Mobile App Architecture: Everything You Need to Know

Quick Summary: Every successful app has a good architecture that forms its structure and features. It is essential to pick the most suitable architecture for your app to ensure its stability, performance, and quality. In this blog, we have discussed mobile app architecture, its types, best practices for architecture design, and more. Stay tuned to get every detail about mobile app architecture.

The demand for mobile apps is rising by leaps and bounds every year and shows no sign of slowing down. Also, as per Statista, you can expect the overall mobile app market size to value around USD 781.70 billion by 2029, with an annual growth rate of 7.48%.

This staggering data reveals the enormous opportunity that lies in the mobile app development industry. Businesses invest in mobile applications to reap benefits like providing a platform to interact with customers, access to business services, improved customer engagement, and more.

To build a mobile app, the first step is to design its architecture. The architecture is the foundation of a mobile app, like a skeleton upon which an app is designed and developed.

Now one thing we’ve realized the hard way, precisely in the last 10-12 years during which mobile apps evolved significantly, is that without a strong architecture, even the best app ideas can crumble. A lot of times we’ve worked with clients who came to us after their initial app failed because the architecture just couldn’t keep up.

Consequently, we always put our focus on designing an architecture that’s suitable for current needs as well as for where the app needs to be a year, or even five years, down the line.

This blog is a testament to that - to the undeniable importance of mobile apps architecture. We'll walk you through its definition, a few key concepts to get your head around, essential architectural patterns and features, best engineering practices to create one, and much more.

Stick with us till the end!

An Overview of Architecture for Mobile Apps

The way apps function despite having different components like UI, database, APIs, etc., is truly remarkable. It’s the app’s architecture that combines everything and defines a cohesive workflow. The architecture sets the rules for the connection between components and the app.

In a simple definition, a mobile app architecture is a combination of model/design and techniques used to build a mobile application ecosystem. It functions as the blueprint for an app that will take shape according to the architecture.

It is a collection of UI/UX, data flow, tech stack, and everything that makes an app functional and useful. The architecture also defines the entry points for users and various components along with their interactions.

Importance of Mobile Application Architecture

The significance of mobile app architecture cannot be underestimated and it’s crucial to the success of your app. The following points state all the importance of sound architecture for your mobile application:

Speed and Quality

The speed and quality of your mobile application strongly rely on the underlying architecture. Undoubtedly, architecture defines the way different components interact and behave to make the whole app functional.

Architecture is the backbone of an application that provides shape and structure. Users like apps that are smooth-functioning and intuitive, and they hate laggy and unresponsive apps. An efficient architecture results in a superior user experience by providing quick app response. So, pay attention to the architecture design and follow the best tips for mobile app development to create a winning application.

Compatibility

If you want a mobile application that is compatible with different devices and mobile platforms, choosing the right architecture is vital. Different architectures for mobile apps provide different levels of compatibility with diverse systems.

Compatibility refers to a mobile app’s ability to share and receive data from other systems and perform intended functions without restrictions to interfaces. With a solid architecture, you can build a system that can interact with other systems and provide the requisite compatibility.

Scalability and Adaptability

If you want to add new features to your application that you have built without a defined architectural pattern, it would be very difficult and complex. You won’t find a way to add new functionality without denting the integrity of the app.

Hence, architecture is crucial to make your app scalable and adaptive to incorporate any new requirements easily. A well-defined mobile app structure makes it easy to integrate additional features and modify the app as per your requirements. In addition, as you grow, there is an increasing number of users and workload that your app can handle with no impact on performance and reliability. A scalable application is crucial for an ever-expanding user base.

Key Elements in Mobile Application Architecture Designing

You need to create a robust architecture for your app that can stand the test of time. Creating it requires consideration of different factors as follows:

1. Device Requirements

In order to build a solid architecture, you should consider the device and hardware specifications you wish to target. It would require an understanding of the resolution, screen size, memory, CPU, storage, and other characteristics of the target devices, along with the development environment and tools.

Since the application depends on the device features and hardware for its functioning, it’s crucial to get the details of the device it would run on.

2. Network Fluctuations

Throughout the lifecycle of your app, there will be times when the internet connection will be unstable or fully unavailable. Hence, your app should be ready to handle the worst network conditions. It is crucial to create an application architecture that is capable of dealing with any state of network connections.

3. User Interface

The importance of UI/UX cannot be overstated and the app architecture diagram should be designed to provide a seamless experience. A poorly designed architecture can hinder an app’s performance, which might lead to lags, crashes, and slow responses. In contrast, with a solid architecture in place, the app can have fast loading times, fluid navigation, and responsive user interactions. This is especially true for client-server architecture as it can optimize data flow and users don’t get stuck waiting for content to load.

4. Security Standards

A thoughtfully designed mobile app system architecture works as the first line of defense against cyberattacks, threats, and vulnerabilities. Modern apps need to have multiple layers of security like authentication, data encryption, API communication, etc. This is possible with an architecture that includes a clear separation between the frontend and the backend.

App architecture also determines how securely data is handled during storage and transmission and how vulnerabilities are managed.

5. Resource and Battery Usage

Architecting mobile applications has a direct impact on its resource and battery consumption. That's because the way the app handles processes and data defines the efficiency of its operations.

In fact, ineffectively structured apps often run unnecessary tasks in the background, consume excessive CPU cycles, and drain battery life. A well-thought-out architecture, however, has a minimized strain on device resources like CPU, memory, and battery. Your app can optimize task scheduling so that processes are only triggered when absolutely needed.

Different Layers of Mobile App Development Architecture

The architecture of a mobile app has multiple layers that communicate with each other and pass on data to trigger various functionalities. The following are the common layers for most mobile apps:

1. Presentation Layer

The presentation layer sits on top of an app architecture stack and defines how an application will be presented to the end users. It’s a user interface and communication layer where the users interact with the application. It offers presentation services collecting and displaying user data to the end users. The presentation layer is formed from the UI/UX of a mobile application.

Simply put, this is the layer that handles user interactions and represents the face of a mobile application where users can find all kinds of GUI elements. Mobile app developers need to pick the right UI model that aligns with the app architecture. The developers need to choose a suitable data format and use strong data validation methods.

2. Business Layer

This layer is related to the business logic for the application. It provides a set of rules and algorithms that manage the flow of data in the context of a business. Hence, the business layer defines how data will be generated, processed, stored, and used for a mobile application.

The primary function of this layer includes logging, data caching, security, data validation, and exception management. Depending on the operations of a mobile app, the business layer can exist on a device or on a server.

3. Data Layer

Mobile applications need a secure and efficient mechanism for data transactions. This responsibility is handled by the data layer which ensures the transfer and receipt of data seamlessly. This layer consists of various components like service agents, data access components, data utilities, etc., to enable data transactions within an app.

When it comes to designing the data layer, the mobile app developer needs to consider the ease of modification as per the change in requirements and maintenance.

Mobile App Architecture Examples Based on Different Platforms

When it comes to system architecture for mobile applications, there are different designs already existing for various platforms and operating systems. The structure can vary based on the type of users or platforms you wish to target.

For example, the architecture for Android vs iOS apps differs in many aspects. A typical Android application is composed of multiple app components like fragments, activities, content providers, and services. The app also requires a manifest file where all these components are declared.

On the other hand, iOS apps reside in the IPA container or the Bundle directory where all the app data is compressed and packed.

Let’s check out the most common platform-specific app architectures:

Android Mobile App Architecture

Mobile apps that are specially developed for a particular operating system like Android are native apps. Given the wide range of manufacturers in the Android ecosystem, these apps have to meet the diverse requirements of different programming languages and frameworks. Thus, a single architecture will not work for Android mobile app development.

However, the most common Android architecture for mobile app development is the Clean architecture. This modern Android app architecture is based on layers and inversion of code principles, composed of presentation, business, and data layers. Each layer is independent and exchange data through interfaces.

Clean architecture offers benefits like:

• Easy testing and troubleshooting
• UI is separated
• Not dependent on external libraries, frameworks, and databases

iOS Mobile App Architecture

Objective-C and Swift are two languages to develop native iOS applications. While there are no specific guidelines for Android apps, Apple guides on developing apps using an architecture with an MVC pattern. Although iOS developers can choose any architecture, this native mobile app architecture is the most common pattern for iOS mobile app development.

MVC is a 3-tier architecture for mobile applications. Here are the different layers it has:

• Model: The model layer manages the data, rules, and logic of an application and consists of model objects, parsers, networking code, etc.
• View: It’s the presentation layer for MVC architecture. There are elements for user interactions, and it doesn’t have any business logic.
• Controller: This layer establishes communication between the two other layers that are the Model and the View layers.

MVC architecture provides benefits like:

• Faster app development process
• Clear communication between different layers
• Easy to maintain and simple app architecture

Hybrid Mobile App Architecture

These mobile apps are a hybrid of native and web applications. These apps have a native app shell in which web-based content is loaded. Web technologies are used to build hybrid apps like HTML, CSS, and JavaScript. These apps can access the hardware features of a mobile app.

Hybrid mobile apps use a single codebase for different mobile platforms. So, a single hybrid app will function on different platforms whether Android or iOS.

Hybrid mobile application architecture has benefits like:

• Faster development time
• Single codebase for different platforms
• Cost-effective and cross-functional
• Access hardware features

Cross-platform App Architecture

Cross-platforms apps have their own popular mobile app development architecture. Just like hybrid apps, there is a single codebase for various platforms, and they are compatible with Android and iOS. But they are built on frameworks.

There are several cross-platform app development frameworks like Flutter, Ionic, Xamarin, React Native, etc. These technologies use their own architectural designs. For example, React Native follows a Flux/Redux architecture, Flutter’s architecture is based on BLoC (Business Logic Component), Xamarin relies on the MVVM (Model-View-ViewModel) architecture.

Cross-platform app development architectures provide benefits like:

• Single codebase for multiple platforms
• Native app-like performance and quality
• Access to hardware features
• Faster loading speed
• Cost-effective than native apps

Primary Attributes of a Well-Designed Mobile App Architecture

An app architecture needs to be flexible, extensible, modifiable, and possess other qualities for a stable and robust mobile application. Here are some key characteristics of a well-designed and impeccable app architecture:

Reusability

With code reusability, developers can build and deploy application features at a faster speed. An efficient mobile app architecture is built with code reusability in mind and allows developers to quickly build and release application updates and versions.

Sustainability

Changes in the environment where a mobile app operates are uncontrollable. For instance, technological changes or a shift in market demand. Hence, your app needs to be ready to adjust according to these changes. It calls for a mobile development architecture that is resilient to these changes. A sustainable mobile app is capable of handling changes like new technologies and servers.

Performance

Developers prioritize user experience and functionality when it comes to app development. Users expect that applications, whether Android or iOS, should respond to their taps instantly and execute tasks. Hence, choose an architecture that offers excellent performance.

Extensibility

Changes in user needs require you to integrate more functionality over time. If your app is built on a flexible architecture, it will be easy to implement new features, or it will be a complex process otherwise. Hence, dividing mobile app architecture and components to form a loosely coupled structure will simplify the integration of new features.

Scalability

You need an app architecture that supports easy scalability to accommodate new users and increased load on your app. This is particularly important for apps with fluctuating user numbers or heavy data processing, such as social media or e-commerce platforms.

Security

In the modern world, security has become so vital that big businesses spend millions to beef up security. Consider an architecture that provides a high level of security, integrates multiple layers of protection, and ensures compliance with various security standards.

Testability

If your app architecture has high testability, it will be more reliable as the chances of bugs in it are low. A testable mobile system design makes it easy to discover and fix errors or bugs early in the development phase, making the final application well-performing and versatile.

Intuitiveness

Apart from making your app flexible and scalable, you should also focus on user experience. Build your app with a user-friendly interface that is easy to understand. Intuitive mobile app architecture is also helpful in adapting the app to user preferences and needs with personalized experiences.

Best Practices for Creating Mobile App Architecture

From performance to scalability, all vital features of your mobile app depend on its architecture. Therefore, it is important to choose the right architecture that meets your requirements and offers an excellent user experience. It will help to save your money and precious time by eliminating reworks in the future.

As we’ve been doing so, you can start with a good mobile application architecture diagram by following these best practices:

• Choose an architecture that separates the UI layer from the data layer. It will provide reusable code and simplify the process of change.
• Work with relevant software engineering practices and development principles. Follow principles like KISS, YAGNI, SOLID, DRY, etc., when defining the architecture and building the app.
• For APIs, you can leverage simple and lightweight data formats such as JSON.
• Stay updated with the current mobile app development trends to design an architecture as per modern user needs.

How to Choose the Ideal Architecture for Your Mobile App?

Now that you know how crucial an architecture for a mobile application is, you must weigh the pros and cons of different architectures to pick the best one.

There are different mobile architecture patterns when it comes to developing mobile apps, each with its own strengths and limitations. Take a look at them and choose the ideal one for your app:

• Client-Server Architecture

This is the most common type of architecture where the front end (client) interacts with the back end (server) to request and retrieve data. The server handles data processing, while the client focuses on the UI.

Suitable for: Apps requiring frequent data updates from the server, like social media, e-commerce, and finance apps.

• Monolithic Architecture

This is a traditional architecture where the app is built as a single codebase, and all the other components are tightly integrated with it.

Suitable for: Simple apps with limited features, like basic calculators or small business tools.

• Layered Architecture

With this architectural approach, you separate the app into distinct layers - presentation (UI), business logic, and data.

Suitable for: Apps that require scalability and maintainability, like enterprise apps or SaaS platforms.

• Microservices Architecture

The app is broken into smaller, independent modules, each of which is responsible for a specific function. These services communicate via APIs.

Suitable for: Complex apps with multiple features, like ride apps or large-scale e-commerce platforms.

• Event-Driven Architecture

As one of the modern mobile app architecture patterns, it focuses on reacting to events or user actions. The app processes these events asynchronously to update the interface or trigger actions.

Suitable for: Real-time apps like chat apps, gaming platforms, or live streaming services.

• Serverless Architecture

Here, the app relies on third-party cloud services to handle back-end processes, so developers only focus on the front-end and user interactions.

Suitable for: Apps with unpredictable traffic, like seasonal apps or event-based platforms.

• Component-Based Architecture

This modular pattern builds apps using reusable components that you can plug into different parts of the app.

Suitable for: Apps requiring frequent updates or customization, like CMS-driven apps or apps with user-generated content.

The decision of choosing an architecture for your mobile app is influenced by several factors including business requirements, application type and functionality, tech stack, flexibility, development timeframe, etc. You must evaluate different app architectures based on your needs and constraints to pick the right architecture for your mobile app.

Radixweb’s Approach to Mobile App Architecture

“Features alone don’t make an app great. It's how those features interact that counts, and architecture plays a key role in this."

A point well put by our Chief Architect, Ajay Ojha.

This has been our mantra for every app development project, a lesson we’ve learned through countless initiatives.

Two core things we understand at first – how users will interact with the app and how it will scale. If your app is for a small local audience, the architecture will focus on low-latency operations and lightweight processes. But if you’re building a global app that’ll have millions of users, the architecture will need to support high loads, distributed databases, and microservices to prevent bottlenecks.

Data management is another crucial factor. The mobile application system architecture needs to control how data moves and should have solid dependency control.

Let’s say your app has a payment gateway, a real-time chat support, and a recommendation engine. If any one of these components fails, your entire app shouldn’t collapse. We build the architecture in such a way that each module operates individually, so a failure in one area doesn’t bring down the whole system.

Let us prove our points with two projects we worked on:

1. Mobile App for Commercial Cleaning Company

The client wanted the app with real-time order tracking. Although it sounded simple at first, upon further analysis, we realized they planned to scale it to 10+ localities in a year.

To accommodate that demand, we built a modular architecture that could handle region-specific features without the need to rewrite the core codebase. When they expanded, each new region could be onboarded with minimal disruption.

2. A School App for Student Engagement

The app’s purpose was to manage extracurricular activities and ongoing events for students. Since it needed to handle dynamic workflows, such as students browsing and enrolling in events, teachers managing schedules, and administrators overseeing participation, our architects opted for a Layered Service-Oriented Architecture (SOA).

It allowed us to treat each core function as an independent service. The app’s cloud-native architecture was an ideal choice for handling increased traffic as student participation.

In ConclusionArchitecture and tech stack can define your app’s failure or success. Hence, choosing the best one is crucial to develop mobile apps with great scalability, performance, and security. Your business requirements and feature specifications will help you decide what type of app structure you need to meet the expectations of all users.There are many factors, whether security, scalability, performance, etc., that can influence your decisions and not paying close attention to them can result in the failure of your project.The task might seem hard, but an architecture and development team can guide you through this. Should the insights shared in this blog resonate with you and you get a good impression of our expertise, you can count on us.We have a software architecture team with thousands of hours of development experience in native, hybrid, cross-platform, and web app projects. All of them started with creating a good foundation, which made the rest of the development easy.We can do the same for you. By following the core principles of solution design, adhering to guidelines, and addressing real-life problems, we offer mobile app development solutions that meet current demands and are equipped to tackle potential future challenges.Start by saying hi!