Best Tools For Cross-Platform Solutions and It’s Benefits

With 96% of Americans using mobile phones and 66% of the world’s population using mobile apps, having a digital presence for your brand has become a necessity for all types of businesses. business if they really want to survive in this fiercely competitive market.

Plus, with various emerging technologies, tools and frameworks allowing you to get started with a business application as early as 10 days, there is no reason for companies to avoid it!

2021, brings not only the new year, but also a host of new technologies that can accelerate business growth and help you restart your business for years to come.

With 90% of smartphone users’ Internet time spent on mobile apps, there’s no doubt that mobile apps are leading the way. business sectors and creates an alarming situation for companies that want to launch their first application right now. in 2021.

Why?

Here’s market intelligence to help you better understand mobile app usage and downloads:

According to the survey, 66 billion people around the world now use the Internet, accounting for 60% of the world’s total population and is expected to grow at 7% annually. Internet users around the world spend an average of nearly 7 hours online every day.

According to GlobalWebIndex, about three-quarters of Internet users worldwide prefer to shop online using mobile applications.

In 2019, 1.92 billion people purchased goods or services online, and retail sales exceeded US$3.5 trillion worldwide.

Mobile marketing plays an important role in decision making, as 69% of users check customer reviews of a product or service on a mobile app before making a purchase.

The size of the global mobile application market was valued at $106.27 billion in 2018 and is expected to reach $7.31 billion by 2026, at a CAGR of 18.% from the year 2019 to 2026.

With these facts and statistics, I hope you understand how mobile apps are becoming business and revolutionizing the way people buy products and services.

However, as you enter the market for mobile app development solutions, you will find that Google Play and Apple’s app store are the two main platforms for launching your apps. . With about 5 million apps available in the Google and Apple stores, businesses are never in danger of losing their presence on both platforms.

However, budget remains a pressing issue for all types of businesses if they choose to use native apps. This is where cross-platform app development solutions have emerged as the undisputed choice for businesses looking to gain a presence on Android and iOS platforms without even running out of money. budget exhaustion.

Before diving into the key technologies and frameworks for developing a cross-platform application, it’s important to understand what exactly it is…

WHAT IS CROSS-PLATFORM FRAMEWORK AND HOW IT IS DIFFERENT FROM NATIVE APPS?

You can use cross-platform frameworks like a platform or a framework that allows developers to code a compatible application to run on multiple platforms with the same code base. The main reason for using Cross platform frameworks is to reduce the time and cost of the application development lifecycle and get your application to market quickly. Cross-platform frameworks provide the ability to write code once and run it anywhere for other platforms.

Native app development, on the other hand, is more about building a single platform-specific codebase targeting each Android or iOS platform. To build native apps, you need to hire an app development company backed by developers with different skills and knowledge. Developing two different native apps takes more time and money than cross-platform apps.

By now you should understand how popular cross-platform frameworks are and give businesses any reason to choose native application solutions. So, before we go over the basic framework, here are some more benefits of choosing a cross-platform app development company in 2021:

• Single code base to build multiple apps
• One app that works on multiple platforms
• One application to run on multiple applications that host
• Reusability of application UI components and code
• Ease of testing and maintenance
• Faster development and faster time to market

7 BEST CHOICE OF CROSS-PLATFORM APP DEVELOPMENT FRAMEWORKS

FACEBOOK’S REACT NATIVE

Since its launch in 2015, React Native has satisfied 42% of global developers because it allows you to build native-style mobile apps for multiple platforms using a single codebase. . The framework is launched and operated by Facebook, but some of the biggest brands in the world are now using it for apps including Tesla, Skype, Instagram, Pinterest, and more.

Within a few years of its introduction in the market, it has become one of the most popular frameworks and allows companies to develop any size of application from basic to business applications.

Pros

• Depending on complexity, 80% of the codebase can be shared across the platform.
• The Hot Reload feature allows developers to make code changes in seconds.
• Develop apps faster and cheaper with React Native.
• React Native focuses mainly on user interface.
• Provides support for a wider community

Cons

React Native is not a complete cross-platform application framework. It needs 3rd party API integration to make an application user-friendly.

GOOGLE’S FLUTTER

With dedicated care and commitment, Google has once again gained momentum in mobile app development with the launch of Flutter in 2017. Flutter is Google’s mobile app SDK with a wide range of options. select widgets and tools that enable app developers to create and deliver visually appealing mobile apps on Android and iOS platforms. Leveraging platforms for both platforms, Flutter enables seamless cross-platform application development.

• It’s free, open source, and based on Google’s internal language, Dart.
• Provides mobile application development companies with advanced widgets and built-in user interface elements.
• The hot reload features ensure faster development.
• Ideal setting for MVP development.
• Provides modern solutions for native Android and iOS apps that let you work with seamless integration.

MICROSOFT’S XAMARIN

Initially, Xamarin was launched as an individual cross-platform application development framework, but was later acquired by Microsoft in 2016, which increased its reputation and became the first choice for developers. . It is basically an extension of the .NET platform which is the most trusted and popular framework for developers and businesses. It is a free open source that uses a C # based framework for development. As the most trusted framework, several companies, including Alaska Airlines, American Cancer Society, and JustGiving, use it for application development.

Benefits of Xamarin

• Ensure exceptional visual experience for mobile platforms.
• Newer versions of Xamarin have low disk impact, which speeds up installation times.
• Automatically install Android SDK on demand.
• Xamarin has a strong community of over 60,000 contributors.

ADOBE PHONEGAP

Adobe PhoneGap is another cross-platform application development framework formerly known as Apache Cordova owned by Adobe. It is one of the simpler frameworks that uses HTML5, CSS, and JavaScript for development. Phone Gap already has backups of various plugins including Capture Plugin, Media Recorder Plugin, Push Plugin, etc. supporting the development of cross-platform applications in India. Additionally, PhoneGap also supports non-app purchases for the iOS App Store and Google Play Store, reducing the complexity of app development.

Features

• Take advantage of cloud services for packaging, distribution and testing.
• Uses the titanium frame to make it effective.
• Offers access to third-party tools, plug-ins and a great community.

IONIC

Ionic is another open source, cross-platform framework that uses HTML5 for development. When it comes to developing an app focused on third party support, speed, and integration, Ionic can deliver a better native app experience. It’s a perfect choice to start with if you’re short on time to market your app as it gives you access to native UI layouts and components for both iOS and Android solutions. However, based on HTML5, it requires a wrapper like Cordova or PhoneGap to function as a native app.

• Provides a wide selection of user interface components for powerful application development
• As a mature framework, it is supported by a vibrant community of over 5 million developers in over 200 countries.
• Ionic guarantees the speed of light in application development. From automated native builds to updates, Ionic lets you automate your entire mobile development lifecycle.

CORONA SDK

Corona SDK allows developers to build 2D mobile apps for all major platforms, including Kindle and Windows, at 10x faster speed than any other framework. Since its main reliability is based on Lua, a lightweight and multi-paradigm programming language, it provides significant results in development. So, if you are interested in gaming apps that focus on speed, portability, scalability, scalability and ease of use, then Corona SDK is the perfect choice for you. .

• Corona SDK can provide you with 1000+ APIs and cheer you up with animation, sound, music. interpolate objects, manage textures, and more in app development.
• Supports nearly 200 plugins including in-app advertising, analytics, multimedia and hardware features.
• Responds to code changes almost instantly, giving you an actual preview of your app.

APPCELERATOR TITANIUM

Appcelerator is one of a number of cross-platform application development tools designed to facilitate the development of mobile applications. It’s a great way to build cross-platform apps with a single codebase. Its main goal is to streamline the application development process using native components contained in JavaScript code.

• Appcelerator provides 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 the user interface.
• ArrowDB has a non-mathematical data store that allows developers to deploy data models without additional configuration effort.
• Allows integration of existing continuous delivery systems such as SCM solutions and more.
• Appcelerator has built-in connectors available for MS Azure, MS SQL, Salesforce, the list is too long.

NODE JS

Node.js is an excellent framework for developing cross-platform applications. Essentially, Node.Js is a JavaScript runtime framework based on Chrome’s V8 JavaScript engine. It is an open source environment that supports the development of scalable network and server side applications. Node.js cross-platform applications are inherently very efficient and responsive.

The frame can handle several simultaneous connections. It also comes with a rich library of many JavaScript modules that simplify web application development.

Features

• All Node.js APIs are asynchronous, which means they are non-blocking, which means that Node.JS-based servers mostly don’t wait for data from the APIs. Immediately switch to another API after calling it. The notification mechanism for Node.js allows the server to receive a response from a previous API call. The
• Node.js library is extremely fast at code execution, as it is based on Chrome’s V8 engine.
• Node.js cross-platform applications do not buffer, instead, the applications generate data in chunks.
• To provide smooth and well-managed applications, Node.js uses a single-threaded model with event looping capabilities. This event mechanism allows servers to respond in a non-blocking manner, making them scalable.
• Node.JS applications reduce response times for slow queries, and every developer can make information requests all at once.

WHAT ARE THE BENEFITS OF CROSS PLATFORM DEVELOPMENT FRAMEWORKS

Target audience: Using a cross-platform mobile development approach allows you to create an app and push it to different platforms, including the web. This implies that by creating a single app, you can target both iOS and Android platforms, thus expanding your reach.

Cost-efficient: Cross platform application development revolves around the idea of ​​”compose once, perform anywhere”. Reusable code and rapid application development using tools can reduce development costs. This way, to practically improve your business across multiple platforms and tools, there is no other choice for cross-platform applications.

Easy maintenance & deployment: Since only one application is developed that works on all platforms, it is easier to track and submit the code or changes made. Updates can be synced quickly across all platforms and add-ons, saving you time and money. Also, if a bug is found in the normal codebase, it will be fixed once. With that, developers can save a lot of time and money.

CONCLUDING

After reviewing all the best options a competent cross-platform application development company is looking for in this industry, it remains to be seen how these frameworks compete with each other. to keep the markets competitive and how well they work. . New frames enter the market as we speak.

ApproLabs is the most recognized and reliable mobile app development company in India. We have experience building world-class apps and have developed a number of apps that set new milestones.