Demystifying Mobile App Architecture: Building Blocks for Success

Mobile applications are the most popular way to reach your customers these days. A study shared by Statista reveals that the global market revenue generated through the mobile applications grew as much as $467,083.68 in 2023, and is projected to reach 522,727.51 by the end of 2024.  

The data given above is enough to encourage any progressive business owners to delve into mobile application development so that their businesses can observe optimal growth in respect to customer interaction index, user engagements, conversion rates, and ultimate profits.

However, it is important to note that designing a high-performing mobile application is based on some crucial aspects. One of the basic elements that forms the foundation is the mobile app architecture.

Mobile app architecture is just like the skeleton of the entire body or the main app that you see on your smart devices. Therefore, it has to be strong, sturdy and well-structured so as to create a solid ground for the entire build-up.

With the right app architecture, you can create an exhilarating final product and ensure enhanced app visibility and reach. On the contrary, a poor and cryptic app architecture can demolish the entire structure, and you may fail to achieve your intended goal.

In this blog, we’ll give you a detailed understanding of app architecture, its layers, principles, patterns, examples and everything that you need to know to develop a successful mobile application for your business.

What is Mobile App Architecture?

Mobile app architecture is the structured framework used to design and build mobile applications. The primary objective of this basic architecture is to ensure the scalability, maintainability and efficiency of the final product.

The mobile application architecture involves organising the app ecosystem into different layers or components, each with distinct responsibilities. Here’s a glimpse of a common mobile app architecture:

In simple terms, app architecture is a blueprint that defines the structure of a mobile app. It refers to how the app components interact with each other and with the external systems, such as APIs and databases, to deliver a cohesive and exceptional user experience.

Why is it Important to Have a Good Mobile App Architecture?

Mobile app building is a crucial task as every component needs to be built carefully and well-placed. And this is possible only when you build a strong architecture.

For example, when you construct a building, you create its basic architecture first, and then start with the further steps. This structure forms the roadmap of the entire building processes. Same way, mobile app architecture forms the basis of the entire app building process.

A well-structured architecture improves app performance, enhances user experience, facilitates faster development, and enables easier updates and feature additions. By clearly defining how different components interact, it reduces the risk of errors, improves code quality, and ultimately leads to a successful mobile app.

Therefore, a good mobile app architecture contributes in the success of the mobile application in many different ways:

• By facilitating modular development, a well-structured architecture supports the integration of new features and technologies without disrupting existing functionality.
• It enhances testability, allowing for comprehensive testing and quicker identification of issues, while also optimising resource usage and performance. 
• A good architecture improves security by ensuring proper data handling and making it easier to manage vulnerabilities.
• It supports better team collaboration and consistency in development practices, resulting in a more cohesive and reliable application.

Therefore, we can say that:

Mobile App Architecture Principles

Mobile app architecture works on specific principles. These principles form the foundational guidelines for designing a robust, maintainable, and scalable mobile application. Let us check some key principles of the app architecture below:

• Separation of Concerns →  Different parts of the application should deal with different characteristics of the functionalities, so as to minimise the extent of coupling between them. This assists in improving the maintainability and readability since changes are easily done on a specific section of the code.   
• Modularity → Design the app in discrete modules, each responsible for a specific function. It facilitates easier testing, updating, and debugging, and promotes reuse of components.   
• Reusability → Develop elements that could be combined with others in different sections of the application or used in the other projects. It cuts on repetition, quickens delivery, and promotes standardisation among developers.   
• Scalability → Design the app to handle increasing amounts of work or a growing number of users efficiently. It ensures that the app can grow with user demand and business needs without significant redesign.   
• Maintainability → Make sure that codes are readable, writable and extendable. It saves time and money with regard to continuous maintenance and upgrade of the existing large systems.   
• Performance Optimization → Optimise the app for fast loading times, smooth interactions, and efficient resource usage. It provides a better user experience and minimises resource consumption, extending battery life and reducing data usage.   
• Security → Ensure the user data is safe by incorporating measures that will ensure that unauthorised persons do not access it. It ensures that users are confident having their information with the app and meets regulatory requirements.   
• Platform Independence → Make the architecture of the key elements free from the specifics of the platform, which will make development across multiple platforms easier. It is beneficial for reusability of the code both in iOS and Android platforms, so it saves time at the same time.

The Three Layers of Mobile App Architecture

The three layers of mobile app architecture typically include the Presentation Layer, Business Logic Layer, and Data Layer. Each layer has a distinct role and responsibility in the application, ensuring a clean separation of concerns and promoting modularity, maintainability, and scalability.

Presentation Layer

The presentation layer in the architecture of the mobile applications entails everything concerning the face of the application which the users directly interface with.

It ranges from the graphical representation of the app user interface to the actual buttons, text fields, images, and layouts or the layout of the programs that govern the buttons, text fields, images, and layouts. This layer contains views that draw the UI elements and view controllers or presenters that manage user interactions, update the UI and interact with the business logic layer.

The first functionality of the presentation layer is to deliver data well-formatted to the user and, on the other hand, to receive user interaction to be processed by the app.

Business Logic Layer

The business logic layer is sometimes referred to as the domain layer which is a tier of mobile applications that represents the enterprise’s business logic in the application.

This layer works between the presentation layer where users and browsers interact and the data layer containing the data and some applications.

It includes use cases or interactors which specify the particular functions of the application that can include the operations on the data or the manipulations with the inputs received from the user, the business logic to be applied, the transformations that can be made in preparing the resulting data for the output.

Concern at this layer includes the illustration of business models within core structures of the entity where behaviours of business models are specified regarding a system, to ensure that all business logics are placed in the middle of the layer and detached from the UI and data.

Data Layer

This layer in the architecture of mobile applications is primarily designed for data storage, data retrieval as well as synchronisation and stands as the core for the handling of all matters regarding data within the application.

This layer works with local databases, remote servers, APIs, and other external sources to make sure that data is always and always received and stored in the right way. It consists of components such as repositories which support data operations under a single interface, and data sources which are responsible for particular operations such as local or remote data operations.

Conceptual data models within this layer point at the structure of the data that is processed. Through hiding details of data access and storage the data layer allows the business logic layer to make computations and decisions based on the data accessing without worrying where the data is coming from or where it is being stored.

Types of Mobile Application Architecture

Mobile application architecture can be categorised into several types, each offering distinct advantages and best suited for specific use cases. Let us now figure out the prime categories of mobile app architecture below:

Layered Architecture

Layered architecture is a design approach that organises the application into distinct layers. Each layer is attached with specific responsibilities and interactions. This architecture design promotes separation of concerns. This makes the app more modular, maintainable and scalable.

There are three primary layers involved in the layered architecture: the presentation layer, business logic layer and data layer. By dividing the app into these layers, developers can focus on specific areas without affecting other parts of the application, leading to improved code quality and efficiency.

Monolithic Architecture

Monolithic architecture in the mobile app development topology means all the aspects of the developed application including the layers of UI, business logic, and data access are put together, that work as one singular unit.

This approach entails the fact that all functions run concurrently and are integrated; they commute in the same memory domain.

 

This generally makes development, testing and deployment easier because all is tied within one project, and overhead is low because components can talk to each other easily.

Yet, it can be problematic in terms of scalability, slower development and implementation, and updating of the application, where the whole system needs to be redeployed.

Microservice Architecture

Microservice architecture in mobile app development involves structuring the application backend as a collection of small, independent services, each responsible for a specific business function, which communicate through well-defined APIs.

This approach enables teams to develop, deploy, and scale each microservice independently, promoting agility and faster release cycles.

Microservice architecture improves fault isolation, as a failure in one microservice does not directly affect others, thereby enhancing the overall resilience and reliability of the mobile application.

However, it also introduces complexity in managing inter-service communication, data consistency, and requires robust infrastructure for deployment and monitoring.

Top Mobile App Architecture Patterns: MVC, MVP, MVVM and VIPER

These are some of the most commonly used architectural patterns in the mobile application development process. However, the choice of architecture pattern depends on the application's complexity, the team's expertise, and specific project needs. Let's check them out below:

Mobile-View-Controller (MVC)

Model-View-Controller (MVC) is one of the most fundamental design patterns used in most mobile applications architecture that partitions an application into three interacting parts that help in achieving modularity and separation of concern.

In MVC,

• The Model encapsulates data and business logic and provides key working and data resources of the application.
• The View is supposed to receive such data from the Model and actually control it in response to user actions which are usually expressed through the interface components.
• The Controller mediator between the View and Model interfaces to respond to the user commands and inputs received from a View and to invoke methods of the Model to update the data and, in turn, update the View interface.

Such a division aids in structuring code and makes it easy to manage, test and even maintain. Still, oh yes, MVC can be over-complicated where the ViewControllers can get bloated, especially in an iOS environment where you can find them handling both presentation and business logic jobs.

Model-View-Presenter (MVP)

Model-View-Presenter (MVP) is an architectural model designed to improve the separation of concerns and maximise testing in mobile app development.

In MVP,

• The Model handles application data and business logic, with core functionality and state. 
• The View manages data and sends user interactions to the provider. 
• The Renderer acts as an intermediary between the Model and the View, maintaining reference logic and ensuring that the View is updated based on changes to the Model. 
• The Presenter retrieves data from the Model, processes it, and then tells the View how to display it. This separation allows for a more effective division of responsibility, making the codebase more modular and easier to test.

The MVP architecture helps to prevent overcomplication of the View by moving the presentation logic to the presenter, which simplifies maintenance and increases the scalability of the application

Model-View-ViewModel (MVVM)

Model-View-ViewModel (MVVM) is an architectural model used in mobile app development to facilitate data binding in two ways to improve separation of concerns

In MVVM,

• The Model represents application data and business logic, and provides a framework for managing and using data.  
• The View manages data to the user and handles user interaction.  
• The ViewModel acts as an intermediary between the Model and the View, managing reference logic and the state of the application.  

It exposes the data and commands that bind the View, and enables automatic updates between the UI and the underlying data. The ViewModel processes user input, updates the Model as needed, and also ensures that any changes to the Model are reflected in the View.  

This separation allows for a modular and testable codebase, as the ViewModel can be tested independently of the View and Model, contributing to the development of a dynamic and functional user interface slowly.

VIPER

VIPER is a modular architectural pattern designed to promote a clear separation of concerns in mobile app development, particularly suited for complex and scalable applications. VIPER stands for View, Interactor, Presenter, Entity, and Router.

In VIPER pattern,

• The View is responsible for displaying the user interface and forwarding user interactions to the Presenter. 
• The Interactor handles business logic and data manipulation, interfacing with the Model layer or data sources. 
• The Presenter manages the presentation logic, processes data from the Interactor, and updates the View accordingly. 
• The Entity represents the application's data models, while 
• The Router handles navigation and routing between different screens or modules.

VIPER's strict separation of responsibilities helps maintain a clean and modular codebase, making the application easier to test, maintain, and scale. However, its complexity can be overwhelming for smaller projects and may require a deeper understanding to implement effectively.

What Does Clean Architecture Look Like?

Clean mobile app architecture is a structured approach to designing mobile applications that emphasises the separation of concerns, modularity, and independence of components. This architecture typically consists of several layers, including the presentation layer, domain layer, and data layer.

The presentation layer handles the user interface and user interactions, while the domain layer contains the business logic and entities independent of external frameworks or libraries. The data layer is responsible for data access, including interactions with databases, APIs, and other data sources. 

Each layer communicates through well-defined interfaces, ensuring that changes in one layer do not directly impact others. This separation allows for easier testing, maintenance, and scalability. 

How is Mobile App Architecture Differ for Distinct Platforms?

We all know that there are design differences between iOS and Android. 

Therefore, it is quite understandable that the mobile app architecture differs for distinct platforms (iOS, Android, and cross-platform) due to the unique development environments, programming languages, tools, and design guidelines each platform offers.

Let us see how they differs from each other:

iOS Architecture

iOS, with its closed ecosystem, promotes a more structured approach often centred around the Model-View-Controller (MVC) pattern. Apple provides strict guidelines and a rich set of frameworks to facilitate development. 

[Also read: Advantages of iOS Application Development for Your Business]

iOS mobile app architecture is characterised by a layered structure, designed to maximise the performance, security, and user experience on Apple devices. 

The core layer handles fundamental operations like memory management and file systems, while subsequent layers offer networking, graphics, and user interface services. This layered approach ensures stability and security.

Android Architecture

Android's architecture emphasises flexibility and adaptability to various screen sizes, hardware configurations, and performance levels. This often leads to more complex architectural choices compared to iOS.

Common patterns include MVC, MVP, MVVM, and Clean Architecture, but the optimal approach depends heavily on the app's specific requirements. 

Additionally, Android's architecture must account for factors like background services, content providers, and intents, which have no direct equivalents in iOS.

Cross-App Architecture

The architecture of cross platform applications typically involves developing a single code that can work across different platforms like iOS and Android. This differs greatly from native app architecture which needs separate codes for each platform.

Cross-platform frameworks such as React Native, Flutter, and Xamarin bring in their own architectural patterns or components, thereby combining elements from both the native and web development.

The idea behind is to have a balance between reusing code, performance, and customizations that are specific to a certain platform. Important things to keep in mind include managing differences between platforms, providing the best user experience possible, and tapping into platform-specific features where applicable.

What are the Essential Factors to Consider While Developing Mobile App Architecture?

When developing mobile app architecture, several essential factors must be considered to ensure the application is scalable, maintainable, and provides a good user experience. These factors include:

How to Choose the Right Type of Mobile App Architecture?

Choosing the right type of mobile app architecture involves carefully considering several key factors that align with your project's specific needs, goals, and constraints. Here are the steps and considerations to help guide this decision:

Understanding Your App’s Requirements

A well structured app is based on the factor that determines how well you understand your app’s requirements. This involves understanding the intricacies of your app’s complexities, target audience, core functionalities, performance expectations, and security needs.

By clearly defining these aspects, you can determine the optimal balance of scalability, maintainability, and performance required from the architecture.

This knowledge forms the foundation for making informed decisions about the best architectural pattern, technology stack, and overall structure of your app.

Analyse Platform Constraints

Different platforms (iOS, Android, or cross-platform) have distinct development environments, performance characteristics, user interfaces, and design guidelines. For example:

• iOS provides robust tools and frameworks like UIKit and SwiftUI, making architectures like MVC or MVVM highly suitable due to their integration with these frameworks.
• Android, with its diverse device ecosystem and components like LiveData and ViewModel, often favours architectures like MVVM or MVP to handle complexity and ensure responsiveness. 
• Cross-platform frameworks such as React Native, Flutter, and Xamarin introduce their own architectural patterns, which prioritise code sharing and consistency across platforms.

By carefully considering platform-specific factors, you can build an app that effectively leverages the capabilities of each platform.  

Analyse Future Requirements

A well-designed architecture should be adaptable to accommodate evolving business needs, increased user base, and new features. Anticipating potential growth and planning for scalability from the outset is crucial.

This involves choosing an architecture that can easily integrate new functionalities, handle increased data volumes, and optimise performance under a growing load. By future-proofing your app's architecture, you can avoid costly and time-consuming rewrites as your app evolves. 

[Also read: How Much Does it Cost to Build a Mobile App in Australia?]  

Conclusion

The high quality mobile application is a result of robust mobile app architecture. By implementing the right app architecture, you ensure the scalability, maintainability and performance of your business and adaptability for future needs. 

By understanding the key components and considering the building blocks of app architecture, you can select the right architecture that serves as a building foundation of your business mobile application. 

However, navigating the complexities of architecture design can be overwhelming. Therefore, a deeper understanding of every bit of developing the architecture is very much required to choose the right type for your app creation project. 

By partnering with a professional mobile app development agency, you gain access to expert knowledge and experience that supports growth and innovation. With the expert guidance, you can avoid the common pitfalls, accelerate development and deliver the exceptional user experience to your potential audiences.