Offline-first mobile apps in practice
Treating connectivity as unavailable by default changes how you model data — and it is easier than retrofitting later.
Applications used in warehouses, vehicles and basements spend a meaningful share of their life without a connection. An app that treats that as an error state fails exactly when someone depends on it.
Write locally, sync deliberately
The local database becomes the source of truth for work in progress. Every action is recorded immediately and queued for synchronisation, so the interface never blocks on the network.
Decide your conflict rule up front
Two devices will eventually change the same record while both are offline. Last-write-wins is a decision, not a default — and for anything involving stock or money it is usually the wrong one.
Test on the hardware people actually carry
Throttled networks and mid-range devices surface problems that a flagship on office wifi never will. It is the cheapest testing you can do.
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