Android apps that don’t cost twice
We build Android in React Native, which means the same codebase ships to iOS as well. For most business apps that halves the build and more than halves the maintenance, because every future change gets made once instead of twice.
What we build for Android
Content apps
Your site as an app — articles, media, search, offline reading and push notifications when you publish.
Tool and calculator apps
Interactive tools packaged to work offline, with the same logic as the web version rather than a second implementation.
Business and internal apps
Order capture, field reporting, stock checks — apps for staff rather than customers, often the highest-value ones.
Apps on your own backend
A custom API over your existing system, so one back end serves both the site and the app — see custom software.
Play Store submission
Signing, builds, store listing, content rating and data-safety declarations, and getting through review.
Taking over an existing app
An app that’s stalled or whose developer moved on. We audit it and say honestly whether to continue it or restart.
Android-specific things that bite
- Device fragmentation. Far more screen sizes, OS versions and manufacturer skins than iOS. We test against a real device matrix, not one phone.
- Background restrictions. Manufacturers kill background work aggressively and inconsistently. Anything depending on it needs designing around that, not assuming it works.
- Play Store policy changes. Target API requirements move every year, and an app that doesn’t keep up gets delisted from search.
- Permissions. Each one you request costs you installs. We’ll push back on any that aren’t load-bearing.
Before you commit
An app is a bigger ongoing commitment than a website:
- It needs continuous maintenance. OS and policy changes force rebuilds whether your app changed or not.
- The developer account is yours and carries an annual fee.
- Review can reject you for reasons unrelated to code quality.
- You may not need an app. If the goal is a good phone experience, a fast responsive site usually beats an app nobody installs. We’d rather say that at the start.
Common questions
Why React Native rather than native Kotlin?
Because two native codebases is a cost with no matching benefit for most business apps. React Native is the wrong call for graphics-heavy games or anything leaning hard on platform-specific hardware — and we’ll tell you when you have one of those rather than take the work.
Do we get iOS as well?
From the same codebase, yes — see iPhone app development. There’s still platform-specific work and a separate store submission, but it’s a fraction of a second build.
Can the app use our existing website?
Usually, and it’s the cheapest route. We expose what the app needs through an API on your existing system, so you keep publishing as you do now and the app follows.
Who owns the app and the Play listing?
You do — source code and developer account both. The account should be registered in your name from day one, not ours.
Tell us what the app is for
Who uses it and what they do with it. We’ll tell you whether React Native fits, and whether you need an app at all.