Cross Platform App Development (React Native and Flutter)

Who can build an app for iOS and Android at the same time

If you need to launch on both app stores without paying for two separate engineering teams, cross platform development is the usual answer. One team writes one codebase in React Native or Flutter, and that codebase compiles into a real iOS app and a real Android app. Tepia has been building cross platform apps since the early versions of React Native and has shipped Flutter apps for consumer, ministry and field service clients.

Tepia runs these builds with the same US led model as its native work: a US based project manager, design lead and engineering lead, with hand picked engineers working in US overlapping hours. You can see shipped examples on the Tepia portfolio.

Cross platform is not a compromise when the app is chosen correctly. Tepia’s cross platform apps are engineered for retention with native navigation, platform specific gestures and push notifications that behave the way each store’s users expect.

When one codebase is the right call

Tepia recommends a single codebase when the app’s value is in its content, workflow or data rather than in deep device integration. The table below is the one Tepia uses in Discovery.

Tepia clients report roughly 20% revenue increase after adding mobile, and for many of them a cross platform app was the fastest route to having mobile at all. If you are unsure which row you fall into, the React Native vs Flutter vs native guide goes deeper.

React Native or Flutter: how Tepia chooses

Both frameworks are mature and both are used by large companies. Tepia’s choice comes down to your team, your existing web code and the kind of interface you want.

• React Native when you already have React web developers, want to share logic with a React web app or admin portal, or rely heavily on third party SDKs (payments, analytics, maps) that have first class React Native support. Tepia writes React Native in TypeScript.
• Flutter when you want pixel identical custom UI on both platforms, animation heavy screens, or strong performance on low end Android devices. Flutter’s rendering engine draws every pixel itself, which makes design consistency easier.
• Native modules in Swift or Kotlin when a single feature (a barcode scanner SDK, a proprietary Bluetooth device) needs platform code. Tepia keeps these modules small and isolated so the rest of the app stays shared.

Whichever framework Tepia recommends, the backend is the same: Node.js, .NET or Python APIs on PostgreSQL, or Firebase for MVPs, hosted on AWS, Azure or GCP, with REST or GraphQL between the app and the server.

How Tepia approaches cross platform app development

Cross platform builds follow Tepia’s six phase process, with a few adjustments for two stores.

1. Discovery (typically 1 to 3 months). System investigation, user interviews and third party integration review, including a check that every required SDK supports your chosen framework. Deliverables: Investigation Summary, Interview Summary, User Stories.
2. Design. Design questionnaire, moodboards, a style guide, then wireframes and sample designs. Tepia designs once and documents where iOS and Android should differ (tab bars, back navigation, share sheets) so the app feels native on each.
3. Development and Testing. Alpha and Beta schedules with test plans across both platforms. Functional, user acceptance and non functional testing run on physical iPhones and a matrix of Android devices. Builds arrive through TestFlight and Play internal testing.
4. Training. In person and remote hands on sessions built around your user story scenarios.
5. Launch. Two store listings, two review processes, data migration, transition from the old system and support reps on rollout.

A Tepia project manager owns the schedule across both platforms, so a rejection from one store never stalls the other.

The limits of cross platform, stated plainly

Tepia would rather tell you the limits now than discover them in Beta. Cross platform apps run slightly larger than native apps, depend on the framework’s release cycle for access to new OS features, and can hit friction with unusual hardware. Some third party SDKs lag behind on one framework, and a few Apple and Google features (watch apps, certain widgets, App Clips) are not practical without native code.

None of these are deal breakers for most business apps, and Tepia mitigates them with native modules where needed. But if your roadmap depends on those features, Tepia will tell you to go native in Discovery, in writing, before you spend design money.

Already have a cross platform app that is slow or stuck on an old framework version? Browse all Tepia services.

Frequently asked questions