Features
Aquro’s creativity and flexibility leave you with a multitude of options at each step of the app development process–and even beyond that. What it lacks in mobile OS options, it makes up for with a truly robust toolbox for you to use throughout the life cycle of your app. The best part is that you can sample this all for free–as long as you don’t mind that your work is publicly accessible and open-source.
Once you subscribe, you can level up the features available to you and also set your app as a private, closed source. You can even export your source code–something not all app maker companies allow you to do. This gives you the power of choice: you can take your code and use the back-end and support services of another company, or stay and continue managing your app through your Aquro account.
The Aquro Platform–which you will use to build and work with your app–is made up of three connected services:
- Aquro App Studio, a suite of tools designed for speedy and efficient app development;
- Aquro App Manager, which allows you to handle your Aquro account and all your apps, and assign roles and permissions; and
- Aquro Secure MBaaS (Mobile Back-End as a Service), which you can use to manage tasks that happen outside of your app–like push notifications, data exchange and more.
The work behind this platform is industry-leading and meant to ensure that anyone, from a true beginner to a professional developer, will be able to create and design a flexible and fully customizable app without months or years of learning how to code. Plus, it’s completely web based. There are no hardware or software requirements, other than a computer with a browser and an Internet connection.
6th Place9.5 out of 10App Development and Project Management
One code base translates to both iOS and Android apps, so you don’t have to do double the work. Apps built using Aquro are responsive, as well; and visual elements of your app’s interface can be rearranged and set based on the device displaying it. Going beyond just using templates and themes is the platform’s basic setting, as you can put together an app that’s fine tuned and specific to your wants and needs without coding–a true feat, and definitely more than just simple drag and drop.
Aquro App Studio has integrated project management features, to help you streamline the way you and the rest of your team–if this a solo project, that is–handle tasks. With the tools provided, you can manage app feature requests, internal problems encountered and error reports.
Deployment and Data Management
Aquro also makes it possible for you to test your app on devices without publishing it first, through a separate mobile app called Aquro Preview. You can test it yourself or have actual testers use your app while you’re still in the process of finishing it. Built-in features of this system include testers being able to provide feedback for the developer directly from Aquro Preview.
Once your app is ready to be published, and you’ve signed up as a developer for both app stores–Google Play has a $25 fee, for Apple’s App Store there is a yearly $99 fee–Aquro takes care of the rest. You can set updates to be deployed automatically, and even required screenshots and icons for the two stores are generated for you. How your app survives and evolves from the point of release is dependent on your understanding of how your app is handled by its users. Enter: your app insights. You can create a customized dashboard containing statistics you feel are important: frequency of events, pages used, and more.
Backend Services
Among the best features of Aquro Secure MBaaS is its crystal clear take on advanced data management. Though this typically relates to internal app integrations and data connections, one available component you can add to your app is data sharing between users, which is also managed through this.
Because there’s talk of data, there’s also going to be talk of security–and Aquro doesn’t disappoint here, either. Smart encryption technology keeps personal and sensitive data safe, secure and protected–for you and all of your app’s users. Also worth mentioning that even external data connectivity is secure sure to Aquro’s web proxy service. This handles data caching, too; to ease the load on the external system.
Visual Workflow
This is the pride and joy of Aquro, and the reason why it’s so uniquely user-friendly and appealing to developers of all skill levels. More than the end-to-end nature of the company’s mobile app development solutions, it’s this app maker that is truly revolutionary. With it, you can design both the user interface and the behavior of your app using everything you know, plus everything Aquro provides in the form of intuitive visual cues. You can create interacting features of your app without even writing a single line of code; but also be able to go back and improve on your work using your own skills if you find yourself learning how to code later on.
Visual Design Editor
To create the look and feel of your app and its different pages and views, you can do whatever you want. You are in control, and not the app maker. Yes, there is a drag and drop functionality with built-in suggestions, but you can also–at any point–quickly and effortlessly add your own custom components using HTML or CSS. Combine pre-made and custom elements any which way you choose. A live preview feature allows you to see how your app’s interface takes shape in real time.
Visual Coding
Aquro’s promise of speed and efficiency is fully realized in its visual coding functionality. It is a very powerful tool, truly changing app development and making it smarter and more natural. Over 100 pre-built modules of process flows–everything from hardware access to event triggers–are provided and presented visually, for you to put together. As with the design editor, you can add your skills into the mix, and use custom modules by writing your own JavaScript blocks.
Pricing
Aquro allows single users and small teams to use it for free, forever. You can create and keep working on an unlimited number of Free apps; though it’s worth remembering that pricing is actually by app. This means that if you upgrade to Basic or Premium, the monthly fee only applies to one app that you’re working on. A 7-day free trial allows you to try out different and unrestricted configurations and ideas per app you create. After that grace period, you’ll be asked to designate the app as either Free, Basic of Premium–and pay accordingly if needed.
One step up from Free is Basic, which gives you the ability to set your app to private and remove it from an open-source environment, as well an exponential upgrade to your cloud services and guaranteed support. Paying an annual fee nets you a total of $12 in savings, which is not much, but roughly equivalent to over one month’s service effectively free. This plan provides great value and is lower in cost compared to other basic paid tiers offered by similar companies.
Premium is really for apps that are totally ready to get off the ground, as you also get a resale license, analytics, priority support and another exponential upgrade to your cloud services. Although customer service is not explicitly listed as 24/7, it does promise a response within 24 hours. Paying an annual fee nets you a total of $48, which may seem like a lot, but in actuality is less than what it would cost to pay for one month.
Aquro also offers scalability in terms of enterprise solutions for bigger teams. Contact the company for inquiries, and have them work out and create tailor-fit plans and executions for your needs.
Customer Support
Despite a prompt–but not always available–live chat option, on top of email and telephone, something about Aquro’s customer support falls flat. Useful resources and tutorials are readily available both on the website and the company’s YouTube channel, but the FAQ and help section is not developed and extensive enough to address less common concerns. Overall, customer support seems focused more on guides and learning aids, rather than actual customer problems and issues.
What's the Verdict on Aquro?
Aquro Review 2020 – Conclusion
Casting its minute flaws aside, Aquro is an excellent choice for one-man teams and small start-ups. The cost is relatively low, and professional-grade apps can be created even without years of design or coding experience–although if you do have that, you can also definitely use your own work. With Aquro, you can keep working on your ideas using the platform for free, for as long as you want; you can opt-out and take your source code with you, anytime; and pay only for exactly what you need.
2 Comments
I would like to build app like Uber
Hi Robert,
You can certainly build an Uber-like app with Aquro. Make sure to give their website a visit. 🙂