Top 22 iOS Developers Skills to Look for Before Hiring
The realm of excellent iOS app development has taken a spiral upwards. The Apple App Store offers 2.2 billion apps. Statistics reveal that viewers spend a high amount of time on the App Store.
Ease of development, high profits, unified UI, and a minimal design approach are compelling reasons that push the extensive development of iOS apps.
Clubhouse, the famous audio-only social media platform was only available for download on Apple devices. The users had to send an invitation to use the app. The live audio app was highly popular amongst the people after tycoons like Elon Musk appeared on live audio.
In the last five years, the US mobile app developers market size and economy have increased. We can take this as an example.
The employment sector has seen a sharp increase in iOS development as due to the COVID-19 pandemic the demand for medical devices, health apps, E-learning, etc., has increased significantly. Those who are interested in the software development industry and are willing to invest their time and effort will definitely have promising careers.
So if you’re looking to build the next highly popular iOS apps and capture the market, you’re going to have a tough time searching for the person with senior ios developer skills because the benchmark needs to be matched when you enter any market.
Choosing the right iOS developer and the skills required for ios developer becomes crucial because if you don’t have the right proficient development team,
- You may take more time to launch your iOS apps
- Your app may lack the features due to the lack of innovative thinking skills and experience of the iOS developers
- Ultimately, you may fail in your business
When hiring iOS developers, it is important to check the hiring process of iOS app developers as well as the iOS developer required key skills with core competency, robust knowledge, and expertise.
How to Become an iOS Developer?
This question needs a little bit of research and finding out the ios developer required skills list. This list should be a compilation of different skills required to become an iOS developer and it is precise enough to give you an idea to get a job or build your iOS apps.
Here are some of the top technical skills for ios developers that a recruiter should look for in a senior iOS developer.
16 Technical Skills Your iOS Developer Must Have
1. Proficiency in Xcode and Interface Builder: This is one of the popular and important ios development skills For one to be a skilled iOS app developer, one must add proficiency in XCode as a primary object to offer a majestic user experience.
With the right knowledge of interface building, a professional combines it with the Cocoa Touch framework that has developed apps for several platforms. Therefore, it encourages a developer to allow several Apple services like Game Changer, Passbook, etc.
2. Knowledge about Auto Layout:
Another important aspect of being an iOS app developer is not only the knowledge of coding but to having an in-depth knowledge of Auto layout, which allows the developers to create a user interface by establishing a relationship between elements.
To get incredible control over layout with wider customization so as to get the perfect interface, the Auto layout is a must. Being such a fantastic tool, Auto layout performs actions that could not be imagined earlier.
3. Knowledge of Containers and Storyboards: With the right knowledge of containers and Storyboard, an iOS app developer will make your app look easy to operate with their app developer skills.
Be it fixing small bugs or dividing complex navigation flow into manageable sub-flows, the right knowledge of the storyboard feature immediately shows the results of the actions.
4. Knowledge of Table Views: Being a user, you might have a raw knowledge about table views, but it is more versatile than one can imagine.
When your iOS app developer has the right idea about the table view, you will understand that it offers an altogether different look to an otherwise boring interface.
5. Skilled in databases: The iOS development framework revolves around different databases. It is important for iOS developers to brush their ios developer skills on the most common databases.
Some of the popular databases that are deployed in iOS development are Realm, SQLite, and Core Data.
6. Practical knowledge about Networking: For the one who is not familiar with JSON that is JavaScript Object Notation, which is the most common data format, scoring your dream job of being an iOS developer can be quite a task.
7. Practical knowledge of Swift 3.0 programming language: Swift 3.0 is the most favored language used in iOS app development. One should be as efficient in Swift 3.0 as a cricketer is in catching a ball.
Perfect knowledge of the Syntax, inheritance, classes, and switch statements at a beginner level will give you an upper hand over your competitors.
8. Spatial Reasoning Ability: Spatial reasoning ability is the main prerequisite for application development. All the apps are created bearing in mind the perspective of the user.
How will the user use that specific app? This is another important consideration of mobile developer skills needed when you search for developers. Brainstorm to get all the essential facts and parameters to provide an unparalleled user experience.
If you think from the user’s viewpoint, you will be able to design a more intuitive interface and compute better functionalities. Being a developer, it’s your ultimate responsibility to design a profitable and productive app.
9. Knowledge of Design Guidelines: Your iOS app will catch the attention of the users only when it is highly intuitive. The reason is their strict adherence to the design guidelines.
A highly skilled professional knows how to exactly handle and display the data to the audience. So, the knowledge of the designing guidelines is a must for intuitive iOS applications.
10. Proficiency in Grand Central Dispatch: If you wish to run multiple tasks simultaneously and without any hindrance, GCD or Grand Central dispatch allows you to add concurrency to the apps.
As iOS applications perform multiple tasks at the same time that include pulling data from the network, displaying relevant information on the screen, reading touch inputs, and a lot more, running all these at the same time can be quite stressful on the handset.
This might lead to slowing down of the phone or even crashing. Concurrent programming from the developer’s end will prevent a crash and improve the user experience.
11. Hands-on experience with the Integration of Data Assets:
Data is the most important entity when assessing experienced ios developer skills. Data integration offers robust ways to use all the available data to ensure the right application development.
The iOS developers must have sound experience of working with different data integration systems. He/she must have a deep understanding of data capability models, data roles, and data governance.
12. Knowledge of Integration with Third-party APIs: Not relying on third-party apps will make the task for iOS app development an easy task. This can speed up the development cycle to a large extent.
Also, one can choose the ones that are well tested and that get updated and maintained consistently.
13. Experience in Unit Testing: Working with the team of developers one realizes that multiple developers submit their codes one over the other on a single project and this might lead to breaking of functionality. And to discover a broken functionality late, and unraveling it can be a nightmare.
So, for being a professional developer one must be well acquainted with these iOS mobile app development skills to create a test suite for validating the functionality of the app.
14. Skilled in Source Control:
This is one of the important skills in the ios developer skills list. Source code means keeping control of all the changes that are made in the source code.
There are different source code management systems that help the developers reduce and resolve all the conflicts that arise during the source integration. Source control is an integral element of application development.
A good hands-on experience in source control helps the developers to collaborate with the team and streamline the development phase.
15. Knowledge of Concurrency: Dealing with lots of things simultaneously is what is required from a well-curated iOS application. Lack of concurrency can lead to the freezing of apps while performing heavy tasks.
Multithreading helps you to incorporate a blend of concurrency and parallelism into your program.
16. Experience in Memory Management:
This is the last but important iOS professional key skill in the iOS developer requirements list. iPhone and iPad devices are resource-constrained on memory.
An iOS app developer must have appropriate knowledge that an app might terminate in case it crosses the established per-process limit. So, successful memory management can be vital for implementing an iOS app.
Other than these highly technical ios developer skill set, iOS developers must possess many non-technical abilities to satisfy employers and ensure the timely delivery of effective outputs.
6 Non-Technical Must-have Skills for iOS Developers
When we think of any iOS developer requirements then only the technical skills and abilities come into our mind. But any kind of software development needs both technical and non-technical skills.
In the above points, we have described the iOS developer’s hard skills but if you want to maximize the professional growth then you have to consider an iOS developer’s soft skills parallelly.
Here is a list of some iOS developer nontechnical skills that a developer must-have.
1. Great communication skills: When you are able to communicate with the client or the business owner, you can present the best possible outcomes as per his expectations.
Undoubtedly, great communication skills are also a part of iOS engineer skills and it does not only help the developers to understand the clients’ requirements but to present better suggestions in any scenario.
2. Problem-solving ability: This is one of the most important skills of an iOS developer. While making a successful mobile app, one comes across multiple challenges that might creep in at any point of development.
The right mindset and problem-solving ability with a positive attitude can do miracles.
3. Team player attitude: Developing a well-curated iOS app is not a task that can be handled single-handedly. Perfect scalable teamwork goes behind meeting clients’ expectations and getting the desired outcome as the iOS developer’s key skills. One must be a good team player to bring out the best meeting the client’s needs.
4. Ability to Innovate: It is not always that your client will have a clear image of what he expects from his/her iOS application.
You will have to use your innovative skills as an iOS developer to come up with the best application that is both user-friendly and profitable from the business point of view.
5. Discipline and dedication: These qualities cannot be replaced whether you work independently or with a team of developers. Meeting the deadlines and working with utmost dedication is always demanded from every professional.
A disciplined approach towards work will not only produce better outcomes but will also leave an ever-lasting impression on your employer.
6. Clear Thinking Ability: An iOS developer should have a rational thinking approach. He/she must be able to recognize and analyze all the questions and find the solutions thereof.
One should be able to introspect ideas critically and then come up with valid arguments to justify his/her suggestions.
How to Screen an iOS Developer?
Now that you’re done with knowing what are the skills required for ios developers, now, you need to understand how you are going to make the right choice.
Recruiting the right iOS developer may seem a daunting task. It is important to have a basic idea of the technical know-how of iOS to find the right talent. Make sure you ask the right questions that come under the iOS developer skills test and conduct the right tests to procure the best candidate.
Here is a sneak-peak at some of the important questions you must ask iOS developers:
- What is iOS? Ask the developer to give an insight into the iOS programming.
- What type of iOS projects has the candidate executed? Has he/she developed any application?
- Does the developer know other programming languages such as C++? What is his/her knowledge experience about different databases and frameworks?
- Choose some technology that the developer has mentioned in his resume. Ask the developer to explain it in detail to find out how well-versed he/she is with that technology.
- A comparison between Objective-C and Swift is another good question.
- How does the candidate see the future of iOS development? What changes can he/she predict in the industry?
- They must qualify for the iOS programming skills test including Swift 3.0 programming language, Apple’s Xcode IDE, Spatial reasoning, etc.
Apart from asking these technical questions, it is essential to ask a few behavioral questions to the developers. Ask them if they have some mentoring experience. This can help you decide if you can deploy that specific person to train the newcomers.
An online coding test of the developer will help you understand and test your coding skills. Make sure the ios developer skills assessment bears a close resemblance to the natural development process.
As the iOS environment keeps on changing with time, an iOS app developer should keep himself up to date. UI kit and Foundations are two useful libraries that a developer must be aware of. So, when you hire an iOS app developer make sure that they have enough skills to use these libraries effectively and frameworks to build and set up the required software.
Choose iOS Developers now
Hiring an iOS developer is crucial and hence you must know all the above ios developer technical and non-technical skills, responsibilities, and questions that you can consider before hiring iOS developers.
If you are on the verge to select some iOS developers, we’ve got some brilliant ones. Share with us the exact requirements you have and let’s discuss how our iOS developers can be the right ones for your iOS app development.
Delivering a great MVP
We have been providing complete end-to-end web and mobile app development solutions for our clients for over a decade. Lately, an increasing number of clients have been enlisting our mobile app development services for their niche business, often driven exclusively by the application themselves. In this competitive market scenario, there is always a concern among clients about their mobile app performance. Fortunately, the concept of MVP can enable developers to safely and accurately develop and test mobile applications.
So what is an MVP? It stands for Minimum Viable Product – basically a stripped down version of the final version of the app. Only the key functional aspects of the app are retained after which the client can choose to ascertain from selected users their valuable feedback. What it effectively does is bring down the risks and costs significantly by working on initial prototype feedback. Not only that, MVP also allows clients to focus on what customers want which can be implemented in subsequent iterations, thereby providing value constantly. In this blogpost, we will see on how to prioritise the most important features for an MVP. And before we forget, the concept of MVP is universal, be it Android or iOS or any other mobile platform.
Establishing App Vision
For any business, formulating a vision statement will help in steering it in the right direction. By vision, we mean what the business wants to achieve, who it wants to target and how it seeks to satisfy those customers and so on. For clients with business models tied to the apps, the vision is demonstrated through the MVP and app’s core functions in extension. Therefore, it makes sense for clients to be clear in their vision and goals and communicate exact requirements to the developer. It also helps developers to work on future iterations.
Prioritising App Features
Under MVP, the app is programmed to function at a nominal level, meaning it has the only basic functions. Surely clients would want to add more features, it is important restrict them and work on the essentials. To make this task easier, developers can prioritise the features with the help of a 4×4 matrix having urgency and impact (low and high) in the x and y axis respectively. The features can be mapped onto the matrix after discussing with the client. This matrix helps prevent scope creep, which has the potential to drain resources – both time and money.
Gathering Feedback
After launching the MVP, the developer must take measures to establish channels to get user feedback. These channels are great reservoirs of information that can be used to work on changes. Not only changes, it gives a quick snapshot of where the app is headed in the future – whether the current version is good enough with minor changes or the app functionality must change completely. Suppose a client wants to hire an android developer for designing her cake ordering app. Developers would do well to chart out the right metrics for measuring the MVP performance, especially if the client is just starting out – like in this case revenue, conversions, retention and churn. These metrics must be actionable, in the sense that it drives the business.
Final Thoughts
Developers must understand that an MVP works on the premise of delivering on needs rather than wants. This need based MVP must have a clear roadmap that has ample room for future modifications – in other words, flexibility. To further enhance the MVP, clients and developers can analyse the competition, like for instance browsing through blogs and customer feedback.
Are you looking to hire an iOS developer or android developer for building an MVP? Look no further and get in touch with our developer team today.
Upping the SEO game with Serpstack
Business promotion has evolved over the years from simple word-of-mouth strategies to search engine rankings. With greater internet penetration and customer adoption of smartphones and technology in general, the art and science of promoting business has dramatically changed. As experienced developers in the field and having worked on several Android and iOS projects, we have come to acknowledge the importance of promoting client’s websites. Many clients approach us to hire an android developer to develop a dedicated SEO strategy. Formulating an SEO strategy, however, is an arduous task requiring constant monitoring and commitment to stay ahead of the competition. After all, figuring in the top results of Google is not an easy task. In this blogpost, we discuss about serpstack – a free, real time and accurate Google search results API. Essentially, it introduces a bit of automation to search engine optimisation.
JSON REST API
JavaScript Object Notation Representational State Transfer, this API uses the HTTP protocol for all operations – create, read, update, delete and more. JSON is very easy to read and understand for both humans and machines. serpstack runs on the JSON REST API which enables it to bring all search engine page results (SERP) of the client’s website right to the dashboard. Its credibility is high enough that it is trusted and used by major global brands.
Scalability
Be it a few hundred searches or thousands of searches or even millions, serpstack has got the capability to deliver deep insights on such data in a timely manner without any hassles. serpstack also scores high on accuracy, thereby providing clients with the know how to find value in their sacred keywords and work on the same. In fact, as part of our mobile app development services, the developer team works with clients from different domains using serpstack to build and enhance their SEO game. This has led us to formulate multidimensional strategies for different platforms, which brings us to next point.
Customisation
Some clients come to hire developers for their android applications. Others specifically request to hire an iOS developer for enhancing their SEO for that operating system. This may be because their target market might be exclusively Apple users. Be it android or iOS, serpstack can get the job done. Not only operating system, but also based on the client’s business needs, serpstack can get SERP data for the same. It doesn’t stop there. With Google, the scope is wide and includes a bunch of data types like news, images, videos and even shopping results.
Robust
The core powering serpstack is robust enough to start getting data on SERP under specified criteria right away. Even in terms of support and guidance, serpstack is robust – a team available to assist with any relevant technical issues. The software also proclaims to be very fast, delivering on requests in milliseconds.What’s more? All data are protected using bank grade 256-bit SSL encryption which is always good news for clients concerned about the website’s integrity.
Finally, with an extensive documentation, serpstack is sure to entice developers and clients alike into trying their hands on it. Therefore, if you are a person who already has a website up and running or wants to hire a developer to enhance SEO, then serpstack can significantly help in upping the SEO game.
For further queries with regard to hiring a developer, contact us by dropping a mail.
What’s new with macOS Catalina?
Apple truly revolutionised the personal desktop industry with its mac line of computers. Central to its success was the refined and efficient operating system – macOS. Since its inception, Apple has periodically released new versions of the operating system with the latest being macOS Catalina. The company has constantly strived to up the ante with regard to both its software and hardware, setting new benchmarks every time. In this blogpost, we will take a look at the new macOS Catalina and what it brings to the table. We will also see what’s in store for mobile app developers.
New Changes
The support for 32-bit has officially ended with the new OS. That means some older and native applications running on 32-bit would stop working on Catalina. In other words, developers would need to revamp or update their applications to 64-bit or remain content with Mojave – the previous version. The only consolation, if it is, is that during the installation process Apple throws up a list of applications that won’t work after the update.
In good news to developers, Catalina opens up new avenues of web development under the name of Catalyst. It is an initiative by Apple that allows for infusing productivity into workflow applications as part of its revamp of the third party mobile application development services.
In further improvements to accessibility, Catalina expands the scope for the same with enhanced voice control. Developers need to take stock of this and work on developing a new class of applications or expand the boundaries of existing applications to permit voice control. This goes a long way in helping the differently abled. Many game-changing apps can be developed if the mind is put to the test.
A feature that has been present on iOS is now ported to Catalina and that is the ScreenTime app. For those of us who easily get caught up in the virtual world or have trouble in shutting off work, this feature will come in handy. Why? It provides a dashboard of sorts to the user on their desktop usage. How much time they are spending and on which app. It doesn’t stop there. Screen Time also allows to set timers for different applications, thereby helping users to close them at the appropriate time. It will improve our productivity in the long term.
The Best Feature
Finally, there is the Sidecar. It is touted to be the most impressive update with macOS Catalina. Sidecar, as the name might suggest, turns the user’s iPad into a secondary display of the desktop. All that is required on the part of the user is that they need to sign in to iCloud with the same Apple ID. Once connected, users can transfer the content on the mac to their iPad by using the trackpad navigations. With the Apple pencil, users can further edit or implement modifications easily, that is otherwise not possible on the mac.
As you might have noticed, the latest Catalina update from Apple is all about enhancing productivity of users in all means possible. Having gone through the blogpost, what do you think about Catalina? Do feel free to share your thoughts below.
For further queries to hire an iOS developer, contact our developer team here.
React Native powers more mobile apps than you think
Few years back, Facebook launched an open source mobile application framework by the name of React Native. As soon as it launched, mobile app developers soon began adopting it for developing high end mobile applications on several platforms like Android, iOS, Web etc. Many new generation clients wanting to develop their business online have been on the lookout to hire an Android developer. Sometimes, the same clients are also looking to hire an iOS developer to cater to a larger market. In this context, there is scope for mobile app developers to develop innovative applications to solve critical problem statements, given that people are transacting online more on their handheld devices. Released in 2015, React Native quickly became popular amongst mobile app developers and is used widely to develop various applications. In this blogpost, we will take a look at some of the prominent mobile applications both in Android and iOS.
Instagram is the most popular photo sharing social media network out there. It was popular even before Facebook acquired it in 2012. Prior to acquisition, Instagram was essentially a native app which meant that there were multiple versions catering to different smartphones. With the coming of React Native, Instagram was able to transform itself rapidly to the extent it was deployed even on the web. The framework has helped the photo sharing network to add more features that hinge on customer satisfaction. All these resulted in the milking of one key metric – engagement.
Bloomberg
Most of us would be familiar with Bloomberg. For the uninitiated, Bloomberg is an online platform for all news across the world delivered in a highly unique personalised fashion. In fact, the current form of the app is attributed to React Native’s influence – enhancing interactions and engagement.
Skype
Skype is one of the most popular video calling applications that was launched even before smartphones emerged on the scene. It quickly asserted its presence in the mobile app store to leverage on the new front camera and convenient portability feature of the smartphone. But there was a problem. Originally developed by Microsoft using the UWP framework, it was initially only restricted to Windows 10 phones that weren’t that popular. However, with React Native, it was possible to design Skype for other mobile platforms.
UberEats
With increasing prevalence of food delivery applications, it only made sense for UberEats to utilise React Native’s powerful features to be the snappy, vibrant mobile application it is today. Prior to that, UberEats experienced problems of incomplete information. Nothing can be more frustrating for customers than not being able to order food online, right? Fortunately, the open source framework eliminated all such performance issues resulting in massive jump in downloads.
Airbnb
This online accommodation booking platform sensed that customers were booking more on their mobile. Due to paucity of resources for developing native apps, it adopted React Native framework early to develop multi-platform applications. Now the company is able to deliver a much richer user experience and also able to release new versions quickly. After all, this is exactly what is needed to stay ahead of the competition.
Clients are always looking to enlist quality mobile app development services to build high quality applications. But it doesn’t stop there. The real challenge is to keep updating their apps with evolving customer preferences and outside competition. While you may have glimpsed at some of the framework’s advantages – Open Source, Rapid Development, Multi-Platform and so on, finding the right developer with expertise in the framework is a challenge, given that the framework was launched only a few years back.
What’s new on iOS 13?
Apple has always been at the forefront of change and innovation. However, many tech analysts are now of the view that this has been on the wane in recent years. Nevertheless, geeks, customers and even mobile app development companies get excited whenever the company comes up with a new product or software. In fact, the excitement is so contagious that it riles up the social media even before the official event. Couple of weeks back, the new iPhones were launched. Although touted to be just an incremental iteration, it is said to have support for some future technologies. The aim of this blogpost is to focus on the new version of the operating system – iOS 13 – and how it will elevate the overall user experience in the iPhone ecosystem.
With respect to iOS 13, a lot of changes have been brought in that are both cosmetic as well as functional. In other words, clients can hire an iOS developer to work on new ancillary apps. Before we talk about the new features, we must let you know that the new iOS 13 will be supported from iPhone 6S onwards. Those people who have models that were released before the 6S have to make do with iOS 12. The biggest change that is sort of transformational is hardware oriented but needs support of iOS 13 is the Apple tag. It is basically a Bluetooth tracker mechanism that can be used to track essential items like keys, accessory gadgets etc. These tags are slated for release along with the new iPhones.
The other big changes in iOS 13 have tried incorporate many long-time demands from customers. For instance, now there is support for the swipe keyboard that allows users to type by sliding our fingers across the keyboard. Termed QuickPath keyboard, this feature is sure to entice Apple users who want to send texts with ease. The keyboard can be interchanged whenever required. Next, there is support for a dark mode – cosmetic change. What is dark mode? The theme and background across the entire UI will turn from white to dark including applications that have support for it. Dark mode, users say, provides for a much immersive experience and operate for long hours with ease – lesser strain on the eyes. The dark mode can even be automatically turned on after sunset.
As with every update, the new iOS 13 will strive to make your phone faster, efficient and snappier. This reflects into real time usage – apps open faster, faster facial recognition, enhanced battery life with acquiring more intelligence about iPhone usage. Now users have a reason to stay put with their older phones and maybe wait out a year or two longer to get this year’s iPhone. Siri is now revamped with a more natural voice and greater responsiveness and intelligence – it can identify and distinguish different family member voices – which is always a good thing in terms of security. With an enhanced Siri, routine tasks like setting reminders have become more intuitive. To add to it, the reminders section is also revamped with a new look. Yet another new fun features are the memojis that will have more combinations and even supports users without TrueDepth camera to use them. iOS 13 has upgraded Apple maps on a par with Google maps hopefully, something that must be tested before coming to a verdict.
But perhaps, one of the most important change is the introduction of Apple sign-in. Touted to be more secure than Google or Facebook, this feature will allow users to sign in to apps using the Apple account with the guarantee of protection and privacy.