Top 5 Cross-Platform Mobile App Development Frameworks

Inevitably we have witnessed exponential growth in terms of mobile app development technologies and frameworks.

Keeping in mind this evolution of technological trends and the increasing mobile app user base, mobile app development companies and the technological giants started exploring ways that could cater to the rise in mobile app development demand in an economical and efficient way.

One way to achieve is was Cross-Platform mobile app development. As a result, IT and development leaders started building Cross-Platform mobile app development frameworks, which would enable development companies and businesses to build mobile apps with ease.

Cross-Platform Mobile App Development Explained: In a Nutshell

Cross Platform Development frameworks allow the development of mobile apps with a single code base that is compatible across operating systems and devices.

This means that if a developer adopts a Cross-Platform mobile app development framework to build a mobile app, they can build an app for Android, iOS, Wear OS, and even TV OS. They no longer need to write codes from scratch (separately) for different operating systems.

Top Cross-Platform Mobile App Development Frameworks

Stack Overflow Developer Survey 2022. %s from 41,060 responses

1. React Native

React Native is an open-source, Cross-Platform mobile app development framework. It was launched in 2015.

Developed by: Meta and Community
Written in: JavaScript, Java, C++, Objective-C, Python

Soon after its launch in 2015, it became a popular choice of framework for building a Cross-Platform mobile app. Not only mobile apps but also being used to build Virtual Reality applications for Oculus.

Pinterest, a visual and idea-sharing search engine platform, switched to React Native framework after a thoughtful and elaborated testing process. Some of the benefits that they yield from switching to React Native:

• They were able to develop and implement the Andriod screen prototype 2 days after which the iOS prototype screen was implemented. Thus, considerably reducing the development time frame.
• Since Pinterest existed before React Native came into existence, the development team was able to optimize their existing frameworks to be seamlessly integrated with React Native framework.
• They were able to test and ship Android and iOS updates of the Pinterest mobile app simultaneously, which is not possible when the mobile app is built natively.

2. Flutter

Released in 2017, Flutter, a framework or software development kit, allows mobile app developers to build mobile apps for Android, iOS, Linux, macOS, Windows, and Google Fuchsia from a single codebase.

Developed by: Google
Written in: C, C++, Dart

BMW, the world’s leading automobile company, has built its vehicle companion app. However, one of their significant lagging points was their focus was diverted more toward an iOS version of the app, which resulted in performance and feature disparity between the Android and iOS versions of the mobile app. In order to curb this, they adopted Flutter, which helped them in the following ways:

• Using Flutter, the automobile giant was able to launch the My BMW App in less than a year. The app launched in 47 countries and rendered a universal interface—across mobile phones, vehicles, and the digital world.
• The developers no longer had to manage and maintain multiple codebases for every version of the mobile application.
• The Flutter version of the My BMW mobile app received tremendously positive feedback (which was not the case for the Android version). The BMW developers were able to offer a faster and more consistent user experience.

3. Xamarin

Xamarin is another popular choice among mobile app developers to build cross-platform mobile apps. It enables developers to build mobile apps compatible with Android, iOS, Windows, macOS, and Linux.

Developed by: Microsoft
Written in: C#

HCL, a world-renowned technology giant, wanted to build a mobile app to promote organizational communication among their teams across the globe. They used Xamarin and Microsoft Visual Studio to build their personalized cross-platform mobile app for their organization. Using Xamarin as their cross-platform development framework, they benefitted in the following ways:

• Using Xamarin, they were able to implement a centralized communication mobile app model at an economical and much faster rate (than the native app development timeframe).
• The single-codebase sharing feature of Xamarin enabled them to share over 75% of the codebase across iOS and Android mobile app versions.
• Using Xamarin, they were able to adopt an iterative and agile developmental approach. This way, the developmental team was able to focus on user feedback and make real-time changes.

4. Ionic+Capacitor (native runtime)+ Stencil (plug-in)

Ionic is an open-source Software Development Kit that uses Cordova or Capacitor Plug-ins to enable developers to build customized Cross-Platform mobile apps. Ionic provides tools and uses a capacitor plug-in to customize operating the system-specific camera, GPS, flashlights, etc.

Developed by: Drifty
Written in: Typescript, JavaScript

Burger King wanted to ensure that all their digital platform render a uniform and brand-specific design experience to their customers (and visitors). For the same, it was essential to adopt frameworks and build a shared UI library that can be implemented across devices, screens, and operating systems.

Adopting native SDKs (for Android and iOS) was not a wise option for them, as their UI components are limited to their native platform needs, which could not ensure uniform design components across operating systems and devices.

To facilitate cross-platform app development services, Ionic used Stencil, which allowed them to design brand-specific design components which can be easily integrated with JavaScript framework and Capacitor for deployment on cross-platform operating systems and devices to render a native-like user experience. Therefore, we can say that the cross-platform development approach yielded the following benefits for Burger King:

• They were able to ensure a unified design experience with the custom builds cross-platform development methodology.
• They no longer had to use the stock Android and iOS components.
• They were able to create a central UI library that could be used by their multiple development teams.

5. Kotlin Multiplatform

Kotlin Multiplatform is a cross-platform app development SDK that gives developers the flexibility to develop business logic for apps, rendering similar experiences compatible with different operating systems, screens, and devices.

Developed by: JetBrains
Written in: Kotlin

When Netflix decided to build Prodicle, a mobile app to facilitate their physical production across the globe, it meant that the software they intended to develop had to be region specific (with varying languages and internet connectivity) and, therefore, would have heavy code structure.

Due to the unlikelihood of good network connectivity, Netflix decided to adopt the cross-platform approach for Prodicle. Which helped them in the following ways:

• They wanted faster delivery of the app, and adopting a Cross-Platform approach enabled them to ensure faster delivery. They were able to build business logic to be implemented across platforms by adopting a universal framework approach.
• Maintenance of code is easier for the development team.
• This approach also gives them the flexibility of exploring the possibility of integrating plug-ins, if and when required, in the future.

Every business is different and has different legacy software and business logic needs. Although, with time, business and business logic might need to refurbish their development and technological approach.

Reach out to our custom mobile app development company if you want to upgrade the performance of your legacy framework or would like to provide digital services across different operating systems, devices, and screens. We will help you choose the best Cross-Platform development framework which will best suit your legacy code-base and business needs.

But if you are starting from scratch, building on React Native would be our preferable choice to build a mobile application for your business.