Mobile app development from a real product studio.
Afia Labs ships consumer apps on iOS (MemeScanr, TripSquad, Planet Wonders in development). We selectively take on client app projects where the brief is well-defined and we can ship something we are proud to put our name on.
Based in Virginia. Working with founders remote and worldwide.
What we build (and what we do not).
We are a small studio, not an app farm. We do best when the brief is small enough to ship in 8 to 16 weeks and clear enough that we can name the one thing the app is for in a single sentence. We do not build everything for everyone, and we do not pitch on apps where we cannot be honest about the timeline or the trade-offs.
Apps we are a strong fit for.
- Consumer iOS apps with a single clear job: a tool, a tracker, a daily ritual, a smart utility, a niche social product.
- Privacy-first apps that need to run on-device, store no server-side personal data, or use Apple ML/Core ML.
- AI-assisted apps that use foundation models thoughtfully, where the AI is leverage, not the entire product.
- Founder-led products where one person or a small team is making the calls and shipping fast matters more than committee.
Projects we are not the right fit for.
- Enterprise admin dashboards or back-office systems.
- Marketplaces, social networks, or "the next" anything.
- Apps that need a 12-person team to ship.
- Anything that requires us to stop caring about quality to hit a deadline.
Our stack and our approach.
For iOS we ship in Flutter with native Swift channels for the parts that need real native performance (Apple ML/Core ML, AVFoundation, Photos framework, Keychain). Storage is SQLite. Where possible, processing happens on-device. Crash reports through Firebase only. We do not build apps that ship customer photos or audio to a server unless there is a specific, defensible reason.
We work in short cycles. We ship internal builds early, learn from them, and iterate. We do not disappear for three months and reveal a finished app. You see progress weekly.
What it costs and how long it takes.
Mobile apps are project-quoted, not on the package list. A small consumer app with a clear single job typically lands in the $15,000 to $40,000 range and ships in 8 to 16 weeks. Larger projects with backend, payments, accounts, or significant native work scope up from there. Every engagement starts with a kickoff call and a written proposal so you know exactly what is in and what is out before you commit.
Studio hours and how we communicate.
Project inquiries are reviewed during studio hours: Monday to Thursday 7:00 AM to 9:00 PM, Friday 7:00 AM to 6:00 PM, Saturday 8:00 AM to 8:00 PM. Sunday is closed.
Most communication is async via email and Zoom. Calls happen on Google Meet, Microsoft Teams, Zoom, or WhatsApp, whichever method suits you.
Have an app idea worth shipping?
Tell us what the app does, who it is for, and what makes the one thing it is for clear. We will follow up with a kickoff call.
Discuss your app