If you are to develop a feature-filled mobile app, choosing the right mobile app development framework is very important. Frameworks are the backbone of any app and play a vital role in deciding the success or the failure of any app or web app.
However, over time, with the advent of technology and new mobile app development tools, there are many new frameworks available in the market and entrepreneurs often get confused about which one to go for.
Today, in this blog, we are going to talk about some of the most popular and commonly used mobile app development frameworks used by a top mobile application development company to design and develop scalable and feature-rich apps.
1. Flutter
Flutter is one of the most popular and highly used cross-platform app development frameworks, developed by Google. This framework has made developing apps for multiple platforms quite easy and simple. Flutter allows developers creating the apps to reuse almost 90 percent of the code making the whole mobile app development process agile and cost-effective.
Flutter gives the leverage to design and develop natively-compiled mobile apps for all kinds of platforms like mobile, desktop, and web. Using a single codebase business now can target a large group of people on multiple platforms like Android, iOS, etc. It is a UI-toolkit offered by Google, which is both free and easy to use.
Features of Flutter
Now that we know what Flutter is let us have a look at some of the amazing features that it offers:
Native Experience
Flutter is amazing when it comes to providing a native-like look and feel to the cross-platform apps developed. It helps developers to overcome critical platform issues like navigation, scrolling, fonts, icons, etc.
Agile Development Process
When looking for an app that is not only attractive but can be developed in the least amount of time, Flutter can be the best option. It allows developers to develop and design apps quite easily and has multiple in-built elements that can reduce the overall app development time. If you are also running short of time, you must reach out to a proficient Flutter app development company, to get your app developed.
Intuitive UI
As discussed earlier, Flutter is Google’s UI toolkit that enables developers to design and develop an interactive and intuitive user interface. Creating an attractive app is highly important as it allows brands to connect with their users and provide an impeccable user experience.
2. Ionic
Ionic is another mainstream cross-platform app development framework that creates powerful and attractive apps utilizing the power of JavaScript, HTML, and, CSS. Though not many people use this framework today, with time it has made its own place as one of the top mobile app development frameworks available today.
The most recent version of Ionic uses to deliver better execution productivity. This framework comes with its own command-line interface tool allowing developers to create apps quite smoothly.
Features of Ionic
Here are a few important features that this framework offers.
Platform Independent
Ionic is known to be a platform-independent framework. To offer the native app-like look and feel, this framework can determine the platform on which the app is working based on the CSS Style. Aside from this, it joins into AngularJS and furnishes a powerful construction with a more sensible code.
Cross-platform Compatibility
Just like React Native and Flutter, this framework also offers a fast and agile app development process. Also, it takes lesser time and effort to design and develop apps using this framework.
Qualities of AngularJS
Since this framework is loosely based on AngularjS, it uses most of its functionalities and helps developers to create attractive and feature-rich apps and web apps.
3. React Native
Talking about cross-platform app development frameworks, React Native is one of the most popular names. Launched by Facebook in 2015, it is an open-source app development framework used to create scalable and robust Starting from mobile app developers to businesses both prefer this framework. This is because not only React Native app development cost is low but also it offers some outstanding features.
Many popular apps like Instagram, Facebook Ads Manager, Airbnb, Myntra, etc., have been developed using this framework. Just like Flutter, creating apps using React Native also takes lesser time as it also allows developers to reuse the code while developing apps for multiple platforms.
Features of React Native
There are a number of reasons to choose React Native for your app development project, but here are a few most prominent features that this framework offers.
Easy to Maintain
Apps designed and developed using React Native are quite easy to maintain and this is because both developers and entrepreneurs need not maintain two separate codes making the process a lot simpler.
Code Reusability
Who does not like to fast and agile mobile app development process that too cost-effectively? Since React Native is known to reuse the code, i.e., developers can reuse the code written for one platform while creating the app for another.
High Performance
React Native is known to design and develop apps that are high in performance. You can surely go for React Native app development, whether you are planning to get an app for a small business or a large-scale enterprise, as you will not have to face any performance issues after using this framework.
4. Xamarin
Talking about cross-platform app development, Xamarin is a popular name in this industry. Founded in the year 2011 and later acquired by Microsoft, this framework is widely used across the globe to create fully-functional cross-platform apps. Xamarin has made app design and development for multiple platforms quite easy as this framework has almost everything that is needed to create a feature-rich mobile app.
It also has all those properties which other cross-platform frameworks have like code reusability, agile development process, reduces development cost and time, and a lot more.
Features of Xamarin
Here are some of the features that make Xamarin a part of our top 10 mobile app development frameworks list.
User Interfaces
Apps developed on this platform are highly intuitive and offer the look and feel of a native app. This is because this framework comes with native user interface controls.
API Access
Just like native apps, apps developed via Xamarin have the access to all the features of your device like camera, microphone, GPS, etc. This not only offers an enhanced user experience but also makes the app work much faster.
Performance
The best way to determine the performance of any app is the hardware acceleration and Xamarin is known for it. If you want to get a high performing mobile app developed, you must hire mobile app developers who are experts in creating a scalable app using this framework.
5. PhoneGap
Although there are myriads of reasons to choose cross-platform app development for your mobile app development project, the importance of hybrid apps cannot be ignored. PhoneGap is one of the most popular mobile app development frameworks that is used today. Initially, this framework was known by the name of ‘Apache Cordova’ but later renamed ‘PhoneGap’.
This framework allows developers to create amazing hybrid apps that can run on both your mobile devices and desktops. It reduces both time and effort as PhoneGap eliminates the need of using multiple languages to create apps for multiple platforms. This framework is known to bridge the gap between native and hybrid apps enabling developers to create an application that can help your business stand out from the crowd.
Read Also: A Complete Guide to Native App Development
Features of PhoneGap
Now that you know what PhoneGap is, let us have a look at some of its remarkable features:
Multiple Platform Compatibility
Just like the other frameworks mentioned, PhoneGap is also known for its compatibility with various platforms and browsers Android, iOS, Chrome, etc. This is because this framework works on the principle of code reusability.
Multiple Libraries
Over time, this framework has undergone many changes. Many new libraries and tools have been added so as to make the work of a mobile app developer easy and simple.
Large Community
PhoneGap has a very large community of active developers which is a great advantage for people who are new to the world of mobile app development. For both developers and entrepreneurs, if they are stuck somewhere this community is always ready to help. If you plan on getting your app developed using this framework, help and support will never be a problem.
6. Intel XDK
Another cross-platform mobile app development framework, Intel XDK is an Integrated Development Environment (IDE) created by Intel to design, develop, test, and deploy scalable and robust apps in a very cost-effective manner.
Apps developed using this IDE are first exported to PhoneGap and then the coding is done. Though Intel XDK is mostly used to develop complex feature-rich applications, any app can be created with it. It is great to create apps with this IDE as it supports IoT.
Features of Intel XDK
Here are some of the feature which makes this language a top pick.
Code Assistance
Automatic code compilation is one of the most prominent features of this IDE and this is the main reason why developers love coding with Intel IDK.
Device Testing
One of the main advantages of using Swift is easy maintenance. Apps developed using this language need not require much maintenance as all the unnecessary code is removed.
Third-Party Plugins
For those looking for custom mobile app development solutions, this is a good option as it allows smooth third-party API integration.
7. NativeScript
If you are looking to get an innovative and intuitive app developed for your Android and iOS device, you can go for this framework. NativeScript a popular open-source mobile app development framework that is loved by developers to create native apps. Based on the properties of JavaScript and TypeScript, this framework allows developers to create apps for all types of businesses.
This framework is mostly preferred by businesses who are planning to get apps developed for multiple platforms and that too on a very less budget.
Features of NativeScript
Let us have a look at some of the features that this language offers:
Multiple Platform Compatibility
Code reusability is one of the most prominent features of NativeScript, which allows developers to create apps that are compatible with multiple platforms.
Extensive API access
The main reason why developers love coding with this framework is that while developing apps using NativeScript, they can access a variety of APIs available for both, Android and iOS platforms.
Reduced App Development Time
Since, this framework allows developers to create apps for multiple platforms using a single codebase, mobile apps can be easily developed on a lesser budget, and in a shorter time duration.
8. Mobile Angular UI
If you are planning to get your app developed using HTML5, Angular UI is the best mobile UI framework. This framework provides all those elements which are essential to developing attractive and feature-rich apps, also the ones that were missing in Bootstrap 3.
It is a popular framework that most developers, who already know Angular JS and Bootstrap, use. Just like other frameworks, this mobile app development framework is also free to use.
Features of Mobile Angular UI
Here are some of the important features that one can see in this framework:
LightWeight
Mobile Angular UI is quite a lightweight framework as it does not require too many dependencies. By just using very few directives, developers can create an app.
Stunning Mobile Components
This framework comes with some amazing components like sidebars, overlays, etc., which make the overall app look beautiful and attractive.
Mobile to Desktop Transition
As this framework is loosely based on BottStap3, converting your mobile app into a desktop one and vice-versa is very simple. A few codes here and there and you are good to go.
9. Corona
Corona is another popular cross-platform app development framework that is used to create creative mobile apps and high-end games for multiple platforms like Android and iOS, Windows, macOS, tablets, etc.
Corona is known for its simple app development process as code written once and be published later on, on various platforms.
Being a free and open-source platform, it has been used to create multiple popular games like Warcraft, Angry Birds, etc., which are fast and reliable. Performance and stability are the two main features of this framework.
Features of Corona
Let us see some amazing feature of Corona:
Multiple Plugins
To create feature-rich and intuitive games and apps, Corona has a large number of plugins to offer that can be used for various functions like analytics, media integration, in-app advertising, reports, and many more.
Rich Library Support
While creating an app using this framework, app developers can avail themselves of the benefits of multiple libraries of a native library of C, C++, Java, and Objective-C.
Community Support
There is a large community of developers that is always ready to help those who are new to this field.
10. Appcelerator Titanium
Just like what PhoneGap is, Appcelerator Titanium is a popular mobile app development framework used to design and develop high-performing cross-platform apps developed for businesses looking to scale via mobile apps. Appcelerator Titanium is a free open-source framework that has more than 5000 APIs for Android, iOS, and web development.
Majorly known to create high-quality apps, this framework makes the development process quite simple and easy. Appcelerator Titanium allows developers to reuse 90% of the code so as to create scalable and robust apps on multiple platforms. One of the main benefits of using this framework is its capacity to work with cloud integration.
Features of Appcelerator Titanium
To make things clear, here are a few features of Appcelerator Titanium that will help you understand this framework better.
In-built App Designer
Appcelerator comes with an in-built app designer via which app developers can create a visually attractive and intuitive app for their clients. Based on drag-and-drop functionality, it makes mobile app designing very simple.
Hyperloop
This framework comes with a unique feature known as hyperloop. This feature allows mobile app developers to easily integrate third-party APIs into the Android and iOS apps.
API Builder
Not just this framework makes API integration easy but also it allows developers to easily develop and assemble APIs and connect with the apps developed.
Wrapping Up
These are our top 10 mobile app development frameworks that one can go for. Also, choosing the type of frameworks complete depends on the type of app you want and your business goals. Every framework has something or the other, and based on your project requirements you can choose the one that fits your requirements the best.
However, if you are unsure of which framework to go for, always consult a professional mobile app development company and they will guide you. Choosing the wrong app framework will result in app failure and your both effort and money will go in vain.
