# Building a mobile app in Tahiti: what to prepare. > How to launch an iOS and Android app in Tahiti: scope the first user journey, plan for offline use, the backend, store publication and what comes next. By Devlab, with its published projects. - Source : https://devlab.io/en/guides/building-a-mobile-app-in-tahiti - French version : https://devlab.io/guides/creer-une-application-mobile-a-tahiti - Published : 2026-09-26 - Last updated : 2026-09-26 - Contact : contact@devlab.io **To build a mobile app in Tahiti, start with the user journey that must work at launch and the criteria to accept it, then decide what has to work offline, what the backend must handle, and who owns the code and the publishing accounts. Devlab develops iOS and Android apps in Tahiti (ito ito, Beedr, Panier Futé, Air Tahiti, the Taputapuātea audio guide, Ville de Punaauia) and quotes initial development, third-party services and maintenance separately.** ## The essentials - From Tahiti, Devlab builds iOS and Android apps used for sport, events, everyday shopping, travel and municipal information. - Seven mobile projects to date: Air Tahiti, Beedr, ito ito, Panier Futé for the DGAE, Ville de Punaauia and the Taputapuātea audio guide, plus the harvest forecasting app co-developed with CAPL’s technical team and presented in its December 2020 bulletin. - React Native and Expo are part of Devlab’s mobile stack: iOS and Android with a shared codebase, and offline-first operation when field use requires it. - The quote separates three items: building the app, third-party services and maintenance. It also states who owns the code, who holds the publishing accounts and where the app is hosted. - The monthly subscription, chosen by 90% of Devlab clients, starts from 20,000 XPF per month; buying remains possible for those who want to own their solution. ## The first user journey, before the feature list An app rarely succeeds because it does many things. It succeeds because one specific journey works at launch: booking a trip, finding an event, comparing a price, checking municipal information. Whether the project is a startup, a marketplace or a booking tool, Devlab sets that journey and how it will be judged before writing the first line of code. In practice, that starts with working out who will use the app, sketching the screens and trying out the journeys that matter most, before building everything else. These are the “Listen” and “Measure” stages of the Devlab method: understand your workflows and define the problem, then agree priorities, budget and success criteria. - Who will use the app, and in what situation: at a desk, on the move, on a site without network. - The first service it must provide to those users, described in one sentence. - The criteria that will show the first release works. - What can wait for the next release. ## Phones, network and islands: the constraints of the fenua In French Polynesia, the handsets your users actually carry, how good their connection is, their language and the volume of data to transfer all weigh directly on the design. An app designed for a perfect network disappoints as soon as you leave Papeete: on a building site, on an outer island, in a boat’s hold, teams often work without network. The technical answer is called offline-first: field data capture, local storage on the phone, and sync when the connection returns. Devlab applies it in Kohi, its hotel inventory software: teams record observations, quantities and photos on mobile, even without a network. The Taputapuātea audio guide, developed for the Department of Culture and Heritage, demonstrates that experience: audio tours and images available offline, an interactive map and glossary, tours in French, Tahitian and English, so visitors can follow the tour of the Taputapuātea site in Raiatea without a mobile connection. Not every feature needs to work offline. For each project, we sort out what stays stored on the phone and what has to go back through the network to update. ## Backend, accounts and connections A mobile app is only the visible part. Behind it, a backend connects accounts, content and data, with administration tools for your team. Your current tools can plug into it too, but only if their interface allows it. Check this early, since it changes the scope. Depending on the project, the app carries whatever actually serves your users: a map, notifications, the camera, or access without a connection. The Air Tahiti app, for instance, covers ticket booking and trip management, check-in and access to boarding passes, timetables and flight status tracking. The more an app depends on live data, the more the backend and the connections weigh in the project. - User accounts and roles: who signs in, with which rights. - Content and data: who updates them, from which administration tool. - Existing services (booking, payment, sales tools): to connect where their APIs allow it. - Maps, notifications, camera: planned for the project, not by default. ## Publishing on the App Store and Google Play, then what comes next Releasing an app is not a matter of pressing a button. Devlab tests it, submits it to the platforms, then agrees with you on who watches for incidents, how updates ship and what ongoing development sits in the contract. The publishing account matters as much as the code. Beedr is published on iOS and Android under the Devlab account; the Ville de Punaauia app is listed as Ville de Punaauia on the App Store and Mairie de Punaauia on Google Play, with both stores identifying Devlab as the developer. These choices are settled at the start: who owns the code, who keeps control of the publishing accounts, where the app is hosted, and who maintains it. Beedr and Panier Futé sit on both the App Store and Google Play; the Taputapuātea audio guide and Air Tahiti are published on Google Play. Not every app needs both platforms from day one: the decision follows the phones your users actually carry. ## What it costs and how Devlab quotes The price of an app follows its journeys, its platforms, its backend, its connections and the support wanted once it is live. Devlab prices the work once scoping is done, and the quote separates three items: building the app, what depends on third-party providers, and maintenance. At Devlab, 90% of clients choose the monthly subscription: no money down, with design, hosting, support and ongoing improvements included, from 20,000 XPF per month. That entry point is the same for all our services; the exact price then depends on the size of the project, the volumes and the goal. Buying remains possible for those who want to own their solution: the initial outlay is considerably higher, and maintenance has to be planned afterwards. The first call lasts 30 minutes and costs nothing. The quote is free too, with no commitment, and Devlab replies within 24 hours. Describe the app’s users and what it should do for them first: that is all it takes to start scoping. ## Seven apps, seven contexts Sport, travel, everyday shopping, municipal information and agriculture: Devlab’s seven mobile projects in French Polynesia cover very different uses. Each dedicated page spells out our exact role and cites its sources. - ito ito: physical activity, challenges and rewards in French Polynesia. Created and developed by Devlab, which then maintained it; the solution was later sold to SAS Itoito. - Beedr: discovering events and following their organisers in Tahiti, with two workflows, participant and organiser. Published on iOS and Android under the Devlab account. - Panier Futé: developed for the Direction générale des affaires économiques (DGAE) to compare recorded prices in stores in Tahiti, Moorea and Raiatea. - Air Tahiti: booking, check-in, boarding passes, timetables and flight status for passengers travelling between the islands of French Polynesia, on Android. - Taputapuātea audio guide: a tour of the Taputapuātea site in Raiatea, offline, in French, Tahitian and English, for the Department of Culture and Heritage. - Ville de Punaauia: municipal information, a map and notifications, on iOS and Android. - CAPL: a tablet app for harvest forecasting, co-developed with the technical team of the Chambre de l’agriculture et de la pêche lagonaire, presented in its December 2020 bulletin. ## Frequently asked questions ### What should you decide before asking for a mobile app quote? Three things above all: who will use the app and in what situation (a desk, on the move, a site without network), what it must give those users first, in one sentence, and the criteria that will show this first release works. Everything else, such as secondary screens or extra features, can wait for the next release. ### What should a first release of an app actually contain? One journey that genuinely works, not a long list of half-built features: booking a trip, finding an event, comparing a price, checking municipal information. Devlab sets that journey and how it will be judged before writing the first line of code. ### What should a mobile app quote spell out, beyond the price? It separates what is construction, what depends on an outside provider, and what recurs every month to keep the app running. It also settles who owns the code, who keeps control of the publishing accounts, where the app is hosted, and who maintains it. ### Who owns the app’s code and publishing accounts? That gets decided up front, not afterwards. Beedr is published under the Devlab account; the Ville de Punaauia app is listed under its own name on the App Store and Google Play, with Devlab identified as the developer on both. Both setups exist: the choice depends on what you want to keep control of. ### How does publishing on the App Store and Google Play work? Devlab handles testing and platform submissions, then agrees with you on who watches for incidents and how updates ship. Publishing on both stores is not required from day one: the choice follows the phones your users actually carry. Beedr and Panier Futé, for example, are on both the App Store and Google Play. ### How do you plan for an app to work offline? By listing, feature by feature, what needs to stay available without network and what can wait for the connection to return. The technical answer is offline-first: local storage on the phone, then sync once the connection is back. The Taputapuātea audio guide, usable offline on site in Raiatea, is one published example. ## Next step What should your app do? Describe its users and the first service it needs to provide. A free 30-minute call to scope the first release, then a detailed quote, free and without commitment. — https://devlab.io/en#contact ## Read next - [Mobile apps in Tahiti: Devlab’s service and published projects](https://devlab.io/en/mobile-app-development-tahiti) - [Taputapuātea audio guide: an offline app](https://devlab.io/en/work/taputapuatea) - [Beedr: an app published on the App Store and Google Play](https://devlab.io/en/work/beedr) - [Explore our work](https://devlab.io/en/work) - [Custom software or no-code: which one, and when?](https://devlab.io/en/guides/custom-software-or-no-code) - [How much does a website cost in French Polynesia?](https://devlab.io/en/guides/how-much-does-a-website-cost-in-french-polynesia) --- ## About Devlab Devlab is a Polynesian technology studio founded in 2014 in Tahiti (French Polynesia): custom web and mobile development, AI agents and automation, ERP integration and digital communication (FL0W by Devlab). Head office in Papeete, office in Punaauia, 14 experts, more than 100 companies served. Contact: contact@devlab.io — https://devlab.io