Some of the Best iOS Tools for Developers

According to the latest smartphone sales data, for the fourth quarter of 2014, released by Kantar Worldpanel ComTech, “Apple’s share of sales grew across the US, Europe and China during the important Christmas period, driven by a strong portfolio of devices.” The recent decline in Android’s market share will encourage more and more businesses to invest in iOS application development. The developers can use the tools and interface provided by iOS SDK to create, install, run and test native apps from iPhone, iPad and iPod touch devices. However, the iOS application developers still need some killer tools to increase their productivity and development quality.

7 Killer Tools for iOS App Developers

1) Alcatraz: As an open source package manager for Xcode, Alcatraz makes it easier for iOS programmers to discover and install templates, plug-ins and color schemes. The installation can be further completed without copying or cloning the files manually. As Alcatraz is installed as part of Xcode, the developers can easily select from a variety of add-ons simply by launching the package manager.

2) CocoaPods: CocoaPods is a widely used dependency manager for Cocoa and Objective-C projects. The thousands of libraries provided by CocoaPods make it easier for iOS developers to scale their projects. Along with being built with Ruby, CocoaPods can also be installed using the default Ruby available on OS X. So the developers can avail a variety of libraries to scale their projects without putting any extra time and effort.

3) FontasticIcons: As its name indicates, IOS developers can use the tool as an Objective-C wrapper for iconic fonts. After installing CocoaPods, FontasticIcons can be used in the Xcode project. FontasticIcons makes it easier for programmers to reap the benefits of iconic fonts in a manner similar to CSS in website designing. They can use the tool to easily change an icon’s size, shape, color and opacity. The tool further helps them in optimizing the icons for the high resolution displays of iOS devices.

4) Prepo: Prepo makes it easier and simpler for iOS developers to create icons and artwork. It’s simple user interface and drag-and-drop feature further enable developers to create high resolution icons and artwork quickly. Prepo allows users to export IOS icons at correct sizes and in one go. The users can further preview the icons both locally and remotely.

5) AppCode: AppCode is designed with features to provide advanced coding assistance to iOS programmers. It supports both basic and advanced code completion. When the programmer starts using a new class, AppCode with automatically suggest the corresponding imports. It can further adjust the code formatting options from a file, directory or code fragment based on the developer’s preference. The developers can use simple shortcuts to create a variety of code constructs.

6) Indigo Studio: As a rapid prototyping tools, Indigo Studio helps iOS programmers to not write and rewrite code unnecessarily. They can use the tool to design and experience the iOS app before writing the code. Indigo Studio comes with features to design animated and functional user interface prototypes, while focusing on the user experience at each step. The tool can even be used by the designers without development skills.

7) PaintCode 2: The iOS app developers can use PaintCode 2 to turn their drawings into Swift, Objective-C, or C# Xamarin code. The clean and readable code generated by the tool can be further copied directly into the project. The programmers can further use the vector drawing tools provided by PaintCode 2 to easily design icons, controls and other graphic elements. At the same time, they also have option to use their existing vector images simply by importing the SVG and PSD files.

On the whole, the iPhone apps developers have option to choose from a large number of tools according to the project’s specific needs. However, it is always important for them to check if the tools are updated for the most recent version of Apple’s mobile operating systems.

To know more about our expertise in iOS App programmer team. If you would like to discuss with a certified iOS App developer from our team, please get in touch with us at Mindfire Solutions.

Few Tips to Effectively Develop Apps on iOS8 Platform

Apple is the game changer in the smart devices with its flagship products like iPod, iPad and iPhone. All its devices run on its own iOS operating system. Well there are many other players in the market in smart phone industry like Google’s Android and Microsoft’s windows but apple has its very respectable place in the industry. You will find many manufacturers producing smart phones and tablets for Android operating system or windows 8.1 smart operating systems. But there is no single manufacturer except apple (itself) that produces different devices for iOS. Well it seems as if apple plays a monopoly game in the industry; but the fact is different. In fact, apple doesn’t like to take any sort of risk for the quality related issues for its users. Hence it produces both its operating system and devices for its esteemed customers. Recently it launched its latest and ambitious IOS 8 along with few new devices like iPhone6, Apple watch to cope with the latest version. This time iOS developers have some new challenge to develop apps for IOS 8 platform. Let us discuss those points.

Efficient management of Screen resolutions: iPhone6 has a larger display than all its previous versions and hence this will definitely create some trouble for the iOS developers to make their apps run smoothly on the latest version. Now he has to consider the new screen resolution of the iPhone 6 devices for his app. Well it is not a very tough task for iOS developer but still we have to mention it as the basic precaution for the iOS8 development process.

Learn Split View Controller: In iOS8 there is a split view controller feature in the operating system and every iOS developer must learn and integrate this in their app. It will help in keeping two view controls side by side within the screen resolution of the device. This will improve the user experience of the application to a large extent. It is extremely important when we think about different angles of view of an application in horizontal and vertical manner. Hence as a good iOS developer, you must learn how to take the advantage of split view controller in your app.

New HealthKit and Apple watch can be integrated to your app: With the latest iOS8, Apple has shown some highly ambitious products for the future like Apple watch and health kit. The new device will ensure that the user is not only get the virtual benefit from iOS8 through different apps but also they can get some health tips and calculate some health related parameters like kilo calories energy burned, distance travelled etc through the Apple watch device. As an iOS developer, you can take the data of those devices to make your app even more interesting and useful by integrating those data in your app.

You can take a twist with Apple Pay: Apple pay is yet another adventure from apple to a move towards virtual credit cards and virtual money within a secure environment from apple. Though it is not yet established and has not gained that much market penetration in the industry still you should integrate the Apple pay in your app in order to encourage this kind of innovative ideas! If you are planning to hire service of iPhone app development company India, you must evaluate them to see if they are sufficiently agile or not!

We provide offshore iPhone app development services. If you would like to discuss with a certified iPhone app developer India from our team, please get in touch with us at Mindfire Solutions.

Developing iPhone App for businesses - How has the demand grown?

Recently, iPhone Application Development has become quite an aggressive trend, triggering competition between software development and IT companies, with each trying to cater best to the growing demands of the people. 80% of the mobile app development industry has been covered by iPhone; new heights are being achieved with more applications being launched each day so that the companies can tap into this market.

The very perception of mobile devices has been changed due to the popularity of iPhone apps which are dynamic as well as stunning in nature. There are a number of advanced features for the apps like Notification centre, iCloud, Retina display, etc which may be given credits for the extreme popularity. Even businesses can gain immensely through the development as well as use of these applications.

Benefits of such development

Ease of usage- Most of the apps are extremely easy to use, making the entire experience really enjoyable. The company app will become more desirable for usage when compared to the normal traditional methods used for acquiring of your services or products. If the customer enjoys the usage then only you can expect the relationship to improve which will translate to better sales.

Instant gratification- Everyone loves to receive quick service. With such apps you will be there whenever your customer needs you. In fact your target audience will receive your brand message. You will also be able to gain an edge over your competitors in the market by attracting visitors online.

Increasing revenues- The main aim of any business is to make money. An app that is well designed will come with better ways so that your profits can be increased. Generally the apps contain things that relate the best of your business, thus introducing new ways of generating revenue in the long run.

Attracting customers- In any business, the key in producing more sales is through attracting brand new customers to make them aware of the advantages of the products generated by you. Will well-developed apps, the services can be advertised by the company to the ever-increasing tech savvy crowd. This will also act as an innovative method of presenting your company to everybody, helping with the brand recognition of the company.

Establishing direct communication- Instant and direct communication is established with the customers through these apps. This enables you cater to their various needs 24x7.

Security of software as well as firmware- A huge concern as well as risk associated with any business that wants to go mobile is ensuring the safety of its enterprise data. The development of iPhone applications ensures that hacking as well intrusion of sensitive data is prevented through features like measures taken against data duplication, integrated systems for data handling and measures taken against loss of data encryption as well as security.

The speedy growth of mobile device market has led to the demand of mobile application developers as well. A number of employment opportunities are being created with the rapid growth and popularity for both freelance as well as corporate developers. In fact, according to recruiters, the supply for talented as well as skilled developers is far short of the demand. The demand in the job market is expected to further increase which will result in the creation of a lot more new positions.

Apple’s best capitalizing thing is its capability of monetizing the applications better than almost any platform- the profit figures of the giant is a living proof of that. Majority of the applications may be free but the advertisements featured there generate plenty of revenues. Thus, iPhone app development for businesses is quite a profitable endeavour which can be said to be the reason behind its rapid growth. To get maximum benefits of iPhone apps, you may consider hiring services of a iPhone apps development company.

We provide iPhone app development services. If you would like to hire iPhone developers for your projects, please contact us at Mindfire Solutions.

Is Your iPhone App Eye-Catching and Viral Material?

Hint: What does it take to build a successful iPhone app?
Many companies launch at regular intervals to target the huge base of iPhone users. Some developers also constantly upgrade their existing apps to stand out in the crowded app market. But a report posted on Entrepreneur.com highlighted that most apps lose 76 percent of their consumers after the first three months of use. So despite investing a huge amount of time, money and planning, companies often fail to develop a base of loyal users. The inability to attract loyal users also result in a decline in the revenues streams from various sources.

To quote from an interview given by Mr.Todd DiPaola, president of inMarket, a network with over 20 million users, "Building an app is like building a house. You need to put time into thinking about what the rooms are going to look like before you start building." So the key to build viral iPhone app is attention to details. However, the app also needs to be promoted on several popular platforms to catch the attention of iPhone users, and seduce them to try the free or trial version.

Apple requires developers to meet certain technical criteria while making apps that will run its iOS mobile operating system. You also have options to develop apps compatible with iPhone, iPad and iPod touch. But you must concentrate on some key points to target the right users, and build a base of loyal users in a short span of time. It is also important for an app developer to observe the key features of some of the viral iPhone apps, and develop his app by using some of these ideas.

What Makes an iPhone App Go Viral?

Stellar Icon: Most users love to check iPhone apps with appealing and graphical icons. So your choice of icon will have a direct impact on the initial popularity of the app. Based on the nature of your app, you can pick a stellar icon by gathering information and tips from several sources. The social media has further made it easier for you to decide the graphical icon based on outcome of an online survey.

Appealing Copy: Many users decide about downloading a specific app only after reading its description. So the way an iPhone app is described will also have an effect on its popularity. Similar to other ad copies, you must make innovative copies for the app to impress and excite the prospective users. While explaining the features and specifications of the app, you must present the data in a bulleted format. Also, you must include the user reviews to add credibility to your claims. The description must be followed through a direct call to action encourage users to download the apps right away.

Landing Page Optimization: Nowadays, most users initiate web search to gather information about specialized iPhone apps. So you must optimize your landing page to get more users through major online search engines. The landing page must contain the relevant keywords and key phrases to appear at the top of search engine result pages. Also, you can consider specific SEO methods the increase the search engine ranking of the landing page, and make the app viral.

Submission of App for Review: The reviews often add credibility to a newly launched app. Many users even decide about using a specific iPhone app, only after reading the reviews posted on various websites. So you must submit the app to several popular website, where it can be reviewed by the editorial staff. If you have launched a paid app, the editorial staff will need promo codes to access and review apps. You can even distribute promo code among the readers as an initial promotional offer.

Promotional Campaign: Your iPhone app must be promoted on popular online platforms to attract the large number of Apple device users. You can develop and distribute content to highlight various aspects of the application. Along with approaching professional tech bloggers to write articles or blogs on the app, you can also consider promoting the content through guest posting. Similarly, you can make and post a slideshare presentation to highlight the features and benefits of the app in a concise and stylish manner. At the same time, the app also needs to be promoted on popular social networking platforms. You can use your Facebook page to start promoting the app even before its market launch.

High User Rating: Many users even decide about downloading the app after checking its user ratings. A higher user rating also indicates the simple and easy-to-use features of the iPhone app. So you must encourage users to rate the app to enhance its credibility and popularity. At the same time, you also need to concentrate on increasing the app ranking in the app store. Normally, the app ranking is determined based on the number of downloads. You must try to include the app in top 100 to beat your competitors.

The popularity of an iPhone app depends on a number of factors. But you must prepare a comprehensive strategy to develop an innovative way, and promote it through a robust digital marketing campaign. Based on the initial response and feedback of users, you have to update the app regular intervals to attract new users, and retain existing users. Indeed this makes the search for an expert iPhone app development company very challenging.

We provide iPhone App development services. To know what makes us expert iPhone App developers, please visit us at Mindfire Solutions.