Should you hire dedicated iOS developers? Considering how rapidly this sector of the mobile application industry is growing, it is. As Business of Apps reports, “Apple’s App Store had 2.184 million apps and games in 2022, an increase of 21.4% on the previous year.” This popularity surge looks even more impressive knowing that less than 15% of the market share belongs to Apple. Why do this company’s apps gain that much traction, and how can you hire the best iOS developers if you want to upload the next hit app to the App Store? In this article, we’re going to answer these exact questions.

written by:

Vladislav Stanishevsky

Software Architect

What’s Up with Mobile App Development These Days?

Let’s face it, we all saw digital transformation coming: people want the convenience and simplicity it offers. That is why pretty much all industries had to adapt to new customer demands and make their services more accessible and user-friendly. For companies in particular, it became clear that just being on the Internet isn’t enough: their online presence had to extend from users’ computer screens to their phones. In other words, if businesses wanted to stay relevant, they had to start developing mobile applications. Otherwise, their audience would just replace them with other services providers — the ones that care about their needs.

Apple understood the assignment. Grand View Research discovered that “the global mobile application market size was valued at USD 206.85 billion in 2022 and is expected to grow at a compound annual growth rate (CAGR) of 13.8% from 2023 to 2030.” Apple’s role here was quite significant: in the past year, iOS was responsible for 67% of app consumer spending and 77% of subscription revenue (it increased to $17.1 billion). How come?

In high income countries like Japan and the U.S., people prefer iPhones and spend more money on mobile apps. Android phones, on the contrary, dominate the markets of south-east Asia and South America. On top of that, the Google Play Store is inactive in China, which also contributes to the number of iArmy (we couldn’t help it). Consequently, Apple generates more revenue per user than companies that build Android apps.

We can make a simple conclusion: iOS application development is profitable. It is also a great way to preserve a competitive edge in the digital transformation era, reach a new audience, and connect better with existing users. However, the process of product creation isn’t just about building stuff — first, you have to assemble a team that can make that happen. But what is the process of hiring iPhone app Developers like? How can you make sure that iOS programmers you find are the best fit for your project? Let’s dive into these topics.

Why Is It a Good Idea to Hire a Dedicated iOS App Developer (or a Bunch of Them)?

It doesn’t matter what Apple devices you’re going to work with. Whether you need to create custom native or hybrid iOS apps, think through the UI/UX design of your next project, or execute the migration of your program from Objective-C to Swift, no one is going to perform this task better than a Dedicated Ios developer team. Why?

If you hire dedicated specialists for iOS app development, you will get benefits like:

• Commitment. A dedicated team of experienced iPhone developers is an outsourcing model where programmers who were assigned to your iOS project stay there no matter what, period. They will get to know you, your vision, and develop, maintain, and support your application. Unlike freelancers, they are truly committed to your project, you can monitor their progress, and be certain you will receive quality and timely results. Freelancers, on the other hand, are a lot less reliable and often scatter their attention across many projects. They also might not use licensed tools for development, which sabotages your data security.
• Better expertise. An outsourced iOS developer is aware of all the latest trends and possible pitfalls, since they constantly work on various iOS projects in different domains. Because of this, their competency is versatile, and they possess a lot more flexibility and adaptability than members of an in-house team. Only imagine how great it is to have a whole team of such specialists.
• Unique experience. When you opt for outsourced specialists, you do not limit yourself to locals – you can hire people globally, which can fill a skill gap that your project might have.
• High scalability and cost efficiency. Hiring an in-house team is neither quick nor cheap: recruiters have to select the right candidates, conduct interviews, onboard engineers, and then it’s your job to provide them with equipment, licenses, etc. With a dedicated team that often consists of remote iOS developers, you simply avoid the hustle. Also, here’s the thing about IT projects: sometimes they need to expand, and sometimes they get smaller. Thus, it is reasonable to have just the right number of developers on a payroll. An in-house team doesn’t provide this level of flexibility, but a dedicated team allows you to scale up and down exactly when you need it.

Since we’re on this cost efficiency note, we’d like to touch upon the prices of different types of tech talent:

• According to Upwork, one of the most popular freelance websites, an hour of a freelance iOS programmer costs from $16 to $35.
• Glassdoor, on the other hand, reports that to hire a dedicated iOS developer in the USA, you’ve got to be ready to pay $107,720/year, or approximately $53/hour.
• To give you some perspective, the same source writes that a similar specialist in Poland makes around $17/hour, while an iOS mobile developer in Vietnam earns about $9 on average.

It goes without saying that depending on your project, you can choose different engagement models: a part-time, full-time, or hourly developer.

Are There Any Drawbacks?

You might have heard that with outsourcing, you risk losing control over your project. We are not going to sugarcoat it: this is possible, but only if you do not talk through and put on paper the exact terms of your collaboration with a partner. You’ve got to have a clear vision of your project and split the responsibilities in a way that will give each party an understanding of their tasks and general hierarchy. If you know exactly where you stand and can communicate your position to a dedicated team, you are going to stay in charge.

As you can see, outsourcing your iOS product is more than reasonable. Thus, to hire dedicated iOS app developers means to win the lottery we call software development. Now, we invite you to take a look at how you can partner up with proper engineers and make your collaboration work.

How to Hire iOS App Developers and Assemble a Dedicated Team?

Speaking of Process(es)

To transform your iOS app idea into an actual product, an app development team usually needs to go through the following stages:

Now, let’s turn to the hiring process. In general, to partner up with talented Ios Developers, you need to do the following:

Step 1

Conduct market research and find the best outsourcing companies. Make sure their reputation is spotless, and their portfolio includes cases in your domain.

Step 2

Contact a few companies and talk to their business analysts to see if they understand your general business objectives and vision.

Step 3

Decide on your partner, sign an NDA, and share your iOS project requirements. See if the solution they offer satisfies your needs and rises to the challenges you are likely to encounter.

Step 4

Conduct interviews with iOS developers that an outsourcing company has selected for you. Even though such programmers are usually pre-vetted, feel free to ask as many questions as you like: after all, it’s your reputation and money at stake, thus, you should hire only top iOS developers for your project.

Step 5

It’s time for a project proposal that lists solutions, time frame, and cost of the project.

Step 6

After you deal with the preparation, a full-fledged development process begins. You will get regular updates on the overall progress and possible setbacks.

Step 7

Deployment time. Your dedicated team’s job now is to support and maintain your iOS solution, i.e., perform bug fixes and release updates.

If you would like to find out how we approach iOS development, check out this page.

Skill Set

To create mobile apps with the potential to shake the ground of the Apple world and make iOS users declare allegiance to your product, you need to hire top iPhone app developers. But how can you make sure they’re up to the task? Luckily for you, we’ve prepared a list of tech and soft skills you can rely on when negotiating. Sure, it is nearly impossible to mention every technology that experienced developers use for building apps. Thus, the tips we’ve prepared for you are merely points of reference. Remember that for a pro, it is not an issue to learn how to apply new technology:

• Experience with creating a reliable and scalable architecture. This means that a skilled developer will build an MVP with the project expansion in mind: if it happens quickly, the system will not malfunction, and there’ll be no need to rewrite the code. A good architecture is the basis of a scalable application;
• Language proficiency in Objective-C and/or Swift is a must. Swift in particular is a powerful and intuitive language for iOS, iPadOS, macOS, tvOS, and watchOS, and it is Apple’s brainchild;
• Source control. A particular tool for this depends on work environment. Nevertheless, for people that work with iOS apps, it’s vital to be familiar with basic concepts and how to merge and resolve conflicts;
• Design patterns and algorithms. Through application of the SOLID patterns and principles, engineers can build a program on the basis of correct solutions. This allows businesses to save money since potential errors are taken care of at the development stage;
• Xcode. This is Apple’s IDE (Integrated Development Environment). As the company defines it, Xcode “is a complete developer toolset for creating apps for Mac, iPhone, iPad, Apple Watch, and Apple TV. Xcode brings user interface design, coding, testing, debugging, and submitting to the App Store into a unified workflow”;
• Networking. Your iOS development team should consist of people that can distinguish asynchronous and synchronous classes, HTTP and HTTPS, and be skilled at APIs and JSON. Particularly, they have to be able to decode and encode with JSON;
• UI awareness. In the iOS ecosystem, programmers can choose between UIKit and SwiftUI to handle matters related to user interface. The former is a much more mature tool, however, the latter is gaining traction;
• Database technology. It’s not about a specific database (like Cloud FireStore, Core Data, or SQLite), but a hands-on experience with one. It will indicate that a developer is capable of working with any technology of this sort that you list in the tech stack;
• Ability to work with criticism;
• Teamwork;
• Communication;
• Problem-solving;
• Time management.

FAQ

In this section of our article, we invite you to revise what we’ve already discussed and get some fresh food for thought.

#1. How much does it cost to hire an app developer?

It is difficult to put a price tag on it. It depends on a platform (Android or iOS), complexity of your development project, and a developer type (front-end, back-end, or full-stack; a seniority level also impacts the cost — a junior developer will cost you considerably less than a senior developer. It’s best to clarify the details directly with the company or software engineers that you’d like to collaborate with.

#2. Are iOS developers still in demand?

They certainly are. The iOS app market is growing, and someone has to build those applications!

#3. How much do freelance iOS developers charge?

As Upwork reports, on average, a US-based iOS programmer charges $16 to $35 per hour.

#4. How do I find an iOS developer?

If you want to work with dedicated development teams, check out outsourcing companies. Pay special attention to their reputation and portfolio, share your project requirements, conduct interviews with the best suited candidates, and it’s done! However, if you’d like to hire a freelancer, you should look for one on Upwork, Fiverr, or any other similar platform.

#5. Which platform is best for iOS development?

If we’re talking about work environment, then it’s Xcode, which is Apple’s IDE for both Mac and iOS applications. However, it is worth noting that you can develop iOS programs only on macOS.

#6. Who are the best iPhone app developers in the USA?

As Clutch writes, the top three companies in the U.S. are TekRevol, Naked Development, and Utility.

Take a Bite of That APPle

It is a big step to start a project. However, it gets even bigger when you start thinking through the details. We have a solution that can help you make that leap of faith with a lighter heart: dedicated iOS app developers. If you opt for it, you will be able to get quality and timely results, stay in control of your project, save money, and expand your audience since you will be even more accessible and hip than before. Isn’t that a delicious outcome?

If you’d like to give dedicated iOS teams a try, contact us. We will be glad to plant and grow that Apple seed with ya!

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The post Why Hire Dedicated iOS Developers, and How to Do That? appeared first on Qulix.