This chapter is from the book
This chapter is from the book
This chapter is from the book
iOS and Featurefulness
When considering how featureful an iOS app you want to make, you’ve got to consider the platform. Part of the magic of iPhone and iPad is that they’re aggressive about paring back how much an individual app is expected to do. Because of the platform’s touch-based interaction model, relatively limited hardware specs, and intense priority on instant feedback, apps tend to be sleeker and leaner. There is plenty of room for powerful, feature-rich software on iOS, but the typical app is far more streamlined and focused than its desktop equivalent. That focus means you can deliver a precisely tuned experience to your target users without worrying too much about pleasing everyone else.
So for each question you consider, err on the side of omitting features, especially features you can add later. Big, ambitious apps can still be big and ambitious, of course. But they’ll be less big and ambitious than if you were creating them for the desktop.
Part III of this book, particularly Chapter 11, goes into great detail about how to decide which features fit into your app and fit onto the iOS platform. When considering whether to include a feature mentioned in your initial outline, you may find useful guidance there.