iOS App Development Services
Swift and SwiftUI for iOS apps that need full device access. Face ID, ARKit, Core ML, HealthKit, in-app purchases, and App Store submission. We've handled Apple review cycles, guideline rejections, and edge cases that first-time iOS teams spend weeks debugging.
Swift and SwiftUI for modern iOS development
App Store approval handled from submission to first release
Face ID, ARKit, HealthKit, and in-app purchases built in
iPhone and iPad support, Apple Watch extensions on request
The problem
App Store review rejected your submission and nobody on the team knew how to fix the guideline violation?
Your iOS app works on the latest iPhone but breaks on older devices your users actually have?
You've been quoted timelines that assume everything goes right, but Apple review doesn't work that way?
Short answer
iOS holds roughly 58% of the US smartphone market (StatCounter, 2025), so iPhone is where most US users already are. RaftLabs builds native iOS apps in Swift and SwiftUI for clients across the US, UK, Europe, Canada, and the UAE. A focused v1 launches in about 8 to 12 weeks with App Store submission included, then grows.
Key takeaways
Trusted by
Most App Store rejections trace back to a short list of mistakes: thin privacy disclosures, in-app-purchase guideline violations, or entitlements that were never declared. Knowing those failure modes before you submit is most of the work, and it is the part first-time iOS teams underestimate.
iOS holds roughly 58% of the US smartphone market (StatCounter, 2025). For teams building consumer or enterprise apps in North America, iPhone is not an optional channel. It is where most of your users already are, which is why an iOS-first release usually earns back its cost before the Android build starts.
iOS services
Consumer iPhone and iPad apps
Swift and SwiftUI for modern iOS UI. Authentication with Sign in with Apple, Firebase Auth, or Auth0. Payments via Stripe. Push notifications via APNs. App Store submission with screenshots, privacy labels, and age rating. Tested on iPhone SE through the latest Pro models.
iOS apps with in-app purchases
StoreKit 2 for subscriptions, consumable purchases, and non-consumable products. Server-side receipt validation to prevent fraudulent purchase restoration. Subscription management UI that meets App Store Review Guideline 3.1.1 - Apple will reject apps that don't give users a clear path to manage or cancel.
ARKit and Core ML apps
ARKit for world tracking, face tracking, image recognition, and object placement. Core ML for on-device inference - image classification, object detection, NLP - running without a network round-trip. Vision framework for real-time camera analysis.
HealthKit and fitness apps
HealthKit integration for reading activity data, heart rate, sleep, and nutrition. WorkoutKit for guided workout apps. ResearchKit for data collection in research or clinical applications. HealthKit requires specific privacy strings and user permission flows that Apple scrutinises closely.
Apple Watch and iPad extensions
WatchKit and SwiftUI for Apple Watch apps - companion experiences, notification extensions, and independent watch apps. iPad-optimised layouts using SwiftUI's adaptive containers and Stage Manager support. Universal apps that share a codebase between iPhone and iPad with platform-appropriate layouts.
iOS app migration and rebuilds
Objective-C to Swift migration for legacy iOS apps. UIKit to SwiftUI migration for apps that need modern UI architecture. Feature parity audit before migration starts - we document every screen and interaction before writing a line of new code.
Why us
The engineers who assess your problem also build the solution. No bait-and-switch, no offshore handoff after the contract is signed. The team you meet in week 1 ships in week 12.
We scope the work, calculate the cost, and lock it in writing before any development starts. A scope change is a change request: priced, agreed, or dropped. It never absorbs into the project and appears on the final invoice.
RaftLabs has been shipping production iOS apps since 2015, rated 4.9/5 on Clutch. Its mobile work spans SaaS, AI, and enterprise platforms across healthcare, fintech, logistics, and hospitality.
Apple's review guidelines, privacy label requirements, and entitlements are scoped in week 1, not patched after rejection. We have handled HIPAA-compliant iOS apps for US healthcare clients and GDPR-compliant apps for European markets.
Most agencies build the app, then discover what Apple will not approve at submission. We invert that. Our method is review-first: the App Store Review Guidelines, the privacy manifest, and the device matrix are treated as design inputs in week 1, not paperwork at the end. A rejection late in a project can cost a launch window. Deciding the guideline questions before code is what keeps the timeline honest.
Our method
We map every feature to the App Store Review Guidelines, draft the privacy manifest (PrivacyInfo.xcprivacy), list each required-reason API the app calls, and confirm the entitlements and App Tracking Transparency prompts you will need. Most rejections are decided here, not at submission.
Every screen is designed at iPhone and iPad sizes against Apple's Human Interface Guidelines, because users expect an iOS app to feel like one. Dynamic Type, dark mode, and the empty and error states are all drawn before a line of Swift is written.
Two-week build cycles, each ending in a TestFlight build on real devices across your supported iOS matrix. Face ID via LocalAuthentication, push over APNs, and StoreKit 2 purchases land before polish, so the hard integrations are proven early rather than rushed at the end.
We test on real iPhones and iPads across the iOS versions your users actually run, not just the simulator. Instruments profiles memory and energy use, we check background-execution and low-power behaviour, and we run an accessibility pass against WCAG 2.1 AA.
Screenshots at every required size, App Privacy labels that match the manifest, age rating, and entitlements are all prepared before we submit. First submission is included and we budget one Apple revision cycle. You receive the full source, certificates, and provisioning profiles.
These are the pitfalls that sink iOS timelines, and how the review-first build plans around each one before it becomes a rejection or a crash report.
We build native iOS with Swift and SwiftUI as the default, and reach for UIKit and Objective-C only where a legacy codebase or a specific component demands it. The backend, cloud, and tooling are chosen to fit your data and handover needs, then documented so any competent iOS team can take the project over. The technologies we reach for most often:
| Layer | Technologies we use | Where it fits |
|---|---|---|
| Languages | Swift, SwiftUI, Objective-C | Swift and SwiftUI for all new work; Objective-C only for legacy migration |
| Frameworks | UIKit, Combine, Core Data, SwiftData, StoreKit 2, ARKit, Core ML, HealthKit | UI, state, local persistence, in-app purchases, AR, on-device ML, and health data |
| Tooling | Xcode, TestFlight, Fastlane, Instruments | Build, beta distribution, release automation, and performance profiling |
| Backend | Node.js, Python, Firebase | APIs, business logic, authentication, and real-time data for the app |
| Cloud and DevOps | AWS, CI/CD | Production-grade hosting and automated build, test, and release pipelines |
The rule holds at every layer: no proprietary frameworks that lock you in, and no stack we cannot hand to your team on day one, including the certificates and provisioning profiles.
We price by project, not by the hour. Start with the smallest shippable version, prove it in the App Store, then grow. After a scoping session you get a fixed quote with a defined scope, timeline, and price, so you know the number before development starts.
| Project type | Typical timeline | Cost range |
|---|---|---|
| Focused v1: one core workflow, push notifications, authentication, App Store delivery | 8-10 weeks | $20,000-$45,000 |
| Fuller build: backend API, in-app purchases, ARKit, or HealthKit features | 12-18 weeks | $50,000-$120,000 |
Apps with heavy server-side logic and real-time features run higher. What pushes cost up: deep platform integrations such as ARKit or HealthKit, strict compliance such as HIPAA or GDPR, and real-time features. What keeps it down is a narrow first scope and reusing managed services instead of building infrastructure early. The focused v1 is the entry point; the platform grows from there. We scope every project before pricing it.
We build both, so the honest answer is that it depends on the product. Native Swift and SwiftUI wins when the app leans on the hardware or the experience has to feel unmistakably iOS. Cross-platform earns its place when you are shipping iOS and Android together and the app is mostly content and forms. Here is how we weigh it.
| Native iOS (Swift/SwiftUI) | Cross-platform (Flutter/React Native) | |
|---|---|---|
| Performance and animation | Full ProMotion, Metal, and fluid SwiftUI transitions | Fine for most apps; heavy graphics and gestures can lag |
| New iOS features | Same-day access to new APIs like Live Activities and App Intents | Waits on the framework to add support |
| Device integration | Direct HealthKit, ARKit, Core ML, Face ID, Secure Enclave | Through plugins that can lag or break on an OS update |
| Cost across platforms | One codebase per platform; higher build cost | Shared codebase; cheaper if you also ship Android |
| Best fit | iOS-first products, deep hardware use, demanding UX | Content and CRUD apps shipping both platforms at once |
If your roadmap is iOS-first and touches the camera, health data, AR, or payments, native is the safer call. If Android matters equally on day one and the app is straightforward, we will say so and quote the cross-platform route instead.
Apple is pushing hard on a few fronts, and we build for them now rather than retrofitting later. SwiftUI is the default for new UI, and Swift 6 strict concurrency catches data races at compile time instead of in production. Privacy manifests are mandatory, not optional. App Intents and interactive widgets are becoming the way users reach an app without opening it. If your roadmap runs past this year, these are worth scoping into the first release.
The iOS development approach is largely the same across sectors. What changes is the compliance requirements and the data integrations specific to each one, from HealthKit and HIPAA in healthcare to payment and audit trails in fintech. We build iOS apps for:
Healthcare: HealthKit, HIPAA-ready remote patient monitoring, and clinical workflow apps.
FinTech: secure mobile banking, payments, and personal finance apps with biometric authentication.
Insurance: claims capture, policy management, and self-service iOS apps for policyholders.
Logistics: driver, dispatch, and last-mile tracking apps with offline support.
Real estate: listing, viewing, and property management apps for agents and buyers.
Education: learning, course, and student engagement apps for schools and edtech products.
Stay on topic
Proof
Voter IQ political discussion platform load-tested to 7,000+ concurrent users, shipped in 16 weeks against an election deadline
Read the case study
Article
Cost to Build an App Like Uber: The Owner's Playbook
You are not building a global ride-hailing competitor. You are building a fleet service, a corporate shuttle, or a niche vertical where Uber's model does not fit. Here is what it costs, how long it takes, and why clone scripts will waste your budget.
Read more
Article
How to build an app like Slack: costs, phases, and when to skip the clones
Building a Slack-like messaging app costs $30K-$110K and takes 14-30 weeks. This guide covers who actually builds custom messaging tools, the real cost to build a messaging app like Slack, why white-label clones fail at scale, and how RaftLabs approaches these builds.
Read more
Article
10 mobile-first design tips for exceptional user experiences
Mobile devices generate more than half of all web traffic. These 10 practical tips cover performance, thumb zones, accessibility, and testing - with specific numbers and failure modes most teams ignore.
Read moreA focused iOS app - one core workflow, push notifications, authentication, and App Store delivery - starts around $20,000-$45,000 for a first version. Add a backend API, in-app purchases, ARKit, or HealthKit and it grows to $50,000-$120,000 as the product expands. Apps with heavy server-side logic and real-time features run higher. We scope and fix the price before development starts.
A focused iOS app for a single core workflow launches a validated v1 in about 8-10 weeks from scope sign-off. Add a custom backend API and in-app purchases and the first version takes 12-14 weeks. ARKit, HealthKit, or other deep platform integrations push it to 14-18 weeks. Apple review usually takes 1-3 business days on a first submission, and we budget one revision cycle. The weeks-number is the first shippable version, not the finished product - the app keeps growing after launch.
Both, used appropriately. SwiftUI is our default for new screens - it's faster to build with and Apple's clear direction for future iOS UI development. UIKit is still necessary for some components and legacy codebases. We use Swift for all logic, never Objective-C on new projects. If you have an Objective-C codebase, we can migrate it incrementally to Swift during a rebuild project.
We handle the full submission process: screenshots at every required size, App Privacy labels (which must accurately reflect what the app collects), age rating questionnaire, and any required entitlements. We review against Apple's App Store Review Guidelines before submission to catch likely rejection reasons. We budget one revision cycle. If Apple requests changes beyond that, we handle them as part of the project until the app is approved.
Yes. Face ID and Touch ID via LocalAuthentication for biometric authentication - we use this instead of email/password re-entry for returning users. ARKit for augmented reality features: object placement, face tracking, image recognition, and world tracking. Core ML for on-device machine learning inference running locally without a network round-trip. In-app purchases and subscriptions via StoreKit 2, including server-side receipt validation to prevent fraud. HealthKit for reading and writing health data with proper permissions. Apple Watch extensions for apps where wrist notifications or companion functionality is needed.
We have shipped iOS apps across healthcare (HealthKit and remote patient monitoring), hospitality (guest check-in and loyalty), fintech (mobile POS and payments), pharma field-force training on iPad, and legal events. Most of our iOS clients are in the United States, United Kingdom, Europe, Canada, and the UAE. The iOS development approach is largely the same across industries - what changes is the compliance regime and the data integrations specific to each sector.
Work with us
Face ID, ARKit, in-app purchases, HealthKit - tell us the requirements. We'll scope it before we price it.