Skip to content
POLARGATE
Build // One codebase, two stores, updates in minutes.

Mobile apps

iOS and Android apps built with Capacitor or Expo from one codebase, published to both stores, with push, deep links, automated releases and over-the-air updates from Polargate's own OTA hub.

A guest relaxes in a lobby armchair using her phone while other guests queue with suitcases at the reception desk behind her

What it is

Polargate builds iOS and Android apps for mid-market companies that already have a product, a website or a prototype and need it in the stores, maintained, and updatable without a review queue every time a typo has to be fixed. We use Capacitor or Expo (React Native) so one TypeScript codebase serves iOS, Android and the web, and native code is written only where it earns its place: push, deep links, secure storage, camera.

We are not the right studio for a game engine, an AR product or an app built around hardware of your own design that does not exist yet. Connecting to a standard device somebody else already manufactures, through the API, webhook or export it publishes, is a different job, and that one we do build. We are the right studio for a booking app, a guest app, a festival app, an internal field tool or a customer portal that has to live on a phone.

How we do it

Every app starts with a paid Discovery Sprint: we agree the screens, the data model, the store accounts and the release path before writing production code. Then we build in short cycles against a real backend (usually Supabase, Postgres with row level security), not mock data.

Release engineering is part of the build, not an afterthought. iOS builds run on Xcode Cloud from a git tag, Android builds and Play uploads run on GitHub Actions, and submission is automated through the App Store Connect and Play Developer APIs. Push is wired end to end (APNs directly on iOS, FCM HTTP v1 on Android) with delivery auditing and a remote kill switch per platform, because the failure we see most often is an app that has been registering zero tokens for weeks and nobody noticed. On one festival app, six missing lines in the AppDelegate were the reason push had never worked.

Over-the-air updates ship through Polargate's own OTA hub (self-hosted Capgo), with channels, staged rollouts, a minimum native version gate and a kill switch. Content and bug fixes reach users in minutes, and only genuinely native changes go through review.

What you get

Two store listings, one codebase, and the accounts in your name: Apple Developer, Google Play, Firebase, the backend. You get the repository, the CI pipelines, the signing setup documented, store screenshots per language, crash reporting (Crashlytics for native, Sentry for JavaScript) and analytics. You also get an honest list of what we would not build yet.

After launch the app can move to a CARE retainer, where releases, store policy changes and OS updates are handled as routine work through our ServiceDesk.

What it costs

Taking a working prototype or web product to production on both stores starts at 9,900 EUR and typically lands between 9,900 and 14,900 EUR, depending on the native surface (push, offline use, payments, deep links) and how many languages your store listings need. The Discovery Sprint has its own fixed price, and half of it is credited against the build if it starts within 60 days. Monthly care is quoted separately once the app is live.

Proof

FAQ

Questions, answered

How much does it cost to turn our prototype into a real iOS and Android app?
Taking a working prototype or web product to production on both stores starts at 9,900 EUR and usually lands between 9,900 and 14,900 EUR. What moves the number is the native surface: push, offline use, in-app payments, deep links, biometric login, and how many languages your store listings need. The Discovery Sprint is priced separately, and half of it is credited against the build if it starts within 60 days. Ongoing care is a monthly retainer quoted once the app is live.
How long does it take to get an app into the App Store and Google Play?
Plan for 8 to 12 weeks from kick-off to a first release in both stores. Roughly half of that is product work and half is release engineering: developer accounts, signing, push, listings and screenshots in every language you sell in. Review times are set by Apple and Google. After launch, over-the-air updates ship the same day, so the review queue stops being your bottleneck for content and fixes.
Capacitor, Expo or fully native: which one should we choose?
For most business apps, Capacitor or Expo is the honest answer. Both produce real native apps with native push, deep links and a store presence, from one TypeScript codebase that also runs on the web. Fully native earns its cost when the app depends on continuous camera use, complex graphics, background sensors or platform-specific hardware. We tell you which case you are in during Discovery, before anyone commits budget.
Can we update the app without waiting for Apple review every time?
Yes, for anything that lives in the JavaScript layer. Polargate ships over-the-air updates through its own OTA hub, with channels, staged rollouts, a minimum native version gate and a kill switch, so copy changes, content and most bugs reach users in minutes. Native changes, new permissions and SDK upgrades still go through store review. We test the rollback path before we need it, and we can disable OTA per platform.
Can you take over an app another agency or an AI builder already made?
Yes, and it is a large part of what we do. The usual work is an audit, then moving the backend and the store accounts into your own name, repairing the release pipeline and making content editable instead of hardcoded into the binary. We have migrated an app off a vendor-managed backend onto a client-owned one without losing users, media or history, and relaunched it in both stores.
Who owns the code and the store accounts?
You do. Apple Developer, Google Play, Firebase, the backend project and the repository are created in your company's name, or transferred to it when they already exist elsewhere. Polargate works inside your accounts, documents the signing setup and hands over the CI pipelines. If you stop working with us, the app keeps building and shipping without our involvement, which is the point.
INITIATE

Start the engine

Tell us what you are building in a few short questions. A senior engineer answers in writing within 48 business hours, with a first take on scope, timeline and price.

Start your project Talk to us