Leading businesses strive to keep in touch with their customers 24/7. For example, banks provide assistance to their clients around the clock. However, this is hardly possible at most physical branches. That’s where mobile solutions have their say. With their help, you can always get a consultation, resolve an issue, or complete a transaction. And to carry out all those activities, you needn’t even stay at your house. Your smartphone lets you perform all this in any place with a stable Internet connection.
The omnipresence and power of mobile devices urge companies to seek innovative digital products that will help them to keep up with the competition. But there are billions of smartphones and other mobile devices around the globe. Their capacities differ significantly. They operate on various platforms and aren’t identical in performance. To deal with this discrepancy, entrepreneurs order cross-platform app development services from leading IT firms.
This approach helps to address huge audiences.
How is cross-platform development beneficial?
First, it gives impressive audience reach and savings. This approach helps you to attract various user groups simultaneously. Sure, you can build a separate native product for any of them, but this will be costly. Moreover, you will have to engage two or more teams. You can significantly economize in a society of severe competition where each second and dime counts.
Second, this opens up convenient technical opportunities. Code reusability is the principal advantage here. Programmers write shareable code just once, and it lays the groundwork for future product versions. An extra feature worth mentioning is much more efficient maintenance and support.
Third, end-users profit from clear recognizable design. For example, if an Apple user takes a Galaxy phone from their friend, they will easily deal with the same apps. Everything looks pretty similar. This results in an enhanced user experience as well.
Finally, you can win the competition by leaving your rivals behind. A faster market release will allow you to attract more people interested in your solution.
Now, we’ll proceed to the technical aspects.
The most popular cross-platform frameworks
We have chosen five top frameworks, though there is a variety of such tools. Leading programmers use these remarkable solutions. They regularly hit trustworthy rankings on professional websites.
Ionic
The Ionic cross-platform framework was introduced in 2013. One of its principal advantages is the ability to design astonishing user interfaces and ensure top-level performance and seamless interaction. The combination of native and web code allows Ionic-based apps to access the native functionality. All this makes such apps extremely pleasant to use.
Ionic is open-source and based on AngularJS. Specialists can introduce the necessary alterations to the code structure. Enhanced rendering and browser access to native hardware acceleration are other important features worth mentioning.
JavaScript is the key language used in this cross-platform app development framework. If specialists need any assistance or advice, they should join the huge Ionic community. Experienced programmers will willingly share their expertise with newcomers in the Forum.
IBM, Southwest Airlines, the NHS, Volkswagen, and Disney use this tool. This is clear evidence it is one of the best cross-platform app development frameworks. With it, your product will enjoy immense market recognition.
React Native
Since 2015, the React Native cross-platform framework has been widely used by programmers creating apps for many OSs. It is also highly appreciated by experts working on VR and AR solutions. The WORA principle works perfectly here.
Facebook’s experts built this highly efficient cross-platform framework. No wonder they have engaged it in building their own app. Other significant market players to consider are such giants as Skype and Vogue, which totally proves the efficiency of React Native.
React Native allows specialists to create native-like mobile solutions running on Android and iOS. It is compatible with third-party plugins (for instance, Google Maps).
In most aspects, this framework is similar to React (except for manipulating the DOM via the Virtual DOM). It is based on JavaScript. Such high-performance tasks as video processing or image editing are seamless in React Native cross-platform products because of native modules and libraries. Another important benefit this framework gives is building highly responsive UIs.
The friendly community of developers will gladly share their knowledge with others.
Xamarin
Using the Xamarin cross-platform framework, experts create digital products demanding high computing capacities. They run almost as efficiently as native apps and are equally pleasing aesthetically. You don’t have to worry about hardware compatibility issues, either. Specific plugins and APIs easily solve this problem.
Programmers working with it profit from a C#-shared codebase and use platform-specific elements to provide mobile apps with consistent UI on various platforms. Linking with native libraries empowers Xamarin to implement top-notch personalization and a native-like set of features. The pace of development processes this tool ensures helps businesses launch their products quickly.
Xamarin is open-source and easy to handle. This tool has many adherents in different countries. UPS, Bosch, Olo, Dow Jones, and IMB are just a few meaningful examples. And, of course, don’t forget about Microsoft, where it all started in 2011. The company owns this tool and does its best to enhance its capabilities. Some of its famous products are built on Xamarin, for instance, the iOS and Android versions of the renowned Outlook.
Flutter
This open-source Google product has become a popular tool for designing mobile, web, and desktop solutions. If you have mastered Dart, you will seamlessly carry out such tasks. Since 2017, Flutter has been used by programmers from the best cross-platform app development services.
Google, Alibaba, New York Times, and BMW are just a few examples of successful businesses using Flutter for their digital products.
The Flutter cross-platform framework is widget-friendly: you can easily customize or change these elements on your mobile devices. In addition, they are good-looking and intuitive. Design is where Flutter excels over many frameworks. Companies that need not only efficient but also beautiful apps should pay attention to it. If you are a visual geek, this is definitely what you require. There is one controversial point, though: widgets are quite “heavy”, which may slow down certain processes.
If you are making your first steps in IT and are inclined to use Flutter, join its friendly community. Experts taking care of the Flutter ecosystem will help you deal with any problem that you may encounter while creating apps. Published pieces of usable code, striking ideas and insights – extremely helpful information is at hand.
NativeScript
A list of the best cross-platform app development frameworks would be incomplete without Native Script. It was launched in 2014 and attracted software developers with its high performance. Programmers who use it must have profound knowledge of JavaScript and TypeScript to develop efficient Android and iOS solutions.
The NativeScript cross-platform framework is free and open-source. It provides access to native APIs of both iOS and Android. Its set of plugins and templates is rich and self-sufficient. No third-party sources are necessary when working on digital products. If you wish to experience the WORA functionality at its most, choose NativeScript. You won’t be disappointed.
SMEs have a special affection for this tool and turn to it when building their products. FinTech Consortium, GeekyAnts, and Beachy claim to have it in their set of technologies. With it, you’ll create a beautiful app with enhanced accessibility and excellent performance.
Conclusion
IT firms have long embraced cross-platform app development frameworks. Experienced programmers can deliver digital solutions that do wonders. They are not inferior to native products in terms of user experience, have a pleasant design, and are great to work with.
To implement this approach, you should find a reliable IT provider with relevant expertise. An experienced tech partner will advise you on the best cross-platform app development framework that will perfectly address the concerns of your firm. Numerous specialists have mastered the relevant tools and honed their skills. You will certainly find the right one to turn your boldest ideas into life.
