Multimedia
Our client for this project was a multimedia company that specializes in mobile apps for photo and video editing. They tasked us with developing an intuitive editing app with dynamic visual effects and seamless monetization through in-app subscriptions. Over the course of three years, our three-person team rebuilt and maintained the app while extensively focusing on UI, performance, and deployment automation.
Client location
USA
Industry
Multimedia
Duration
3 years
Team
3 members
Challenge
We took over a legacy codebase that required careful handling to preserve its core functionality while modernizing the app’s architecture. A major technical challenge was integrating OpenGL and Metal into Flutter to enable interactive visuals. The task proved complex due to platform-specific rendering constraints.
We had to develop a highly reliable CI/CD process that would guarantee smooth development and deployment.
Solution
We chose Flutter as the primary technology for our solution since it can deliver native-like animations across iOS and Android from a single codebase. With this tech, we could iterate quickly and maintain a consistent user experience.
To enable advanced visuals, we embedded OpenGL and Metal into Flutter — a solution we had validated earlier. It allowed us to add real-time effects and custom transitions without sacrificing performance.
On the monetization front, we implemented Adapty to monetize through subscriptions. For analytics and stability monitoring, we integrated Sentry to detect crashes and performance bottlenecks, while Branch.IO enabled robust deep linking for marketing campaigns and referral flows.
To support fast, stable releases, we set up a robust CI/CD pipeline using GitLab Pipelines and CodeMagic. This system enabled us to automate testing and deployment, significantly reducing manual effort and errors — a critical improvement given our lean team setup.
Impact
The Four Ages solution delivered measurable improvements across performance, usability, and maintainability. The rebuilt app significantly enhanced user experience and performance. Thus, it fully met the client’s objectives in the photo and video editing domain.
By introducing Hive, we ensured fast local storage and seamless offline access, both of which are critical for mobile users. The integration of Adapty streamlined premium feature access, helping the client monetize effectively.
The CI/CD automation reduced release times and minimized deployment risks, and allowed us to deliver frequent updates with confidence.
Overall, the app became a stable, professionally refined interface, and easier to maintain, laying a solid foundation for the ongoing scaling of our client.
Responsibilities
Mobile development
Frontend development
CI/CD Setup
Technologies
Author:
Maria Roy
