Applications software can be written for a particular operating system (OS), such as iOS or Android. App developers typically specialize in a specific development area, such as mobile phone applications, graphics software, accounting software, or office suites.

Marketing firms often conduct research in order to gather information relating to consumer needs. This information is then passed on to app developers who create new applications that meet the public’s needs in terms of use and cost. Several versions are made of the same basic application that can be read by different types of devices, such as cell phones, tablets and personal computers.

Once an app is complete and goes into production, the app developer works on creating patches (upgrades), that are periodically released to the public. App developers work for themselves just as often as they work for small, medium and large sized companies, building ‘native’ experiences that allow people to complete tasks, consume content and interact with brands and other people.

The following are three types of App Developers:

Mobile App Developers

Smartphones and, more recently, tablets are increasingly becoming the computer of choice for more and more people. Mobile app developers have specialized training in design for small electronic equipment, and write computer programs for smartphones and other mobile devices. Instead of building for a larger PC screen, these developers are dealing with extremely small Android, iPhone, or BlackBerry screens. They are experienced in multi-media applications and multiple mobile computer programming languages.

Mobile app developers typically write programs using either objective C, C++, Python, or Java. Each mobile device uses a specific programming language which app developers must understand.

iOS Developers

iOS is a shortened way of saying ‘iPhone OS’, or ‘iPhone Operating System’, and is the mobile operating system that runs on Apple’s mobile devices such as iPhones and iPads.

iOS developers build software – they know how to structure it, test it, debug it, and how to use source control. iOS developers know Swift or Objective-C (and some know both languages, which is best). They know iOS, which means they have a good grasp on build views; can handle user interaction; can display data; show alerts; handle navigation; display images, labels and text views; and integrate with REST APIs and parse JSON.

Android Developers

Android is the name of the mobile operating system owned by Google. Android typically comes installed on a variety of smartphones and tablets from many manufacturers such as Samsung, Sony, and Motorola (as well as on Google’s own Nexus smartphone), giving users access to Google services such as Search, YouTube, Maps, Gmail, etc.

An android developer develops applications for use on phones and tablets that utilize the android operating system – everything from interactive games to media players, to electronic book readers and global navigation software. The code required for android development is mostly open source and available freely for anyone interested in developing apps for use with the Android OS.

It’s an exciting time to have a career in Android development. There is a healthy supply of jobs, demand for Android apps is accelerating, and technology is advancing.