If one has to define Cross-Platform App frameworks in a simple way, it is a defining and methodical way to lessen your cost and is a cutting-edge method.





All the businesses who develop an app want their presence on both iOS as well as Android, developing apps separately can be a tedious task not to mention the time and money it would take.

Safe to say that Cross-Platform App frameworks are one of the most revolutionary advancements in the mobile app development industry.

Now let us discuss how cross-platform frameworks have changed the industry, its merits, and what the future holds.

What is a Cross-platform app framework?

A cross-platform app framework is a method of developing apps that allow developers to develop mobile applications for more than one operating system (iOS & Android).
They just have to run the code once and then run it on multiple platforms and get the same output across all of them.

What it does, naturally, saves the time, effort, and cost of the company.

The evolution of the Cross-platform app framework should be evaluated as well. Earlier it was only used to design simple mobile games and apps.


As times have changed and with the advancements in technologies, the cross-platform app framework has also spread its wings and become more adaptable, powerful, and flexible.
Now companies like Uber are also using a Cross-platform app framework.

Now that we have discovered what is Cross-platform app framework, let us now discuss the benefits of Cross-platform app framework:

We know how volatile and disruptive the mobile apps industry is today, there is an app for everything, and for the app developers as well there is a need of being up to date constantly.

There has to be a way where they can reach out to their target audience as quickly as possible with the latest updates. There has to be a way where the developers can beat the competition and a Cross-platform app framework just gives them that. So, let us discuss the benefits of the Cross-platform app framework in detail:

Increase your audience reach: Probably one of the most important features of the Cross-platform app framework, The technical barriers while developing apps with a Cross-platform app framework are very low. You can develop an app for multiple platforms including the web which means a shorter time to hit the market which is directly proportional to the audience which you will be able to target. Hitting multiple platforms is not a choice but certainly a requirement of today.

Cut your cost: You will be able to cut your cost significantly as you only have to write the code once. Reusable codes and the flexibility of the apps make it business-friendly, especially for start-ups.

Maintenance is negligible: Maintaining one set of code that is to be run on all the platforms is so much easier. Making changes to the code is also less of a hassle. Updates are so much easier to push through and to be frank, if you are taking time to get up to date to the market then there is always a risk of missing out on a chunk of a fair share of profits and Cross-platform app framework just allows you to stay ahead.



Here are the top few cross-platform app frameworks to consider in 2021:

1: React Native:

React Native is an open-source framework that allows cross-platform mobile applications using JavaScript and React. React is an open-source library developed by Facebook and Instagram to develop User Interfaces. React Native uses JSX to build apps for android as well as iOS.

Advantages:

Being open-source documentation, there is a whole community behind react native which examines all the aspects of it.
You can re-use the same codes for both Android and iOS, almost 90% of the codes are the same.
The User Interface developed using React Naive is simple and effective.
Whatever the shortcomings may be, it covers that up with third-party plug-in support.
Disadvantages:

React Native is comparatively new than other frameworks thus it has sometimes unpredictable outcomes.
Learning React Native can be a bit complicated especially for someone who is new to app development.
As it is open-source the security aspect can be a bit risky.
It takes a longer run time to initiate the rendering.
We can conclude that being open-source, React Native can help in a lot of aspects of time and cost-saving but it should be used cautiously as well.

2: Flutter:

An open-source cross-platform app framework, Flutter is creating its own unique identity in today’s market. Flutter uses Dart programming language that makes it easy for the developers to see modifications in real-time.

This youngest framework builds apps that can run successfully on more than one platform.

Advantages:

Easy to learn, easy to build and debug with, and is fully compiled.
Flutter has a full set of widgets in Google’s Material Design and in Apple’s style with the Cupertino pack.
Hot Reload feature enables developers to see changes made in code within seconds.
Flutter's community of developers is active and evolving, proactively helping developers in solving problems related to the platform.
Disadvantages:

Dart is a less popular programming language and the Hot Reload feature works only with Dart.
Flutter doesn't support all the devices. It won't run on your 32-bit laptop seamlessly.
There are fewer third-party packages available to support Flutter apps on multiple platforms.
Flutter is suitable for MVP and start-ups. For large-scale projects, you will have to proceed smartly.
3: Ionic:

Ionic was created in 2013, as an open-source SDK for hybrid mobile applications. It provides platform-specific components for both Android and iOS via the native library.

Advantages:

Quick development and time to market compared to Native iOS/ Android apps.
Can be developed mostly in a browser.
Angular, HTML, CSS, and JavaScript are all the skills you need to get started.
Plenty of UI components available and easy to use — cards, buttons, toggles, segments, modals, inputs, lists, row/column grid, etc.
Disadvantages:

Native Plugins aren’t stable and can conflict with each other.
Debugging applications on Ionic can be challenging and requires more time because of the error messages.
Application builds can crash randomly.
Native app feels more responsive only on older devices.
Ionic is a great technology that lets you make a production-ready app much faster compared to traditional native app development. The big advantage of this approach is that instead of using Java/Swift/Objective-C you can use standard web development technologies, i.e., HTML, CSS, JavaScript/TypeScript, and Angular.

4: Xamarin:

It is used to develop applications for both Android and iOS platforms, it is quite popular as the applications developed through C# and Net framework are created in Visual Studio and released on various platforms.

Advantages:

As it is equipped with Visual Studio, frameworks let us build modern and powerful IDE.
Shared code logic can be only written once and used across multiple platforms.
Incredible collection of UI themes, charts, control, graphics, and cloud services.
Disadvantages:

A built-in overhead has a large footprint which causes more download time and larger needed storage space.
There is a huge lack of community support which is a drawback for the developers.
Codes cannot be shared outside of the framework.
Xamarin is good for the native app development as compared to the hybrid one because of the larger size and slow download and conservative approach.

5: PhoneGap:

PhoneGap is considered as one of the most popular cross-platform development frameworks, it is based on an open-source project, Apache Cordova, and freely available.

PhoneGap lets developers develop software in the cloud, download the executable files, and then install the executable files on the devices.

Advantages:

Reduce your marketing time by a huge margin.
Create hybrid apps to save development time and efforts.
No need for additional development skills.
Best technology to launch a minimal viable product.
Disadvantages:

Poor performance.
Lack Of UI Widgets.

No complete support to the features of an OS.

Plugins could be outdated.
6: Codename:

It is an open-source cross-platform app development framework for Java & Kotlin developers. It's a Write Once Run Anywhere (WORA) solution for building truly native apps.

Advantages:

Write Once Run Anywhere support with no special hardware requirements and 100% code reuse.
Compiles Java/Kotlin into native code for iOS, Android, UWP (Universal Windows Platform), and even JavaScript/PWA.
Easy to use with 100% portable Drag and Drop GUI builder.
Open Source and Free with commercial backing/support.
Disadvantages:

Difficult to maintain the apps developed.
Branding is a little tough.
Slow coding and running cycle.
7: Cordova:

It is being used by all the company's developers since it allows the development of hybrid applications. It is very useful because it allows for the centralization of the code.

Advantages:

Cordova is a very powerful tool for a JavaScript developer since by simply developing in JavaScript one becomes a general developer of software and applications by implementing web technologies for various environments.
Cordova is not just an HTML application that runs in a browser, it allows you to write native plugins that work with any of the supported platforms, and a JavaScript container will integrate your HTML application with the native code.
Cordova does an amazing job in the field of hybrid application is super easy to use and functional.
Disadvantages:

It is not completely automatic since if you write individual style information for each platform objective, you cannot make Cordova automatically apply the transformation at compile time.
The support is deficient in general.
Configuration and use can be complicated as it requires the use of the command line.
It has a positive impact in general. Cordova is really a great solution for web developers who want to bring their incredible ideas to devices, but they just do not have a lot of time to put into iOS and Android learning curves. Developing with Cordova has drastically reduced the cost of cross-platform deployment.

8: Native Script:

Advantages:

Executes really fast compared to other alternatives.
Compiles down to native code and runs as a native app.
Provides a way to split custom content, including CSS styles, into separate files per target platform.
Disadvantages:

Far too many assumptions, and containing too much-outdated content, to be useful to any developer who is just learning the environment.
The development of composite plugins is void of any useful support.
Support is almost non-existent and reliant on online forums like Stack overflow.
All in all, you can develop a true native app using Native Script. The app uses native components and it is quite noticeable. It deals with the platform differences very well.

9: Appcelerator’s Titanium:

Appcelerator’s Titanium is an open-source development platform that allows to the creation of native applications (mobile and desktop) using web technologies, such as JavaScript, HTML, and CSS. The Titanium Mobile SDK is the #1 cross-platform mobile development solution in use today with over 250,000 mobile developers and 35,000 apps.

Advantages:

Appcelerator’s Titanium actually “accelerates” the application development because allows you to create in a very flexible way.
Titanium mainly helps the development when the app interacts with a web service since the application itself is developed by using web technologies.
Appcelerator has built up a community of 200,000+ developers who have used its cross-platform development tool to build more than 35,000 apps.
Disadvantages:

The complexity of developing the application increases once you go deep into the process.
Appcelerator provides Store Kit, a module to enable In-App Purchase to Apple’s App Store, but it’s a pain. Buggy, poorly documented and it seems to work only partially.
At first, coding is easier and flexible but the bugs and lags are too much and apps are sometimes non-responsive as well.
For simple, small projects Titanium is a good choice but if you’re looking forward to using it on robust apps choose native development environments.

10: Ruby Motion:

RubyMotion lets you quickly develop cross-platform native apps for iOS, Android, and OS X, all using your favorite editor and the awesome Ruby language.

Advantages:

It’s the best of both worlds. You can use objective-c classes and libraries, pods, the latest API AND ruby syntax, gems, DSL, and a bunch more.
You can use sugar syntax, DSL, and very simplified stuff to create an app, along with regular libraries, pods, and pretty much any random obj-c.
Implementing small applications is faster.
Disadvantages:

Using Ruby Syntax can be an advantage as well as a big downside because of unfamiliarity.
You have to learn the iOS part not only the obj-C part to know the real deal behind Ruby Motion.
Learning Obj-C is necessary.
I think RubyMotion is an excellent tool, but familiarity with Ruby Syntax is an important part of using this framework especially for beginners. If you are just starting out knowing the work behind the scenes can be a little bit complicated.

Conclusion:

Although very easy to handle while developing apps, these development frameworks, on the whole, are not yet a completely perfect and have-your-cake-and-eat-it-too solution. It still requires professional expertise and experience.

News From
JumpGrowth