Technology up-gradation has boosted developers’ requirements to compete in the market. For advanced features and high-performance, multi platform app tools are becoming a necessity as it has become common now for users to have a variety of devices on which they consume content and perform daily functions. By 2021, the demand for a multi platform app had surpassed $7.9 Billion and there is no sign of that slowing any time soon. Not only this, cross platform apps are vital for rich features and high-performing applications which encompass hardware like GPS and gyroscope sensors, the ability to track or trace user, as well as remain connected while traveling.
So, if you are wondering which tools to use for making cross-platform apps, continue reading. This article will see what cross-platform development is and the best tools to build a multi platform app.
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What is a multi platform app?
A multi platform app development framework is ideal for saving time and accurate execution. As the name suggests, cross-programming develops apps that can run on multiple platforms such as desktop and mobile, instead of building different apps for single, ‘vertical’ platforms.
For example, by choosing the right multi platform technology an Android app developer would no longer have to worry about building a separate app for iPhones or iPads. Instead, the developer can create a multi platform app which enables the app’s code to run on both Android and iOS without almost no changes.
What are the 5 Best tools to build multi platform apps?
The list of multi platform apps can be long, but we will only include the five best tools in the business.
1. RAD Studio
Today, app development extends beyond the device. It creates the need to build connected apps that give real-time communication across all devices. RAD Studio’s Multi-Device Application Platform does this best.
RAD Studio’s multi-device app platform delivers truly connected applications that support real-time communication. It also gives access to enterprise data and cloud services. All these technologies are included in the RAD Studio XE5 enterprise and professional versions.
One of the main advantages of RAD Studio’s multi-device app platform is the rapid connectivity of apps to enterprise databases. Additionally, RAD Studio gives access to cloud-based RESTful web services and BaaS providers.
RAD Studio comes with FireMonkey FMX framework and FireDAC data access. The FireMoneky FMX framework is an app development and runtime platform. With this, you can develop apps faster using visual components. Also, you don’t have to maintain separate development projects to deliver your app natively for multiple device form factors on Windows, Mac OS X, iOS, and Andriod.
RAD Studio’s FireDAC gives high-speed database connectivity for MS SQL Server, InterBase, DB2, Oracle, Sybase, MySQL, Firebird, SQLite, and PostgreSQL.
With RAD, you can mobilize your enterprise faster and wiser.
2. React Native
In the list of best cross-platform development tools, React Native holds the second spot. It is a JavaScript-based framework. Web developers can build mobile apps with React Native easily and quickly.
It has many development resources, including APIs and UI Libraries. These resources help enhance app-building projects. It also provides support with an extensive community to React Native developers.
Some of its main features include enhanced performance, native-like UI, hot reload, easy-to-use styling schema, and popular JavaScript-based development. All these features make React Native popular among developers. However, know that if you are not versatile in JavaScript or React, it will be difficult to build apps with React Native.
React Native is excellent for developing cross-platform apps. But it requires extensive knowledge of React, JavaScript, and native APIs. Additionally, debugging and testing are the most common challenges in React Native development.
3. Flutter
Flutter is owned by the leading search engine Google. It is a cross-platform app development framework known for building web, mobile, and desktop apps. Despite being relatively new, its helpful features are craved by most developers.
Flutter uses the Dart programming language. It offers SDKs, UI widgets, APIs, and many valuable features. Some of its widely praised features include ready-made UI elements, hot reloading, native-like UI appearance, and app performance.
Although Flutter is outstanding with all its features, it is relatively young – initiated in 2017. It also looks immature when compared to other older app development frameworks. Additionally, Flutter is not stable and contains fewer development resources than other platforms. One major drawback of Flutter is the large size of compiled APK caused by the missing number of bunded libraries.
However, one of the promising things about Flutter is that its online community is growing unabatedly. With adding new features continuously, the future bodes well for Flutter developers.
4. Xamarin
Xamarin uses .Net Framework and C# to develop cross-platform native apps. It was launched in 2012 and now stands tall among other frameworks globally. They are packaged as Xamarin. Essentials have one of the most extensive collections of cross-platform APIs. Also, Xamarin. Forms offer native-like UI for building Andriod and iOS apps.
Developers use the power of .Net which provides development utilities like native SDKs, Xamarin, Android, Xamarin.iOS, and several other utilities from third-party platforms. Xamarin is similar to Flutter as both frameworks use specific programming languages, create cross-platform apps and offer APIs. However, Xamarin is more mature and older than Flutter.
However, this maturity of Xamarin can be a drawback sometimes. As it offers docs, guidelines, best practices of development, and valuable tools, the development activity is stagnant compared to newer frameworks like Flutter. Plus, the size of Xamarin apps is pretty large due to the integrated framework and vast UI design options.
Xamarin revived development activities with interesting roadmaps like merging .Net platform utilities and migration from Xamarin forms to the .Net multi platform app.
5. Ionic
Want to convert your web app to a hybrid one? Or want to build a hybrid app from scratch? Ionic will assist you in achieving your desired development objectives. It uses a single codebase in the real sense to create a native user experience without changing the code.
The Capacitor runtime that drives Ionic apps drives its sleek native UX. It integrates a web app seamlessly inside the mobile platform’s WebView to create a seamless native experience.
Additionally, Ionic is a pluggable framework. For excellent app development projects, the user developer can select it from several community-based and official plugins. Besides powering a web app runtime, Ionic also offers several UI components and command line tools.
These tools help manage development tasks by following the Andriod and iOS user interface development guidelines. Furthermore, command line tools can be deployed with JavaScript and other UI frameworks like Vue, React, and Angular.
All in all, Ionic is an excellent choice for converting web apps to hybrid and expediting cross-platform app development assignments.
What are the advantages of multi platform apps?
Here are a few main advantages of creating a multi platform app.
- Expedite development projects
- Provides native-like user experience
- Performance is better than web apps
- Way to go for companies that want to attract users of mobile devices and release the product to market quicker at a lower cost
- Costs are reduced as only one team of programmers is required to develop and maintain an app
Want to build a multi platform app? RAD Studio/Delphi can help!
If you ask us to pick one tool from the above list, our answer will be RAD Studio XE5’s multi-device app platform. It is one of the best in business to build great apps for all of today’s popular platforms. Multi platform apps built with RAD Studio XE5’s are Native UX, secure and high performing. These apps also provide full access to operating systems and hardware.
The FireMonkey platform is designed to help teams build multi-device, native apps for Windows, OS X, Android, and iOS. It also helps build script-free, native apps that expose the full range of device capabilities. With this, you don’t need to maintain separate development projects to deliver your app natively for multiple devices on multiple platforms.
RAD’s FireDAC is also vital for developing applications for multiple devices connected to enterprise databases. FireDAC allows high-speed direct access from Delphi and C++ builder to InterBase with the robust universal architecture.
So, if you want to develop multi platform apps with more power and performance,
Sign up for a free RAD Studio trial and try writing your own multi platform app today!