The 5 Most Frequently Asked Questions on Mobile App Development

Mobile App development comprises of many stages. The first stage is all about the goals and specifications. These goals are particular to an app and should be aligned to the business plan. Examples of these goals include marketing, engineering and a combination of both.

Here you go with the answers to the top 5 questions that are asked on mobile app development.

1. How can I make sure my app idea is protected?

We sign a NDA (Non Disclosure Agreement) with all potential clients before we start discussing the app with you. If you’d like to discuss your idea, please just get in touch.

2. How much does a mobile app cost to develop ?

This depends on a number of factors, including:

• How complex the app is – how many different screens it has and the functionality it needs to deliver
• Is a database required to support the app’s functionality, or will the app require integration with any external systems?
• The number of platforms and devices it will it be launched on (i.e. iOS or Android, or both, tablet devices, or smart watches ?)

For more details on what affects the price of an app, see our article on app development cost here.

Prices of apps can vary from between £6k to six figures for complex apps with lots of functionality that need to work on multiple platforms and devices.

3. How long does it take to develop a mobile app ?

Generally, the minimum time that an app of reasonable complexity will take to develop will be around 3 months from start to finish. More complex apps may take around 6-8 months.

4. Should I make my app for iOS or Android first ?

Good question! If you are making a prototype or MVP, you need to figure out what devices your target market or MVP testers use, and then make it for the platform that the majority of them are using.

There are 2 other points to consider if launching a full app that is not an MVP or prototype:

Market share and the revenue of the iOS and Android platforms.

In the year June 2015 Android was declared as the leading mobile operating system on smartphones with a market share of 52.6 percent. Apple iOS had a market share of 35.1% in comparison (source: http://www.statista.com/statistics/271325/smartphone-market-share-of-mobile-os-in-the-united-kingdom-uk/)

However, when comparing revenue earn from iOS apps versus Android, iOS apps earn 75% more revenue than Android apps (source: http://9to5mac.com/2016/01/20/app-store-ios-downloads-vs-android-revenue/)

If your app contains in-app purchase functionality, or is going to be a paid app, then going with iOS first is usually the best route to take.

5. Are there ongoing costs once my app is released ?

Aside from development of new features, there can be changes required to the app when iOS or Android operating system updates are released. For example, when Apple released the iPhone 5, which had a larger screen size than previous devices, developers were required to alter some of their app’s graphics to cater for the larger screen size.

As we don’t know what changes are coming in future operating system upgrades, it is hard to predict how significant the changes will need to be, but based on our experience over the last few years, wholesale changes are not normally required when OS updates are made, they are normally smaller changes. In many cases (depending on the nature of the OS update) there may be no changes required at all.

Closing up:

Please get in touch with BR Softech if any questions about app development are still not answered.