Build native apps fast with Retool Mobile

Jamie Cuffe
Jamie Cuffe
Product @ Retool

Mar 23, 2022

Today we’re excited to share the private beta for Retool Mobile, a faster way to build production-grade native apps for mobile teams.

With Retool Mobile, you build mobile apps by assembling pre-built native components, connecting them to any database or API, and customizing the experience using SQL and JavaScript. No mobile expertise required.

To get started, join our waitlist today.

Making mobile development faster

There’s too much friction today for most developers to build production-grade mobile apps. It's too easy to get caught up in decisions like native or PWA, Android or iOS, Flutter or React Native—all instead of building the app you wanted in the first place. It can take months to build a great app, and even then you still have to navigate cross-platform deployments and app store approvals. We built Retool Mobile to speed up the entire process.

The reason is simple: 2.7 billion people work on the go [1], but only a tiny fraction are equipped with great software to get work done on their phone. There is a huge opportunity to improve the mobile apps that warehouse, field, and on-site teams use every single day.

With Retool Mobile, you get straight to building—and don't need any mobile experience to successfully deploy to iOS and Android. We're reducing the friction so you can help more teams operate better.

How it works

Retool Mobile brings together everything you need to create and deploy powerful native apps, including 15+ pre-built React Native components and smart defaults that respect mobile best practices.

Retool Mobile app editor view
Retool Mobile app editor view
  • Just assemble components—like collections, forms, and barcode scanners—into the app and connect them to any data source or API.
  • You can customize every app and component using languages that most developers already know, like JavaScript and SQL.
  • Once the app is complete, deploy to iOS, Android, and as a PWA with one click. Distribute with granular permissions, and ensure that teams always have the latest version with rapid over-the-air updates (OTA) that don’t need to go through lengthy app store reviews.

We've packed Retool Mobile with features that help developers build great mobile experiences faster, including:

  • Native components: Use our React Native component library with pre-built features like collections, tabs, and detail views. Create mobile-first experiences with barcode scanners, date pickers, and forms that write data back.
  • Multi-screen: Tailor to your workflow with list and detail views, modals, and tabs.
  • Theming: Customize colors and themes to create familiar app experiences for your users.
  • Testing on device: Use developer mode to configure staging environments and QA releases across devices. Publish the latest version of your Retool apps securely (all managed with Git).
  • App Store Deployment: Ship over the air (OTA) updates to the Apple App Store and Google Play Store.

We also have several updates coming soon: geolocation (for capturing location, displaying data and routing), branded apps/icons/listings in the app stores, push notifications, offline mode, and more.

Some of our earliest users have already built mobile apps to sell products, manage inventory, run inspections, and track deliveries. John Hughes, Chief Strategy Officer at The Modern Milkman, uses Retool Mobile to support operations for daily milk deliveries. He shares:

“With Retool Mobile, we can add new apps in hours and seamlessly deploy them to every platform over the air, all on the same day.”

Get started

Retool Mobile is now available in private beta. To get started, you can join our waitlist. To learn more, check out our docs and tutorials.

Jamie Cuffe
Jamie Cuffe
Product @ Retool
Mar 23, 2022
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