iOS App Performance Optimization: Tips for Smoother Performance

Quick Summary

iOS app developers constantly push the boundaries of what is possible since technology changes quickly. One of the most crucial aspects of creating a successful iOS app is ensuring that the app performs to the best degree possible. Consumers now demand a seamless, efficient experience, and any delay or unresponsiveness can lead to negative feedback and a decline in the number of users. This blog post will delve deeper into iOS application speed optimization. We will discuss tried-and-true techniques, suggested practices, and essential technologies that each iOS app development company should know to ensure their applications run smoothly and effectively.

Why Monitor an App Performance?

App performances have a significant impact on the overall user experience since users expect apps to work extraordinarily well, and this is something that customers worldwide expect. If the program takes a long time to start up or reacts slowly to input, the user can get the impression that it is unresponsive or malfunctioning. An application may increase the user’s data charges, ultimately draining the device’s battery. Furthermore, users may feel annoyed with the application and decide to delete it.

Monitor iOS performance with these benchmarks

Making Use of Memory

Applications share memory, a finite resource allotted to them, as do the operating system, processes, and kernel. When one application uses less memory on the entire device, it may significantly affect the user experience due to the limited resources available. Applications that use too much memory will receive a warning from the operating system, which may even terminate them if it feels essential.

App launch time

The launch of your program can occur depending on how long it takes for the user to notice it. It has three distinct stages: cold start, warm start, and hot start. Cold Occurs when the application is not loaded into memory or after the device has been restarted. When an application has recently terminated or is only partially loaded into memory, it is called “warm.” The program restarts when it is still fully loaded in memory and has been suspended.

The speed at which your software loads on a cold start is based on its overall quality and gives the user their first impression. An examination of the top 100 apps shows that 39 launch in two seconds or less and 73 launch in less than three seconds. You should strive for an application launch time of 1.5 to 2 seconds.

The operating system optimizes warm launches and resumes, icy ones that take the longest. Users’ initial interaction with your program is often known as a cold launch. The following are some of the steps that are included in the cold launch:

iOS will take care of the necessary system-side tasks to initialize your application within the first 100 milliseconds. It will take you the next three hundred milliseconds to build your first frame, load your content, and set up your views separately. Your application should launch and function after the initial 400 milliseconds. When it’s finished, you can load additional content to replace any placeholder views in your initial frame.

Network Performance

Some of the most crucial app performances that need to be kept an eye on when it comes to networking are as follows:

The quantity of data that is requested with each network request.

The speed at which the network processes each request, as well as its round-trip time

The number of network queries your program has made.

The speed at which network requests are executed affects how quickly the data can be retrieved to fill the content of your display when it is loading or updating. The quantity and frequency of requests made by customers who do not have an unlimited data plan will likely result in additional costs.

User Interface Response Times

It could become unresponsive if the user interface (UI) cannot react to the user’s input. To prevent negative complaints and comments from flooding in, you must have a basic understanding of the reasons for user interface hangs to fix them quickly. Detailed descriptions of UI hang occurrences per screen are provided to help you readily identify the parts of your application’s user interface that are not responding.

Time Required for Logical Execution

An abstraction for timed programming with predictable and composable timing is called Logical Execution Time, or LET for short. To better understand the experience your end users enjoy, you must be able to assess the logic on the client side of your application and measure the duration of specific traces inside your application.

Battery Consumption

In contrast to desktop computers, which are powered by a constant source, or laptops, which may be charged while in use, mobile devices must have the capacity to operate continuously for extended periods. The capacity of mobile device batteries diminishes over time. An application that uses too much power may interfere with the user’s regular charging schedule, requiring them to charge their phone at inconvenient times. After using your software, users may choose to remove it due to this experience.

Application Stability

A straightforward approach to assess an application’s stability is to look at its crash rates per user or session. The following standards should be applied to calculate crash-free rates:

Over 99 percent of users do not experience crashes.

Periods without crashes of more than 99.9 percent

A crash reporting tool can help you monitor and enhance your application’s stability. By detecting spikes in crashes before they affect most users, it can respond swiftly to a wide range of issues.

How to Improve iOS App Performance?

Reduce the quantity of both views and transparent views:

You may improve your application’s performance by reducing the number of views and removing transparency at every stage. One beneficial strategy that may be used to identify this transparency overlap quickly is as follows: 

The accessible options are View Debugging, Rendering, Color Blended Layers, and Debug.

Minimize the amount of labor required in functions.

Always use light setup methods and have the “dumbest” views and cells possible.

JPEG pictures need to be decoded:

The picture’s mechanism handles this step in the background on the main thread. But this can cause our programs to lag continuously, especially if the photographs are big enough. To reduce the impact of this issue, you will need to move the decoding job to the background queue. As a result, the main thread will be free to complete its designated tasks, but the operations won’t be as efficient as the UIImageView’s usual decoding.

Tools for Assessing iOS Application Performance

Xcode Instruments

The advanced tool Xcode Instruments, a cornerstone among iOS Development Tools for iOS Developers, can be utilized to test the performance of iOS applications. It offers users a comprehensive suite of debugging and benchmarking tools, essential for identifying and addressing performance issues.

Charles Proxy

Charles Proxy is a tool for monitoring network traffic, including HTTP and SSL communication. It runs in the background and can assess the application’s performance across various network conditions.

XCTest

XCTest is an automated testing framework provided by Apple that is specifically designed to test iOS applications. It is feasible to create automated performance tests with it.

BrowserStack

A cloud-hosted testing platform called BrowserStack provides a range of tools for troubleshooting and problem-solving during testing.

Firebase Test Lab

Cloud-based Firebase Test Lab is a testing platform offering numerous features, including performance testing and a wide range of testing capabilities.

Best Practices for iOS App Performance Testing

Checking the app’s performance often is one recommended strategy for evaluating iOS applications. Testing the app’s functionality frequently and from the beginning should be a standard component of the development process.

• Use Real Devices: To replicate real-world scenarios accurately, testing must be done on genuine devices.

• Construct Useful Test Scenarios: It is crucial to develop test scenarios based on real-world circumstances to ensure that the application’s performance is assessed under conditions representative of real life.

• Employ Automated Testing: Automated testing should be used to reduce testing time and improve fidelity.

• Tracking the App’s Performance: Continuously monitoring the app’s performance is critical to identifying performance problems or bottlenecks.

• Work cooperatively with developers: Collaborative efforts between developers and testers during the development process can facilitate the early detection and resolution of performance issues.

Conclusion

An iOS app’s performance is crucial for providing users with a seamless experience. By adhering to best practices and leveraging appropriate tools, Hire iOS Developers can identify and resolve performance issues early in the development process. This ensures the creation of high-quality software that meets user expectations. Through testing across different scenarios is essential to guarantee the app’s functionality in various conditions, making performance testing a fundamental aspect of iOS app development.

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