Although iOS and Android became the most used mobile platforms, cross-platform app frameworks have certainly become popular over a short period. With the ability to develop one app which is accessible by all devices, these frameworks turn out to be new favorites of developers and businesses.

According to Statista,

“There are about 8 million apps in the Google Play store, 2.2 million in the Apple App Store, 669K in the Windows Store, and 600K in the Amazon Appstore.”

In such scenarios, businesses don’t risk missing their presence on either of the platforms. However, Budgeting is usually a problem when businesses choose native app development. Thus, cross-platform emerged as an unrivaled choice for those who want a presence on both Android and iOS.

Before exploring which are top trending cross-platform mobile app frameworks for 2019, we should know some basics about it.

Cross-Platform App Frameworks

The frameworks allow developers to build mobile applications that are compatible with more than one operating system which means it is operational on both iOS and Android. Cross-platform development frameworks guarantee that you can write code once and run the app seamlessly on any platform.

It saves time and money while launching your app to market, and also minimize maintenance and development cost in half.

Pros of Cross-Platform Development

The idea of cross-platform development commenced skyrocketing because it offers astonishing benefits to all the industry types irrespective of the size, revenue, and model.

1. CODE REUSABILITY

Instead of writing new codes every time, Mobile App Developers California practices the same code across all the platforms. So, it cuts down the development efforts and time to half when compared to native app development.

1. MINIMUM TECHNICAL BARRIERS

Another benefit of developing with cross-platform app development is that there is no need to learn platform-specific languages like Swift or Kotlin. To build a cross-platform app, mobile app developers require proficiency in HTML, CSS3, and JavaScript.

1. QUICK DEVELOPMENT & SIMPLE MAINTENANCE

Cross-platform apps offer a shorter time to market and a broader market reach. The developers take minimum time to build cross-platform apps than native apps which allows the business to launch apps quickly. Moreover, it can support native UI components of a device thus, needs fewer efforts in building cross-platform apps.

Due to instant synchronization, maintaining and deploying the latest changes is simple and less time-consuming.

Cons of Cross-Platform Development

No platform is perfect. Here are some drawbacks that come as a part of the package.

1. LACK OF FEATURE SUPPORT

Often, the cross-platform framework does not support all the features of different devices on different platforms. Limited feature support may end up restraining the developer from creating a vibrant app design.

1. UX MAY NOT BE OPTIMAL, ALWAYS

Achieving the same user experience on all platforms is a significant challenge. It is an arduous task to figure out exclusive capabilities that each platform has to offer.

Top Cross-Platform Mobile App Frameworks 2019

Now, that we know what is cross-platform and its upsides/ downsides, let’s go on exploring the most popular cross-platform app development frameworks in 2019.

1. Xamarin — A Mobile App Developer’s Delight

Launched in 2011, Xamarin is an open-source framework which aims to resolve the issue of disjointed native technology stacks as it made mobile app development an expensive affair. It used C# for coding which means, it can work seamlessly on an array of platforms including iOS and Android. The framework adds substantial value by adding access to native APIs easy integration with Xamarin plugins and NuGet package.

Advantages of Xamarin

• Faster App Development Cycle
• Generate High-Performing Code, Accessible on Every Native App Platform
• Same API Integration to build iOS, Android, and Windows

1. Ionic — Develop Highly-Interactive Applications

An opensource cross-platform app framework that utilizes HTML5 and inherits a few design elements from iOS, Android, and AngularJS. It has an extensive library of tools, gestures, native plugins, and components that make development easy.

Advantages of Ionic

• Develop once and deploy everywhere (iOS, Android, and Windows Devices)
• Focusing on HTML, CSS, and Angular JS, Ionic enables quick development, low costs, and minimum maintenance
• Based on SASS, it provides support to several UI components thus helps in creating robust and interactive apps

1. Adobe PhoneGap / Apache Cordova — Owned and Sourced by Adobe

Like all other handy frameworks, Adobe’s Apache Cordova (formerly PhoneGap) is a simple framework that uses HTML, JavaScript, and CSS. It allows developers to preview results on the hardware while making changes in the code. With this framework, your developers can share the application in the internal team to gather their feedback. Features like the support of a large community, easy integration with third-party tools and backed with several plugins make it better than its competitors.

Advantages of Apache Cordova

• Apps developed using Apache Cordova can use in-built device’s properties like camera, accelerometer, messages, geolocation, and media storage. Thus, developers can create powerful applications without compromising UX.
• The framework has an extensive architecture which allows developers to leverage the full potential of native app development features and access to the cloud service seamlessly.

Conclusion

Cost-efficiency, the higher rate on investment, and shorter time to market are the main reasons why businesses opt for cross-platform app development. There are many other frameworks all you need to find out the right fit for your business. If you still feeling confused, you can consult a renowned cross-platform app development company who can not only help you in selecting the apt framework for your business but also makes your development journey more engaging.

This article is contributed by Aakash — Marketing Analyst in Clavax, a leading Mobile App Development Company in California

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