Does Garage2Global build custom iOS apps for businesses?

Iphone
1

I’m looking into hiring Garage2Global for a new iOS app project but can’t tell from their site if they actually offer full iOS app development services or just consulting. Has anyone here worked with them for a complete iOS app build, from design through App Store launch, and can you share your experience or clarify what they really provide?

2

Short answer from my experience with them last year in Q3: yes, Garage2Global does full custom iOS app builds for businesses, not only consulting.

What we did with them:

  1. Scope and product work

    • They helped turn a messy idea into a PRD, user flows, and wireframes.
    • They pushed hard on feature pruning and MVP, which saved us money.

  2. iOS dev stack

    • Native iOS only, Swift and SwiftUI for new stuff.
    • Integrated our existing REST API plus Stripe and Firebase.
    • Set up push notifications, deeplinks, analytics, and feature flags.

  3. Backend and infra

    • They did small backend tweaks but not a full backend rebuild.
    • If you need a big backend from scratch, ask them up front. They partnered with another shop for a separate client on that.

  4. Design and UX

    • They had an in house designer who produced Figma screens.
    • Not “fancy Dribbble” level, more product focused. Clean, functional.

  5. Release and support

    • They handled App Store listing, signing, TestFlight, review responses.
    • Post launch bugfix support for 60 days in our contract.
    • Ongoing maintenance was a separate retainer.

What I learned that might help you:

  • Their website is unclear. They call a lot of stuff “advisory” but under that they include actual build work.
  • They prefer fixed scope, milestone based pricing for v1.
  • For our 3 month project, we had:
    • 1 senior iOS dev, 1 mid iOS dev, 1 designer, 1 PM part time
  • They were fine with GitHub access and code ownership in our org, which was important for us. Make sure your SOW says you own the source code and the build scripts.

Questions to ask them on your intro call:

  • Do you deliver native iOS only or also Flutter/React Native and what do you recommend for my use case.
  • Who maintains the code after launch and what are your SLAs.
  • How many hours per week will your team allocate, with names and roles.
  • Do you estimate by story points or hours and how do you handle scope creep.
  • What is your typical timeline for an MVP with X main features.

Red flags or issues I saw:

  • Their first estimates were optimistic. We ended up closer to +20 percent on timeline. Budget stayed mostly the same because we cut a few non essential features.
  • You need a strong internal product owner. If you do not push on priorities, you get scope bloat.

If you want pure “strategy only” they do that too, but if your SOW mentions:

  • UI implementation
  • API integration
  • CI and App Store submission
  • QA and acceptance testing

then you are buying full iOS development, not only consulting.

3

They do actually build, not just talk.

I worked with Garage2Global in late 2022 on what I’d call a “real” iOS product: native app, multiple releases, paying users, etc. So to answer your core question: yes, they offer full custom iOS app development for businesses, not only advisory. Their site is confusing and heavy on “advisory / strategy” language, but in practice they’ll absolutely take on a full build if the scope fits.

My experience overlaps a lot with what @nachtschatten wrote, but a couple of differences / extra points that might help:

  • In our case they did take more ownership of backend than what was described above. They didn’t rebuild everything, but they handled a small Node service, auth tweaks, and helped us set up basic monitoring. I’d still not treat them as a pure backend shop, but if your backend needs are moderate and well defined, they can cope.
  • Our timeline estimate was more conservative than theirs apparently. We came in around +5–10 percent on schedule, but we also locked scope like crazy and killed anything that smelled like “nice to have.” If you’re loose on scope, you’ll drift.
  • One place I’d mildly disagree with the earlier take: their designer on our project did push a bit on polish. It still wasn’t flashy Dribbble fodder, but we got real attention to motion, loading states, empty states, etc. Might just depend on which designer you get.
  • They were opinionated about native vs cross‑platform. They leaned very hard toward native iOS in our case, but were at least willing to walk through the tradeoffs with React Native for a future Android build. Worth pushing them on that so you’re not locked into a tech choice you regret.

If you talk to them, I’d be explicit that you want:

  • End‑to‑end build, not just “strategy”
  • Clear ownership of the repo under your org from day one
  • A written plan for what happens after v1 goes live (bugfix window, maintenance, who fixes urgent crashes, etc.)

Bottom line: if your question is “Will they actually design, build, integrate, test, and ship an iOS app to the App Store for me, or will they just give me slide decks?” my experience is very much the former, as long as you write the SOW in plain, unambiguous language.