Custom iOS App Development Services

Native technologies
The iOS was originally designed to power Apple's iPhone series. Today, it powers all of Apple's mobile devices, including the iPad and iPod Touch.

The rising popularity of mobile computing has resulted in a boom in iOS app development. There are several native technologies in the iOS ecosystem.

Here are some important ones for every developer's tool kit:
- Objective-C is the main programming language Apple utilizes for iOS.
- Swift is the programming language designed for the Apple API programming frameworks, Cocoa and Cocoa Touch.
- UIKit is the main development framework for iOS apps. All core components needed by an app are defined by it.
- Internationalization and Localization is a process where the app gets translated to different languages. The first step, internationalization, is a preparation stage that makes the app capable of adapting to any language. Localization is making the translation process.
- Auto Layout allows the developer to optimize complicated GUIs easily.
- Storyboard aids developers in visually representing what their app will look like and how it will flow from one screen to the next.
- Multi-touch Gestures enable the development of touch screen gestures into an app through Gesture Recognizers. These may be already widely recognized gestures or novel ones made specifically for the app.
- Multithreading is a way for developers to design execution paths for the app and greatly enhance its speed and efficiency.
Maps and Geolocation
Alternative Spaces can successfully build the best map and geolocation tools into its apps to ensure that smartphone users always receive precise information about their current location and itinerary. Tools that are used to allow programmers to collect and utilize data corresponding to global placement and popularity of venues, which in turn helps them to develop even better applications, include:
- Apple Maps
- Google Maps
- Google Places
- Geocoding
- Mapbox
- Core Location
- eeGeo-3D mapping
- Foursquare Venues
iOS Data Access
Alternative Spaces simplifies a user's interaction within the app interface by utilizing data processing technology tools, and there are several ways developers can facilitate this using these tools:
- Sharing data between apps allows the app to use data from another app or provide needed data to it.
- Contacts (address book) helps the app's users store information on how to reach people important to them.
- Photos can help with user customization and socialization.
- Videos on device is similar to photos but this deals with video generated by the user or acquired by the user. Calendar is particularly important for scheduling events.
- Stocks allows people who are into the stock market to view stock market trends.
- Reminders and Alerts help the user act on critical information.
Social Conversations

Alternative Spaces takes into consideration the need to improve an app's usability, making applications even more enticing to a user. These allow users to interact with their contacts and build connections in programs such as iMessages, Mail, Twitter, Facebook, LinkedIn, Instagram, Google+, Yahoo ID, Tumblr and Foursquare.
Networking

Alternative Spaces guarantees that the technology solutions we apply simplify issues, and eliminate costs associated with the integration of SMS and MMS services. We use communication platforms such as P2P, Sockets, APNS, Push Notifications, StoreKit, RSS and Networking Frameworks (AFNetworking, RestKit, Alamofire, SDWebImage and Parse SDK) to stay up-to-date on their projects and programs. These frameworks allow programmers to develop functions for everything from in-app payments to user notifications.
Video
Alternative Spaces uses these effective tools in managing videos in iOS:
- Media Player is a program for playing various multimedia files.
- Media Player Framework is a facility used to play videos and music.
- UIImagePickerController provides a customizable interface for taking pictures and making movies.
- Core Media allows the creation and delivery of digital video content through any digital channel.
- AV Foundation is a framework when playing or creating a time-based video and audio.
- GoPro is a popular camera than can feed videos to compatible iOS devices.
- Video streaming compresses video content for broadcast over the internet. Four protocols are commonly used:
- RTMP for Adobe Flash Player, popular because of YouTube.
- RTSP for creating a streaming session between servers and clients.
- HLS for HTTP live streaming.
- AirPlay for wireless streaming.
In-App Purchase

Alternative Spaces expertise in multiple payment systems helps clients propose the best solutions to their application. StoreKit is used for digital content and helps monetize any product, while for clients who want to sell hard or soft goods, PayPal and Stripe integration works well, everywhere.
External Hardware
Alternative Spaces can link iOS apps to external hardware such as GoPro cameras, Apple watches, certain home appliances and more. Here are some popular tools we use in developing an app.
- iBeacon for using Apple's low energy wireless technology.
- Printing for linking the app to a compatible printer.
- Bluetooth for linking with Bluetooth capable devices.
- HomeKit for connecting home appliances with the iOS app especially for home automation.
- Wi-Fi for high speed wireless networking.
- WatchKit similar to the HomeKit but specifically for Apple Watch products.
Audio
Alternative Spaces chooses tools which allow users both to play audio files on their phones and synchronize their audio data with the desktop computer, when developing iOS apps. Listed are the tools used to facilitate the presentation of audio.
- OpenAL makes rendering multichannel three-dimensional sound more efficient.
- AV Foundation has two tools that make it easy to develop an app's audio: AVAudioRecorder for recording and AVAudioPlayer for playback.
- Core Audio is the QuartzCore framework's tool for dealing with audio.
- Media Player Framework enables an app to play movie, music, audio podcast and audio book files, and gives it access to the iPod library.
- StreamingKit is a streaming library for media playback so it has an audio component for audio streaming.
Distributing
Alternative Spaces uses these tools to allow programmers to test their programs in real-time before the grand release, ensuring top quality. These pre-tests are extremely important, as they show developers what people really think of the applications.
- Crashlytics Beta
- HockeyApp
- TestFlight
- BetaBuilder
Advertising
Alternative Spaces ensures that apps have enabled monetization, and support the tools that support the latest technology in mobile advertising. Popular advertising tools used include the following:
- iAd from Apple Inc. for iPhone, iPod Touch and iPad.
- MoPub acquired by Twitter for its mobile development.
- Millennial Media merged with Nexage to expand its mobile advertising network.
- InMobi started as an SMS-based platform but expanded into iOS advertising.
- Google AdMob is Google's offering in the app space.
Analytics
By using these analytic tools, Alternative Spaces' developers can evaluate the effective use of chosen technologies for the app development and designer solutions. This makes it possible to easily analyze user activities in the app and help bring in new targeted user audiences.
- Flurry
- Google Analytics
- Crashlytics
Media Player
Alternative Spaces recognizes the fact that presentation of text and media is a critical element of most iOS apps and uses these tools to facilitate customization of an app's media layer.
- Media Accessibility Framework manages the close-caption information in media files.
- Accelerate Framework is a set of interfaces that help developers write one set of codes that will run efficiently on all iOS hardware configurations.
- Assets Library is a set of features for accessing photos and videos in the Photos application.
- Image I/O lets apps read and write most image formats.
- Photos Framework facilitates retrieval of assets for viewing or editing.
- Text Kit is a set of classes that enable apps to store, lay out and display text as high quality typography.
- Core Text is a lower level text rendering tool for presenting text and handling fonts.
Data

Alternative Spaces relies on adaptive data analysis tools, and provide programmers the ability to store and view data collected from applications used in real time. A wide array of programs allows this to be accomplished, including CoreData, Keychain, Parse SDK, Magical Record, User Defaults, SQLite, XML, Plist, HTML5 Client-Side Storage in Safari and Key Archiving.
Graphics
Graphics is one of the first things that attracts people to an app. Alternative Spaces integrates graphics tools that make it possible to support apps with 2D and 3D digital content. We can also add supporting device features, such as a library of user's photos, battery life details or remote control. Here are short descriptions of the tools commonly used in iOS development of graphics.
- UIKit graphics allow the user to draw directly on the screen; it is also capable of PDF graphics contexts and offscreen drawing.
- Quartz 2D, as the name implies, is for 2D drawing.
- Core Graphics is for low level 2D drawing using Quartz.
- Core Image is an API used for applying filters and effects in the QuartzCore Framework.
- Core Animation is an API of the QuartzCore Framework.
- Open GL ES is an infrastructure for drawing code.
- GLKit eliminates the need for setup and maintenance of code when using Open GL ES content.
- SpriteKit is a framework for making 2D games.
- GPUImage is for image and video processing using the GPU.
- OpenCV is a library of algorithms for computer vision and machine learning.

Full Stack Custom iOS Application Development