Mobile app architecture: A complete guide for developers

Brief synopsis: An architecture is a fundamental building block of a mobile application. It provides structure and support, facilitating optimal performance of the application. Today, we’ll discuss the meaning, significance, and types of a mobile app architecture. We'll also look into the key aspects and best practices developers need to embrace to build a robust, reliable, and resilient architecture that can effectively tackle the ongoing needs and upcoming disruptions effectively.

Mobile application architecture: Learning the basics

A mobile application is a blend of several components, like UI, APIs, and databases, all mushed together. These components are arranged and married together over a clean arrangement of layers, forming what we refer to as a mobile app architecture.

This architecture supports and holds everything together that makes the app functional and useful. It’s intrinsic to the performance of the application - setting the rules, defining functional dynamics, building connections, and creating pragmatic, seamless user experience flows.

It wouldn’t be wrong to say that an architecture is an integral part, an indispensable factor that gives the application its strength and value. That also means a shaky architecture could spell trouble for businesses.

Let’s look into the questions developers must ask before building a mobile app architecture.

Building the right mobile app architecture: What questions to ask as a starting point?

Getting a mobile app architecture up and running is no easy feat. Start strong by asking the key questions that will guide a mobile application’s architectural decisions.

1. Area of concern: Device determination

Questions to ask:

• What contribution can factors like screen size, resolution, CPU characteristics, memory, and storage space bring to the architecture?
• How does the accessibility to the development tool environment influence the overall design process?

2. Area of concern: Bandwidth status

Questions to ask:

• What considerations should be made to accommodate varying internet connectivity throughout the application's lifecycle?
• How should the architecture handle scenarios with limited or no internet access?
• How should data access mechanisms, caching, and state management be designed for worst-case network conditions?

3. Area of concern: User interface

Questions to ask:

• How can the mobile app architecture ensure the right user interface (UI) and user experience (UX)?
• What strategies should be employed to keep users engaged and provide them with an uncluttered experience?
• How does the UI design contribute to the overall effectiveness of the architecture?

4. Area of concern: Navigation approach

Questions to ask:

• What factors should developers analyze to determine the most suitable approach for their app?
• How does understanding the target audience and their requirements influence the choice between stacked navigation bars, single views, scroll views, tab controllers, search-based navigation, model controllers, or gesture-driven navigation?
• How does expertise in both backend and frontend development play a role in this decision-making process?

5. Area of concern: Real-time updates or push notifications

Questions to ask:

• In what way can it be ascertained whether users require real-time updates or push notifications?
• How do real-time updates and push notifications impact user experience, cost, battery consumption, and data usage?
• How should the architecture accommodate the chosen approach while optimizing performance and efficiency?

The significance of a robust mobile app architecture

Let’s explore why building a robust mobile application architecture is of significant importance.

1. Efficient structure

The architecture provides the vital support for organizing and integrating structural elements of the application. It acts as the skeleton, giving the essential form and feel to the application, crucial for its efficiency, reliability, and scalability.

2. Cost and time savings

The mobile app architecture, when built considering proven practices and success factors, saves a considerable amount of time, effort, and costs in the long run. A well-curated architecture of mobile application cuts down iterations and dodges instances of rework, optimizing and accelerating development processes by a mile.

3. Enhanced scalability

The winning trait of a carefully crafted mobile app architecture is its ability to handle surges and stressful events without hitting a wall. When an application’s architecture can be scaled seamlessly, a business gets the ability to keep up with the market demands while remaining uninterrupted by performance hiccups.

4. Improved flexibility

In the ephemeral digital landscape of today, when the market needs change in a blink of an eye, a well-built mobile app architecture ensures adaptability, allowing businesses to pivot instantly and accommodate fluctuating requirements. The right architecture empowers businesses to implement agile methodologies and tackle changing dynamics from the get go.

5. Streamlined maintenance

Mobile app architecture, when meticulously put together, streamlines maintenance and support, transforming processes as more efficient, seamless, and effortless. This eventually translates into saving more time and resources for businesses.

Mobile app architecture diagram: Understanding application layers

The architecture of a mobile application is an intricate arrangement where different layers work synchronously and execute functionalities. Typically, an application’s architecture consists of three layers: presentation, business, and data layers. We aim to demystify each of these below.

1. Presentation layer

The presentation layer is the apex layer, resting at the top of the architecture and defining how users interact with the mobile application.

Encompassing a myriad of UI/UX elements, the main objective of this layer is to execute action when a user prompt is received and translating data into something that users can understand and interact with. Simply put, the presentation layer defines the look and feel of the mobile application and handles user interactions.

Coming up with the right presentation layer requires a heap of effort. Mobile app developers take into account a number of factors, such as the client type, deployment limitations, data format, and visualization mechanisms.

2. Business layer

The business layer is where the application logic lies. Harboring a set of predefined rules and algorithms, the business layer manages the core operations, workflows, and processes that makes the application usable. Besides, it also handles the flow of data and determines how data is generated, curated, cached, and leveraged within the application ecosystem.

The business logic layer comprises two entities: Domain Model and Service. While the domain model layer deals with expertise related to specific problems, the service layer provides common functions for users.

3. Data access layer

The data layer is the huge repository of information. It manages underlying data workflow operations at scale that ultimately results in better application performance and user experience. The data layer is an amalgamation of different elements, like service agents, access components, helpers, and utilities, which together act as a medium to carry out core-critical data transactions within the application.

A secure and reliable data management layer makes a key difference. A Mobile Application Development company must take scalability and security into consideration when designing a data layer. It should be agile enough to cater to changing market circumstances and should be secure enough to knock down breach attempts - all while providing ease of maintenance.

                                                           ^{The three tier mobile app architecture diagram}

Decoding the most common mobile app patterns in use

Mobile app architectures vary from ecosystem to ecosystem. An Android application’s architecture differs from an iOS app's, so it’s essential to understand the different types of mobile app architecture patterns and identify which better suits a business's requirements.

Android mobile app architecture

iOS mobile app architecture

Hybrid mobile app architecture

At the foundation of a hybrid application lies a medley of native and web app features. While the core of a hybrid app is written with web technologies, it bears a native app ‘container’ - bespoke and lightweight - that makes it leverage native features and hardware device specifications that standalone web applications can’t access.

Having a unified codebase across platforms, hybrid apps allow developers to benefit from accelerated development and deployment. Other benefits include cross-functional flexibility, minimized TCO, and maximized cost savings.

Cross-platform mobile app architecture

The demand for cross-platform mobile applications is at all-time high, driving the imperative to understand its architecture. Like hybrid apps, cross-platform apps have a single codebase, compatible with Android and iOS. However, the only point of difference is that the codebase is built using frameworks instead of web technologies.

Mobile app developers employ frameworks like Flutter, Ionic, Xamarin, React Native, offering a better native-like experience with superior performance. Cross-platform mobile app architecture patterns offer additional benefits like quicker loading times and cost-effectiveness.

Mobile app architecture best practices

To create robust and highly effective mobile app architectures, it's essential to adhere to best practices. The table below offers a quick overview of these key principles for optimal Mobile App Development.

What characteristics does a robust mobile app architecture have?

Mobile app architecture is considered a standout success when it exhibits certain characteristics, which we explore in the section below.

1. Performance

There’s no greater yardstick than performance to decide whether an application's architecture is a success. Take note of how the application responds to user prompts. Assess its pace of execution and reliability. If everything hits the mark, the architecture is deemed efficient.

2. Sustainability

Sustainability serves as the ultimate measure to determine if an application’s architecture is built to last. Market requirements keep oscillating, and hence, a mobile application architecture should be able to adapt to shifts immediately, providing a buffer for a business against disruptions. While in operation, if an architecture shows signs of resilience, it’s an ideal one.

3. Extensibility

Any digital solution that remains stagnant and doesn’t evolve in tandem with market needs is a recipe for disaster. The principle applies equally to mobile app architecture. An architecture that’s easier to scale and flexible for new feature enhancements is geared towards excellence.

4. Testability

In the context of mobile app architecture, testability is a key hallmark of success. When the testability is on the higher side, it becomes easier to find and isolate faults early in the development phase, saving developers all the hassles at the eleventh hour.

5. Security

With hundreds of digital threats looming, it’s essential to beef up a mobile app’s architecture with the right kind of defenses to safeguard data. If an architecture is well-secured and equipped with the latest security features, it’s built to withstand potential breaches and ensure data integrity.

Mobile app architecture: The right collaboration counts

As understood so far, an architecture is the lifeblood of a mobile application, powering its core and capabilities. Given its critical nature, it’s a wise step to rope in a Mobile Application Development company like Kellton and empower applications with the right architectures that open the door to entirely new possibilities.

By collaborating with certified professionals, businesses can tap into market-relevant skills, deep expertise, and advanced digital capabilities, which can help any organization grow and differentiate themselves against competition.

A mobile app development company applies agile methodologies and proven practices that can be further leveraged to lift architecture’s performance, resilience, and adaptability for years to come.

So, are you ready to build the next big thing for your mobile apps? Let’s talk!