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There are 3.48 million apps on the Play Store and 2.22 million apps on the app store available for download. Missing your presence on either platform will hamper your reach to the audience.
So, what is the problem with developing a mobile application for both operating systems? The issue is that small businesses with limited budgets can’t afford to hire two dedicated teams for Android and iOS app development.
These problems can be solved by cross platform app development frameworks that allow the creation of native-looking mobile apps for both Android and iOS using the same codebase.
Does the concept seem interesting? Want to read more on cross-platform frameworks? Here we have shared the 10 best cross-platform app development frameworks for Android and iOS. Before talking about them let’s first make you familiar with the benefit of such frameworks.
Why should your business choose a cross-platform app development framework? Here are a few reasons:
The hybrid development framework follows an approach: “Write once, run on different platforms”.
With the use of shared codebases, hybrid frameworks eliminate repetitive tasks and speed up development.
This is another win-to-win situation with the hybrid mobile app development frameworks. Since single source code can be used to develop applications for Android and iOS, development efforts are reduced to 40 to 60%.
Plugins and extensions are a great way to improve the app’s functionality with minimal developer efforts. Hybrid mobile apps are compatible with the various plugins and they can be easily integrated with the help of the cloud thanks to the single source code.
Many users own more than one device i.e Android and iOS. With native mobile app development, it is hard for developers to sync design across multiple devices with similar experiences.
Cross-platform app development tools allow developers and designers to build a uniform designing experience across multiple operating systems.
Due to the ever-changing business environment, it is essential for businesses to update their mobile apps regularly or frequently adopting the latest market trends to stay competitive.
Due to the complex coding of native mobile apps, the modification becomes quite difficult and time-consuming. With hybrid mobile app development tools, the developers need to make changes in single-source code which makes the modification process easier.
Flutter is an open-source app development supported by Google. It enables the developers to build, test and deploy feature-rich apps for mobile, web, and desktop from a single codebase.
Flutter is powered by the Dart programming language which is client optimized and prompts fast application development.
Irrespective of the development platform, Dart is fast on all platforms. When mobile and desktop are concerned Dart compiles to the ARM & 64 machine code. In the case of web development, Dart compiles JavaScript.
With automated testing and developer tooling, the development of a production-quality app becomes a lot easier for mobile app developers.
React Native is a best-in-class open-source Javascript library created by the Meta platform for building beautiful user interfaces.
React Native follows an approach “learn once, write everywhere”. It allows developers to create native-like cross-platform applications with little effort.
Being powered by the lightning-fast programming language React Native, developers can preview the changes instantly.
Xamarin is a free and open-source cross-platform app development framework supported by Microsoft that allows the building of Android and iOS apps using programming languages like .NET and C#.
Being integrated with the modern backend services, and native APIs, Xamarin allows the development of native, cross-platform, and shared native user interfaces.
Ionic is an open-source software development kit created by Max Lynch, Ben Sperry, and Adam Bradley for hybrid mobile app development.
Ionic provides the mobile app developers with a great level of freedom by allowing them to develop the app using any frontend framework including Angular, React, and Vue.
NodeJS is an open-source cross-platform back-end JavaScript runtime environment created by the OpenJS foundation to support the development of server-side and scalable network apps.
NodeJS enables the JavaScript developers to write server-side coding alongside the client-side coding. By following the minimalist approach, NodeJS provides simple yet powerful ways of hybrid mobile app development.
Apache Cordova is an open-source hybrid mobile application development platform. It makes use of standard web technologies such as HTML, JavaScript, and CSS3 to develop cross-platform applications for Android, iOS, and Windows.
Apache Cordova offers two basic app development workflows: cross-platform (CLI) workflow and platform-centered workflow to enable developers to build platforms for multiple platforms by sharing a similar codebase.
With Sencha Touch, developers can build and test data-intensive web applications across multiple platforms including Android, and iOS.
Relying on MVC architecture, Sencha makes use of programming languages such as HTML, CSS, and JavaScript to build mobile applications.
Appcelerator Titanium is an open-source cross platform app development framework. It allows mobile app developers to develop apps in JavaScript, then compiled them into native apps for Android and iOS.
Besides the hybrid app development, Appcelerator Titanium can also be used to develop apps for one platform only.
NativeScript is an open-source app development tool that allows the creation of web and mobile apps with similar codebase for multiple operating systems.
Being supported by the WebIDE called PlayGround, which offers benefits such as hot reload, debugging, and an easy working interface to assist developers to create hybrid apps efficiently.
Corona SDK is a free and cross platform app development tool that allows the rapid creation of games and mobile apps for multiple platforms.
The framework is powered by the lightweight scripting language called Lua. By automatically compiling apps at the build time, Corona enhances the performance and stability.
Corona SDK’s development expertise does not limit itself to mobile devices; it allows developers to create solutions with a similar codebase that will work on desktops and even connected TV devices.
So, which framework have you chosen for your cross platform app development after reading their description and features?
Regardless of the framework you choose, you won’t be able to unlock the full potential of these frameworks without the help of an experienced mobile app development company.
Konstant Infosolutions is a highly experienced cross platform app development company. The company has developed a number of world-class apps using these frameworks. Let’s connect with us to unlock the full potential of your app development project.
The selection of the best framework is subject to your development requirements. According to a survey conducted by Statista in 2021, React Native is the most used cross-platform mobile framework followed by Flutter.
Java, C++, and JavaScript are the most commonly used programming languages for cross platform app development.
Being indulged in the IT industry for more than 3+ years, I aim to offer up-to-date and latest knowledge on different technologies and trends setting the market. This is what I love to do. When I'm not working, I like to be near the outdoors surrounded by greenery.
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