Popular open-source frameworks: Flutter, Ionic, React Native, and Xamarin

Smartphones are becoming an indispensable component of our regular activities. They are not only efficient but also simple to use, which is why businesses are putting a lot of emphasis on corporate mobile strategy. Consequently, apps are undoubtedly an important part of the strategy for advertising your company and reaching a wider audience. There are many ways to advertise your company, and mobile applications have become a popular option. In this article, we will go through the basic technologies around creating mobile apps and dive into the hybrid side.

A hybrid mobile app combines native and web app technologies. Hybrid apps are created in a single language and run across several platforms. There are several sorts of mobile applications to consider for your next mobile app project, including native, hybrid, web, and progressive web apps, and frameworks that help to optimize and fasten the creation process.

Differences between Native and Hybrid frameworks

A native app is a smartphone application designed exclusively for a mobile operating system (think Objective-C or Swift for iOS vs. Java/Kotlin for Android). The hybrid development approach is based on cross-platform functionality and is designed for a specific platform, either Android or iOS. It offers the benefit of speedier performance and the ability to simply access and utilizes the built-in capabilities of the user’s device (e.g., GPS, address book, camera, etcetera).

In brief, native apps are just that: native to the user’s operating system and hence designed following those requirements.

Native frameworks’ pros and cons

Pros:

• Native apps have access to platform-specific built-in security measures, which makes them safer;
• Customers may search for applications with improved UX more quickly, allowing a company to reach its target audience;
• Because they are designed exclusively for a single operating system, Native Apps are significantly quicker and more refined.

Cons:

• It is tough for the developers to maintain and provide support for different versions of the software;
• Because a native program is tailored to a certain operating system, it takes longer to build for each platform;
• Native app development expenses are greater, and these apps require attentive maintenance, which raises product prices.

Hybrid frameworks’ pros and cons

Pros:

• Takes less time to build and saves money;
• Simply allow for rapid construction and testing;
• Support for a single code that can operate on many operating systems.

Cons:

• Many additional third-party tools and technologies are involved in building or setting an app;
• Hybrid performs well only to a certain level of application complexity;
• Not suitable for developing certain games in 3D graphics.

Flutter

Construct, debug, and release brilliant mobile, web, desktop, and embedded apps from a single codebase. Flutter is a Google open-source framework for creating attractive, natively built, multi-platform apps from a single codebase. For speedy performance on any device, Flutter code compiles to ARM or Intel machine code.

Programming Language: Dart

Pros:

• It is free and open-source;
• Programming in Dart;
• Has a large variety of widgets;
• Flutter’s design is based on today’s popular reactive programming (the same that React has been made from);
• This technology may also be used to construct both desktop and web apps as of version 3, which has already been launched;
• This open-source framework is lauded for its excellent performance, logical architecture, and comprehensive documentation;
• Flutter is frequently suggested as a cross-platform solution for developing Android, iOS, macOS, Windows, TV, and Linux apps due to its productivity and effectiveness;
• It’s becoming a strong competitor to React Native, as well as native app development.

Cons:

• Because the technology is new, not many software development companies utilize it.

Ionic

Ionic is a framework designed specifically for developing complex and powerful mobile user interfaces. The Ionic app development framework, which is constructed with HTML, CSS, and JavaScript, has an excellent command-line interface (CLI), which simplifies the developer’s job and considerably reduces the learning curve. The framework also includes extra services like Ionic View and Ionic Creator. If you wish to improve an app’s functionality, you may combine it with any Javascript framework, including Vue, React, and Angular.

Programming Language: JavaScript

Pros:

• Open-source frameworks;
• Rapid development and a short time to store release;
• The user interface is simple to use;
• A powerful hybrid development framework that has been tuned to make use of native capabilities;
• A low learning curve, especially for those who are already familiar with JavaScript, CSS, and HTML;
• Multifunctional plugins;
• It enables you to write code once and have it run everywhere;
• Because of the usage of basic technologies, app development time is reduced.

Cons:

• Poor performance because we are using a browser (which is not the fastest app in the world).

React Native

React Native is an open-source mobile application framework the primary goal of which is to create native apps using JavaScript. It is used to boost productivity and reduce time to market.

Essentially, most users choose to utilize the React Native application since it takes advantage of the platform’s incredibly user-friendly features.

Programming Language: JavaScript

Pros:

• Allows the developer to create code in Swift, Obj-C, or Java based on the requirements;
• Allows the developer to create code for complex processes using native modules written in native languages;
• It provides good performance even though it can only be utilized on one platform;
• Reduced development time;
• A larger market reach;
• You can reuse some of the code for the web and mobile (if the web is written on React);
• It’s a reasonably simple start for those who are familiar with React;
• As a result of the big community, there are many ready-made modules.

Cons:

• A hybrid application still has some restrictions when compared to a native program;
• There is a lack of documentation for configuring the XCode command line and Android-centric projects;
• Harder than Ionic.

Xamarin

Xamarin features diverse capabilities and a large range of development tools. Xamarin is a framework for developing cross-platform apps in C# for iOS, Android, and Windows (using UWP).

Xamarin is built on the.NET platform and provides access to the.NET ecosystem of packages and libraries. Interestingly, three of the incredible benefits of utilizing Xamarin include continual developer support, extensive learning opportunities, and complete technical assistance from Microsoft. Work with Xamarin comes in two flavors: Xamarin Native and Xamarin Forms.

Programming Language: C# (.Net)

Pros:

• Xamarin apps are capable of sharing up to 90% of their coding across key platforms;
• The performance of the apps is virtually identical to that of native programs, giving them a nice experience;
• A comprehensive range of mobile app development tools is included in this package;
• Simple upgrades, testing, and upkeep;
• IoT, TVs, and wearables are all supported;
• Due to the property of code reusability, there is a short time to market and a low cost;
• Known for frequent updates and testing;
• The next edition of Visual Studio Xamarin will be updated to .NET MAUI – a new.NET framework for working with interfaces.

Cons:

• The oldest of the four frameworks.

Summary

Every tool and framework has its benefits and drawbacks depending on the project they are utilized for. With Flutter and React Native providing the most native-like experience, Xamarin providing two alternative app development methodologies, and Ionic providing code quality, the ultimate choice should be decided based on the needs of your project.

Hopefully, this list has benefited you in making your selection and will support you in making all your hybrid app endeavors a reality. If you haven’t decided on the best framework for you yet, consult with your company’s needs to determine which type of hybrid app development framework is best for you.

READ ALSO: HOW UTILIZING ARTIFICIAL INTELLIGENCE IS SHAPING HELPFUL TECHNOLOGIES AND DISCOVERIES