Mobile App Development
Native-quality apps shipped in half the time.
We build cross-platform mobile apps with React Native and Expo — one codebase that runs on iOS and Android, with native performance, App Store-quality UX, and a release cadence that doesn't burn out your team.
Our mobile stack
Why we build with React Native + Expo.
Two layers of tooling that, together, give you native quality at a small-team budget. Here's what each one solves.
React Native
One team. One codebase. Both stores.
React Native lets us write the app once and ship to both Apple's App Store and Google Play. Native performance where it matters — animations, list scrolling, camera, location, gestures — and shared business logic where it doesn't (auth, payments, sync, analytics). The math is simple: half the engineering hours, full coverage.
- Native iOS and Android UI rendered with platform components
- Hot reload for fast iteration during development
- Direct access to native modules when you need device hardware
- Backed by Meta, used by Shopify, Discord, Coinbase, Microsoft Office
Expo
Production-ready tooling around React Native.
Expo is the standard library and tooling layer that makes React Native production-ready. Over-the-air updates that don't require an App Store review. Built-in primitives for camera, audio, push notifications, secure storage, and biometrics. EAS Build for cloud-based binary signing. The whole pipeline from a code change to TestFlight is hours, not days.
- Over-the-air updates ship same-day, no store review needed for most fixes
- EAS Build & Submit — cloud signing and store submission automation
- Expo Router for file-based navigation (same model as Next.js)
- Production-grade modules: Camera, Notifications, Updates, Secure Store
What we build
Apps that solve a specific business problem — not just a digital brochure.
Four categories cover most of what we've shipped. Yours probably falls in one of them.
Customer-facing apps
Loyalty programs, online ordering, booking-first apps, content libraries. The app your customers see when they put your brand on their home screen.
Examples: restaurant ordering, salon booking, fitness studio class signup
Internal & staff apps
Back-of-house tools that replace clipboards and shared Google Sheets. Built around how your team actually works, not how a SaaS vendor thinks they should.
Examples: dispatch boards, inventory check-in, retail kiosks, route planners
Events & on-site apps
Capacity check-in, badge scanning, event programs, real-time announcements. Designed for spotty conference Wi-Fi and one-handed phone use.
Examples: festival check-in, conference apps, capacity counters
Subscription & member apps
Gated content libraries, member portals, recurring billing through Stripe, push notifications for new content drops. The companion to your membership website.
Examples: course apps, fitness libraries, exclusive community access
Case study · iOS + Android + Admin dashboard
Remnant Tribe: one codebase, two stores, and a dashboard to run it all.
A community mobile app shipped to the App Store and Google Play from a single React Native codebase — backed by a custom admin dashboard where the team manages content without touching code.
- One codebase, native feel on both platforms
- Custom admin dashboard for the whole operation
- Over-the-air updates — fixes ship same-day
Under the hood
The stack we ship every app on.
Boring choices on purpose. Each tool earns its place by being the best long-term option for the problem — not the trendiest.
Core
- React Native (latest stable)
- Expo SDK (latest)
- TypeScript end-to-end
- Expo Router (file-based navigation)
Data & state
- TanStack Query for server state
- Zustand or Jotai for client state
- React Hook Form + Zod for forms and validation
- Optimistic updates for offline tolerance
Payments & auth
- Stripe (your account) for payments and subscriptions
- Apple Pay and Google Pay support out of the box
- Biometric auth (Face ID / Touch ID / fingerprint)
- OAuth and magic-link sign-in patterns
Distribution & ops
- EAS Build for signed binaries in the cloud
- EAS Submit for App Store and Play Store automation
- OTA updates via Expo Updates — same-day fixes
- Sentry for crash reporting, PostHog for analytics
What it costs and who owns what
The three numbers and the three accounts that matter.
Honest answers to the questions every founder asks before they commit to a mobile app project.
01 — Investment
Starting at $12,500
We don't build no-code-builder apps. Our starting point reflects what a real production app costs: native-quality UX, Stripe-powered payments, push notifications, store submission, the works. The actual scope and price land in your proposal after discovery.
02 — Ownership
Your App Store and Google Play accounts
You open and own the developer accounts (Apple charges $99/year, Google $25 once). The app publishes under your business name, not ours. We shepherd the setup during onboarding so you never deal with provisioning profiles or signing certificates.
03 — Backend
Your $24.99/mo plan also powers the app
Mobile apps need a backend, and ours uses the same multi-tenant theDavid CMS that powers your website. The same monthly fee covers both. If your app drives unusually heavy API traffic we'll surface a dedicated tier in the proposal — never as a surprise.
From concept to App Store
Five phases, one outcome: an app you'll be proud to put on your customers' home screens.
- 01
Discovery & scoping
Same as the web process: a working session to understand your customers, your business model, and the problem the app actually solves. We end the week with a written scope, fixed timeline, and proposal you can plan around.
- 02
Design & prototyping
Wireframes first, then high-fidelity Figma. We test taps, gestures, and edge cases on real devices before we write a line of production code. Mobile UX has its own rules — small screens, one hand, spotty connectivity — and we design for them.
- 03
Build in two-week sprints
Working previews on TestFlight (iOS) and internal testing tracks (Android) every week from week three onward. You and your team click through real builds long before launch — feedback is concrete, not theoretical.
- 04
Store submission & launch
We handle App Store and Google Play submission, screenshots, descriptions, age ratings, and the back-and-forth of review. Most apps approve in 24–72 hours; we shepherd the process so you don't have to.
- 05
OTA support after launch
Expo Updates lets us ship same-day fixes for most issues without a new App Store review. Bigger features go through the normal review cadence. Quarterly we review the analytics together and decide what ships next.
A real app, for less than you've been quoted.
Production-quality mobile apps from $12,500 — both stores, real backend, no no-code shortcuts. Bring your idea to a free 45-minute call and leave with a plan and a number.