Cycling through all six. Tap any point to stop.

Measured on six things

Design interactive iOS apps on your iPhone, no code needed.

Security

HTTPS and HSTS are in place, but the header probe found no CSP, no frame protection, no Referrer-Policy and no SPF/DMARC — 4/12 checklist points. No SOC 2, ISO or pen-test claim found. Standard early-stage posture, nothing broken.

Screenshots

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Layerz

About this app

Layerz is a visual design tool that lets you create fully interactive iOS app designs directly on your iPhone, iPad, or Mac. Unlike traditional prototyping tools that only simulate interactions, Layerz uses real native components, live data binding, and visual logic to make your designs actually run. You can design screens, define data models, connect to live APIs (import OpenAPI specs), and add behavior with Action Flow—all without writing code. The app is built for planners, designers, backend developers, solo devs, and hobbyists who want to turn ideas into working apps quickly. Standout features include live API integration, camera with filters, device services, and a design system with themes. Share your .layerz file and anyone can run it. Free to download and try.

Key features

1Native iOS components with live data binding — designs hold real data and run without a build step.
2OpenAPI/Swagger import with OAuth 2.0, Bearer, Basic and API key auth, plus timeouts and retries.
3Action Flow visual logic: tap → navigate, load, branch on status codes, call real APIs.
4Camera with 38 chainable filters, device services (timers, battery, connectivity), Lottie/video/audio.
5Design system with color/typography tokens and themes, including light and dark re-skinning.
6Shareable .layerz files that anyone can run for free on iPhone, iPad or Mac.

Target customer profile

Drawn from the product itself, not from a survey.

Demographic

Product planners and managers

Pain points

Ideas get lost in handoffs; plans are static documents

Primary needs

A tool to design screen-by-screen and see the plan as a working app

Demographic

UI/UX designers

Pain points

Design tools can't run designs; developers say it can't be built

Primary needs

Native components that behave like the real app; no more 'we can't build this'

Demographic

Backend developers and solo devs

Pain points

No iOS client exists; building one takes too long

Primary needs

Quickly create a native client from an existing API and hand over a running app

Scout Review

Written by AI from measured evidence, scored out of 100.

Layerz is a genuinely differentiated idea in a crowded category: instead of pretending to be an app, the design actually runs, with live data binding, real API calls and visual logic on native iOS components. The marketing site is unusually well-crafted and the app UI in the store screenshots looks like a real product, not a prototype of a product. The gaps are the ordinary early-stage ones — thin security headers, no published compliance, no accessibility documentation, and a mobile site that takes five seconds to paint its hero. None of that is disqualifying; all of it is fixable.

Measure by measure

Usability

The Design → Data → Behavior → Run walkthrough plus a 60-second demo and a genuinely useful FAQ make the workflow legible before download. Free to try. No store ratings yet, so real onboarding friction is unverified.

Design

Judging the app UI: store screenshots show a polished native-iOS canvas with component library, data binding and Action Flow panels. The marketing site is bold, editorial and consistent — heavy display type, orange accent, disciplined spacing.

Speed

Desktop Lighthouse 97/100 is genuinely fast. Mobile 78/100 with a 5.2s LCP drags it down — CLS 0 and TBT 106ms are clean, so it's a payload/hero-image problem, not a jank problem.

Security

Accessibility

Lighthouse a11y 95/100 with one failing audit — unlabeled buttons. No WCAG statement or a11y docs found, but the native iOS app inherits VoiceOver and Dynamic Type, and the app ships in 3 languages.

Growth

Real, specific wedge: designs that actually run on native iOS with live API binding, aimed at backend devs with a shipped API and no client. Narrow (iOS-only) but genuinely underserved versus Figma and Adalo.

Improvement areas

Mobile site performance: 5.2s LCP needs fixing; desktop already scores 97/100.
Security headers: no CSP, frame protection, Referrer-Policy, SPF or DMARC (4/12 checklist).
Accessibility documentation: no WCAG statement, and buttons fail the accessible-name audit.
No App Store ratings yet and no pricing page — trust and cost signals are both thin.

Design & Usability

Judging the app itself, the store screenshots show a coherent native-iOS design surface — component library, data model, Action Flow canvas — that looks like a real tool rather than a demo. The marketing site backs it with editorial typography and a clear Design → Data → Behavior → Run narrative, plus a 60-second demo and an FAQ that pre-empts the obvious objections. Usability is the harder call: the workflow is legible before you download, and it's free to try, but with no App Store ratings there's no independent evidence of how steep the actual learning curve is once you're inside the canvas.

Speed & Security

Speed is split down the middle: desktop Lighthouse 97/100 is excellent, mobile 78/100 with a 5.2s LCP is the weak link, though CLS 0 and TBT 106ms show the page isn't janky — it's just heavy on mobile. Security is the softest dimension. HTTPS and HSTS are enforced, but the header probe found no CSP, no frame protection, no Referrer-Policy and no SPF/DMARC, landing at 4/12 checklist points. There's no SOC 2, ISO or pen-test claim anywhere on the site. For an early-stage indie tool that's a normal posture, not a scandal — but it's clearly behind what a team handing over client work would want to see.

Accessibility & Growth

Accessibility scores well on automated checks — 95/100 with a single failure for unlabeled buttons — and the native iOS foundation means VoiceOver and Dynamic Type come largely for free. What's missing is documentation: no WCAG statement, no a11y notes, and the site itself is English-only despite the app shipping in three languages. Growth is the most interesting question. The wedge is sharp and specific: backend developers with a working API and no iOS client, who can import an OpenAPI spec and hand over a running app the same day. That's a segment Figma structurally won't serve and Adalo serves poorly. The limit is scope — iOS-only, native-component constraints the site itself acknowledges — which caps how far the wedge carries it.

Conclusion

If you're a backend developer sitting on a finished API with no iOS client, or a designer tired of handing off screens that get rebuilt from scratch, Layerz is worth the free download — the OpenAPI import and Action Flow are the parts that actually earn the pitch. Go in expecting a young product: no store ratings yet, no compliance paperwork, and a mobile site that needs a diet. The core claim — that what you design is what runs — is the one thing here that competitors can't easily copy.

Suggestions for improvement

Fix the mobile LCP: 5.2s is the single biggest measurable drag on the site — compress and preload the hero asset.
Add a CSP, Referrer-Policy, X-Content-Type-Options and frame protection; publish SPF and DMARC records.
Publish an accessibility statement and label the buttons flagged by the axe audit; document VoiceOver support.
Add a pricing page or explicit free-tier limits to the site — 'free to download and try' leaves buyers guessing.

How we score

Alternatives comparison

Named competitors, point by point. Nobody paid to appear here or to be left out.

	Layerz	Figma	Adalo
Design output that actually runs (not just a clickable prototype)	Yes — native components, live data binding and Action Flow run without a build step	No — static mockups and limited-interactivity prototypes	Yes — functional apps, but web-based no-code rather than native iOS design
Native iOS components	Yes — built on native iOS, not a web page in a frame	No — vector drawing, components are visual only	No — cross-platform web-rendered components
Live API integration / OpenAPI import	Yes — OpenAPI 3.x / Swagger 2.0 import, OAuth 2.0, retries, bind responses to UI	No — API calls require plugins or dev handoff	Partial — external API connections via no-code setup, no native OpenAPI import
Works on iPhone/iPad/Mac without a PC	Yes — designed and run on iPhone, iPad and Mac	Partial — mobile viewer apps exist, editing is desktop-first	No — browser-based builder, desktop workflow
Free to try	Yes — free download and try	Yes — free tier with limits	Yes — free plan with app limits
Published compliance / security certifications	None found — HTTPS/HSTS only, 4/12 header checklist	SOC 2 Type II, ISO 27001 and GDPR documentation published	Security page with GDPR posture; SOC 2 not prominently published