IOS is one of the popular platforms to build a mobile app. With more than 2.2 billion apps, Apple's App Store has consumers' spend more than 85% when compared to Android ones, according to App Annie.
There are multiple reasons why iOS is preferred by developers from across the world, including profit margins, minimalistic approach, and simplicity of development. With a unified UI, iOS apps have limited or no fragmentation problems.
The most important aspect of building an iOS app is to hire ios developer with robust knowledge and expertise in working with Swift in Xcode, Objective-C, or any other IDE.
In this post, we discuss the top skills you need to look for in an iOS developer for your firm.
Apple's Xcode IDE
This is one of the primary skills to look for in an iOS developer. Xcode IDE is a great cause that allows the developer to deliver a unique app and flawless user experience.
Xcode IDE is usually combined with Cocoa Touch frameworks used to develop apps for several Apple devices like Apple TV, iPhone, iPad, Mac, etc. Having skill at Xcode also encourages an iOS developer to effortlessly work on multiple Apple services like Passbook, Game Changer and more.
The Swift 3.0 Programming Language
When looking for a wordpress developer for hire to develop robust iOS apps, make sure that he/she is proficient in the Swift 3.0 programming language as it is the global and most preferred language that is used in iOS mobile app development. Further, the developer you hire should have the working knowledge of functionalities related to Swift 3, as mentioned below:
- Objective-C Interoperability
- Syntax
- Switch Statements
- Inheritance, Classes, & Initialization
- Proficiency in Design Guidelines
Most of the successful iOS apps are known and loved for being supremely intuitive. This uniqueness and popularity of Apple products makes it essential for the developer to follow specifically defined guidelines such as:
- Delegate Pattern: This is a common way of passing information among objects in Cocoa (one sender, one receiver)
- MVC (Model-View-Controller): A cornerstone of any iOS or OSX App, MVC defines how data is stored, presented to the user, and how it is updated in response to app user interactions.
- Notifications: This is yet another common way of passing information (one sender, multiple receivers).
A successful iOS app development requires a developer to know much more than just coding. To build a robust iOS app, the developer requires a lot of other skills and a great deal of creativity to design a feature-rich, fully- functional, interactive app.
Grand Central Dispatch
Grand Central Dispatch or GCD allows your iOS developer to add concurrency to your apps so that they can be used for multiple tasks to run simultaneously with great ease.
This is a crucial talent to have in a developer as iOS apps do multiple tasks at once including pulling data from a network, reading touch inputs from the user, displaying information on the screen, and much more which can put a strain on the device making it run slow or crash completely. Having proficiency in concurrent programming helps the developer to avoid such instances easily.
Communication and Soft Skills
It is recommended to always hire an iOS developer with an excellent professional attitude, good communication skills, and similar cultural backgrounds to ensure the overall success of your project.
Further, the candidate should possess various soft skills such as open-mindedness to new ideas, work in collaboration, proactiveness, and being respectful to team members to overcome multiple challenges while working on app development successfully.
If the developer you hire possesses these skills, it helps to avoid the chances of conflict management, leading to faster and smooth app development.
Spatial Reasoning
Designing and developing an iOS mobile app requires the developer to have a great understanding of spatial reasoning. This means having clarity on the user's perspective i.e., the interaction with the mobile app, the overall experience of using the app, and more.
Thinking from the user's point of view allows the developer to design an intuitive user interface that is easy to navigate and has the features/functionalities that users look for.
UI and UX Design Experience
UI and UX are related to the design of a mobile app with slightly varying functions. The iOS developer you hire should have both UI and UX experience to seamlessly work on the look and use of the experience of the app.
Therefore, it is best to hire a professional iOS developer with the ability to effectively execute UI/UX design in the making of a mobile app and make the necessary changes to its design to drive better user engagement.
A professional iOS developer should also be skilled at styling standard UIKit elements and creating custom controls as and when required.
Problem Solving Skills
The significant part of an iOS developers' job is to troubleshoot various applications on iOS platforms. The developer, therefore, needs to be skilled at recognizing multiple technical problems and understand how to resolve them.
They also need to think creatively about how users incorporate their Apple devices into their lives, and then accordingly build applications that help them complete multiple tasks.
Proficiency in Working With Third-Party Libraries
Nowadays, many iOS development teams rely on third-party libraries to speed up the development cycle tremendously.
The iOS developer you hire should possess the skills to work with the time-tested third-party libraries that have been consistently updated and maintained.
Further, the developer should know how to integrate SDKs (software development kits) and different libraries into specific Xcode projects using Cocoapods or the Swift Package Manager.
Conclusions
An iOS developer in any firm is primarily responsible for developing applications for mobile devices. A good iOS developer should be skilled in one of the two essential programming languages for this platform that is Objective-C or Swift.
They must also possess the skills mentioned above, along with a strong understanding of the practices and patterns that revolve around the iOS platform. Do proper research regarding your firm's requirements and choose the candidate who will be the most beneficial for your firm.
