What is Android and iOS app development?
Android and iOS app development is the creation of software for the phone in someone's pocket, published through Google Play and the App Store or distributed privately inside an organisation. It spans native code written for each platform, cross-platform code that shares logic between them, and the server side that every serious app depends on. An Android and iOS app development company worth hiring covers all three and can explain which approach fits a given product. At AtashiTech the mobile practice grew out of self-service systems: the app that lets a visitor pre-register before reaching the kiosk, the app that tells a technician a kiosk is out of paper, the driver app that feeds a logistics platform. We build native Android and iOS apps and cross-platform .NET MAUI apps, with offline behaviour, device peripherals and enterprise distribution treated as core requirements rather than late additions.
The sections below explain when a phone app is worth building, how we take one from brief to store, what the delivery contains, the platforms and services involved, and how the app is looked after once real users have it. For large-screen and locked-down devices, see iPad and tablet app development.
When to engage an Android and iOS app development company
Phone apps carry a cost the web does not: two platforms, store review and an install step. They earn it in three situations.
The journey starts before the person arrives
A visitor who registers on the train, a patient who confirms an appointment from home, a customer who takes a queue token while parking. The phone owns the start of the journey and the kiosk finishes it, so the two must share one back end and one identity.
People who do the work are not at a desk
Drivers, field engineers, kiosk technicians and floor supervisors need the system where they stand, with the camera, GPS, barcode scanner and signature pad the phone already has, and with a way to keep working when the signal drops in a basement or a loading bay.
A product needs a store presence
A platform you sell, an employee engagement tool, a consumer service: at some point customers expect to search a store, install and sign in. That brings listing requirements, review cycles, crash reporting and release management that a web app never had to think about.
How we take a mobile app from brief to store
The order matters: offline behaviour and integrations are decided and built first, because retrofitting them into a finished interface is where mobile projects go wrong.
Discovery
We map the user journeys and the moments the network will not be there, list every system the app must read from or write to, and record the platform, store and device-management constraints. Whether to go native or share code across platforms is decided here, with the reasoning written down.
Design
A clickable prototype is built and reviewed on real phones, following each platform's own conventions so the app feels at home rather than ported. Empty states, permission prompts, sign-in and offline messaging are designed, not improvised.
Build
Development runs in increments that each end with an installable Android and iOS build for your reviewers. The local store, sync engine and API client come first; the journey screens are added on top, and any peripheral or device feature is tested on the hardware it will meet in the field.
Support
We prepare the store listings and manage submission, or package the app for private distribution, and we watch crash and performance reports closely through the first production releases. The app then moves onto an annual maintenance contract.
What a mobile app engagement includes
Everything a production app needs to exist on two platforms and keep working after the first release.
Native or cross-platform app
Kotlin on Android and Swift on iOS where each platform needs its own best implementation, or a .NET MAUI app with a shared domain library when one team must maintain both, and sometimes a Windows kiosk too.
Offline storage and sync
A local database that records every action while offline and a sync engine with an agreed conflict rule that reconciles with the server when connectivity returns, so a shift in a signal-free warehouse loses nothing.
Sign-in and security
Biometric sign-in with fingerprint or face, encrypted local storage, certificate pinning to your API, token refresh that does not log people out mid-task, and single sign-on with your directory where the app is for staff.
Push notifications
Targeted alerts through Firebase Cloud Messaging and Apple's push service, routed by role and device so a low-cash warning reaches the right technician and a queue update reaches the right visitor.
Device and peripheral features
Camera capture and document scanning, barcode and QR reading, GPS and geofencing, NFC, and Bluetooth pairing with the receipt printers, card readers and scanners used by your field staff.
Enterprise distribution
Packaging for Intune, Jamf or Android Enterprise for staff apps, with managed configuration and remote wipe, alongside public store releases for customer-facing apps.
Back-end API
The .NET web API the app talks to, with versioned endpoints so old installs keep working after a release, or an adapter onto the ERP, HR or ticketing system you already run.
Store assets and documentation
Listing copy and screenshots for both stores, privacy declarations, release notes, and the source repository with build and signing documentation so your team can ship the next version.
Technology and integrations for Android and iOS apps
Native work is Kotlin with Jetpack on Android and Swift with SwiftUI or UIKit on iOS. For shared code we use .NET MAUI, which lets the same C# domain library, sync engine and API client serve Android, iOS and our Windows kiosk applications, with the interface still rendered by native controls. Local data lives in SQLite; the server side is a .NET web API over SQL Server or PostgreSQL, with SignalR for live updates and REST for everything else. Crash and performance telemetry comes from the platform tools and Firebase Crashlytics, and builds are produced by an automated pipeline that signs and uploads to both stores.
The integrations that recur are payment gateways, SMS and WhatsApp messaging providers for tokens and one-time codes, mapping services for field work, HR and ERP systems for staff apps, and our own solutions: the fleet management software for driver and proof-of-delivery apps, and the HR and engagement platforms that give employees a mobile front door. Where an app pairs with hardware, we use the manufacturer's Bluetooth SDK for printers, readers and scanners and keep card data inside the payment device.
What ships with a mobile app
Mobile apps that complete a self-service journey
Each of these apps pairs with a kiosk solution or a platform in our catalogue and shares its back end, which is why we build them together.
Visitor pre-registration and host alerts
Guests register and receive a QR code in advance; hosts get a notification on arrival. The kiosk side is the visitor management kiosk software.
Queue tokens on the phone
Take a token remotely, watch the live position and be called back by push or message, paired with the queue management kiosk and its display boards.
Kiosk technician app
Alerts for paper, cash and connectivity faults, with the fleet map and remote actions from the kiosk management platform in the technician's hand.
Employee HR app
Payslips, leave and shift views for staff who prefer their phone to the employee self-service kiosk, both fronting the same HR platform.
Driver and proof-of-delivery app
Route, scan, photograph and capture a signature offline, syncing to the fleet management back office when the van is back in coverage.
Safety refresher and permit reminders
Expiry reminders and short refresher modules for workers inducted at the safety training kiosk, so certification lapses are caught before the gate.
Engagement, ownership and AMC
Mobile apps are usually delivered as a fixed-scope engagement written against the journeys, integrations and platform constraints recorded in discovery. Additional screens or a new integration after that point are scoped as changes with their own quote. We price each project individually and do not publish rates or timelines, so any figure attributed to us for a phone app has not come from us.
You receive the source for both platforms or the shared MAUI solution, the back-end code, the signing and build documentation and the store assets, and our standard position is that all of it belongs to you. Nothing is built on a proprietary app builder, so the next version can be shipped by your own team or by any Android and iOS app development company you choose later.
After release the app is covered by an annual maintenance contract: operating-system and store policy changes, dependency and SDK updates, fixes from crash reports, and a defined support channel; see software consulting and AMC support. Interface design comes from our UI/UX design team, the API, hosting and pipelines from cloud, DevOps and integration, and a companion browser portal from web application development.
Tell us what the phone should do that the kiosk or the desk cannot
Describe the users, the moments they are offline and the systems the app must talk to, and we will come back with a proposal. Browse our other development services, see the kiosk solutions these apps pair with, or read our mobile engineering notes on the blog.
Frequently asked questions
Related services
iPad & Tablet App Development
iPad, Android-tablet and kiosk-mode tablet apps.
.NET Enterprise Desktop (EXE) Apps
Windows desktop and line-of-business apps in .NET.
Android TV & Smart TV Apps
Android TV and smart-TV apps and signage players.
Cloud, DevOps & Integration
Azure/AWS, CI/CD and API integration.