Mobile app development is not an option anymore but has become a necessity for businesses of all sizes in recent times. As such, organizations are aggressively building native apps to nurture existing customers while quickly tapping into new markets. However, native app development comes with multiple challenges. Building a native app is expensive and time-consuming and requires expert knowledge of programming languages. Cross-platform development frameworks solve these challenges. A cross-platform framework solution enables you quickly write a single code base and launch an app on multiple platforms with ease. Here are the top 10 mobile application development frameworks in 2021.
1) Flutter
Flutter is one of the most popular mobile app development frameworks available in the market. Coming from the IT giant Google, Flutter quickly acquired the tag of being the best portable UI framework. It enables developers to quickly build beautiful native, web and hybrid apps with ease. Flutter is open-source and free. Flutter allows you to build apps with a native-like performance by focusing on cross-platform issues such as navigation, scrolling, widgets, icons etc. You can customize your application by leveraging the layered architecture offered by Flutter.
Google Ads, Alibaba, Reflectly, JD Finance and Hamilton are a few apps built using Flutter.
2) React Native
React Native is another popular mobile app development framework that helps you quickly build high performing apps for Android and iOS platforms. It is a JavaScript framework developed by Facebook and is now offered as open-source and free. Initially, it was built for the iOS platform and later the functionality was extended to support Android. It uses JavaScript and React to build apps. It allows the reuse of components. Maintenance is easy as you have to maintain a single code.
Facebook, Instagram, Soundcloud are examples of apps built using React Native
3) Xamarin
Xamarin is a popular cross-platform framework that was released in 2011. In 2016, Microsoft acquired Xamarin. It is now available with Visual Studio. Xamarin contains large amounts of C# code which means you don’t need to learn Kotlin, Swift or Objective-C to build apps. With powerful native user controls, Xamarin helps you to build cross-platform apps that are close to native. It gives you access to all native functionalities.
The World Bank, Alaska Airlines, FreshDirect, Storyo and MRW Courier are a few apps powered by Xamarin.
4) Ionic Framework
Ionic framework is popular for building progressive web apps as well as cross-platform apps with ease. It enables developers to build native-like apps by providing UI elements such as navigation, filtration, input sheets, view etc. Ionic leverages Apache Cordova plugins along with Angular framework to facilitate building apps for Android and iOS platforms. It offers a CLI interface that enables developers to quickly perform tasks. Document Object Model (DOM) usage is minimal which means the performance and efficiency of mobile apps get improved.
Market Watch, Honeyfi, ChefSteps, Diesel and Pacifica are powered by Ionic Framework.
5) PhoneGap
PhoneGap is a mobile app development framework developed by Nitobi. It was formerly known as Apache Cordova. When Adobe acquired Nitobi, it renamed Apache Cordova as PhoneGap. This framework allows you to easily build cross-platform apps using JavaScript, CSS and HTML. Once the app is ready, it is wrapped in a WebView browser object to be deployed as a stand-alone native app. While being flexible with web technologies, PhoneGap offers great community support as well.
Wikipedia, Worklight, appMobi, Monaca and Tripcase apps use PhoneGap.
6) Corona / Solar2D
Corona is a cross-platform framework that enables you to build a variety of 2D applications for mobile devices, tablets, desktops and TV apps such as Fire TV, Apple TV, and Android TV etc. It was developed by Corona Labs and written in Lua programming language. In 2017, Corona Labs was acquired by Appodeal and the enterprise version of Corona was released as a free version. In 2020, Corona was renamed Solar2D. The tool is suited for mobile games as you can quickly build games using the lightweight Lua platform. It offers extensive plugin support and strong API support
Zip Zap, PKTBALL, FUN RUN 2, Gunman Taco Truck and Mandora are a few game apps built with Solar2D.
7) Intel XDK
Intel Integrated Development Environment is a popular IDE offered by Intel to easily build apps for iOS and Android mobile platforms, tablets and web technologies. You can write the code and simulate the app in the IDE. Once the cross-platform app is ready, it is exported to PhoneGap for a native wrapper. Building apps using Intel XDK is significantly cost-effective. Code assistance, testing and plugin support are some features that help developers to easily write apps. However, it is not suited for feature-rich and complex apps.
8) Native Script
Native Script is an open-source cross-platform framework developed by Progress in 2014. By the end of 2019, nStudio took over the project. It was later inducted into OpenJS Foundation as an incubating project. Native Script uses JavaScript and also supports, TypeScript, Vue and Angular JS frameworks. Mobile apps built using Native Script deliver a native-like experience as you can directly access iOS and Android APIs. You don’t have to wrap them with a native environment as you can repurpose maven or npm libraries. Robust support is available too.
Map My Photos, Bitpoints Wallet, Regelneef and Daily Nanny are a few apps powered by Native Script.
9) Mobile Angular UI
Mobile Angular UI is a mobile app development framework that uses Twitter Bootstrap and Angular JS framework to deliver high-performance apps that are close to native. It allows you to access UI elements such as switches, sidebars, navbars and overlays to create a native-like environment. There is a minimal learning curve as Angular JS is a popular framework. You can also use Ionic components here. As Mobile Angular UI only uses JavaScript, apps built using this framework might raise security concerns. Debugging is slightly complex too.
Gunks and iKeyBox use Mobile Angular JS.
10) jQuery Mobile
jQuery Mobile is a web and mobile framework that was developed by the jQuery Team in 2010. The framework is written in JavaScript and supports a variety of tablets, smartphones and all major browsers. Developers who are familiar with jQuery syntax can quickly build mobile apps using this framework. It comes with minimal dependencies. Ajax navigation system is used for page transitions. It is also compatible with PhoneGap and Whitelight frameworks. However, CSS themes are limited.
Regardless of the mobile app development framework you choose, CloudTern helps you in building high-performing and highly scalable mobile solutions.
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