A mobile app developer for iOS, Android and desktop from one codebase

React Native when the team is web‑first and the app is mostly screens and data. Native when the product is the hardware: camera pipelines, audio, heavy background work. I have shipped React Native to both stores and know where it hurts. The web side of that story is on the React page.

For desktop apps that need a tray, a window and the file system, yes. I used it to ship Sandtime.io to macOS, Windows and Linux from one codebase. The size is a cost, the velocity is the gain. For the pure‑web route see the JavaScript page.

Painful once, then a checklist. Privacy details, sign‑in parity, subscription flows, screenshots, review notes. Patriot Mail went through App Store review on iOS and macOS with that list.

Shipped one for a time tracker. Manifest V3, a service worker, the same login as the web app, Web Store listing included. The same codebase runs as a SaaS on the web.

Both. Taking over starts with a build that passes on my machine, a signing audit and a release to TestFlight within the first week.

The app keeps shipping without me. Code lives in your repository from day one, the developer accounts and signing keys stay in your company’s name, and releases run from CI with a written runbook, so a build never depends on my laptop. On Sandtime.io I was the only engineer active in every year of the product, which is why I write things down. More on the trust page.

Coding agents write much of the first draft, and I own every line that merges. In 2026 about two thirds of the merged pull requests across two products I work on were built with coding agents, nearly all through my review or merge, and I reviewed 300+ pull requests by others. If your policy says no AI, I write by hand and the estimate reflects the hours.

From 3 November 2026. A new app starts with a first shipped slice: three weeks full time, $3,672⁠–⁠$7,452 excl. VAT for 102⁠–⁠138 h, priced before it starts. A takeover can start with the one‑week code audit above. Rates are on the pricing page, and the engagement configurator shows hours and a price range for your app. Then book the call and bring the store accounts.

A new personal account first needs a 14‑day closed test with 12 testers (Play Console Help), and the app must target API 36 (Android developers). Plan about three weeks before production review.

Only if it goes beyond a repackaged website, under guideline 4.2 (App Review Guidelines). Android developer verification has applied since 30 September 2026 in Brazil, Indonesia, Singapore and Thailand and goes global in 2027 (Android developers).

Starting 1 February 2027, Google Play won’t let you release updates to apps targeting Android 15 or higher that don’t support 16 KB memory pages on 64‑bit devices (Android developers). One old native library in a React Native app is enough to freeze your releases. I find every .so file that isn’t 16 KB aligned, upgrade or replace the dependency behind it in waves you can revert, and test the build on a 16 KB emulator image before it goes to Play. A typical app is often done in one evening. In August 2026 an Android app I worked on was about to drop out of Google Play search over an outdated target API; I laid out the upgrade path, coordinated device testing, and the new build was live before the deadline.