React Native & Expo app development

THE RIGHT WORK, AT THE RIGHT TIME

Your app. Built on the right foundation.

We develop React Native and Expo apps for iOS and Android, connecting the customer experience with the backend and administration it needs. That can mean a wellness library like U4RIA, a coaching subscription like Coach Phil or an existing product that needs a clearer interface and a more maintainable codebase. We start with the useful journey your first release should complete.

Our mobile app development scope can include accounts, subscriptions, content libraries, messaging, notifications and connections to your existing systems. We also plan the administration your team needs to support those features. For a subscription product, for example, the experience includes access rules and account states as well as the purchase screen. Those relationships shape the interface and the backend together.

React Native is the foundation we use most for mobile app development, including both Expo and bare React Native projects. We help you choose how to build and maintain the app around its native SDKs, release process and existing code. Our work covers new Expo applications, custom development builds, native integrations and ongoing development in established iOS and Android projects. Flutter can also be considered where it fits an existing product or a specific brief.

A shared codebase still needs platform-specific care. We plan real-device testing, permissions, interrupted connections, signing and store submission alongside feature development. For an existing app, we review the current build before recommending a workflow change. The aim is to keep the product maintainable as operating systems, dependencies and your business change.

THE WORK IN PRACTICE

Real apps. Different business needs.

ORIGINAL PROJECT VISUALS / U4RIA

ORIGINAL PROJECT VISUALS / Coach Phil

ORIGINAL PROJECT VISUALS / Click and Go

For a defined coaching-product starting scope, explore our branded fitness app package. Custom applications and these portfolio projects have their own agreed scopes.

EXPLORE THE SERVICES

A closer look at where we can help.

Choose a service to explore the scope, delivery approach and questions to consider for your project.

React Native development for the app and the business around it

React Native sits at the centre of our mobile development work. It lets us share product logic and much of the interface across iOS and Android while working with the device capabilities the experience needs. That can suit a coaching subscription, a wellness content library, a booking platform or a workforce app. The useful question is how reliably the whole journey works, from the first sign-in to the task a customer returns for.

We can take a new product from flows and prototypes into a working app, or join an existing React Native codebase to develop features, resolve integration problems and prepare the next release. Scope can include TypeScript components, navigation, authentication, APIs, media, notifications and the backend or admin panel. We agree the exact integrations and acceptance criteria before estimating the work.

Shared development does not mean treating the platforms as identical. We review permissions, navigation, accessibility, device sizes and background behaviour on both systems. For features such as audio, subscriptions or a vendor SDK, an early working integration helps identify the real constraints before the rest of the interface is built around it.

Expo app development beyond the prototype

Expo is a framework and toolset built around React Native. Our Expo development work can include app setup, development builds, native libraries, configuration plugins, build profiles and release preparation. It is a practical route for teams that want a shared mobile foundation with a consistent development workflow, provided the required integrations fit the chosen versions.

Expo Go is useful for trying compatible functionality, but its installed native libraries are fixed. A development build is your app’s own testing binary and can include the native dependencies it needs. Requiring a custom SDK does not automatically mean leaving Expo. We check the integration, configuration and device behaviour in a development build before recommending the approach.

Where Continuous Native Generation fits, app configuration and plugins describe the native setup so iOS and Android projects can be generated again. EAS Build can support hosted builds, while local builds and existing pipelines remain options. We agree account ownership, environment separation and who maintains the release process as part of the delivery scope.

Bare React Native development and native project ownership

Some apps already have substantial work in their iOS and Android projects, or depend on platform-specific configuration that the team needs to maintain directly. We support bare React Native development in that context: reviewing the existing native setup, integrating required SDKs, resolving build problems and planning dependency upgrades alongside product features.

Bare describes how the native projects are maintained; it does not mean every Expo tool is unavailable. Expo modules and selected services can be adopted within an existing React Native app. We separate those choices so a useful build tool or library does not become an unnecessary application rewrite.

For an inherited app, we start by reproducing the current build and identifying custom native changes, signing ownership, dependency constraints and release requirements. A migration to Expo or generated native projects is considered only when its benefits justify the work. Any direct changes that need to survive regeneration must first be represented in configuration, plugins or maintained modules.

Expo or bare React Native: decide with your hardest feature

For a new app, we usually evaluate Expo with development builds first. For an established app with carefully maintained native projects, keeping that workflow may be the sensible starting point. We compare the actual SDKs, supported devices, build ownership and upgrade responsibilities. Neither label is a promise of lower cost or better performance on its own.

Bring us the feature you are least sure about, your current repository if you have one, and the platforms you need to support. We can scope a focused technical review or prototype, then use that evidence to plan the app. Our comparison guide explains the choices, migration risks and release questions in more detail.

Connect the app to the business behind it

The visible app is only one part of the product. Content may need to be published, subscriptions checked, customer messages answered or user records maintained. We map those responsibilities alongside the client-facing screens, so the backend and administrative workspace support the experience from the beginning.

A prototype helps us agree the main journey before building every screen. We discuss sign-in, navigation and the feature that gives someone a reason to return. Platform-specific requirements, device capabilities and interrupted connections are identified early. Those decisions help determine whether a shared cross-platform codebase or a more specialised integration fits the brief.

Prepare for real devices and a real release

Testing needs to reflect how mobile products are used. We agree a device and operating-system matrix, check the important flows and consider permissions, backgrounding, poor connectivity and expired sessions. Purchase-related work also needs attention to subscription status, restored access and the difference between the development and production environments.

Release preparation can include build configuration, signing, store-listing assets and submission support. Review decisions remain with the platform, so the schedule should allow room for feedback and any required changes. We also agree who maintains the app after launch and how future operating-system updates, dependency changes and product improvements will be handled.

Know what belongs in your first release

A useful first scope connects the app to everything needed to run it. We identify the member or customer journey, backend records, administrative tasks and external integrations, then agree what acceptance looks like. Deliverables may include reviewed flows, a working app, the agreed APIs and admin screens, device checks, production builds and handover notes. Each item belongs in the proposal rather than being assumed from a screen count.

Budget and timing depend on the difficult parts of that journey: native SDKs, subscriptions, media, offline behavior, imports and the condition of an inherited codebase. Share the feature you are least sure about and a budget range. We can define a review or prototype first, then estimate the next phase from what it establishes. Store accounts, content, signing access and review availability are practical dependencies to plan early.

Clear scope. Visible progress.

A defined project can take a specific outcome through to release. If your priorities change regularly, an ongoing engagement can support a shared backlog. We agree the responsibilities, review points and scope before starting.

Plan the build and the release.

Use these guides to prepare the decisions that affect your app’s scope and delivery.