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Having to code from top to bottom for each mobile app is worrying and exhausting. Due to the variety of platforms and devices that define the mobile market, cross-platform app development has proven to be the most economically viable solution. In contrast to native app development, the code generated with a cross-platform development tool can be used for various platforms and devices.
App programming with a cross-platform tool reduces programming costs and saves you the hassle of updating and managing your apps. Here are the top best cross-platform app development tools that will help you build great hybrid apps for both Android and iOS:
1. Flutter
Is created by Google and represents an open-source software development kit that is mainly used for developing cross-platform mobile apps with Dart programming language. Here are some advantages of using Flutter for hybrid development:
- Theme: In Flutter, you have full access to create your widgets or manipulate existing widgets according to your theme’s needs.
- Hot Reload: This allows developers to see if there are any changes made in the app immediately, which helps in finding bugs quickly and increases development speed, so this is the most powerful feature and most outstanding benefit of Flutter developers.
- Performance: The performance of flutter apps is impressive, sometimes even beating native apps, which is a great thing for a hybrid app.
2. React Native
This mobile application framework is open-source and allows you to use React’s framework along with native platform capabilities for mobile application development with the knowledge of Javascript. With React Native, you can build Android apps, iOS apps, and web apps with a single source code. Benefits of developing a mobile app using React Native:
- JavaScript: By using React Native, anyone can quickly develop a mobile app with JavaScript, without having to learn a new programming language.
- Community Support: The framework is maintained by the developer community, which means that exceptions or issues may arise at the time of development as the maintainers have in-depth knowledge of the framework and its functionality.
- Third-Party Plugin: The framework supports third-party plugins that help embed JavaScript modules and native modules to simplify development.
3. Ionic
It is a high-quality, open-source, cross-platform software development kit that brings the power and flexibility of Angular for lightning-fast app development. Ionic supports React, Vue and Angular, so developers with any tech stack can build apps with Ionic. Ionic is designed and developed so that web developers can quickly create a mobile app. Benefits of using Ionic for mobile app development:
- Native Compatibility: Ionic offers a variety of tools, from front-end development tools to plugins, that provide fantastic integration with the native phone APIs.
- Design: Since you can design your app using any tech stack, it makes the front-end development smooth and unique with no technological barriers.
- Community: Ionic is an open-source platform preferred by many medium and large companies, which means that everyone likes and trusts Ionic.
4. PhoneGap
It gives developers the power to create mobile applications using a mix of HTML, CSS, and JavaScript. Some advantages of this platform are listed below:
- Power of Web: These types of apps can be built using HTML, CSS, and JavaScript. So, if you already have web development experience, you don’t need to learn a new programming language, and even beginners can quickly learn HTML, CSS, and JavaScript and start developing.
- Old language: PhoneGap has been available for a long time, so many libraries and frameworks give PhoneGap an edge over others, and you will never feel stuck during development.
- Backend: PhoneGap offers robust backend support that makes the development process smooth and fast.
5. Xamarin
Xamarin is also an open-source hybrid development platform where you can develop the entire app in C#. Xamarin extends .NET, giving .NET developers an edge over others. Xamarin is owned and managed by Microsoft and offers better native performance compared to other hybrid development frameworks. Some other benefits are discussed below:
- Integration Flexibility: Xamarin offers the flexibility of API integration that increases the native performance of Xamarin apps.
- Hardware Compatibility: This is one of Xamarin’s best features and almost eliminates the disadvantage of all hybrid frameworks, i.e., compatibility with mobile hardware since Xamarin offers a wide range of plugins and APIs.
- Xamarin Forms: Xamarin Forms is a library that makes the development process more flexible because it allows you to reuse one code multiple times to design a better cross-platform layout.
If you are one of those people who know these technical terms, you may be able to create your own mobile application. However, if these terms do not inspire you with the confidence that you will be able to complete the task of creating a mobile application, you can call on Redbee Software experts for help to create a modern, interactive and functional cross-platform mobile application, depending on your goals, target audience, and user expectations.
