Things you Need To Consider While Developing Cross-Platform App
With the higher rise in the development of technologies and apps, cross-platform app development has emerged as one of the most popular mobile app development trends. According to some research around 45% of the app developers around use cross-platform mobile app development services. The reason behind such a trend is that it helps the developers to save money, time, and effort.
Before taking a deep dive into this topic, let’s first discuss some basics
What is Cross-platform App Development?
In simple language, we can say that cross-platform app development is a process of an app that can work similarly in different operating systems. This helps the developer to create one platform for their app instead of creating different versions for each platform.
Cross-platform apps are developed with a single code base, unlike the native apps, which use different languages like Java and Kotlin for android and Swift and Objective-C for iOS.
Benefits Of Cross- Platform App Development
- Cost and time saving
- Reaching to wider audiences
- Faster and easier update
- Reusable code
- Easier cloud integration
How is it Different From Hybrid Mobile App Development?
The only thing common between Hybrid mobile app and cross-platform app development is the ‘code share ability’. Unlike the cross-platform app, the hybrid mobile development is a blend of both native and web solutions. It can be download as same as the native platforms and can run from within a native app and own embedded browser.
Now let’s look at the things you should consider while developing a Cross-platform app
1. What are The Best Cross-platform Technologies?
Usually, the mobile app development company gets confused about which framework is better for their app, it is hard to identify which one is the best as it generally depends upon the requirements and proficiency. There are mainly four technologies- Flutter, React Native, Kotlin, Xamarin. But the leading among them is Flutter and React Native. Flutter was released by Google, React native by Facebook, and Xamarin that comes in the third position was released by Microsoft. Some IT companies don’t prefer to work on the Microsoft framework.
2. Which Mobile App Development Technology to Use?
#1. React Native
Reactive was launched in 2015 by Facebook, and it was an instant hit in the market due to its hybrid framework. Within few years of introduction in the market, it became a leading cross-platform development app.
Apps made with this:
- Skype
- Walmart
- Bloomberg
- Airbnb
- Uber eats
Pros:
- Hot reloading feature
- Focuses on UI
- Allows previewing the results
- The codebase can be shared across the platform
- Allow high-quality user interface
Cons:
- Lacks consistency in releasing updates
- Lags behind the native component
- Not fully a cross-platform app
#2. Flutter
Launched in 2018 by the tech giant Google. Flutter is a cross-platform mobile development service for building a compiled app in a single code base. Since its launched Flutter had gained its spot in the top mobile app development app framework.
Apps made with this:
- Google Ads
- Tencent
- Alibaba
- Google Assistant
- SpaceX Go
- eBay
- Hamilton
Pros:
- Hot reloading feature within seconds
- Ideal for MVP development
- Looks native on both platform
- Based on object-oriented programming language
- Has full set of widgets
- Ready-made solutions
Cons:
- Large app size
- Does not support Android or Apple TV
#3. Xamarin
Launched in 2011 as an independent cross-platform framework but was later acquired by Microsoft in 2016. It was launched to solve the problems of native technology tacks. It offers an incredible API that allows the app developer to customize platforms.
Apps made with this:
- HCL
- Alaska Airlines
- Fox Sports
- American cancer society
Pros:
- Use C# for coding
- Strong community
- Allows sharing codes across platforms
- Consist of a single tech stack
Cons:
- Expensive
- Not for apps with heavy Graphics
- Limited access to certain important libraries.
3. What is The Costing Difference Between Native and Cross-platform Development?
Although it is very clear that cross-platform app development is cheaper and less time-consuming, the difference is not that much spectacular as it seems. You will save some by hiring only one team of mobile app developers for creating your cross-platform mobile app development, but apart from this nothing changes much. The maintenance cost is, also lesser and it is easy to fix bugs that also results in saving time and money.
4. When To Use Cross-platform App Development and When to Use The Native Platform?
There are some points that you need to keep in mind before choosing the mobile app development program.
- Check if you have UX and UI done.
- Which type of platform your competitors are using.
- Make sure to have experienced multi-platform developers in your mobile app development team.
- Fulfill all the requirements needed for that framework.
- The level of mobile API
It is better to always ask for a recommendation from the mobile app development company and pick the technology that is based on all the known factors.
5. Will The end-user Notice the Difference Between The Cross-platform App and The Native Platform?
It is suggested that the end-user should not be able to distinguish between the technologies. The technology used is usually depending on the choices and demands of the customers. The user will easily be able to differentiate between a well-written and a poorly written app. But following the guidelines of the chosen technology, the mobile app developer will be able to create a high-quality app. The cross-platform apps will require some extra touch up to make it look like a native app. Due to the nature of a single code base, it is difficult to make it the same as the native platforms.
Conclusion
Although cross-platform app development has been a popular choice among app developers it has its pros and cons. You need to hire a professional mobile app development team. The single coding base in the cross-platform app development may seem a good choice, but implementing it without any sort of complexity can be a big task Regardless of your choice in mobile app development services, you can always build a good app with some extra effort.
