Over the past few years as digitalization continues to grow, the global mobile app market continues to expand at a tremendous rate estimating about 2.5 billion Android users and around 1 billion iOS users.
But looking at these numbers doesn’t mean building an app for one platform would be wise. No, No! Opting for cross platform mobile development frameworks at this time would be advisable to do as it enables you to create apps that are ready for multiple platforms giving you the opportunity to let them reach all smartphone users around the globe. Well doesn’t that seem a better thing to do?
With Cross Platform App development growing in popularity with its own set of merits, it can be a quest to find the best and ideal framework for yourself. But don’t worry; we Syndell experts have sorted you with a list of some of the best Cross-platform app development frameworks for you to choose for your next app development.
What Exactly Is a Cross-Platform App Development Framework?
To cut things short, using cross-platform mobile development frameworks developers can build apps that have the ability to run on multiple computing platforms like Android and iOS. In fact, the apps built on these frameworks do not even require separate coding saving time for the developers.
By just using one single codebase you can create the foundation of the app to run efficiently on all the platforms, ultimately accelerating the development process of the mobile app development companies.
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Top 12 Cross-Platform Mobile Development Frameworks in 2023
1. React Native
It’s hard to not include React Native at the top of this list. It is an open-source cross-platform app framework that was created and released by Facebook in 2015. It is a framework that is built on JavaScript and provides a developer set of platform-specific components and APIs to create native-looking mobile applications.
React Native integrates the advantages of both JavaScript and React.JS while also allowing the developers to write modules in Objective-C, Java, or Swift languages. Moreover, by using the native modules and libraries in the React Native cross-platform apps, developers can also perform heavy operations such as image editing, video processing, or other operations not part of the framework APIs.
Programming language: JavaScript.
Mobile apps: Facebook, Instagram, Walmart, Airbnb, Bloomberg, Discord, Wix
Repository – ReactNative Github
Features –
- For creating responsive and dynamic user interfaces, React Native’s Flexbox layout is a potent tool. Because of this, designers may construct layouts that adjust to various screen sizes and orientations.
- Developers can incorporate dynamic and interactive animations into their applications thanks to React Native’s Animated API. As well as more sophisticated animations like physics-based animations, this capability offers complex animations including rotation, scaling, and fading.
- Using React Native, programmers can use a single JavaScript interface to write native code and access native modules and components. Developers can access platform-specific features and APIs, like camera and accelerometer sensors, and incorporate them into their applications using this feature.
- With the help of React Native’s code-push functionality, developers may update their applications without first submitting them to the app store. Applications are simpler to maintain and update thanks to code push, which allows developers to swiftly resolve errors and provide new features to consumers.
- Developers may handle touch events and gestures in their applications using React Native’s Gesture Responder System. It is now simpler to construct user-friendly user interfaces thanks to this capability, which enables developers to make unique motions and animations that react to user input.
- React Native offers a number of navigation frameworks, such as Native Navigation, React Navigation, and React Native Navigation, which makes it simpler to design apps with intuitive navigation by enabling developers to build complicated navigation flows and transitions into their applications.
- A one-time coding functionality provided by React Native shortens the app’s development period and maintains the cost of developing a React Native app to a minimum. It also puts a lot of emphasis on user interface (UI) rendering, which gives programs an interface that is swift and extremely responsive while cutting down on loading time.
- A huge developer community for React Native has produced numerous third-party libraries and tools to expand the functionality of the framework, making it simpler for programmers to access a variety of features and tools for their projects.
2. Flutter
Programming language: Dart
Mobile apps: Google Ads, Alibaba, Reflectly, Grab, Birch Finance, Hookle
Repository – Flutter Github
Features –
- The widget framework in Flutter is a strong feature that offers pre-built widgets for intricate UI elements and enables programmers to make original widgets and animations.
- The development of dynamic and interactive user interfaces is made possible by the animation framework, and the program can be highly customized to meet individual requirements.
- Flutter’s cost-efficiency makes it the perfect option for MVP development because it expedites the process while maintaining cost-effectiveness.
- The hot reload functionality shortens the development cycle by enabling developers to see changes to the code in real-time.
- The state of the application may be managed and solid, dependable apps can be easily created with Flutter’s state management alternatives, such as Provider and Redux.
- By utilizing the features of other frameworks, such as Firebase and Google Cloud Platform, integration with other frameworks and platforms enables developers to improve the functionality of their Flutter project.
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3. Ionic
Programming language: HTML, CSS, and JavaScript
Mobile apps: MarketWatch, Sworkit, Diesel, Pacifica, JustWatch, Untappd
Repository – Ionic Github
Features –
- Ionic provides seamless integration with native plugins, allowing developers to access device features and hardware capabilities such as camera, contacts, geolocation, and more.
- The Ionic CLI provides a command-line interface for managing the development and deployment of Ionic applications. It includes a range of useful features such as live reload, error tracking, and testing capabilities.
- Ionic provides a rich set of UI components that can be used to build visually appealing and responsive mobile applications. These components can be easily customized using CSS, Sass, or other styling options.
- Ionic is built on Angular, a popular web application development framework. This integration allows developers to leverage the powerful features of Angular, including dependency injection, two-way data binding, and more.
- Ionic provides a powerful theming system that allows developers to customize the look and feel of their applications. This includes the ability to choose from pre-built themes or create custom themes using CSS or Sass.
- Ionic allows developers to build Progressive Web Apps (PWAs) that can be installed and run on any platform or device. This feature allows for a consistent user experience across all platforms.
- Ionic uses Capacitor, a native runtime for building web apps. This feature allows developers to access native APIs and features directly from their web app, without having to write native code.
- Ionic provides a cloud-based deployment solution that allows developers to easily update and deploy their applications to users. This feature includes support for rollbacks, A/B testing, and more.
- This framework uses Cordova plugins which allow access to devices’ in-built features including Camera, GPS, and Audio Recorder, posing as one of the major benefits of cross-platform development tools.
4. Xamarin
Programming language: C#
Mobile apps: Alaska Airlines, Olo, FreshDirect, JustGiving, Thermo Fisher Scientific
Repository – Xamarin Github
Features –
- The direct insertion of Objective-C, Java, and C++ libraries is supported by Xamarin. This makes it one of the very best cross-platform frameworks because it enables developers to reuse numerous third-party codebases written in Java, Objective-C, or C++.
- Since Xamarin supports WORA (Write Once, Run Anywhere) and offers a huge collection of class libraries, it speeds up and lowers the cost of developing mobile apps.
- Robust compile-time checking is provided by Xamarin. Developers see fewer run-time issues and receive well-functioning apps as a result of this facility.
- Xamarin.Forms is a powerful UI toolkit that allows developers to build cross-platform user interfaces using XAML markup language. This enables developers to create a single UI that can be used across multiple platforms.
- Developers can produce quick and responsive applications thanks to Xamarin’s access to native APIs and native performance. This is accomplished using a Just-In-Time (JIT) compiler and an Ahead-Of-Time (AOT) compiler, both of which maximize the application’s performance.
- A cloud-based testing tool called Xamarin Test Cloud enables programmers to evaluate their applications on actual hardware. Because of this, bugs can be found and fixed early on in the development process.
- Xamarin.Android and Xamarin.iOS provides full access to the native APIs and features of the Android and iOS platforms. This enables developers to create powerful and feature-rich applications that leverage the capabilities of the platform.
- With the help of the Xamarin Live Player feature, developers can test their software on iOS and Android smartphones without using a Mac or Windows PC. This makes it possible for developers to iterate during the development cycle swiftly and easily.
5. NativeScript
Programming language: TypeScript or JavaScript
Mobile apps: Strudel, Hike, Scandit, FoodX Technologies, Atea Sverige AB
Repository – NativeScript Github
Features –
- Because NativeScript and Angular are perfectly integrated, developers can leverage Angular capabilities like dependency injection and two-way data binding to create robust mobile applications.
- TypeScript, a strongly-typed superset of JavaScript that offers enhanced editor support and better code quality, is supported by NativeScript.
- The Hot Module Replacement (HMR) functionality of NativeScript enables developers to alter the application code in real time without having to restart the program. Faster iterative development cycles are made possible by this feature.
- A cloud-based tool for maintaining and distributing updates for mobile applications is NativeScript AppSync. It enables developers to automatically update their programs rather than having users manually download and install updates.
- NativeScript and Vue.js, a well-liked JavaScript framework for creating user interfaces, connect perfectly, allowing developers to use Vue.js capabilities to create mobile applications.
- Without the use of WebViews, NativeScript creates a stunning, usable, and platform-native user interface. Developers simply need to define once, and NativeScript will automatically adapt to run anywhere. They can even alter the user interface to fit particular displays and devices.
- Unlike React Native, NativeScript offers programmers a comprehensive web resource that is stocked with plugins for a wide range of solutions. Third-party solutions are inevitably no longer necessary as a result of this.
- Developers don’t need any additional understanding of native development languages because NativeScript makes it simple to access native Android and iOS APIs.
- NativeScript supports Cocoapods and AndroidArsenal segments and calls local strategies from libraries.
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6. Node.js
Programming language: JavaScript
Mobile apps: LinkedIn, Netflix, Uber, Trello, PayPal
Repository – Node.js Github
Features –
- The built-in scalability features of Node.js frameworks enable developers to handle high volumes of traffic and requests without compromising speed.
- Node.js frameworks provide support for real-time communication between clients and servers, allowing developers to build applications that require instant updates and messaging.
- Node.JS applications lessen reaction time for slow requests and every developer can execute all the information inquiries at the same time.
- Node.js frameworks provide a serverless architecture that enables developers to build and deploy applications without worrying about infrastructure or server management.
- Developers may quickly store and retrieve data from their applications using the Node.js frameworks’ support for interaction with well-known databases like MongoDB, MySQL, and PostgreSQL.
- Node.js frameworks have integrated testing and debugging tools that help developers effectively test and troubleshoot their applications.
- All of the Node.js APIs are asynchronous, signifying that they are non-blocking in nature, meaning servers based on Node.JS do not essentially wait for data from APIs. It immediately moves on to another API after calling it. A notification mechanism for Node.js allows the server to get a response from the previous API call.
- Node.js library is impressively speedy in its code execution process, for it is built on Chrome’s V8 engine.
- Node.js cross-platform apps do not buffer, instead, the application outputs the data in chunks.
- To deliver smooth and perfectly functioning applications, Node.js uses a single-threaded model with event-looping functionality. This event mechanism enables the server to reply in a non-blocking way, making them scalable.
7. Cordova
Programming language: HTML, CSS, and JavaScript
Mobile apps: Untappd, TripCase, FanReact, HealthTap, BrightSky Labs
Repository – Cordova Github
Features –
- By linking their applications with native device features and outside services, developers can expand the functionality of their applications thanks to Cordova’s support for plugins.
- With the help of Cordova, developers can create hybrid applications that seamlessly blend the strength of web technologies with that of native device capability.
- Code minification, caching, and lazy loading are just a few of the performance-enhancing methods and technologies offered by Cordova.
- Developers can quickly and effectively find and repair errors thanks to Cordova’s integrated tools for debugging and testing mobile applications.
- Cordova allows developers to create mobile applications that are responsively designed, guaranteeing that they will look fantastic and function well across a variety of devices and screen sizes.
- Developers may protect their applications and data with the use of the built-in security capabilities that Cordova offers, like SSL and encryption.
- Cordova’s accessibility to a number of native APIs enables developers to construct applications that utilize device features like the camera, accelerometer, and GPS.
- Because Cordova interacts easily with web technologies like HTML, CSS, and JavaScript, developers can create mobile applications using their existing web development expertise.
8. PhoneGap
Programming language: HTML, CSS, and JavaScript
Mobile apps: Wikipedia, HealthTap, FanReact, TripCase, BrightSky Labs
Repository – PhoneGap Github
Features –
- Incorporating third-party services and native device features into an application’s functionality is made possible via PhoneGap’s support for plugins.
- By the usage of PhoneGap, programmers may create hybrid applications that seamlessly blend the advantages of web technology with those of native device capability.
- Code minification, caching, and lazy loading are just a few of the methods and tools PhoneGap offers to enhance the efficiency of mobile applications.
- PhoneGap includes tools for testing and debugging mobile applications, allowing programmers to locate and eliminate errors fast and effectively.
- PhoneGap gives programmers the ability to create mobile applications with responsive design, guaranteeing that the application will look fantastic and function properly across a variety of devices and screen sizes.
- To help developers safeguard their applications and data, PhoneGap includes built-in security capabilities including SSL and encryption.
- Developers may create applications that utilize device functions like the camera, accelerometer, and GPS thanks to PhoneGap’s access to a variety of native APIs.
- As a result of PhoneGap’s seamless integration with online standards like HTML, CSS, and JavaScript, programmers can create mobile applications using their existing web development expertise.
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9. Appcelerator Titanium
Programming language: JavaScript
Mobile apps: Zipcar, Groupon, NBC, PayPal, PUMA
Repository – Appcelerator Titanium Github
Features –
- Appcelerator Titanium comes with an MVC (Model-View-Controller) framework called Alloy, which enables developers to build complex, maintainable mobile applications using best practices.
- Appcelerator Titanium provides tools and techniques for optimizing the performance of mobile applications, including code minification, caching, and lazy loading.
- With the help of Appcelerator Titanium, programmers can access a variety of native APIs and create applications that can make use of capabilities like the camera, accelerometer, and GPS.
- Appcelerator Titanium provides a LiveView feature that enables developers to see changes to their mobile application in real-time, without having to rebuild or reload the application.
- Appcelerator Titanium includes a feature called Hyperloop, which allows developers to write native code in JavaScript, making it easier to access native APIs and improve performance.
- Developers may rapidly and effectively find defects in mobile applications by using the built-in tools for debugging and testing provided by Appcelerator Titanium.
- Due to Appcelerator Titanium’s easy integration with web technologies like HTML, CSS, and JavaScript, developers can create mobile applications using their current web development expertise.
- Appcelerator Titanium provides a set of secure coding practices and guidelines, enabling developers to build secure applications and protect sensitive data.
- Appcelerator offers various tools for rapid application development. This indicates that a prototype can be created with much less time and effort to evaluate user interaction with UI.
- It has ArrowDB- a schema-less data store that allows developers to deploy data models with no additional effort for setup.
- Appcelerator possesses pre-built connectors available for MS Azure, MS SQL, Salesforce, and Box- the list is tediously long.
10. Unity
Programming language: C#
Mobile apps: Pokémon Go, Angry Birds 2, Temple Run Trilogy, Hearthstone, Assassin’s Creed Identity
Repository – Unity Github
Features –
- Create games for mobile devices, desktop PCs, gaming consoles, and virtual reality (VR) headsets using Unity.
- Developers may create stunning 3D and 2D images and animations with the help of Unity’s powerful graphics engine, which supports modern features like real-time lighting and physically-based rendering.
- Developers may simulate realistic physics in their games using Unity’s integrated physics engine, which includes support for rigid body dynamics, collision detection, and raycasting.
- The extensive asset pipeline in Unity allows developers to import and manage a wide variety of assets, such as 3D models, textures, and audio files.
- With the help of a variety of scripting languages offered by Unity, such as C#, JavaScript, and Boo, programmers may create intricate game logic and user interfaces.
- Unity provides tools and libraries that support reinforcement learning and neural networks for the creation of AI and machine learning capabilities in video games.
- By offering a variety of cloud services like analytics, multiplayer networking, and monetization tools, Unity helps creators create and scale their games.
- AR and VR applications can be created using a variety of platforms, including Oculus, HTC Vive, and Google Cardboard.
- Unity features a sizable and vibrant developer community as well as a growing ecosystem of add-ons and assets from third parties, which makes it simple for developers to find answers to common issues and quicken their game production processes.
11. Solar2D
Programming language: Lua
Mobile apps: Angry Birds, Fish Tycoon 2, Giggles, Inflation RPG, The Enchanted Worlds
Repository – Solar2D Github
Features –
- Solar2D includes a powerful physics engine that allows developers to create realistic physics-based interactions between objects in their game.
- Solar2D includes a live testing feature that allows developers to test their game on multiple devices in real time.
- Using Solar2D, programmers can create games with a single codebase that can run on iOS, Android, and PC.
- A wide range of third-party game creation tools and libraries are available to developers using the powerful plug-in ecosystem that Solar2D has built.
- Solar2D provides efficient asset management features, such as texture packing and compression, to optimize game performance and reduce file size.
- Solar2D provides a customizable user interface (UI) system that allows developers to create rich and interactive interfaces for their games.
- Solar2D allows developers to access native features of the device, such as the camera and accelerometer, using Lua code.
- Solar2D has a strong developer community that contributes to the framework’s development and provides support to one another via forums and other channels.
12. Sencha Ext JS
Programming language: JavaScript
Mobile apps: EMC, Toshiba, DreamWorks Animation, Warner Bros., Sberbank
Repository – Sencha Ext JS Github
Features –
- Sencha Ext JS provides a range of advanced data visualization tools, such as charts, graphs, and pivot grids, for presenting data in a meaningful way.
- Sencha Ext JS provides a range of grid and list components that enable developers to create complex, data-driven applications with ease.
- Sencha Ext JS follows the MVC architecture pattern, which provides a clean separation of concerns and enables developers to build scalable and maintainable applications.
- Sencha Ext JS provides a powerful theming and customization system that enables developers to create custom themes and styles for their applications.
- Sencha Ext JS provides built-in support for internationalization and localization, allowing developers to create applications that can be easily translated into different languages.
- Sencha Ext JS provides a comprehensive component lifecycle management system, which enables developers to easily create, update, and destroy components in their applications.
- Sencha Ext JS provides built-in support for drag-and-drop operations, making it easy for developers to create rich and interactive user interfaces.
- Sencha Ext JS provides advanced Ajax support, enabling developers to build applications that can communicate with servers in real time.
- Sencha Ext JS provides a modern toolkit that includes a range of advanced UI components, such as responsive layouts, charts, and forms, making it easy to create modern and intuitive web applications.
Benefits of Cross-Platform Mobile Development Frameworks
1. Maximum Exposure to the Target Audience
Utilizing a cross-platform mobile development approach empowers you to construct an application and send it over different platforms, including the web. This implies that by building a single application, one can target both – iOS and Android platforms, hence, expanding their range.
2. Reduced Development Cost
Cross-platform application development depends on the idea ‘compose once, run all over the place’. Reusable codes and agile application development through tools can reduce the expense of development. In this manner, to improve your business on numerous platforms and tools in a practical manner, there could be no other choice than cross-platform applications.
3. Easier Maintenance & Deployment
Since there’s just one developed application that runs over all platforms, it is simpler to keep up and also send code or changes made. Updates can speedily be synced over all platforms and gadgets, consequently saving time and money. Besides, if a bug is found in the regular codebase, it ought to be fixed once. Along these lines, developers can save a great deal of time and money.
4. Quicker Development Process
The speedy development process is another mutually advantageous situation with regard to creating cross-platform applications. Single source code for multiple platforms can help diminish the development efforts by 50 to 80%. It assists you with getting a feature-rich business application in less time. The group of developers can fulfill the expected deadlines in cross-platform application development.
5. Reusable Code
Another beneficial thing about this platform is that the code can be utilized over and over. Rather than developers creating new codes for each platform, a single code can be reused. This saves time and resources since it disposes of repetition in the errand of making codes.
6. Easy Integration with Cloud
Cross-platform mobile applications are absolutely compatible and can exploit different plugins incorporated with the cloud settings. In other words, the single source code is composed of different plugins and extensions to improve the application’s scalability and usefulness.
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Wrapping it all up!
It can be challenging to select the cross-platform mobile development framework that will best serve your unique demands without taking these criteria into account. Examine your upcoming application requirements more closely and compare them to the capabilities of several frameworks. Finding the ideal cross-platform solution will enable you to produce high-caliber apps.
Even after this, you can contact us if you need help deciding which option to make or you can also hire our mobile developers to get started. Your questions will be perfectly answered by our experts at Syndell, a mobile and web development company.
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FAQs
Cross-platform app development enables the creation of applications that run on multiple platforms, including iOS, Windows, and Android, using a single codebase. This approach saves time and resources compared to developing separate apps for each platform and allows for greater code reuse, simplifying the development process.
Some popular cross-platform app development frameworks include React Native, Xamarin, Flutter, Ionic, and PhoneGap.
One potential downside to using a cross-platform app development framework is that the performance of the app may not be as fast or optimized as a native app. Additionally, some frameworks may not support all the features of each platform.
Yes, cross-platform apps can access device-specific features through the use of plugins or native modules.
Yes, cross-platform apps can be published on the app stores for various platforms, such as the Apple App Store and Google Play Store.
The programming languages used in cross-platform app development depend on the framework being used. Some frameworks use JavaScript, while others use C#, Dart, or HTML/CSS/JavaScript.
The development time for a cross-platform app depends on various factors, such as the complexity of the app and the framework being used. Generally, cross-platform app development can be faster than native app development.
Some cross-platform app development frameworks, such as Ionic, can also be used to develop web applications. However, others are primarily focused on mobile app development.
When choosing a cross-platform framework, consider factors such as the project requirements, the development team’s skillset, available documentation and community support, performance, and compatibility with target platforms.
There is no “best” cross-platform framework for mobile development as it depends on project requirements and the team’s skillset. React Native has high performance and ease of use, Ionic offers robust features and integrates with AngularJS, NativeScript is good for TypeScript users, and Corona SDK is ideal for mobile game development.
Yes, JavaScript is cross-platform and can be used for web development as well as for building cross-platform mobile apps using frameworks such as React Native and Ionic.
Yes, Python is cross-platform and can be used for various applications, including web development, data analysis, and artificial intelligence.
