Contents

1. 📍 LOCATION-BASED MOBILE APP: WHAT IS IT AND WHAT TECHNOLOGIES DOES IT USE?

How to Build a Location-Based Аpp?

Published: May 2, 2022

8 min read

Andrii Bondarenko

Content Team Lead @ Stormotion

In this article, you'll learn:

📍 Location-Based Mobile App: What Is It and What Technologies Does It Use?

📱 Top 10 Ideas How to Implement Geolocation in a Mobile App

🛠️ Development Process

💰 Costs

💡 Conclusion

Don’t miss this opportunity. The world is nuts about location-based services as never before. Any doubts? It’s enough to mention the stunning success of such apps like Foursquare, Instagram, Google Maps or even Pokémon Go to bring you over to my side. And you will only benefit from this.

Impressing, isn't it?

According to one of the latest surveys, every 3rd American adult uses geolocation services at least once a week. Where do my friends usually hang out? How can I get to…? Where is the most delicious pizza in the city baked?

More and more people expect their smartphones to answer these and plenty of other questions, and you can make it possible for them. How? You are going to reveal it right now.

📍 Location-Based Mobile App: What Is It and What Technologies Does It Use?

Location-based apps provide both users and entrepreneurs with an exciting experience that is impossible to gain somehow else. What exactly they can do? Take a look at the three key features:

With its help, users can identify their position and share it with others.
These apps can measure a distance between objects.
A lot of apps with geolocation are also able to build optimum routes from one point to another.

Sounds familiar to you, right? But what is behind this “technological magic”? Let’s review the most common technologies that help modern smartphones to successfully determine user’s location.

Which technologies are a core part of a geolocation app development?

Ofttimes a definition “GPS apps” is used along with “location-based apps”, but don’t confound these two. Geolocation basically comprises mapping and location services. For this purpose, you will need one of the following technologies.

GPS

GPS stands for the Global Positioning System which is a part of any modern smartphone or tablet. It allows your device to gather data regarding time, location and moving from satellites.

Interesting fact: wherever you are on the Earth, there are no less than 4 GPS satellites flying above you. During a process called trilateration your device calculates the distance to every satellite by receiving radio signals from them. That’s how your location is pinpointed.

$GPS is the most well-known kind of geolocating technology (*image by [Antonius Setiadi K](https://dribbble.com/ASK_Khengdro){ rel="nofollow" .default-md}*)$

GPS is the most well-known kind of geolocating technology (image by Antonius Setiadi K)

Also, GPS doesn’t require an Internet connection or any other special conditions. It’s accurate enough, fast and easy to use. That’s why GPS is the most well-known locating technology.

Cell ID

It’s also possible to use other types of signal. For example, to acquire data from the cell tower to which your smartphone is connected. A device will identify the location of this cell station and then, relying on this information, will provide a user with geolocation.

Assisted GPS

It is a mixture of the two technologies mentioned above. On the one hand, assisted GPS helps to generate more accurate data, but on the other, it also consumes more energy which is a nightmare of a modern smartphone owner.

Wi-Fi

Need another solution? Wi-Fi networks can collect all required data from the Internet. However, there are not many open access points, so Wi-Fi location systems are really useful and helpful only for users from megapolises.

Wi-Fi is another tool that provides mobile apps with geolocation (image by Hector Heredia)

Indoor technologies

The main purpose of this technology is to build a more accurate navigation inside the building. Such type of geolocation in a mobile app is indispensable for business owners who want to provide their customers with the best experience.

For example, you can start guiding your client as soon as he comes in. Or you can analyze his location and send him the most relevant offers or ads. iBeacon and Eddystone are your helpers here.

With the newest technologies, it is possible to guide users even inside buildings (image by Lynne Lan)

We have discovered the technologies that make up the core of any location-based app. Now let’s talk about how you can use it for developing your business.

📱 Top 10 Ideas How to Implement Geolocation in a Mobile App

I bet the first thing you think about when you hear the word “geolocation” is Google Maps. However, it’s just a tip of the iceberg. There is a dozen of other ways to implement geolocation in your app. Let's review proven and the most popular ones.

Mapping and navigation

Examples: Google Maps, Waze.

It would be impossible to create a navigation app without geolocation technologies (image by Udhaya chandran)

It’s probably the most obvious way to apply geolocation – to turn it into an essential tool when it comes to directing people and building optimal routes. Despite it doesn’t seem like a fresh idea in 2017, this kind of apps is often (and it’s not going to change erelong) extremely helpful for users and profitable for its creators.

Social apps

Examples: Instagram, Periscope.

People really like to create, share and discuss a location-based content. Instagram’s success story is an explicit example. Though geolocation is not a core part of such apps, it’s essential for creating the best possible user experience.

Weather forecasts

Examples: Weather Underground, Yahoo Weather.

Your exact location helps weather forecasting apps to provide the most accurate information for you (image by BeardChicken)

These apps are “must-have” for everyone who doesn’t want to be deceived by a sunny morning and then, in the afternoon, to be caught in the pelting rain. By applying GPS app development you will provide your users with the most accurate forecasts depending on their whereabouts.

Recommendation apps

Examples: Foursquare, Yelp.

The best advertising to any place is testimonials. Would you rather believe your closest friend or an ad, written by someone who you have never known? And that’s exactly what recommendation apps are made for – to let your friends easily share their impressions about their favorite places.

Networking and dating

Examples: Tinder, Bumble.

You can also develop a mobile app with geolocation to connect people who live in one area according to their interests. It was never so easy to find a new friend or a partner who lives next door.

Fitness apps

Examples: Moves, RunKeeper, Fitbit.

More and more mobile apps with GPS geolocation are created for fitness lovers (image by Renat Muratshin)

Fitness is definitely the new black nowadays. And the location tracking for walking and running activities makes it even more popular. That means today fitness apps are not only about a fashion, but also a profit.

On-demand services

Examples: Uber, OpenTable, Postmates.

Mobile applications are designed to facilitate modern people’s lives, so why not to create a mobile app with GPS geolocation for this purpose? Order the nearest taxi or a delicious pizza from the closest to your location pizzeria, find a cozy restaurant at the city square and book a table there – the range of possible ideas for startups is not limited to anything other than your creative imagination.

Gaming

Example: Pockémon GO, Landlord 2.

It may seem at first that GPS has nothing in common with games, but don’t rush to draw conclusions. Just remember the last year fad about Pockémon GO and what it has done to users all over the world. No doubt, it wouldn’t be so insanely popular without integrated GPS.

Travelling

Example: TripAdvisor, Booking.com, Airbnb.

Travel apps can often replace a map and a guide (image by The Major)

Some people like an obscurity, but majority prefers to have their vacation thought out and well-planned. Where to stay, what to see, and a bunch of other similar questions doesn’t scare travelers anymore due to this group of apps.

E-commerce

Examples: eBay, Asos, Zara.

Sometimes users may not even know about geolocation in a mobile app, but still benefit from it. For example, e-commerce apps often use it to provide their customers with optimum and fast delivery.

🛠️ Development Process

You are already able to choose a business idea and suitable for it mapping and locating technology. That’s why I want to pay an attention now to some key moments related to a geolocation app development.

A location-based mobile app is still an app, so it should have all the common features, such as:

user interface;
business logic;
protected backend database.

Along with all above you shouldn’t forget about specific elements of apps with geolocation. For example:

map integration;
locations detecting;
route searching;
GPS coordinates.

You will also need some special SDK’s to create a location based app. For both platforms these are Google Maps SDK (adds maps in the app) and Google Places API (detects location). Also on iOS you can use Apple’s native MapKit instead of Google Maps SDK for adding maps to the app.

Our developers suggest you building a native app with geolocation. Such custom apps usually provide users with a better experience. However, it may be too expensive to develop an application for every single platform, so you can try cheaper alternatives.

For instance, it’s possible to build a cross-platform app on the basis of HTML5 and JavaScript libraries or use React Native app development services. If you consider only a native development but don’t know which platform to choose, we may advise you to read our article “Android vs iOS Development: Which Platform is Better?”.

💰 Costs

So, now you have a business idea, a technology to make it real and some development tips. What’s missing? Estimated costs. As always, it’s difficult to give you a concrete figure because too many factors influence it.

Development of such a sophisticated app will require much more time and resources (image by Leo Leung)

However, costs are directly connected with an amount of time required to integrate mentioned above features. Thus it takes:

8-12 hours for Google Maps SDK;
10-14 hours for Google Places SDK;
6-10 hours for fulfilment of tasks connected with location services;
8-10 hours for applying MapKit.

So, according to some of Stormotion's estimations, location-based app development can cost you:

App Type	Approximate Time (in hours)	Approximate Costs
🚙 Car Navigation App Like Waze	1030	$30,900
🛵 Food Delivery App (customer, courier and web apps)	509; 334; 139	$15,270; $10,020; $4,865
👩‍⚕️ Doctor Appointment App	660-850	$19,800-$25,500
💪 Fitness App	340-790	$10,200-$23,700
🏡 Real Estate App Like Zillow	648	$25,920
🏨 Hotel Booking App	425	$12,750
❤️ Dating App Like Tinder	922	$27,660

💡 Conclusion

Location-based apps significantly changed different spheres of our life. Despite it’s not a brand new technology, these apps attract more and more users every year. So don’t hesitate to use this advantage for your own profit. Let's underline the key ideas:

It's imortant to choose an appropriate idea for an app with geolocation

We advise building a native location-based mobile app

Costs can vary significantly depending on many factors

Take your chance and good luck when you decide to build a location-based app!

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About author

Andrii Bondarenko

Content Team Lead @ Stormotion

Content-Marketing Maestro @ Stormotion. Crafting compelling stories for a brighter world.

Andrii Bo...

Content-Marketing Maestro @ Stormotion. Crafting compelling stories for a brighter world.

Andrii Bo...