and shared among the applications.

Greater Performance: Users do not want to work in a broken application. And with app freeze and glitches being the biggest reason behind app uninstallation rate, it is imperative for a business to avoid it. The Swift 5’s ABI stability helps apps in behaving better and offering enhanced performance.

But.

How small is too small? Let’s answer through the help of some live cases of Swift app development for iOS –

Apollo for Reddit: comes with an app size of 35.7 MB. Here, the 7.5 MB is made up of Swift libraries. Now when the app gets updated to Swift 5, the size will be reduced by over 20% and come around at 30 MB.
Chirp an app that brought Twitter to Apple Watch comes with a size of 28.8 MB, which is inclusive of 11.6 MB made of Swift libraries. This, when updated to Swift 5, gets reduced by over 30%, bringing the size down 20 MB.

Readability: One of the key reasons why it is best to choose Swift is due to its readability. It is relatively easy to modify, read and write and the clean syntax renders it a special uniqueness. It requires a lesser number of lines of code than Objective-C when compared to Swift apps.

Apps created with Swift not only decrease the development cost but also the development time.

In a blog post talking about the future of Swift language, Donny Wals said, “Now that we have Module Stability and ABI Stability in Swift, the language is likely to change at a slower rate than we’re used to. We should see less radical, source-breaking changes and the language should slowly mature into a beautiful, fast and stable language that will be a great basis for your applications for years to come.”

Is it good to build an app in swift 5? Yes. The time is right for businesses with iOS apps to get the code re-written in Swift 5 and for new businesses to build apps on Swift 5 and benefit from the impeccable user experience.

React Native: 5 Roads of iOS vs Android

Posted on 07/04/202014/05/2021 by Anteelo Master

In this digital age, one can’t survive without technology. Mobile apps have become an obsession for people, a proven fact that in 2017, users around the world downloaded almost 197 billion Android apps and over 25 billion iOS apps. The app development business has reached its peak in the past few years and has been growing higher since.

But with the craze for mobile apps rising high, there’s one massive problem that has arisen for app development companies. Finding enough talented developers who can develop the same thing for Android and iOS is a bit of a challenge.

So is there a more natural solution?

Of course, there is! If you want to develop an app from scratch, for both iOS and Android platforms, React Native is the best option.

React Native is a framework that can be used to develop cross-platform apps. It is a JavaScript-based framework created by Facebook to develop apps supported by both Android and iOS platforms. While it offers benefits such as reduced development time and reusable code and app components, there are some differences between the usages of React Native for both platforms.

In this article, we are going to highlight five significant differences between React Native app development methods across Android and iOS. But before that, let’s have a look at the features of React Native that have made it so popular.

Why is React Native gaining impetus?

React Native is a widely used platform that allows you to alter the user interface of an app for both iOS and Android development. Following are some primary reasons that React Native is such a hit among app developers:

Open-source Framework – This framework is open-source. Its structure is all set to become completely compatible with both Windows and macOS. It also supports reusing already written code instead of rewriting it from scratch.
Quick Development – Application development is not an easy task. Writing code from scratch and learning to code in Swift and Java is tough and time-consuming. React Native resolves this issue in a way that instead of having expertise in these two, you are only required to know JavaScript; this makes app development very easy and quick. That said, basic knowledge of Swift and Java is also necessary.
Focus on the User Interface – React Native allows you to develop smooth and easy-to-navigate User Interface in both operating systems at the same time. UI is one of the main reasons behind its popularity. Before this, developers were required to prioritize one type of operating system. React Native resolved this issue and made development more comfortable and balanced for both platforms.

Coming to the focal point now –The differences when used for Android and iOS no platform is perfect when it comes to technology. There are some boundaries and restrictions for every one of them. The same is the case with React Native. App development for Android and iOS vastly differs, and it is because of the following factors:

Mobile Operating system

While you develop a cross-platform app using React Native, you need to access a few specific iOS simulator tools for app testing. But these tools are not considered reliable as Apple does not officially recognize them. In the case of Windows, Android studio is a reliable source to test the Android version of apps. So it is effortless to conduct official testing for the android version, and there is no authorized testing module available for iOS. That does not mean that iOS apps are not tested; we can say that the results are not authentic.

A suggested solution to overcome this problem is to test the iOS app within Android Studio since it is compatible with macOS. It is better to use Apple MacBook as the testing device to test both, Android and iOS versions of the React Native apps.

Linking Libraries

If you need to link third-party libraries in your app, you cannot merely use the React Native link called “library name” to link libraries. You are required to link those third-party libraries manually. This manual linking is considered to be a hurdle because it is time-consuming, and it requires developers to have distinct knowledge about Android and iOS development.

We can avoid manual linking if complete documentation of the required libraries are available, which is rare. The manual linking requires the developer to have a grip on Java and Swift or Objective C language.

Platform-Specific Styles Elements

While working on a cross-platform app, it is essential to consider the style differences. The styles added using React Native look different in iOS and Android because both operating systems might not support that styling. For example, if you add shadow style in your app, it won’t be visible in the Android version, as Android does not support this styling.

So, developers require keeping the style differences in mind and use the styles which are supported by both operating systems.

Native Elements

The display differences of different native app elements might not be considered at the initial stage, but once development proceeds, developers start regarding such differences as hurdles. React Native has several elements to be used, but the results differ according to the platform they are implemented on. For example, the picker component would display a different outcome on an iOS simulator and a different one on the Android emulator.

Platform-Specific Design Elements

React Native provides a cross-development platform because of shared code, and developers expect to build both versions of applications with minimal efforts. But unfortunately, no platform is perfect. iOS apps usually are quite minimalist in design, while Android is more drawn towards the material design principle. While developing through shared code, you need to make sure that the app is suitable according to its natural look and feel for both platforms. Right now, multitask panels in iOS have small tabs in contrast, while the interchangeable tabs of Android’s multitasking panel are almost of screen size. So, developers need to keep track of these differences while developing on a shared platform.

Similarly, the icons of iOS apps are round-cornered squares, while Android has a range of useful options that include icons with transparent background and shadows. iOS has simplicity and lower cognitive load on icons. There is also a difference in navigation patterns for both operating systems. Android’s native navigation-bar has back and refresh buttons, while in iOS, the back button on the top is screen-specific and also works with a right swipe gesture.

All these differences are necessary to consider for developers while working on application development through React Native. These issues are essential to tackle but don’t come in the way of making it a popular and reliable platform. Many big brands have utilized React Native to develop popular applications for both operating systems.

To Sum It Up

From in-app features to design elements to testing tools, the development of iOS and Android mobile app development using React Native differs on various levels. Developers need to take care of these differences to avoid bugs during implementation. Many big brands like Instagram, Uber Eats, Airbnb, and Gyroscope use React Native’s shared platform technique, which goes a long way to indicate that the framework is reliable and generates up to the mark results.

Advantages of Developing an iPhone App for Your Company

Posted on 14/02/202015/06/2021 by Tushar

Apple has a tradition; every January, they disclose statistics to prove how well the App Store and iOS apps performed that year. This year’s announcements are an indicator of the staggering popularity and penetration of iPhone apps. Take a look…

There are around 2.2M apps in App Store.
On average, around 2,540 apps are released on App Store every day.
The App Store revenue recorded in Q2 2019 is around $$25.5B, which is nearly 80 percent more than what Google Play Store earned.

These and the plethora of other App Store statistics gives the same message: Apple’s business is thriving and iPhone apps are a people’s favorite. Businesses looking to capture market share in apps would be making a lucrative deal by investing in iPhone application development for businesses.

Apple’s closest rival, Android, also has great numbers to show. But iPhone’s reach and penetration are unsurpassed. In fact, according to BGR, there is a user defection trend among Android users.

Nearly 18 percent of Android users have looked into the advantages of the iPhone and switched to the iOS platform. These advantages included the iPhone is one of the oldest smartphones. The way the iPhone managed to maintain its iron grip on users by offering consistent performance and innovation.

iPhone apps are known to be high quality and revenue-generating. Both startups and established brands are investing in iPhone app development in Virginia to meet their business needs and make a quick return on their investment.

Let us look at some of the perks of investing in iOS app development services and how iPad app development can expand business growth.

Benefits of iOS App Development

1. Better App Revenue

iPhone apps have a greater ROI than Android apps. A fact that adds on to the benefits of iOS App development, to a huge extent.

To get the best of the revenue generation opportunities from your iOS application development process, keeping an eye on the mistakes, tips and tricks, and other related information would be a big advantage. Refer to our mobile app development guide formulated from the experiences of our experts to get an idea of everything worth knowing

2. Security of Enterprise Data

Intrusion into a business’s sensitive enterprise data lodged in apps is a big risk with Android apps. on the other hand, when you compare the iPhone vs Android on the basis on security, iPhone apps, protect firmware and software through stringent security measures such as :

Integrated data handling systems.
Measures to prevent duplication of data.
Measures against loss of security due to data encryption.

iPhone users are cushioned against hacking and malware and this again counts under the advantages of iPhone over Android.

3. High-Quality Standards

iPhone app development for business stays incomplete until the apps are built to pass the high-quality standards of Apple’s Play Store before they are made available to the market. When a user downloads an iPhone app, he can be assured of flawless performance and amazing experience. This trust and goodwill on Apple’s legacy have managed to garner a large and loyal consumer base for iPhone apps.

Android app developers dig into the open-source libraries and follow a non-standardized development approach. This results in apps that offer good user experience on some devices and less-than-satisfactory experience on others. iPhone users are welcomed by the same scintillating UX across all devices.

Plus, since the development of Android apps is slower, cost of Android app development is much higher than that of iPhone development. Businesses are forced to outsource android projects to the lowest bidder who can deliver substandard products. This is the reason why Apple play store personally vets each and every app before publishing and releasing it to the market.

4. Apps for all business needs

Brands of all scales and sizes have recognized the advantages of having mobile apps for business. Consumers expect mobility and responsiveness from any business they deal with – something that comes attached with the process of iPhone app development for business. Mobile applications are the perfect gateway to reach consumers on the go and remain connected with them every moment.

iPhone apps, custom-built or off-the-shelf, are available to suit all business needs. Despite the fact that the cost of iPhone app development is somewhat higher than other options available, iPhone apps are found to be more lucrative for businesses due to their assured market reach and better-paying clients.

5. Established Customer Base

The established user base is the one Apple USP which is also one of the prime benefits of iOS application development. Apple is a pioneer in technology and applications. Although 75% app users are Android users, Apple has a well-established niche of clients that swear by Apple’s quality and performance. In fact, it is said that once a smartphone user experiences iOS, they will never be satisfied by any other OS. Android apps have to battle stiff competition as there are too many apps crowding this segment.

6. Exemplary User Experience

iPhone apps delight users with an excellent user experience supported fully by the inherent capabilities of Apple’s iOS. Total cohesion between software and hardware amounts to the great performance of iPhone applications. To top it all, comprehensive customer support and maintenance results in improved satisfaction among users through an app’s lifecycle. Something that again adds to the advantages of preferring iOS app development.

7. Tech-Ready Audience

iPhone users are found to be tech-savvy and open-minded towards innovation. This presents businesses with numerous opportunities to craft challenging applications that can create disruption in markets. Businesses that opt for iPhone app development can become market leaders and stride ahead of competitors.

8. Low Fragmentation and Ease of Testing

Apple typically develops just one updation on its existing OS every year. Also, the number of Apple devices are lesser than Android-based ones. Hence, Android apps have to be tested comprehensively to work well on all the versions of Android OS. iPhone apps just have to meet testing criteria of the prevalent iOS versions. This considerably reduces testing time and guarantees a quick time to market for iOS apps.

Android market is seriously fragmented. Only 10.4% of Android users are using the latest OS version and the majority of users are still using three-year-old versions. This presents a grave problem to businesses. They have to spend in developing apps that are suited to all popular versions of the Android OS. Obviously, all this translates to a higher cost of app development.

Apple’s market is a consolidated one. Nearly 89.8% iPhone users are using iOS 12, the latest version of OS. This is a good chunk of a user base and practically viable for any business to reach. Something that triggers them to turn towards a reputed iOS app development company.

Besides, Low fragmentation in iOS also results in more scalable apps. And the newly introduced features keep on upscaling existing apps.

9. High Market Penetration

Apple has a huge presence in developed markets such as US and UK. For a business to spread its wings and penetrate these markets, iOS apps can be a winning proposition. Apple’s legacy and quality are well-established enough to guarantee good success for your iOS apps. Google’s legacy in app domain is zilch. Android apps have to struggle with millions of new apps released to the market. Even after investing heftly in top rated android app development companies, it’s highly uncertain if the app will make sufficient revenue to recover initial investment, let alone make any profit.

10. Less Development Time

When it comes to how long does it take to build an app, iOS apps take nearly 28% less time than Android apps of the same specifications. This is because Android apps have to be tested across at least 20 devices with varying resolutions, screen sizes, and OS versions. Naturally,

Android app’s development cycle is longer and payment for development apps depend on the location like charge of android app development in Florida might differ from that of Texas, California, and so forth.

iPhone apps guarantee market visibility, profitability, and customer loyalty. This added to the low iPhone app development services time, low production costs and affordable maintenance, makes the mobile app development process very beneficial for the businesses. Businesses can piggyback on Apple’s legacy to secure a prominent place in the competitive app market. What more can you ask for!

Frequently Asked Questions

1. What is the advantage of iPhone over Android?

When it comes to mobile app development, there are various benefits of choosing iPhone over Android. This included higher app revenue, lower development time, more loyal customers, upgraded security, and more.

2. Is Android or iOS better?

iOS is a better option over Android in terms of developing an application because:-

It has better presence in developed countries, like the USA and UK.
Apps developed on iOS platform are of high-quality, have more innovative features and security than what is found in Android apps.
The platform offers better revenue when compared to Android.
It needs less time and cost to develop an iPhone app than what is associated with Android application.

Challenges Faced by iOS Developers

Posted on 04/01/202018/06/2021 by Anteelo Master

Apple is improving every day. Throughout the years, iOS is widely used on an assortment of devices including iPhone, iPad, and iPod. And yet, with every new update, Apple brings new abilities and difficulties for developers over the globe. The below pointers talk about the challenges face by iOS developers while working on an iOS app: But iOS developers do face a lot of challenges while creating an iOS app. Some iOS developer challenges are mentioned below:

Challenges Faced by iOS Developers

Anyone can make an iOS app by using the iOS developer kit, which is regularly updated by Apple. But iOS developers do face some challenges while creating an iOS app, like:

1. Eligibility:

If you want to distribute your app on the App Store, you have to be 18 years or older and you have to purchase a membership by paying a fee of 99 USD per year. This can be a real hurdle for new developers who are just starting out with iOS development or for someone who is just experimenting with an idea. Also, the age requirement can be a limiting factor for young developers who are talented but do not meet the age criteria.

2. Rejection from the App Store:

Apple is very strict about the quality standards for apps in the App Store and has laid down clear guidelines that an app must follow. Your app might get rejected due to the following reasons:

Poor Performance: An app can be rejected if it doesn’t run smoothly without any major lags. Apple gives top priority to user satisfaction and if the app is slow to load, it is unresponsive or if it has major bugs, there is a good chance that the app will get rejected from the App Store.
Lack of information about the app: Every app must include metadata which describes what the app does, like screenshots, videos, and descriptions.
Safety Issues: The app should not include objectionable content which might include content that promotes violence, pornography, or consumption of illegal drugs, etc. If the app is in the kid’s category then it can’t include third-party analytics or third-party advertising.
Substandard UI and UX: The app must have a decent user interface which is not too confusing for the users. The layout should be pleasing to the eye and must include proper margin and padding. Also, the app should not be very complicated to use which might affect the overall user experience.
Copy of an already existing app: If the app is just a copy of another app in the App Store, it will be rejected as it does not include any original content.

3. Device Compatibility

Apple has released 11 iPhone versions, and each new iPhone comes with major updates in both hardware and software. Developers have to constantly learn the new features in the new versions and update the app accordingly; otherwise, the app will not run on the latest iPhone. Although it takes a while for a new iPhone to be released when compared to Android, developers still have to keep in mind about the major changes in the newer iOS updates and iOS challanges.

4. Resource Consumption

An app has limited resources available to it and it must minimize the use of critical resources like battery, CPU power and memory, otherwise, it might affect the proper functioning of the device. This can prompt the user to uninstall the app from the device or give it low ratings, which might affect the popularity of the app in the App Store. To utilize resources optimally, the app should be free from major bugs and should not contain unnecessary code. The focus should be given on testing the app and removing bugs in an agile manner. Sometimes developers have to create two versions of the same app for making it compatible with both low and high-end devices. This can increase development time and cost to maintain two versions of the same app.

5. Hardware and software requirements:

The biggest difficulty while developing an iOS application is that the Integrated Development Environment utilized for developing them is only compatible with Mac. A developer has to have a Mac device to develop an iOS application. This hardware constraint compels the developer to build on a particular platform thereby adding to the difficulty.

6. Storage Issues

iOS devices don’t include the trash assortment function. The application can be ended on the off chance that it turns source-controlled. Along these lines, it is a daunting task for the iOS developers to manage memory within the app. While building up an application for a particular adaptation of iOS, we can’t overlook that equivalent version runs on different iPhone devices and every one of them has a varying level of capacity and memory. There are applications and games that utilize a ton of space. Users are unable to use those applications or games, even if their smartphone is compatible with it.

7. Battery and Performance Optimization

Battery Drainage is a very significant problem that is very common with Apple users. A client tends to uninstall an IOS application on the off chance that they discover that it is draining out their phone battery. Therefore, iOS developers need to ensure that the application doesn’t execute any sort of unessential procedure that can suck the battery power. Battery and performance optimization itself being a difficult errand should be precisely looked upon particularly when any new iOS adaptation is launched.

8. High Expectations of UX/UI

Because of its High-quality UX and crisp layout, iOS has emerged as the top choice of users. While making an iOS application, engineers need to remember the requirements and feasibility of the end-users. They have to ensure the UI contains just the crucial features so as to make an easy-to-understand functionality. While making UI/UX for an application, developers ought to consider contemporary designs, so as to make an intelligent and instinctive interface. Since Apple has always provided its users with top-notch quality, the developers have the responsibility of keeping up the quality of the apps, or else users will not like it.

Conclusion:

Apple presents hardware and programming developments consistently while keeping up with firm security and control norms. iOS Development companies and developers must work in accordance with these advancements so they can limit the difficulties encountered during the application development process. The above-mentioned iOS developer challenges give the developers an insight into the hardships they might face and provides a front foot over the challenges that they might face during the development process. However, developers need to fathom with occasional updates so as to limit the efforts and provide quality solutions for the end-users. Constant testing and improvement experience will cause you to defeat all the forthcoming issues.

App Development

Reloading

Layout

Localization

OTA (Over the Air) Updates

iOS pod lovers will have npm/Yarn in React Native

Reusability of code (especially for views)

App Size/Performance<img decoding="async" class="aligncenter" src="https://www.assessteam.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/12/Key-benefits-of-Mobile-App-Based-Performance-Management-Process.jpg" alt="Performance Management Mobile App - Key Benefits &amp; Tips" width="512" height="255" />

Debugging

Testing

What if something to be implemented on iOS is not available as a module on React Native?

Conclusion

How is ARC different from a Garbage Collector?

Garbage Collector:

ARC

Retain Cycles

LLVM and Clang

Observation 1- Buffer Overflow

Fix

Observation 2- Privacy Violation: HTTP GET

Fix

Observation 3- Insecure Storage: HTTP Response Cache Leak

Fix

Observation 4- Insecure Transport: Weak SSL Protocol

Fix

Observation 5- Input Interception: Keyboard Extensions Allowed

Fix

Observation 6- Insecure Storage: Lacking Data Protection

Fix

JMeter Configurations

Mobile side Configurations

Replay the actions by increasing the load and monitor the performance

Advantages of using JMeter for mobile performance testing

Apple vs Android: Market Share

Apple vs Android: App Downloads

Which Is Better – iOS Or Android?

1. Demographics

2. Fragmentation

3. Design and development

Why Choose Android Startup Apps?

1. Greater user base

2. Open source platform

3. Customizable apps

4. High ROI

5. Compatibility

Reasons To Choose iPhone Apps

1. Security

2. Revenue

3. Established customer base

4. Low fragmentation and testing

Wrapping Up

What was introduced with Swift 5 Update?

1. Binary Compatibility and a Stable ABI

2. Standard Library Updates

3. Additional Compiler and Language Updates

4. Package Manager Updates

What was introduced with Swift 5.1?

1. Module Stability

2. Standard Library Updates

3. Language Server Protocol

4. SwiftSyntax Updates

5. Additional Language and Compiler Updates

How do Businesses benefit from it?

So is there a more natural solution?

Why is React Native gaining impetus?

Linking Libraries

Platform-Specific Styles Elements

Native Elements

Platform-Specific Design Elements

To Sum It Up

Benefits of iOS App Development

1. Better App Revenue

2. Security of Enterprise Data

3. High-Quality Standards

4. Apps for all business needs

5. Established Customer Base

6. Exemplary User Experience

7. Tech-Ready Audience

8. Low Fragmentation and Ease of Testing

9. High Market Penetration

App Size/Performance

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