Types of mobile apps that can be developed

There are many different kinds of apps you can develop. This goes beyond the categories that Apple groups the apps into. Often it's hard to pick one category that identifies your apps and specifically for this reason Apple allows you to select two of them (more if you're dealing with games). From a development point of view, you can divide apps into 6 types:

• Basic table functionality  – think about this as a hierarchy: opening screen has big topics and you click one and you now have a set of new lists to click on which let you view detail sections. The email in the iPhone is a good example of this. Definitely the easiest to build and design and a good option for businesses who want a “simple” app that displays basic information. It's very possible to make table based apps work with a good iphone app designer. You might also include apps which use a database (wither local or remote) and display data with a predefined criteria such as SkinCare app.

 

• Games – These have the largest range of complexity, starting with something as simple as a PONG type functionality (think of Atari) all the way up to a 3D physics engine that does high speed air racing (think of something like Coin Toss Extreme or Gangstar Rio. Scoring points, incorporating the user experience through the physical movement of the device, and hooking into Game Center are all possible. The line to be drawn here is usually if and which frameworks or engines will be used; be very careful when deciding who will develop your game. If it will require 3d or a an engine you will definitely need an agency specilising in games for iOS.

• Enhancement or modification of the device firmware or hardware – This means that you take certain functions of the phone, such as the alarm, camera, or flash, and make it better. One of my favorite examples of this is the Camera+ app that adds filters to any pictures you take on your phone. Obviously on iPhone you will not be able to directly change but rather recreate it and then enhance it.

• Fully dynamic apps – Similar to the database driven apps, these apps are the kind that rely purely on external information – Twitter, Weather Channel, MyLyrics or Flipboard. Odds are the app is a "window" and the heavy lifting of data (both input and output( takes place on the server.

• Custom utilities - These are apps that are geared towards allowing the user to input content in a specific way or "do" something specific such as Pages, Adobe Ideas or Numbers.

• Everything else – I'm sure there are some apps out there that are completely unique, but I would say the list above covers 95% of what's in the store today.

I usually spend a lot of time with clients "just" talking. As a consultant (and developer) it is essential for me, the expert, to understand what the client wants to get out of the app. Apps need to be seen as tools, medium to accomplish the desired outcome. 
I like to see it as a cocktail recipe. First I need to gather any piece of information I can regarding available assets (ingredients), time & money and acceptable kinds of return on investment (tastes).

Back to Blog