What's the best way to build an iOS app these days?
Graeme
8 replies
Is react native still the best way? I vaguely rmemeber reading about Expo, how is that different?
I have a simple react app, and want to turn that into an iOS app. help!
I asked Claude but i dunno if it has this knowledge up to date.
Replies
UnderstandLing BV@understandling_bv
Expo and EAS will get you going with ease and once you get the hang of it, take you further. Definitely csn recommend
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@graeme_fulton check out perhaps www.swork.app, its here on PH too. I made it with Expo.
Prototypr
@understandling_bv thanks, I hadn't heard of EAS, that page really helped https://expo.dev/eas
Although I dont' understand expo pricing, so tempted to just do it with react native or swift and only do ios
@graeme_fulton EAS is free up to 30 builds per month. They compile the Android/iOS app for you when you want to deploy (so not for local testing). Basically that means you can update your app in the stores every 2 days. I have never gotten into a situation where that isn't enough.
And mind you that Expo/EAS is just React Native but without a lot of the headaches of native linking and handling.
Prototypr
@understandling_bv Ooh that's fine then! That explained it better than their whole pricing page, thanks. I'll give it a go, got a crazy app idea that should be able to build with Claude
Prototypr
@understandling_bv awesome, will check it out!
Definitely recommend using React Native or Flutter for cross-platform development - you can build for both iOS and Android from a single codebase. If you want something even simpler to get started, check out Expo which lets you build React Native apps without dealing with Xcode or Android Studio setups. Makes iterating and launching iOS apps a breeze, especially for web devs!
The best way to build an iOS app today is by using **Swift** and **SwiftUI**. Swift is the modern, powerful programming language developed by Apple, and SwiftUI is a declarative framework that simplifies UI development across all Apple platforms. For more complex projects, integrating SwiftUI with **UIKit** might be necessary. Additionally, using tools like **Xcode** for development, **TestFlight** for testing, and leveraging **Apple's APIs** and **services** can significantly enhance app functionality and performance.