5 Most Common iOS App Development Challenges In 2024

Mobile app development is no longer a process that is associated with big companies or large corporations. It is no longer a luxury. It has become more of a necessity for businesses to sustain and grow. Especially, iOS apps that have an active and rich user base. For this reason, it is important for businesses to learn about the latest iOS app development challenges.

Owing to the growing popularity of mobile apps, iOS mobile app development services have also grown in demand. Businesses seeking to expand, are looking for the right iOS app development services. But what are these services?   

The iOS app development services involve end-to-end support to build an iOS mobile app. From conceptualization, design, engineering, and optimization to maintenance of the Apple mobile app project, this process covers all the aspects of mobile app development.   

With people spending about 88% of their mobile time on apps, the iOS mobile app development process is a monetarily rewarding endeavor.   

The fact that an average smartphone owner user uses 10 apps per day and 30 apps each month, further reinforces the profitability of a mobile app development process for a business.    

More and more businesses are seeking custom iOS app development and looking for the right iOS app development company to build their iOS app for all the right reasons.   

Custom mobile app development ensures that the business needs are completely catered to. This further optimizes the mobile app development process and the usage of limited business resources. It is a more practical and profitable choice.   

Let’s look at the top 5 reasons a business should seek a custom iOS mobile app.   

Top 5 Reasons For Custom iOS App Development  

Through custom iOS mobile apps, a business gains the following benefits:   

1. Personalization

Since every business has different business goals and target audiences, custom app development facilitates a more personalized user experience.  

A business is able to incorporate features and functionalities specific to its target audience and user base and hence, allow users to have a more relatable iOS app experience.    

2. Customization

Custom iOS app development allows a business to build an app that exactly meets its needs. As a result, the business is able to cater to the needs of its target audience to the fullest using the most suitable functions and features added to the custom iOS app.   

Custom iOS apps have a lot of clarity in terms of market and user requirements and cater to those exact needs. This allows the user to enjoy higher customization.   

3. Better Integration With Existing Or New Software

Custom software or iOS app would be built keeping in mind the company’s current hardware and software. Thus, custom iOS apps are capable of integrating with existing and new software.   

A generic application, on the other hand, might not work well with existing hardware and software.   

4. Enhanced Security

With custom iOS mobile app development, businesses are able to incorporate all the security and privacy provisions and guidelines that it deems resonate with their policies.   

5. High Scalability

Custom iOS applications allow businesses to build apps that are highly scalable as per the business’s present as well as future needs.   

The business gets to choose the complexity, features, and functions that it feels are required for the business growth level at present and keeps room for growth for changing business size in the future. This is not the case with generic iOS apps that are not this scalable.   

After learning the advantages that come with custom iOS application development, let’s now look at the top trends in the iOS app development process. These trends and opportunities would enhance the utility of iOS apps in 2024.   

Let’s now look at some of the challenges that are associated with iOS app development.   

iOS App Development Challenges Faced By Business Owners

Below are the challenges that businesses often face during iOS app development:

1. Finding A Good Business Plan   

One challenge that is often faced during iOS app development is identifying and defining the business plan and project requirements. Any battle is half won if the planning is coherent and communicated amongst all the parties and stakeholders.  

Similarly, an iOS app planning needs to have a product requirements document (PRD). This document comes with 3 sections: business requirements, user requirements, and system requirements.  

The business requirement’s part should be discussed and laid down for a streamlined and unambiguous iOS app development process. A business should define the proto persona, work out the app features, functionalities, and suitable platform, determine the unique value proposition (UVP), and lastly, choose a monetization method.   

A report suggests that 71% of fast-growing companies have business plans for their products or business endeavors.  

While it is impossible to predict the fate of an app with 100% confidence but adopting methods that will increase the likelihood of success, is something completely doable. Creating a coherent business plan is one such method.  

2. Finding A Development Team For It   

An iOS app development team can make or break your iOS app project. It is therefore important for a business to find the right iOS app development team who can cost-effectively turn a business idea into a user’s iOS app for maximum utility.   

The right iOS app developer should have the know-how of the latest iOS technology stack and tools, should be well-versed with Apple guidelines and policies, and should be able to comprehend the business ideas and requirements.   

The development team needs to be on the same page with the business in terms of the project requirements and timelines. Analytical skills and the ability to work with an idea with awareness about what could be added to enhance the quality and usability of the app or what could go wrong, these capabilities should be examined.    

3. Finalise MVP Scope   

the Minimum Viable product or MVP is an integral part of any product development process. It helps the business to test the waters before taking a dip. This is a practical and smart way of recording user reactions and sentiments about the product without going deep into the product development process.   

However, the features to be added to the MVP should be very carefully chosen. It should be a viable product, that offers the true essence of the product to the user and allow them to form an opinion or feel a sentiment around it. This would only make the whole MVP development process fruitful and worth it.   

For this very reason, the MVP features should be categorized into gain and effort. Prioritize all the high-gain features and functionalities with low/high efforts.   

Only pick high efforts features when they are targeting the exact need or issue, or when they are bringing significant sales or virality, only then these features are worth the sweat and tears.     

Our ultimate guide to mobile app launch explains the importance of carefully narrowing down to the most crucial features and functionalities for an MVP would further help you define the scope of your MVP.   

4. Secure Funding    

Another challenge in iOS app development is to secure funding. It relies on a good market reputation, a convincing business/product plan, and an appropriate MVP.   

A report suggests that a business is 2.5x more likely to get funded if it comes with a business plan. A study by the University of Oregon stated that businesses with a plan are far more likely to get funding than those that didn’t have a plan.   

Furthermore, MVP helps business to secure initial funding. With these products, it becomes easier to persuade potential investors and stakeholders that the end product and even the startup are worth investing in. These products reflect the capabilities and vision of the product, and the business itself.   

Therefore, to overcome the challenge of securing funding for your mobile app, go prepared with a robust and clear business plan/pitch, an on-point MVP, and all your convincing power.   

5. Scale To Alpha, Beta, And Full-Scaled Product   

The last challenge in iOS app development is the alpha and beta testing of the iOS product.   

Both these tests are a bit difficult to be carried out for Apple products due to the strict guidelines, and policies and review tests that aim to produce bulletproof products.   

Alpha and Beta testing both can be in TestFlight but in the Alpha testing stage, but since the product would be in a very early stage, it sometimes might not meet the TestFlight requirements. As a result, the process becomes long and tiresome for iOS products.   

For Beta testing, a developer/organization need to search for user and request or invite them to TestFlight manually. Finding interested users, and convincing them to download the TestFlight app, may pose a challenge.   

Android, on the other hand, facilitates internal Alpha and Beta testing and open Beta testing for public testing, all through the Play Store.    

While some challenges can be overcome with more research, good decision-making, and clarity in ideas, some are given challenges that come with the platform. However, these challenges do not outweigh the benefits of building an iOS app for a business.   

Challenges Faced by iOS App Developers- 

1. App Security

We are living in a world where data breaches happen every day. If hackers get access to iOS app information, then it could result in financial loss and break the confidence of users.

That’s why strong iOS app security is important these days.

This is where app developers should tighten their seatbelts by implementing a robust encryption system that will protect the app data from hackers and malware attacks.

When building iOS apps, developers should keep themselves up to date with the latest security threats happening in a business environment.

2. Memory and storage issues  

Another significant challenge that iOS app developers face is dealing with memory and storage constraints.   

Generally, iOS apps do not come with an automatic garbage collection feature and developers have to find ways to manage memory within the app so that memory leaks won’t occur.  

When building an iOS app, developers forget to test the app across various devices because each app version has different storage capacities.  

If an app consumes too much memory, then it would slow down and affect user experience.  

3. Poor Beta testing  

Before releasing the app for beta testing, developers should ensure that the app complies with apple’s strict guidelines.  

Beta testing is an effective way to test the functionality of the app before it goes live. Once you receive feedback from beta users, you can improve the app’s performance. 

NO BETA TESTING means that some of the bugs go unnoticed which affects the user experience.  

Then, users are more likely to post negative reviews on the app store which will restrict other users from downloading the app.  

4. UI & UX designs  

Apple requires developers to create apps that comply with Apple’s human interface guidelines.  

Users prefer to choose Apple because of its sleek and minimalistic design. Apple customers want user-friendly and visually appealing iOS apps.  

This is where developers struggle to meet Apple guidelines or provide a simple yet engaging app interface to users. Failure to comply with high standard guidelines set by Apple results in the rejection of an app during the review process. 

If developers ignore user needs and preferences, they will end up creating a product that no one likes. 

5. Maintenance of code quality  

IOS app developers need to write clean code especially when they keep on adding more features and functionalities to the app. That’s why you need to adhere to coding standards to write high-quality code.  

If you neglect coding standards, it might result in issues related to the security and performance of the app. 

Also Read: iOS App Performance- Tricks And Tips

How BigOhTech Can Help In Solving Such Challenges?   

As a secure, reliable, and utility-generating mobile app development company, BigOhTech offers iOS app development services that allow businesses to publish an app on the App Store seamlessly.   

Our dedicated development team and IT consultation experts collectively analyzes your business ideas and helps a business understand the feasibility and viability of its idea. Moreover, we suggest the most appropriate and profitable technology stack, tools, and integrations, considering the functionality of the iOS app.   

Moreover, we are adept at integrating emerging technologies like AR/VR, and AI/ML. IoT, Blockchain, etc., into your iOS apps and making them more modern and sought-after.   

Our very skilled iOS developers are well versed and have experience of 7+ years in publishing iOS apps with multiple features while meeting the Apple design guidelines and privacy policies. Following the standards of Apple Human Interface Guidelines (HIG) and abiding by Apple’s policies, we have created more than 100 successful results.   

From iOS ideation, planning, and engineering to testing and Maintenace, we help businesses overcome all the iOS app development challenges.   

Not just that, we ensure their product pass the market test with flying colors!   

So, why wait? Come, collaborate with us, and warmly welcome iOS users to your target audience group.

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