Quick Summary:  With the growth in demand for mobile applications, businesses are faced with the need to develop multiple platforms. They can produce similar apps for both Google Play and the Apple App Store, which is time-consuming. Or they can choose to develop native applications that provide optimal functionality and user experience, as well as integrate into each app store’s ecosystem. A significant share of mobile application developers is considering building cross-platform app development solutions as a solution to save time and reduce development costs.

What is cross-platform mobile app development?

Cross-platform app development is a process of developing software applications that can be used for major mobile operating systems. Initially, the difficulties of designing a backend that functioned across various platforms added to the complexity of producing mobile applications. While developing native apps for each mobile operating system was simpler (OS), it came with the drawbacks of being time-consuming and costly. One major challenge was the lack of code reusability across different operating systems.

A cross-platform framework can help you in building production-quality apps that run on multiple platforms and devices. At the same time, a good cross-platform framework can also take care of the common tasks you need to perform while developing mobile applications. These frameworks let you write your code once and run your app anywhere.

Advantages of cross-platform mobile app development

Faster time-to-market – The framework of cross-platform app development allows developers to achieve a single code base that can be used for multiple platforms. This cross-platform framework is what allows developers to save a significant amount of time as they only have to develop a single application and then deploy it onto multiple app stores. It also speeds up the process of testing, as all applications are unified through one singular codebase; this helps developers test the app in different browsers, devices, and versions with greater ease than before.

Cost-effective – Cross-platform app development has been gaining momentum ever since the launch of iOS and Android. The main reason for this is its cost-saving potential. A cross-platform developer uses the same codebase to build applications for both platforms. This means that a cross-platform developer can write a single application for both platforms and save the cost of developing each application separately individually.

Easy maintenance – Developers who create applications for different platforms can face a challenge when it comes to managing updates and adding features for all of their platforms. With cross-platform mobile app development, developers can maintain a single codebase, which makes it easier to update and maintain their applications across multiple platforms. This can save developers valuable time and resources since they no longer have to manage the creation and maintenance of different codebases for each platform.

Wider audience reach: Cross-platform app development, which is also known as multiplatform app development, allows developers to build a single, unified application that can run on multiple operating systems. For example, an application can run on iOS and Android, or it can run on all three platforms: iOS, Android, and Windows. This can help developers reach a wider audience while still letting them keep all of their assets in one place. This makes it easier for them to publish their applications to the various stores.

Disadvantages of Cross-platform Application Development

Limited access to platform-specific features: Although cross-platform development tools are becoming more and more popular, there are some drawbacks to this approach. The biggest disadvantage is that developers may have limited access to platform-specific features. When these tools convert source code into a cross-platform application, they create an app that works on multiple platforms but also limits certain functionality. This leads to applications that are not as dynamic or user-friendly as native apps developed for a platform.

Performance issues: Cross-platform mobile app development is a way to develop an application or software that can be used on multiple devices. Since mobile platforms, such as Android and iOS, have distinct operating systems, cross-platform applications allow you to target multiple users while using the same code. This makes it easier for developers to create their applications. It can also result in performance issues on each platform. The nature of these issues depends upon the approach the developer takes when creating their application. Though having a single code base is good from a financial perspective, it can lead to reduced performance and an overall poor user experience depending on how the developer creates their application version for each platform.

Dependency on third-party tools: Cross-platform app development tools allow you to transform your app into a cross-platform mobile solution, enabling you to reach more customers and users. However, these tools may come with inherent risks and disadvantages, such as being reliant on a third party for the success or failure of your project.

Tools and frameworks for cross-platform app development

Cross-platform app development has gained popularity due to its efficiency in building apps that work on multiple operating systems. Here are some prominent tools and frameworks used for cross-platform app development:

Flutter: Developed by Google, Flutter offers a single codebase for both iOS and Android apps. It uses a reactive framework and a wide range of customizable widgets to create visually appealing and fast apps.

React Native: Created by Facebook, React Native uses JavaScript and React to build native-like apps for iOS and Android. It allows developers to reuse components and offers access to native features.

Xamarin: Owned by Microsoft, Xamarin uses C# and .NET to create cross-platform apps. It provides a native user experience and direct access to native APIs.

Ionic: Built on top of AngularJS and Apache Cordova, Ionic offers a library of UI components and tools for building hybrid apps that can be deployed on multiple platforms.

PhoneGap (Apache Cordova): PhoneGap uses HTML, CSS, and JavaScript to develop cross-platform apps. It wraps web apps in a native container and provides access to device APIs.

Unity: Although primarily used for game development, Unity can also be employed to create interactive and visually-rich cross-platform apps.

NativeScript: This framework allows developers to use JavaScript, TypeScript, or Angular to build native apps that can access native APIs directly.

Adobe AIR: Adobe AIR enables developers to use web technologies like HTML, CSS, and JavaScript to create cross-platform apps with a focus on multimedia and gaming.

Corona SDK: Ideal for 2D game development, Corona SDK utilizes Lua scripting language to build cross-platform apps with a strong emphasis on graphics and animation.

Qt: With support for C++, QML, and JavaScript, Qt is a versatile framework suitable for creating cross-platform applications with native performance.

Conclusion  

Application development has changed dramatically in the past few years, thanks to the evolution of cross-platform mobile app development. Rather than wait for each platform to support a specific application functionality, developers can create mobile applications for Android, iOS, and Windows using a single codebase, thus saving time and resources and bringing their applications to market faster. Brain Inventory is a robust web development company that focuses on providing cost-effective cross-platform software. Based in India, the company specializes in developing sophisticated applications for business and brand websites, with clients worldwide. Brain Inventory delivers projects within time and budget, building 100 percent indigenous cross-platform applications for your brand. Services include designing and building mobile apps and websites using JavaScript, PHP, HTML5, AngularJS, MongoDB, or Node.js.