Mobile app design is simply the cumulation of every process and component of the user interface (UI) and the user experience (UX) features of an application. Therefore, it encompasses details in colour scheme, font, layout design, graphics, widgets, and buttons contained in the app. A designer is responsible for manipulating these components of mobile applications, either for Android app design or iOS app design to give the user the most pleasurable view and comfortable interface for interacting with an application's functionality. The designer is responsible for the development of the mobile UI and UX model. However, the UI/UX design of an Android varies from that of an iOS.
Primary Navigation
In iOS apps, the primary in-app navigation patterns always adhere to the hamburger and foreground menus used prominently to store rarely used functions. In contrast to iOS, the primary navigation in the Android apps is spread throughout the interface or in the hamburger menu with floating actions such as the search bar.
Secondary Navigation
The secondary navigation in the Android apps opens from left to right after users press the hamburger menu icon. All the tabs are positioned right below the screen title, which allows the user to easily switch between data sets, views, and an app's functional features. Whereas the Apple Human Interface Guidelines affirm that there is no standard navigation control, same as the drawer navigation menu. Users can find the secondary navigation in the "more" tab.
Action Menu
The Action menu is the option for users reacting to the call-to-action to view the relevant content on their device. The action menus in the iOS app design are prompted by any button when users attempt to take any action. The latest update in iOS has a blurred context menu that highlights relevant actions when you press and hold the element or the content. In Android, the option pops up in a small box on the right side of the content with a three-dot icon.
Alerts
In the iOS alerts, the actions are segregated by dividers. They are generally in title or sentence case, forming their structure from the separate blocks and positioned at the end of the centre of the popup. As for Android alerts, the action menu is styled in flat buttons that can be found at the bottom right of the alert. These are easier to understand as the buttons are entirely text-based in all caps.
Top-of-screen Navigation
When it comes to the design patterns for Android, the titles in the apps are primarily displayed in the top-left corner after either a back button or a drawer menu which is often optional. Besides that, there is always an actionable section like a search icon on the top-right; sometimes, there is a favourites icon followed by the overflow menu.
Conversely, in the UI/UX design of iOS apps, the title of the previously opened tab is always cited in the top-left corner just next to the back button option. Coming to the extreme right corner, there is the option of "Done" or "Edit" while the name of the current tab is present in the middle.
The Screen Size
Almost every UI/UX designer prefers the smallest possible size when designing apps for the iOS platform, which is 320pt x 568pt, as it helps in accurately positioning the content on small screens. But for the Android platform, the standard screen size practice is 360dp x 640dp. However, it is recommended to keep the "Safe Area" in mind when designing for iOS so that you can fix the margins properly to place the content catering to the phone's screen size.
