2021 not only brings a new year, but it also brings new technologies in mobile app development. For the upcoming year, what is the best mobile app framework when developing a robust mobile application?
One of the primary processes in building a house is creating the frame. The frame can be wood, steel, cement, or a combination of all. This frame is the skeleton where you can build the rest of the house. In mobile app development, we call this the mobile application framework.
Like a house frame, a mobile app development frameworks act as a foundation for systematically building your code.
A lot of developers rely on frameworks to boost the performance and efficiency of the development task. The framework eliminates the tedious process of creating a mobile application from scratch.
There are a lot of frameworks available, making it harder to choose which is the best framework for mobile apps. To know which frameworks work for you, you need to look at some of the best technologies to create a robust mobile application for 2021.
What is the Best Mobile App Framework for 2021?
Here are the best mobile app frameworks to date.
React Native
If you are reading or doing some research on mobile application development, you might recognize React Native by Facebook.
In 2015, Facebook launched React Native, a mobile app framework for cross-platform development. Currently, this framework is one of the top and most popular JavaScript frameworks to grace the industry. Why? Because it is cost-effective, a great time-saver, and has a smooth learning curve.
React Native is one of the go-to frameworks of a lot of startups due to its cross-platform development. It holds on to the objective of “Learn once, write anything.” What could this possibly mean?
This means developers can create a mobile application with a native look and feel for Android and iOS; it even includes platform-specific modules. That is because it has a single code repository that is shareable between platforms. Your developers need not create different applications for each platform. You get one team of developers for all mobile platforms.
Some may argue that nothing beats native apps when it comes to performance. However, React Native upholds that the framework can help developers build a mobile application that performs almost identical to a native application. What is the need for separate app development when you can develop them all at once?
But, considering a native developer for your apps should not be out of the picture. It all boils down to the complexity of your mobile application. If you plan to include many platform-specific modules, then it is logical to hire a native developer or someone familiar with building native apps for your team.
Flutter
Flutter is a dark horse in the race, neck-to-neck with React Native. They are both open-source and cross-platform mobile app development frameworks. Their difference lies in the type of application one is building and the developer’s level of expertise.
For businesses building their minimum viable product (MVP), Flutter is the best choice. This incredible framework is also great, with 2D mobile apps meant to run on iOS and Android. It is also the best choice for interactive apps that runs on desktop or web pages.
Compared to React Native, Flutter poses a rough learning curve. React Native uses JavaScript and React approach, popular programming languages that are commonly used by developers. Dart, on the other hand, is an object-oriented programming language. It supports static typing and sports a syntax different from JavaScript.
Flutter is excellent for 2D mobile apps and interactive apps because it has pixel rendering features. Flutter SDK manages every pixel of the screen. It makes sure that all widgets look the same on every mobile device, eliminating the common device support woes. It also creates stunning user interfaces that look the same, whether for Android or iOS.
The Hot Reload feature is one of Flutter’s highlights. You can make changes in your mobile application and see the results immediately during development. It helps in adding new features and fixing bugs.
Ionic
Ionic is another popular open-source development framework that is HTML5 based. This framework is primarily focused on the look, feel, and user interface. What’s more is that it can develop cross-platform applications using web technologies such as HTML, CSS, and JavaScript; it is a combined web and mobile app framework. This framework is perfect if you are working on a limited time and budget.
Ionic’s downside is that it performs lower with native applications, a comparable difference from Flutter and React Native. Also, the framework is plugin dependent and does not have a Hot Reload.
Xamarin
Microsoft launches Xamarin in 2013 to help .NET developers in building modern and high-performing applications for Android, iOS, and Windows.
Since this framework is open-source and cross-platform, developers can share more or less 90% of their applications across major platforms. It shares a common codebase, which reduces the development time and cost for your mobile app.
Xamarin has its drawbacks. Though it is cross-platform, you may need to require familiarity with platform-specific code. Also, it has minimal community support compared to other frameworks.
From a developer’s perspective, Xamarin can still hold a candle to React Native and Flutter. Developers can write code for an iPhone app on Windows and compile it for a Mac. Flexible and convenient development environment.
PhoneGap
PhoneGap is another open-source, cross-platform mobile app development framework. Compared to the abovementioned technologies, PhoneGap has a smooth learning curve. You don’t need extensive knowledge of programming languages; all it requires is a familiarity with basic languages such as HTML, JavaScript, and CSS. PhoneGap creators strive to bridge the gap between hybrid and native apps, creating a cross-platform framework without sudden complexities.
However, if you plan to build a heavy gaming application, here is sad news for you PhoneGap might not align with hardware-intensive apps. Another drawback is the development environment. iOS application development strictly needs MAC. The MAC enables to downloading and running of iOS SDKs, a necessity for iOS application development. Without the necessary tools, your product won’t progress.
What is the best mobile app framework?
And there you have it, five mobile app frameworks that you need for the coming year 2021: React Native, Flutter, Ionic, Xamarin, and PhoneGap. Reading through their descriptions and quick overviews, you now have an idea of what these frameworks can do. In choosing the best framework for mobile apps, you need to reflect upon your need, want, budget, and timetable.
What type of application do I want to build? What modules do I need? How much am I willing to spend? How long does it take to make the application?
These are the questions you need to ask as you go through the list. Only you can decide which is the best framework that works well for you. In mobile application development, you may need some extensive technical knowledge in building a robust mobile application. For an affordable but high-quality mobile development, all you need is to contact Full Scale.
We have the most qualified, detail-oriented, and experienced mobile developers that you need. No matter what framework you choose, we have an expert developer at your disposal.
Contact us now, and start building your mobile application.
