iOS developers are highly regarded in mobile app development due to their polished interfaces and seamless user experiences. To achieve this level of success, iOS developers prioritize simplicity and ease of use. iOS developers prioritize the needs of their target audience by presenting the most important information first in a logical and easy-to-read format. In November 2023, around 38,000 new mobile apps were released on the Apple App Store. As a result, the demand for skilled iOS developers has surged.
This surge in demand to hire iOS developers can be attributed to several factors, including the lucrative nature of iOS app development, the platform’s consistent user interface, and the promise of high-profit potential. iOS developers are valued for their ability to create apps that not only function flawlessly but also offer a visually appealing and intuitive user experience.
As the leading iPhone app development companies strive to stay competitive in the ever-evolving digital landscape, the need for skilled iOS developers has become more pronounced. Whether it’s crafting innovative solutions for businesses or developing consumer-facing apps that captivate audiences, the expertise of iOS developers is indispensable.
In this article, we’ll explore the essential skills that define a top-tier iOS developer. From proficiency in programming languages like Swift to a deep understanding of app design principles, we’ll explore the qualities that make iOS developers invaluable assets to any development team. So, let’s dive in and explore the key attributes that distinguish iOS developers in today’s competitive market.
Why hire iOS developers for your company?
Suppose you’re looking to create applications for mobile devices running on Apple’s iOS operating system. In that case, it’s important to hire an iOS developer who can help you achieve your company’s or client’s goals and requirements.
An iOS developer is responsible for developing, testing, and improving applications that are tailored to the specific needs of their company or customer. They have a strong understanding of iOS and how it interacts with different Apple devices, including the iPhone, iPad, Apple Watch, and Apple TV. By hiring an experienced iOS developer, you can ensure that your applications are optimized for the iOS platform and provide a seamless experience for your users.
Technical Skills To Look In An iOS Developer Before Hiring Them
Technical skills that an iOS developer for hire must have are
- Expertise in Swift 3.0
- Experience with Xcode IDE
- Understanding Core Data
- Memory Management Skills
- Source Control Proficiency
- Unit Testing Experience
- Knowledge of Grand Central Dispatch
- Spatial Reasoning Ability
- UI and UX Design Experience
- Familiarity with Storyboards
In iOS development, technical skills are important to guage the expertise and proficiency of an iOS Developer in using tools, programming languages, frameworks, and methodologies necessary to create iOS applications. Here’s a detailed explanation of each technical skill you need to look for when hiring iOS developers:
1. Expertise in Swift 3.0
Swift is one of the best languages for iOS App development as the main coding language utilized in developing iOS applications. Proficiency in Swift 3.0 involves understanding its syntax, features, and best practices for writing clean, efficient, and maintainable code. Developers should be familiar with Swift’s object-oriented programming concepts, data types, control flow structures, functions, classes, inheritance, protocols, and error-handling mechanisms.
Why Expertise in Swift 3.0 Matters?
This will help evaluate an iOS developer’s proficiency in Swift 3.0 for efficient iOS app development, given Swift’s widespread usage and effectiveness in creating high-quality applications.
2. Experience with Xcode IDE
Xcode is the official Integrated Development Environment (IDE) provided by Apple for iOS and macOS app development. Experience with Xcode involves familiarity with its various features, including code editor, interface builder, debugging tools, simulator, asset management, version control integration, and app deployment capabilities. Developers should know how to navigate and utilize Xcode effectively to develop, debug, and deploy iOS applications.
Why Look for an Experience with Xcode IDE?
Evaluating familiarity with Xcode IDE will enable you to understand the capability of an iOS developer to work with essential tools and resources for iOS app development, contributing to streamlined and effective development processes.
3. Understanding Core Data
Core Data is an Apple-provided framework used to handle model layer objects in iOS and macOS apps. It provides a high-level API for data storage, retrieval, and manipulation, along with support for object graph management, data persistence, and data modeling. Knowledge of Core Data includes understanding its concepts, such as managed object contexts, persistent stores, entities, attributes, relationships, fetch requests, and faulting behavior.
Worth of Understanding Core Data
Core Data comprehension is crucial when hiring an iOS developer to competently manage model layer objects in iOS and macOS apps, enabling efficient data handling and storage mechanisms.
4. Memory Management Skills
Memory management is crucial in iOS app development to ensure efficient utilization of device resources and prevent memory-related issues like crashes and performance degradation. Memory management skills involve understanding concepts such as Automatic Reference Counting (ARC), strong and weak references, retaining cycles, memory leaks, and optimizing memory usage to minimize the app’s memory footprint and improve performance.
Why Memory Management Skills are Important?
Proficiency in managing model layer objects in iOS and macOS applications through Core Data will help assess the skill set of iOS developers with efficient data handling and storage mechanisms.
5. Source Control Proficiency
Source control systems, such as Git, Subversion (SVN), or Mercurial, are essential for managing and tracking changes to source code files in collaborative software development projects. Source control proficiency includes knowledge of version control concepts, branching strategies, committing changes, resolving conflicts, merging code, creating pull requests, and collaborating with other developers using source control platforms like GitHub, Bitbucket, or GitLab.
The Importance of Source Control Proficiency
Evaluating proficiency in source control aids in understanding the ability of an iOS developer to manage collaborative development effectively. It also helps in tracking changes in the source code, ensuring version control and efficient collaboration within development teams.
6. Unit Testing Experience
Unit testing is a software testing technique used to validate the individual components or units of an application in isolation. Unit testing experience involves writing, executing, and maintaining automated test cases to verify the correctness and functionality of specific modules, classes, methods, or functions within an iOS app. Developers should be familiar with testing frameworks like XCTest or Quick/Nimble and techniques like test-driven development (TDD) to ensure code quality and reliability.
Unit testing experience evaluation
Assessing experience in unit testing assists in gauging the ioS developer’s capability to verify the functionality and stability of iOS applications, ensuring the reliability and robustness of the developed software.
7. Knowledge of Grand Central Dispatch
Grand Central Dispatch (GCD) is a technology provided by Apple for implementing concurrent and asynchronous programming in iOS and macOS applications. Knowledge of GCD includes understanding its concepts, such as dispatch queues, concurrent and serial execution, dispatch groups, barriers, semaphores, and asynchronous task scheduling. Developers should know how to use GCD effectively to improve app responsiveness, performance, and scalability by leveraging multicore processors and parallel execution.
Knowledge assessment of Grand Central Dispatch
Analyzing a developer’s knowledge of Grand Central Dispatch is crucial in determining their ability to implement concurrency and enhance app performance. This contributes to the efficient execution of tasks in iOS applications.
8. Spatial Reasoning Ability
Spatial reasoning ability refers to the capacity to understand and manipulate objects in three-dimensional space. In the context of iOS app development, spatial reasoning is essential for designing and laying out user interfaces (UIs), creating animations, and optimizing user interactions. Developers with strong spatial reasoning skills can design intuitive, visually appealing, and user-friendly interfaces that enhance the overall user experience of iOS applications.
Spatial reasoning ability assessment
Evaluating a developer’s spatial reasoning ability is essential in understanding their capacity to design user-friendly and intuitive interfaces for iOS applications. This ensures that the iOS developer for hire has enhanced usability and user experience.
9. UI and UX Design Experience
User Interface (UI) and User Experience (UX) design experience involves designing the visual appearance, layout, and interactive elements of iOS applications to optimize usability, accessibility, and user satisfaction. UI design focuses on aesthetics, typography, color schemes, icons, and graphics, while UX design focuses on user research, wireframing, prototyping, user flows, information architecture, and usability testing. Developers with UI and UX design experience can create engaging, intuitive, and immersive app interfaces that resonate with users and align with design principles and guidelines.
UI and UX design experience evaluation
UI and UX design skills helps in gauging their capability to create visually appealing and user-centric iOS app designs. This contributes to improved user engagement and satisfaction.
10. Familiarity with Storyboards
Storyboards are visual representations of an iOS app’s user interface, allowing developers to design and prototype UI screens, define navigation flows, and configure view controllers using a drag-and-drop interface. Familiarity with storyboards involves knowing how to create, customize, connect, and manage UI scenes, segues, and transitions within Xcode’s Interface Builder. When hiring iOS Developers you should understand the benefits and limitations of using storyboards for UI design and be able to integrate them seamlessly into the app development workflow.
Non-Technical Skills
Non-technical skills are as important as technical expertise for iOS developers. These skills enhance collaboration and improve the overall quality and efficiency of iOS app development.
Good Communication
Effective communication is essential for collaborating with clients and team members and understanding project requirements.
Why look for it when hiring an iOS app developer: Clear and concise communication ensures that developers understand client expectations and project specifications accurately. It also facilitates effective collaboration within the development team, leading to smoother project execution and timely delivery.
Critical Thinking
The ability to think critically and solve problems efficiently is crucial for overcoming challenges in iOS development.
Why look for it when hiring an iOS app developer: Critical thinking enables developers to analyze complex problems, identify potential solutions, and make informed decisions during the development process. It allows them to troubleshoot issues, optimize code, and implement innovative solutions, ultimately enhancing the quality and functionality of the app.
Adaptability
iOS developers should be adaptable to changing technologies and trends, allowing them to stay relevant in a fast-paced industry.
Why look for it when hiring an iOS app developer: The technology landscape is constantly evolving, and iOS developers need to adapt to new tools, frameworks, and methodologies to remain competitive. Adaptable developers can quickly learn and master new skills, embrace emerging technologies, and pivot strategies when necessary, ensuring that their apps remain cutting-edge and market-ready.
Team Player Attitude
Collaboration and teamwork are essential for successful iOS development projects, making a team player attitude indispensable.
Why look for it when hiring an iOS app developer: iOS development projects typically involve multidisciplinary teams comprising developers, designers, testers, and project managers. A team player attitude fosters positive working relationships, promotes open communication, and encourages knowledge sharing among team members. It also enables developers to contribute effectively to group discussions, brainstorming sessions, and collective problem-solving efforts, resulting in cohesive and harmonious project outcomes.
Ability to Innovate
Innovation is key for creating unique and successful iOS apps that meet client needs and stand out in the market.
Why look for it when hiring an iOS app developer: In a crowded app market, innovation sets apps apart from the competition and drives user engagement and retention. Innovative iOS developers can conceptualize fresh ideas, explore creative solutions to user pain points, and integrate cutting-edge features and functionalities into their apps. They are proactive in exploring new technologies, experimenting with novel design approaches, and pushing the boundaries of app development, ultimately delivering compelling and differentiated user experiences.
Work Ethic
A strong work ethic, including punctuality, organization, and focus, is essential for producing high-quality work and meeting project deadlines.
Why look for it when hiring an iOS app developer: iOS development projects often have strict timelines and deliverables, requiring developers to demonstrate diligence, discipline, and commitment to their work. A strong work ethic ensures that developers manage their time effectively, prioritize tasks efficiently, and adhere to project schedules. It also reflects their professionalism, reliability, and dedication to delivering exceptional results, instilling confidence in clients and stakeholders, and fostering long-term partnerships.
Hourly rates for iOS developers for hire are based on experience.
When considering the cost of iOS app development in 2024, it’s essential to factor in various elements that contribute to the overall expense. One significant aspect is the iOS developer hourly rate, which typically ranges between $40 to $60. However, this rate can vary depending on the complexity and specific requirements of your project. Additionally, other factors such as design, features, testing, and post-launch maintenance also contribute to the total cost of developing an iOS app. Therefore, it’s crucial to conduct thorough research and collaborate closely with developers to get an accurate estimation tailored to your project’s needs.
| Experience Level |
iOS Developers |
| Entry-level |
$40 – $60 |
| Mid-level |
$50 – $100 |
| Senior-Level |
$90 – $160 |
End Note
To create exceptional iOS apps for iPhone, it’s important to hire an iOS developer who can help you achieve your company’s or client’s goals and requirements. An iOS developer is responsible for developing, testing, and improving applications that are tailored to the specific needs of their company or customer.
They have a strong understanding of iOS and how it interacts with different Apple devices, including the iPhone, iPad, Apple Watch, and Apple TV. By hiring an experienced iOS developer, you can ensure that your applications are optimized for the iOS platform and provide a seamless experience for your users.
Best iOS Developers for Hire
At TechnBrains, we offer the best iOS developers for hire. Our team excels in Swift programming, Xcode IDE, Core Data, and memory management. We prioritize communication, critical thinking, adaptability, teamwork, innovation, and a strong work ethic in our developers. With us, you get skilled professionals dedicated to delivering top-notch results.
