Mobile PRDs require three sections that web PRDs don't: offline behavior, platform specificity (iOS vs. Android), and OS-level permission flows. Missing these sections is why 47% of mobile feature reworks involve edge cases related to connectivity or permissions (internal data, 2026). This template covers all three.
"The biggest source of mobile re-rework I've seen is a PRD that treats iOS and Android as one platform. They're not. Notification permission flows, background refresh, and share sheet behavior are all different. Specify which platform, or you get a surprise in QA."
— Sam R., Mobile Engineering Lead at a consumer SaaS company
Mobile-specific PRD sections to add
Platform scope: Explicitly state which platforms this feature ships on (iOS / Android / both) and whether parity is required or if platform-specific variations are acceptable. "Spec for iOS first, Android to follow in Sprint+1" is a valid scope decision — just document it.
Offline behavior: For every user action in your user stories, specify: what happens when the user is offline? Does the action fail with an error? Queue for background sync? Disable the UI element? This is the most commonly missing mobile PRD section.
OS permission flows: If the feature requires notifications, camera, location, contacts, or any other OS-level permission: specify the trigger condition (when to request permission), the first-request copy, the denied state behavior, and the re-request flow (settings link).
Performance targets: Mobile has different performance standards than web. Specify: screen load time (target: under 1 second for cached content), animation frame rate (60fps), background refresh interval if applicable.
Mobile edge cases that PRDs commonly miss
| Edge case | Example | What the spec must cover |
|---|---|---|
| No connectivity | User submits form offline | Queue locally, sync on reconnect, show queue indicator |
| Interrupted upload/download | App backgrounded mid-upload | Resume from last checkpoint or restart with user confirmation |
| Permission denied | User denies notification permission | Graceful fallback, settings deep-link, no repeated prompts |
| Low storage | User cache is full | Error with actionable message, no silent failure |
| OS upgrade breaking change | iOS 19 changes push token behavior | Note in dependencies, add as tech risk |
iOS vs. Android parity decisions to make explicitly
The features that most commonly differ by platform: share sheet (platform-native vs. custom), widget support (different APIs), notification grouping, biometric auth (Face ID vs. fingerprint), and background app refresh policies. Make an explicit decision on each — "platform native" or "custom implementation" — in the PRD.