Top 10 Skills To Consider While Hiring iOS Developers

iOS is one of the most popular mobile app development platforms. Ever since its inception, the realm of iOS app development has seen a rapid increase, with over 2.22 million apps available on the iOS app store as of 2021, with iOS developers being some of the most sought-after professionals and iOS developer skills being the most in-demand skills.

There are various reasons why iOS rose as the most preferred platform for developers worldwide. The ease of app development, high-profit potential, unified user interface, and an overall minimalistic appearance, to name a few, led to the extensive development of iOS apps. Moreover, with a unified UI, there is little room for fragmentation problems.

The most important aspect of developing an iOS app is hiring talented iOS app developers with a strong background in mobile development and a proficient iOS development skill set.

This article will discuss the top 10 iOS developer skills you should look for while hiring iOS developers for your team. First, let us discuss why exactly there is a sudden increase in demand for iOS developers and why you need them for your company.

While Android apps have a larger worldwide market share, Apple currently has over 1 billion iPhones in use, all of which operate on iOS. As a result, the demand for skilled iOS developers has skyrocketed recently.

As of 2021, the App Store has 2.22 million apps, and these mobile apps are predicted to produce more than $935 billion in sales by 2023. The typical smartphone user utilizes ten applications per day and thirty apps per month.

According to CIO magazine, mobile developers are among the top ten most in-demand tech occupations. According to the US Bureau of Labor Statistics, app developer positions will expand 22 percent between 2019 and 2029.

An iOS developer creates, tests, and improves applications for mobile devices running on Apple's iOS operating system that aligns with their company's or client's goals and requirements. They have a solid grasp of iOS and how it interacts with various Apple devices such as the iPhone, iPad, Apple Watch, and Apple TV, as well as the ability to tailor their apps to the needs of their company or customer.

Swift 3.0 is the most popular language for iOS app development.

Swift, an object-oriented programming language developed by Apple, has a simple syntax and is easy to use. It is a robust and intuitive programming language used to create applications for Apple's platforms, including macOS, iOS, watchOS, and tvOS.

Swift programming language is fast and stable, allowing any iOS developer to develop responsive and feature-rich iOS applications quickly. Moreover, it is open-source and quick to learn.

It is essential to have in-depth knowledge of Swift 3.0 as this is one of the most required iOS developer skills.

Xcode IDE or Integrated Development Environment is one of the iOS developer required skill that is essential for any iOS developer when you want to hire them.

An IDE contains tools and programming essentials for automation, debugging, programming, interpretation, and compiling to simplify the process of creating software or mobile apps. The resources available in an IDE make development and deployment processes easier for newly developed and existing applications.

IDE also provides an incredible user experience and reduces development time and cost for iOS app development. Ensure to look for developers who have Xcode IDE in their iOS developer skill set.

Core Data is a framework that eases the development of data-driven applications by simplifying the management of model objects and their relationships. This relieves the developer of routine tasks associated with object life cycle and graph management.

Core Data significantly decreases the amount of code an iOS developer writes to support the model layer. iOS developers can use Core Data to save application data for offline use, cache temporary data, and add undo functionality to an app on a single device. Core Data automatically mirrors the schema to a CloudKit container when syncing across multiple devices in a single iCloud account.

Companies must hire iOS developers well-versed in using Core Data to build customer-centric applications.

Memory refers to the hardware used to store data on your device. An iPhone or iPad's primary short-term memory system relies on integrated RAM to temporarily store data. The device's operating system determines this allocated memory dynamically. iOS devices are resource-constrained on memory, so managing this memory is very crucial.

Apps get only so much memory access from the system, which can cause them to run slower and eventually crash.

Any senior iOS developer should know that the app might stop functioning once it crosses the established per-process limit and must know how to fix this by proper memory management.

Source control is a system management strategy used to track the changes made in the source code. It is an integral part of app development. This technique helps prevent conflicts between developers who work on the same application. A hands-on experience with source control helps most iOS developers collaborate and streamline the iOS development process. Hire iPhone app developers who are skilled at managing and working in teams.

A unit test is a function that tests how well the app works. Good unit tests are small, fast, and isolated. Each one tests just one thing by itself. For example, if you worked on a calculator app and added a feature that calculates the total time spent on activities in your app, you might write one unit test to make sure this new feature works correctly. You’d want to run this new test immediately after building your latest code changes so that you can find any problems as early as possible.

Unit tests can help prevent bugs. They check the functionality of each function in an application by using sets of given inputs and ensuring that they produce the correct outputs.

So, hire iOS developers who are well acquainted with these development skills to aptly test the validity and functionality of the app.

iOS applications run many tasks simultaneously, including fetching data from the network, displaying relevant information on the screen, and responding to touch inputs. This can significantly strain the device’s hardware.

Grand Central Dispatch is used in iOS ecosystem to introduce concurrency and parallelism in the operating system to perform heavy computing tasks in the background without affecting the user experience.

You must hire iOS developers proficient in GCD to prevent crashes and ensure high performance.

One of the primary skills for an iOS app developer is spatial reasoning ability. It is the capacity to understand objects at various scales and to manipulate them mentally. It answers, “How will the user utilize this app?” You must hire iOS developers who understand the user’s perspective to develop robust and user-friendly apps.

This skill bears significant weight in the developers’ skillset as the developer must consider all the parameters to provide an unparalleled user experience.

UI/ designers, or “user experience design experts,” specialize in the aesthetic elements of an iOS application. They create applications' look, feel, and navigation to improve the user experience.

UI and UX are critical to the design of an app. While UI takes care of the appearance, UX includes navigation, branding, usability, etc. You should hire iOS developers with a fair idea of design concepts to create attractive applications.

You should hire iOS developers who have a fair idea of design concepts to create attractive designs.

A storyboard is a diagram for an iOS application, showing user interface screens and the connections between them. Each scene in a storyboard is composed of a view controller and its views, connected by segue objects representing transitions between screens.

Storyboards enable you to visualize the appearance and flow of your application's user interface. Storyboards are the recommended way to design your application's user interface because they will allow you to see a complete picture of its behavior.

The above-mentioned technical skills are necessary to look for when companies hire iOS developers. But, it is crucial to look beyond the technical skills and consider soft skills parallelly to hire a competent and creative iOS developer.

When we think of iOS developers, only their technical expertise comes to mind. However, soft skills, also known as non-technical skills, play a significant role in making developers highly successful.

Moreover, developers with the right attitude and professional ethics ensure timely delivery of the projects and bear responsibility for their actions. So, companies must look for the following skills when hiring iOS developers.

Here are the essential non-technical skills iOS developers must possess:

When working on a project, iOS developers must interact with the clients and other team members to collaboratively arrive at the desired outcome.

Good communication and conversational skills are undoubtedly vital to the iOS developer skill set. This not only aids the developers in understanding the project or client requirements but also helps in presenting an alternative scenario with a better outcome.

Every job comes with a fair share of challenges. And iOS development is no easy walk in the park.

Developers must overcome several obstacles and roadblocks to create a successful iOS app. An iOS developer must always approach a problem with rational thinking and analyze the situation to arrive at the required solution. You must hire developers with the right mindset who can think on their feet, as this can work wonders in times of crisis. This type of critical thinking leads to company growth as well.

The workplace is constantly changing with the technological world, bringing in new trends at every turn. So when things don’t go as planned, it is crucial to adapt and proactively learn how to deal with the change. Now, this does not mean giving in at the sight of adversity. Hire candidates who can adapt to the ever-changing world and learn to implement those changes in your app to make it better suited for the current situation.

The development of a well-curated iOS application requires a team effort. As a result, synergy is the key to meeting client expectations and getting the desired outcome. To achieve these goals, one must not be just a team player but also a strong communicator who knows how to bring out the best in others.

While some people struggle with teamwork, it is crucial to maintain the dynamics of the team. So when choosing to hire iOS developers, look for developers who work well in a team and use their strengths for team growth.

Not all clients have a clear picture of what they want as the end product. And, at times things get lost in translation as well. Or there is a high chance that the client’s requirements are impossible to achieve.

At times like these, iOS developers must innovate and develop the best application that is profitable as well as user-friendly. It is not always easy to find and hire iOS developers who are innovative but come up with an in-depth assessment that can help you sort out the best from the rest.

A strong work ethic, such as being punctual, organized, meeting deadlines, staying focused, etc., may seem trivial compared to major aspects of the job. But they are important and prove that the candidate prioritizes work.

A disciplined and focused approach will help produce better outcomes, whether working in a team or independently. So, companies must hire developers who exhibit a professional work ethic to ensure a cultural fit and growth.

iOS developers play an important role at every stage of iOS app development. From gathering client requirements and planning to developing a scalable UI and integrating all pieces, iOS developers are accountable for the smooth sailing of the whole project from inception to completion.

Since hiring iOS developers is vital for app development, consider all the necessary technical and non-technical skills to choose the right one. You can also go with freelance iOS developers if you are only hiring for a particular project. And if you are actively looking to hire iOS developers, we have some brilliant ones.

Turing.com, an AI-based deep jobs platform, matches upscaling start-ups and large enterprises with remarkable Silicon Valley-caliber iOS developers who can take the company to new heights. These developers are pre-assessed, pre-vetted, and tailored to your specific requirements.

They are put through rigorous tests that measure their technical skills, expertise, and level of understanding. Moreover, these developers boast a strong portfolio and have worked on reputed projects. So spin up your dream engineering team and hire iOS developers now with Turing with a 2-week risk-free trial!