Business Guide on Mobile App Development Technology Stack for 2024

There are over 5.7 million mobile applications on the App Store and Google Play Store. The global mobile app revenue reached $133 by 2021 and was estimated to grow up to $170 by the end of 2022.

Year	Total App Revenue (in billions USD)	IOS App Revenue	Google Play App Revenue
2016	$43.50	$28.60	$15
2017	$58.10	$38.50	$21.20
2018	$71.30	$46.60	$24.80
2019	$89	$58.40	$30.60
2020	$111	$72.30	$38.60
2021	$133	$85.10	$47.90

Clearly, the market is growing. Besides, the level of Internet connection reaches 5G and beyond and the quality and capacity of mobile devices improves year after year. But so do user requirements. A good idea for an app isn’t enough nowadays. It has to be lighting-fast, highly intuitive and responsive, update regularly and quickly, and have no bugs.

How to achieve that? The first step should be choosing the right technology stack.

The topic of app development tech stack choice isn’t as popular as it should be in business guides. It’s usually marketing and user experience, not the tech that’s behind the application.

So, in this article, we at ProCoders want to highlight the importance of this underappreciated decision. Because, you know, if you choose the wrong stack, you may encounter issues during the development and future updating processes, not to mention financial losses and reputation destruction.

So, what are the potential losses, financial and other, of choosing the wrong stack?  If you don’t want to redevelop your app in the future, you need our business guide on the choice of tech stack for app development.

Key features:

• Choosing the right mobile app development technology stack ensures you have a speedy application with first-rate UX, which results in more customers and higher ROI, which equals product value.
• A naive Android app tech stack usually includes Java and Kotlin programming languages, as well as toolkits such as Android Studio and Android Developer Services.
• A native iOS app tech stack usually includes Objective-C or Swift languages, as well as AppCode and Xcode toolkits.
• Cross-platform solutions offer more flexibility and allow for working on a lower budget. The tech stack for such an app includes React Native, Flutter, and Xamarin.
• Another low budget option is hybrid applications that have more limitations but are still widely used. The tech stack for them includes Cordova and Ionic.
• To choose a proper tech set for your mobile application, you have to consider business scale and solution needs. For a startup MVP, the cross-platform method suits the best. For an already successful business, native app development may be the top choice, while for a pre-seed startup’s first non-scalable MVP, the hybrid model will work just well.
• Choosing a technology stack is no easy task, as there are dozens of factors to consider. You may need professional help from qualified technical specialists with experience in your industry. 

How Choosing the Right Tech Stack for Mobile App Development Influences Product Value?

Picking a proper mobile application technology stack is like fitting a piece into a puzzle. You can potentially fit in the wrong piece, but the puzzle will look not wholesome, faulty, and non-satisfactory. For example, when creating a mobile banking app, you have to choose between native or cross-platform development because one may make the project go over the budget, while other may have limitations on one or another platform.

What are your priorities?

The right set will:

• Make sure the design and performance match your audience.
  People need fast, intuitive, beautiful, and functional apps. By meeting their requirements with a modern mobile technology stack, you attract more potential customers and create a reputation. The market is pretty competitive, so doing “good” isn’t enough.
• Make your app almost eternal.
  Picking a stack that will stick around will make it easier to update the app, accommodating it for the new requirements of the market. Also, not all systems are possible to migrate if something happens, so it’s better to make a safe choice beforehand.
• Increase revenue.
  People are ready to pay for quality and speed. High-end UX will ensure you get a steady ROI for a long time.

In this article, we’re going to see what the best tech stack for mobile app development is, according to your requirements. We’ll focus on business features, not just the technical ones because the two are tightly connected.

Native Application Development Tech Stacks

Native app development means you create an application for a specific OS like Android or iOS. It was considered the most wholesome, secure approach from the technical point of view, but from the business point of view, there are drawbacks.

First of all, you have to create two different applications if you want to cater to both iPhone and Android phone users, which automatically doubles the investment. Plus, when it comes to adding new features and upgrading the apps, you’ll have to pay twice as well. So, you’ll definitely have to hire app developers for both programs.

Nevertheless, many businesses still choose this technique, due to the fact that their target audience uses one platform more than the other.

That’s why we’ll overview all kinds of mobile app tech stack, including native development for Android and iOS. 

Android App Technology Stack

When it comes to technology stack for Android app development, ProCoders recommends:

Programming languages – Java and Kotlin

Java has been around for ages and remains one of the most popular programming languages that make your apps suitable for any device with Java support. It’s best for enterprise-level development.

Kotlin is a cross-platform language that was launched as the one for Android use. Google recommends it as one of the top choices for tech stack for Android app as it’s secure and even stronger than Java.

Toolkit – Android Studio and ADT (Android Developer Tools)

Android Studio is an environment that speeds up the development of applications for all devices supporting this OS. It enhances the speed and  flexibility of engineering with its built-in templates and a smart editor for code.

Android Developer Tools is a compilation of APIs, libraries, an emulator, samples, and a debugger. It’s similar to the Studio, but also provides test automation support, while AS provides space for the whole development process.

UI – Android UI or Jetpack Compose

Android UI is full of stylish and functional templates that will save time and money. Jetpack Compose is a more innovative solution where developers can describe the elements to an algorithm to make them dynamic.

iOS App Tech Stack

The tech stack for iOS app often looks like this:

• Programming languages – Objective-C and Swift.
  Objective-C is a highly flexible language for OS X and iOS mobile apps. It can be used to create new apps or upgrade existing ones. It’s a tried-and-tested language with multifunctional 3rd-party libraries and great C-type language compatibility.
  
  Swift was developed as a replacement for C-based programming languages. It’s fast, efficient, and highly readable, sometimes even compared to English due to its intuitive build. It’s safer in terms of errors and has a growing community.
  
• Toolkit – AppCode and Xcode.
  iOS SDK includes an iPhone simulator, various frameworks, APIs, Xcode IDE, and other instruments. In a combination with Xcode, the kit enables developers to build a technology stack for iOS app development that includes official languages like Swift and Objective-C. AppCode is an open-source 3rd-party toolkit similar to Xcode; it has community support but still relies on Xcode a lot.
  
• UI – SwiftUI and UIKit.
  SwiftUI is a very fresh framework launched in 2019. It offers a faster and more productive way of creating wholesome UIs. UIKit is the main framework at the moment, with templates that help save time and make iOS apps more appealing.

But what if you don’t want to build two separate apps, yet you want to cover both markets (iOS and Android users)? There are two ways to go then: cross-platform and hybrid development. We’ll overview both.

Technology Stack for Cross-Platform Applications

Cross-platform development offers you to build an app that would work with multiple OS. ProCoders often recommends such an app development tech stack because it’s flexible, time-saving, and cost-effective.

When you need a universal application quickly, cross-platform is the way to go. Besides, the user experience and security levels of this approach are almost as high as those of native development, and you cut building time and costs in half.

The technologies we overview below are also suitable for emergent technologies integration, including AI and blockchain which already help many projects attract more customers. Blockchain can be used for secure deals, documentation exchange, etc., while AI has been used for several years already as a part of smart customer support chats.

Flutter

Flutter is a Google SDK created for:

• Android
• Google Fuchsia
• iOS and Mac
• Linux
• Windows
• Web development

So, by including Flutter in your mobile development technology stack, you can use one code for any of these platforms. It’s also an optimal choice if you want to shorten the time to market, as the building process is speedy and solid, as well as bug fixes and new feature detection.

By the way, you can hire Flutter developers through ProCoders and get a flexible UI for your next mobile application for an adequate price.

Xamarin

A Microsoft-built platform offers native-like applications for:

• Android
• iOS
• Windows

The framework utilizes .NET and C#, with 96% of its code being reusable. It allows for both MVVM and MVC design and is debugging-friendly. It’s also heavily supported by its community, which means it’s a stable modern platform.

React Native

React Native is a JavaScript framework used to create solutions for:

• Android
• iOS
• Web
• Universal Windows Platform (UWP)

Applications built with the use of the framework work with native APIs, which enables you to create outstanding functionality for mobile and web services. React Native is used when the project needs an intuitive user interface and high responsiveness.

The framework has a large community, which means your developers will always have support and it won’t be difficult to scale and upgrade your future app, improving performance and drawing more customers.

You can hire React Native developers through ProCoders, as many clients come to us for this type of apps, even not knowingly. There are many businesses with amazing, ambitious ideas and limited budgets.

And cross-platform tech stacks for application development are a great choice for them due to their relatively low costs and high adaptability. But there’s one more way to bring a native app to your audience without having to create one.

Tech Stack for Hybrid Apps

Hybrid app development implies a mix of web and native apps. This approach allows you to create a web solution and hide it in the case of a native application. It opens in a browser within the latter, which can be WebView in the case of Android and WKWebView in the case of iOS.

It’s a more cost-effective version than building two natives and also a time-saver. However, it may be difficult to adjust performance and create a high-quality UX that would match that of a native solution.

The technology stack for mobile application using the hybrid model is the following.

Apache Cordova

Apache Cordova is a framework that uses the most commonly known languages such as:

• HTML
• CSS
• JavaScript

The special feature of Cordova is its ability to encase the written code in a native box for different platforms, which means one code can run on multiple OS. The framework contains plugins that enable engineers to build in features that will access the sensors, cameras, file systems, GPS, and other functions and storage of devices where the app is running.

Ionic

Ionic is an open-source SDK for hybrid and cross-platform apps for mobile, web, and desktop. It uses AngularJS as a base for core functions, which allows for the quick and easy addition of essential features like push notifications and analytics.

You can integrate the kit with Angular, Vue, and React frameworks and use a CLI (command-line interface) built using Node.js.

Additional Tech for Your Mobile App

Here are some additional technologies you may need:

• You will need a database to store the registered user data of the service and maintain a proper build. You can use Mongo or MySQL, which is the most popular database at the moment.
• You can also choose cloud computing and storage, for which Amazon Web Server (AWS) or Google Cloud.
• Another important aspect is crash analytics software that will help your development team identify bugs and other app problems and fix them before launch. Some great options for analysis are Firebase Crashlytics and Firebase Analytics, Google Analytics, Amplitude Analytics & Crash Analysis (for App Store and other platforms, except Google Play).
• Payment platforms such as PayPal, Stripe, and GPay will be necessary if you want to monetize the app through subscriptions, eShop, etc.
• Integrations for social login such as Google, Apple, and Facebook have to be in your kit.
• Map integrations – Google Maps.

While the main stack consists of front end, back end, database, and other components, additional software is just as important when it comes to creating an appealing user experience.

So, you can see, there are various great technologies out there that can even provide a native app without your team building one. But how to choose a proper Android and/or iOS app technology stack? 

How To Choose the Mobile Technology Stack?

When choosing the technology stack for app development, you have to keep in mind the scale of your business and evaluate the requirements and resources you have realistically. There’s no need to use the most powerful, rare technologies if you need a non-scalable MVP with basic features.

And when you build a massive app with upscaling opportunities, the cheapest mobile tech stack may only cause problems with acquiring customers due to poor performance.

Startup MVP

For a startup’s MVP for an event app, for example, ProCoders recommends cross-platform development. Thus, you’ll save on time and cost, launching a high-quality basic app with the possibility of upscaling.

React Native and Flutter frameworks are decent choices as they are easy to scale later and can provide the features of a native app at half the time and cost. The pool of talent is vast and reliable if you pick the right channels. 

However, you have to make the decision after consulting with professionals on the needs of your project, its plans for the future, current business requirements, and more. Apply to ProCoders Discovery Phase if you want the most suitable tech stack. We’ll review the details and will be able to choose the most filling development strategy and tech stack for it.

Mobile app for a successful business

If you have a successful business and look into going digital as well, native or cross-platform tech stacks will fit. The final choice depends on the budget and the features you need. If you want a fast app with first-class UX and lots of complex features, go for native. And if you want a cost-effective project that launches as soon as possible, tolerating a bit slower speed, cross-platform is the way to go.

Native apps have a lot of benefits, including:

• Faster speed due to fewer software layers needed to run the app
• They work offline except for the specific online features
• They are the most secure yet

However, you will need to develop two separate solutions, which will take a toll on your budget.

The next best thing is cross-platform development with React Native, for example. This solution offers pros like:

• Smaller team needs due to having one stack for all platforms
• Simple and fast development (aka time to market)

React Native is a wonderful choice if you want to incorporate IoT technologies into your application for higher speed, accuracy, and security. 

For example, we’ve partnered with Roth River, using React Native to create an app for bourbon distillation control. The framework allowed for IoT integration for data tracking accuracy.

The decision as to the best technology stack for mobile app development depends on many factors such as the app’s scalability, the time to market and budget you expect, the stage the project is on at the moment, and more.

Pre-seed startup with non-scalable MVP

The main problem for pre-seed startup MVPs is the cost of application engineering. The cheapest option available is hybrid development. It’s a bit more restricted than cross-platform, but if you need a very basic yet efficient project with no plans for future upscaling, this approach will help you save a lot of money.

The salaries of hybrid developers are lower than those of the other two methods, the time of development is quick, and the resulting app will look just like a native one, only it will work a bit slower and the features will be limited.

But for the general functions a startup MVP usually needs (which depend on the industry you’re in), hybrid tools work just fine.

What Mobile App Development Technology Stack Do We Use at ProCoders?

We mostly use cross-platform tech stacks based on React Native and Flutter for mobile applications. ProCoders’ specialists find them the most efficient in all terms. One app may take around 4 months to build, which isn’t that much given what the market offers. Plus, there are many templates and code samples available, which saves you time and money.

Many companies come to us with lists of requirements that include budget limitations, especially young businesses. It doesn’t seem productive to spend a ton of money on an app that may not pay off.

That’s why we do everything possible to create a stack that would meet your financial and functional standards.

ProCoders offers skilled professionals services to build apps from scratch to launch. This means we provide:

• Front end
• Back end
• Mobile app
• Cloud computing

So, you can collaborate with us to create the whole application. That being said, we are an outstaffing company with a vast pool of various talents. So, we can find specialists with any skills and any stack. It can be a dedicated team to create the front end, back end, connect APIs, and test the solution. Or it may be one QA specialist, a designer, or a middle/senior React Native expert.

To find out what set you need, consider applying to our Discovery Phase.

There, we look into the details of your project and see what technologies are necessary to achieve your business goals. It can be either cost-efficiency or specific time to market, aside from high quality.

Conclusion

The choice of a tech stack is responsible for at least a third of your success. Your mobile solution may need to be:

• Fast
• Highly functional
• Offering superior UX
• Run on all smartphones
• Cost-efficient
• Fast to build and launch
• Easy to upscale and upgrade, etc.

And all of this is reflected in the technology your team uses to build it.

You can choose native app development when you have a large budget and time and need superior, the fastest applications for both iOS and Android. 

There’s also an option of cross-platform development with Flutter or React Native. It will save you money and time without damaging the speed and user experience too much. The tech stacks for cross-platform are almost as good as native, yet the code is reusable for both Android and iOS.

And finally, you can opt for hybrid development if you own a startup with a tight budget and don’t put all the hopes for UX. Hybrid apps are decent and efficient if built properly, although some functions may be limited.

To pick the right option, you need professional help. We at ProCoders often encourage our customers to go for cross-platform development, but we won’t recommend something without knowing all the details about your project. 

That’s why we offer you to apply to our Discovery Phase if you don’t have a clear idea of the project’s needs and requirements (or if you have that but have no idea what tech to use). We will study the info you provide based on our experience, and provide a properly organized development plan.