Mobile app development

Mobile app development glossary

A plain-English glossary of the terms you'll hear when building an app.

Terms

MVP — Minimum Viable Product: the smallest shippable version that proves value.
Native — built in a platform's own language (Swift for iOS, Kotlin for Android).
Cross-platform — one codebase for both stores (React Native, Flutter).
Backend — the server, database and APIs that power the app.
API — the interface apps use to talk to a backend or third-party service.
TestFlight — Apple's beta-testing tool for iOS apps.
Push notification — a message delivered to a device via APNs (iOS) or FCM (Android).
OTA update — shipping JavaScript changes without an app-store release (React Native).
Retention — the share of users who come back over time.

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