Our approach
Mobile apps have revolutionized almost every aspect of our lives, from communication and entertainment to productivity and healthcare. For many organizations, they offer a direct channel to customers with personalized experiences that drive engagement, strengthen brand awareness, and drive sales. From a consumer perspective, even changing the temperature on a home thermostat requires only a few taps on a smartphone.
Under the hood, however, the distinct architecture of the two major mobile platforms creates a significant development challenge, often requiring multiple codebases and separate development teams to support both iOS and Android devices.
To help bridge the gap, Three Rivers Tech uses modern development tools like React Native, Flutter, and Electron, which allow developers to write cross-platform code, significantly reducing development cost and time-to-market.
Pros and cons
While there are disadvantages to a cross-platform development strategy, it's often the best option to quickly and cost-effectively deliver a mobile application to market.
Pros
- Shared code
While the two platforms require different approaches around the margins, a significant portion of the code base is write-once. - Time to market
A shared code base accelerates development by eliminating the need to build and maintain separate apps for each platform. - Maintenance
Bug fixes and feature updates are made in a single code base that can be deployed to both platforms simultaneously. - Cost savings
Maintaining a single code base requires fewer developers and reduces the overhead involved in coordinating changes across multiple teams.
Cons
- Performance
Cross-platform apps may be slower and less responsive than fully native apps. - UI/UX
Minor differences in user experience, rendering, and general platform conventions require tweaks in the last mile. - Application size
A code base that accomodates both platforms adds overhead, making them comparatively larger than native builds. - Framework dependency
Although the major cross-platform tools are well supported, a specific framework may fall out of favor with the development community.
Other considerations
The requirements for launching a mobile application go well beyond the development stage. Three Rivers Tech can help navigate the ongoing complexities of deployment, feedback, and maintenance.
Before launch
- Testing
Test apps for functionality, performance, and usability across a wide range of devices. - Performance optimization
Make sure apps load quickly and are performant. - App store compliance and submission
Navigate the Byzantine requirements of the Apple App Store and Google Play platforms when submitting a new app.
After launch
- Analytics
Use leading-edge tools to track useage patterns and feature adoption. - Support
Provide a comprehensive support infrastructure, including in-app help content and AI-assisted workflows. - Roadmap
Make a plan for ongoing updates, roll out new features, fix bugs, and continuously improve user experience.
Technologies
