Designing an Uber Clone app has been a problem for Android and iOS developers. Entrepreneurs instruct them to build the best-looking app using the same codebase but fail to realize the fallacy behind it. In this blog, you will understand why this is a bad idea and find out why the native app development approach is best for Uber Clone apps.
Introduction
Dedicated UX/UI designers know that iOS drives the Android design most of the time to get the best user interface. However, making an app look, feel, and function natively on Android is equally important. You might think that “it doesn’t matter, no big deal,” but it does matter as your target audience has both Android and iOS devices at hand. But first, it is important to understand the fundamental design differences between Android and iOS devices.
How to Approach Different Design Components
For starters, you should always remember that each iOS and Android platform has its own design guidelines. The main differences are style, shape, color, fonts, etc. Android has built the foundation of its guidelines on Material Design. At the same time, Apple had done some remarkable stuff related to Human Interface Design.
Furthermore, both guidelines have specific key components native to the device. Therefore, an Uber Clone app must also abide by these design guidelines for each platform. For instance, iOS designs tend to be flatter, while Android uses a more layered approach. Visual elements and feedback in fingerprint sensors are mostly identical across both platforms.
Navigation Patterns
Most Android devices still have the comfort of an additional navigation bar, including a back button. Since iOS doesn’t provide that, most iOS native apps have provided a back button in the top left corner of every screen. Moreover, since the introduction of the iPhone X, the home button has been sidelined, and navigation is now based on gestures. For designers, make sure to give enough cushion between the edge of the app container and the swiping area if swiping is an important part of your Uber Clone app.
Hardware-Specific Functionality
Bluetooth, NFC, or wired headphones are often referred to as hardware-specific functionalities. That is why you should always consider the range of different hardware specifications while designing an app. Suppose you need to provide a hardware-specific feature for only one of the two platforms. In that case, you must inform your customers about the difference.
Global Elements
The status bar, the navigational header, and so on are key components on all pages of your app design. A rule of thumb is to not change the height and style of those bases to deliver a native feeling to all users. You can notice that the text in the navigation bar is left-aligned in Android, whereas in iOS, the text seems to be at the center. The same goes for the status bar, but remember the notch and screen aspect ratios, which are the spaces left out when the app goes into full-screen mode.
Typography
Android and iOS platforms have their default typefaces, which must remain the same as most users might change them back to default system fonts. San Francisco for iOS and Roboto for Android are used globally to generalize the app style. This is done for accessibility reasons, as most users might not have the best time with a font that is difficult to read. If your Uber Clone app’s target audience is non-English, ensure your extra characters also support custom fonts. If not done properly, it can result in a degraded user experience or poor reviews.
Drawbacks of Porting an Uber Clone iOS Design to Android
When it comes to design, the first impression is usually the last, so it’s important to capture your customers’ attention. Considering that iOS and Android have different native standards, designers, developers, and product owners must be aware of the most current information available. For instance, Google’s Material Design documentation does a fantastic job of describing the design process of a screen transition and applying proper navigation patterns.
Android users are accustomed to certain navigation and UI patterns. As mentioned earlier, iOS navigation often uses the bottom tab bar to navigate the app. Therefore, this needs to be more consistent for Android users and may frustrate them.
Suppose Android is a serious platform for your Uber Clone app company. In that case, you need to hire people who are familiar with iPhone and Android design languages as well as the structure and flow of the app.
Standard Controls
Radio buttons, checkboxes, toggles, etc. require a custom view implementation to achieve the right “iOS” look. Android apps require additional development effort to achieve the same default design as iOS apps. Usually, designers expect each element to look the same across platforms, but custom views can get complex. As a result, it increases workload and complexity and alienates your app design on Android.
Animation
Android’s animation framework is not nearly as robust as iOS’s. IOS AV foundation animation frameworks seem like the platform was built with animation in mind, which is leaps and bounds to Android’s camera and bitmap APIs. That is why designers often take animation as a side project rather than something that should be dealt with as a priority. In reality, the UX designer must sit down with the developer for urgent work to see what is achievable within the project’s timeframe.
Sharing Purposes
Many taxi apps usually provide a feature that shares the passenger’s location with others when needed. iOS provides a template for this feature by using a share sheet layout, allowing the developer to customize the share sheet menu. As far as Android goes in this context, designers will want this shared experience to port exactly over to the Android app. However, this process introduces many compatibility issues. Therefore, creating a unique shared experience for Android users would be unnecessary. Moreover, it is better to stick to the standards to save you and your design team time.
Designing the right way
Both Android and iOS apps are simply different in design and development and need to be considered as such from the beginning. Entrepreneurs and designers must lean on experienced developers for recommendations to avoid needless development cycles. Project managers and quality assurance engineers also need to consider timelines for production and decide whether the timelines of Android and iOS development match.
However, if you are stuck in the design phase of your Android app, you must seek the help of a professional white-label firm. In there, you’ll find what is missing from your project, as these professionals app development daily. Moreover, you can test the demo of an Uber Clone or any Clone app you wish to develop in the future as per your requirements.
Conclusion
Investing in Uber Clone requires patience and a good understanding of the platform. Your job is to make Android and iOS users happy, not confused. Remember, iOS covers 50% of the smartphone market. If done correctly, you will not only gain the attention of your customer base, but you can win their trust as well.
