Complete Guide To Choosing The Best Mobile Prototyping Tool For iPhone Application Development

by Melissa Crooks Tech Writer

Mobile prototyping tools over the years have become so popular that it comes with complete features to make mobile design jobs easier. Presently in the marketplace, there is always a new prototype tool for a mobile design that makes the market very competitive.

Nonetheless, choosing the right tool for mobile design can be a very difficult task, but with the right guide, you can be able to decide on the best one for your mobile app development.

Why You Need a Mobile Prototype Tool

A lot of individuals today want to remain updated with what's trending in the mobile technology industry. Testing and designing the tool right after its release can help in improving the outflow of the work and achieve a profitable outcome. Aside from that, it can help minimize the amount of time spent to develop a new app.

So that being said, let’s look at the Important factors which will help you in choosing the best mobile prototyping tools:

1. Visual Designing for Instant Appeal

Visual designing can be referred to as one of the most compelling constraints when selecting the best prototype tools for the mobile. It's crucial that we consider the expectations of deliverable visual reliability. It is one task that's often taken by users, especially in big corporations, and it is taken on three different levels which include; low, moderate and high. The concept proof is usually low, the usability testing is moderate, while the pitches are generally high. In the long run, it is the target audience and the purpose of the project that really matters.

2. Incorporating Animation is a Big Boost

The animation tool is another appropriate mobile prototyping tool. It is one such tool that can help pass across complex interactions. Another vital point to take into consideration here is the level of control over the animation prototype.

Here you can make use of tools with the Facility of in-built animations. Examples of such tools include Xcode, Blueprint, and POP - though they lack customizability. But on the other hand, there are other much stronger animation tools popular for their functionality and elastic settings which include Proto.io, Axure, and Justinmind. If your priority happens to control the elastic friction or velocity, then tools like CSS3 or Framer animation can become useful.

3. A More Interacting Fidelity is Crucial

Interactive fidelity can be found at different levels, but first, you need to which type of communicative flow you want. You can pick either a multi-step interaction or a static page. The latter is ideal for conceptual and usability testing. It allows you access features like clickable area with side-ins and hyperlinks. While the former is suitable, that's if you are going for documentation based prototypes.

4. Mobile Prototyping for Gestures

The Gestures is known as one of the essential factors while selecting the best prototyping tools; nonetheless, you might not necessarily need the gestural inputs for a project, since It is supported mostly by the UX tools. And to ease out the matter, there are two categories involved, the first is built-in gestures and the second is multi-finger input.

The AppCooker, POP, and Blueprint are the most suitable instances for Built-in gestures which can be seen in cloud-based mobiles. Also, with additional features such as flicks, tapsipes, etc. The that are seen in the category of multi-finger involve Axure and Hammer.

5. Knowing the Right Tool to Use for the Job

This mostly depends on the type of project and the tool to use in solving purposes. It is advisable to choose the tool depending on the type of app you are approaching. That's you need to take your time in selecting the app very attentively so as to bring a new uniqueness to your mobile apps. For example, as a hire iPhone developer, if your app is native based, then choosing tools such as Origami, Form, Pixate is most ideal. While, if you have access to screen mockups, then picking tools like Solidify, Concept will better serve your purpose.

6. Collaboration is the Key

Collaboration is all about teamwork. If you don't possess this quality yet as a hire iPhone developer, it is highly advisable to develop it so as to achieve success - since the prototype tool creation depends greatly on how well the developer and the visual designers gelled together.

For instance, the availability of single user tools such as Framer and Pixate and other tools like InVision, POP all offers the average level of collaboration. But ideal examples are Axure and Justinmind.

7. Documentation

Documentation makes it clear that due to the interactions some of the prototypes need little or no documentation. But this is important, especially where a lot of business complexity is involved because it helps to get the minute details that are not visible in the prototype.

A clear example, in this case, is Justinmind and Axure.

8. Adopting Simple Demoing Methods

Demoing is regarded as one of the vital techniques used as tools in the prototyping in iPhone application development. There are two different methodologies involved in this. One is from the target device; the other is from the computer. It is essential that you get familiar with the best technique to make your project successful.

If you are considering using the target device, the best tools would be Marvel, Blueprint, and POP. While for the computer method you can opt for the Framer, Pixate, and Flinto.

9. Checking the Responsiveness

It is imperative to note if the prototype will support either the responsiveness or the native web design; additionally, you need to decide which responsive design will support fluid or adaptive layouts - and check to see if there's a collection of responsive widgets and the process of demoing it into the tool. Justinmind and Proto.io offer fluid design features, on the other hand, Axure allows you the adaptive feature.

10. Some other Important Factors

There are some other important factors which are also taken into account when choosing The Best Mobile Prototyping Tool. Some of them include; Cost of the Project, Third Party Resources, Learnability, and Technical Assistance.

Conclusion

With these factors discussed above, it is a guarantee that you will make the right choice when picking a mobile prototyping tool for iPhone application development. However, you must make the final call depending on the particular project criteria and requirements. Most importantly, having the necessary knowledge on coding as well as be proficient in visual design is key for iPhone app development. If you can't design it, hire iPhone developer to get it done. This will help you make a crucial decision in a cool-headed and calm way.