Huawei, Humai, and the Quest for Immortality Through Tech

In a fascinating report to Bloomberg, Huawei spokesperson Kevin ho described the company’s ongoing investments in an idea that may strike the general public as outlandish: immortality. Specifically, the company believes that mobile app developers will one day be able to design products that allow users to live on in the digital world through a […]
Explain Like I’m Five: UX vs UI vs Graphic Designers

You say tom-ay-to, I say tom-ah-to. I say UX designer, you say “what’s UX exactly?” Of all the roles in a mobile app development company, the roles of the various types of designers are often most confusing to newcomers. In this post we’ll explain the difference between UI, UX, and graphic designers. More importantly, we’ll […]
Even YouTube Wants in on the Messaging App Revolution

It’s no secret among Chicago iPhone app developers that messaging apps like Telegram and WeChat represent the future of the mobile experience. Even social networks have been becoming increasingly private (Snapchat’s rapid domination among young users stands as living proof), while chat apps like Line and WhatsApp are now used for the sake of their […]
Slack Vs Hipchat: Communication Isn’t Just about Tools

“It’s a poor carpenter that blames their tools.” It may be a cliche, but that doesn’t make it any less true, for carpenters and iPad app developers alike. Most app development companies (and many non-tech companies) made the switch to Slack, Hipchat, and other chat-based workplace communication tools over the past year. As users move […]
4 Lessons Startups Can Learn from Small Businesses

According to CB Insights, only 1.28% of startups become unicorns. Does that make the other 98.72% failures? Hardly. In startup culture — and even more so in venture capital culture — there’s a tendency to overlook the value of thinking small. While it’s true that a business model that can’t scale to a billion dollar business […]
App Store Review Process Cut by More than a Third

New data from AppReviewTimes.com indicates that review times in the Apple iOS and Mac app stores are down approximately a third in both categories, prompting widespread approval from iPhone app developers excited about faster and more frequent app update possibilities. As of this writing, the Mac App Store average review time was down to 1.17 […]
Conversion, Statistics, Data: It’s All about Happy Users
Communication between PMs, developers, and designers can at times resemble a peace summit between three tribes, with each speaking a different language and holding different ideals. In a recent post to Medium, Facebook product designer Julie Zhuo proposed a few ideas to help project managers and iPhone app developers mesh with designers. Among those […]
Idea vs Execution: Why Ideas Are Valuable but Action Is Gold

Have a great iPhone app idea? Good — that’s the starting point of every successful startup in every mobile app development company, including big names like Snapchat and Instagram. Unfortunately, iPhone app ideas are only worth as much as the founder is willing to commit to make them a reality. Even if you’ve successfully developed […]
How to Use Notifications to Retain Mobile App Users

I don’t believe I’m alone when I say that at least half the apps on my phone only reach me on a daily basis through notifications. Surely I’m also in good company when I say that apps that don’t use notifications properly are, at best, a serious nuisance. That isn’t to say that notifications are […]
Bootstrapping vs Crowdfunding vs Venture Capital Firms

Virtually all businesses require some form of investment to get off the ground. It’s certainly true for iPhone app developers — although depending on the type of startup, the financial figure required can be anywhere from a few thousand to a few million. In this post we’ll walk through the three most common types of […]