Building Freetrade

Introducing Freetrade for iPad

March 2, 2021
Introducing Freetrade for iPad
How we developed the app with a brand new UI.

Today, we're starting the rollout of the Freetrade app on iPad.

This has been a target of mine since I started at Freetrade and more importantly, since I bought an iPad.

If you open your latest Freetrade app version on iPad, you will see one of these two views:


And eventually, all users will see the UI on the second photo above on their iPad.

Here are some of the things you can expect on Freetrade for iPad:

  • A brand-new side bar, to select tabs, view your accounts, and switch between them more easily
  • Bigger charts, making it even easier to browse price points
  • You can now access your profile wherever you are in the app


Not only does this give a better use of the increased screen size, but it enables you to use Freetrade side-by-side with another app. 


Fed up of having to switch between our app and Safari for your stock research? 


Now you can run them side-by-side:


Developing Freetrade for iPad


As you might notice, the app looks very similar on iPad compared to on iPhone. 

This is very intentional, to give our customers a consistent experience, and reduce the amount of work for our developers.

While some companies make completely separate iPad apps with distinct UIs, our engineering team is still small (check out the latest engineering roles here if you want to help make it larger!) so our aim was to make the iPad as minimal a change as possible.

The rest of the development time was spent checking everything looked good on iPad, and working out how to roll this out – in fact, the majority of the code has been in the app for a few weeks now!

To ensure a smooth rollout, we’re releasing this in stages, in order to make it easier to figure out any problems and their causes easier:

  • The code is all in the app but not turned on. This gives us the opportunity to make sure nothing regressed for current users.
  • We release the app with the iPad support turned on. Users will see the left-hand UI which acts the same as the iPhone. This allows us to ensure there are no issues specific to the iPad.
  • Then we turn on the new UI, allowing us to ensure there are no issues specific to the new UI.


We hope enjoy using Freetrade for iPad!


Join the discussion on the forum and let us know what you think.


When you invest, your capital is at risk. The value of your portfolio can go down as well as up and you may get back less than you invest. 

Freetrade is a trading name of Freetrade Limited, which is a member firm of the London Stock Exchange and is authorised and regulated by the Financial Conduct Authority. Registered in England and Wales (no. 09797821).


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Basic
£0.00
/Month
Accounts
  • General Investment Account
Benefits
  • A great way to try Freetrade before transferring your ISA or pension
  • Unlimited commission-free trades. Other charges may apply.
  • Trade USD and EUR stocks at the exchange rate + 0.99% FX fee
  • Access to a selection of Freetrade’s 6,200+ global stocks and ETFs
  • 1% AER on up to £1,000 uninvested cash
  • Fractional US shares
  • Access to mobile app and web platform
Standard
£5.99
/Month
billed monthly
Accounts
  • General Investment Account
  • Stocks and shares ISA
Everything in Basic and:
  • Access to 6,200+ stocks and ETFs
  • A lower FX fee of 0.59% on non-GBP trades
  • 3% AER on up to £2,000 uninvested cash
  • Automated order types, including recurring orders
  • More stats and analysis, including analyst ratings and EPS estimates 
Plus
£11.99
/Month
billed monthly
Accounts
  • General Investment Account
  • Stocks and shares ISA
  • Personal pension
Everything in Standard and:
  • A lower FX fee of 0.39% on non-GBP trades
  • Priority customer service
  • 5% AER on up to £3,000 uninvested cash

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