We’ll explore the top hybrid app development frameworks, such as React Native, Ionic, and Xamarin, and compare their features and capabilities. Whether you’re a developer or a business owner, understanding the pros and cons of these frameworks can help you make an informed decision about which one to use for your app development needs.
Mobile apps are popular, people love using them, and they generate record-breaking revenue. In this industry, something that stands out is Hybrid Apps. In Industry 4.0, hybrid mobile app development has been trending.
As per Statista, the Google Play Store houses 3.38 million mobile apps, while its iOS counterpart, the App Store, has 2.22 million applications. In addition to rising numbers, there is also rising revenue in this industry, as apps are expected to reach $935 billion in 2023
So, it is high time to develop a hybrid app and conquer the market. If this is what you want to do, we have good news and bad news for you.
The bad news is that conventional hybrid mobile app development won’t do the job if you plan to lead the market. The good news is, that with a hybrid app development framework, you can develop apps that outshine competition and generate millions or even billions in revenue.
So, without wasting any more time, let’s look at the best hybrid mobile app development frameworks. Starting with:
What is Hybrid Mobile App Development?
Before we get into frameworks, let’s look at what hybrid app development is.
While the name itself says a lot, the concept of hybrid mobile apps is quite simple. You see, there are two popular mobile app development platforms. Specifically, Android and iOS mobile app development.
Now, if you want to develop a mobile app, you have to choose between either of them. So, what if someone wants to develop a mobile app on both platforms? While technically you can develop two similar apps on both platforms natively, it will steer up the cost dramatically.
So, what you should rather do is develop a hybrid mobile app. As the name suggests, a hybrid mobile app is compatible with both iOS and Android platforms.
In addition to this, hybrid mobile app development is much cheaper, easier to maintain, and overall a better choice. I’m not saying that native applications aren’t good enough, but when it comes to covering both platforms, hybrid app development is unmatched.
With this out of the way, some of you might be wondering what hybrid app development frameworks exist. Let’s answer that question:
What are hybrid app development frameworks?
To understand what hybrid mobile app development platforms are, first, you need to know what mobile app development frameworks are.
In simple terms, a framework is a mobile app development tool that helps the development process as it provides pre-built components as well as other functionalities. A framework is built in such a way that it speeds up the development process while making the coding process easier.
Moving along the line, hybrid app development frameworks are frameworks that are specifically built around hybrid app development. Now that all is said and done, let’s discuss some of these frameworks.
Top Hybrid App Development Frameworks
Hybrid app development is fairly popular among investors and start-ups. Consequently, there are a considerable number of frameworks in the market.
However, if you want to create the best hybrid app, you need nothing but the best Hybrid Mobile App Development Frameworks. To help you figure out which one is right for you, we have put together a list consisting of the 9 best frameworks.
So, if you are ready to build the next-best hybrid app, let’s see what these platforms are:
1) React Native: Stellar Cross-platform App Development
React Native is one of the most popular mobile development technologies and a promising hybrid app development framework. Developed by none other than the tech giant Meta (then known as Facebook), React Native is plenty better for your hybrid app project needs.
With React Native App Development, you can bring the most absurd concepts to reality. True to its name, it allows developers to create an app that provides a native-like experience. In addition to the looks, the technical support for the platform’s native features is also great.
This means that you won’t experience any issues with features like fingerprint sensors and notifications, as seen in lesser frameworks. Facebook itself uses react-natives in its development work, as do a lot of other developers.
This native framework covers as much as 38% of the market. This is easily among the most widely used hybrid frameworks.
Why Choose React Native?
While there are plenty of reasons to hire React Native app developer, we shall be looking at a few of them in this section. They are:
- Based on JavaScript, this open-source framework is widely used and the go-to choice for hybrid development for the majority of developers.
- As much as 95% of react-native code is compatible with cross-platform.
- This technology provides leverage to GPU adding to the overall performance of the application.
- Since it provides high flexibility, update creation is a breeze.
- It comes with a range of amazing features that speed up hybrid app development cost, process, and reducing.
2) Flutter – Most Popular Cross-Platform App Development Framework
Developed by Google itself, Flutter has been the go-to cross-platform app development framework since its launch in 2017. As per the report, it covers 38% market share. This speaks volumes about the capacity of this framework.
This framework allows the developer to use a single codebase to build apps for both iOS and iPhones. This is a step beyond other alternatives, as the code is 100% reusable.
So, needless to say, hybrid app development flutter offers have been trending among clients for their flexibility and a great many advantages. This is one of the reasons why Flutter ranks so high on this list.
Why Choose Flutter
Flutter, being the top framework it is, offers several alluring reasons as to why you should choose it. Some of these reasons are, as mentioned below:
- It is open-source and free to use for anyone.
- This enables developers to create top-notch, high-performance, flexible apps for both platforms from a single code.
- With the rich Material Design Widgets library, creating aesthetic design is simple.
- It provides up to 60 fps on Android devices.
- The framework offers highly customizable themes.
3) Ionic – Go-to Hybrid Mobile App Development Framework
Now, this one is going to be a bit confusing. You see, ionic doesn’t fit into the definition of a framework. You can rather call it a development tool used for hybrid app development services.
Despite being a development tool, when combined with Angular JS, it is one of the best technologies used for cross-platform app development. And it covers 16% of the market as of 2021.
Surprisingly, Ionic has a large and growing user base. For instance, it records around 30 million downloads, not yearly but per month. Yes, you heard that right.
Why Choose Ionic
Despite not being a framework, ionic is a go-to choice for developers. Naturally, there are some good reasons to choose it as your hybrid app development technology of choice.
- It is a good choice to develop a responsive design
- Built by developers at Ionic technologies, it is well-backed
- This technology supports Angular JS, enabling native-like app development.
- Ionic also uses web components and web standards to deliver robust cross-platform apps.
- This development tool comes with quality design components and other powerful features.
4) Xamarin – Robust Cross-platform App Development
Xamarin takes the whole concept of cross-platform app development to a whole other level. This framework allows programmers to create mobile apps for iOS, Android, and Windows devices, using C#.
Covering 11% of the market, Xamarin provides stellar cross-platform applications and is much loved by developers. In technical terms, you can call it a form of precompiled C#. In this sense, it is a good option for programmers who are new to the whole cross-app development scene.
But let’s leave the technical talk to the developers and let’s focus on the benefits part. Some reasons to choose this framework are, as mentioned below:
Why Choose Xamarin
There are plenty of reasons to hire dedicated developers for Xamarin development.
- With this framework, you can create apps that run over multiple platforms, not just iOS and Android. This includes Windows, MacOSX, etc.
- Since the code written in Xamarin is reusable, it is highly cost-effective.
- The developer says that Xamarin’s capacity to extend existing C# code is the big selling point
- Apart from development, this framework also provides ease of analyzing the application without hassle.
5) Corona SDK
Corona SDK has gained widespread use in recent times. Jokes apart, this open-source hybrid app framework does wonders for iOS and Android app development.
Corona is a simple framework with Lua code, enabling developers to create both native and hybrid mobile applications. Corona is young and still growing. Today, this framework has more than 225 applications in its name but the numbers are growing fast.
Being open-source, this framework is free to download and deploy. Speaking of which, this platform is a little bit older than the coronavirus. So, let’s hope it spreads as wide as its namesake.
Why Choose Corona SDK for Your Hybrid App Development
Corona is rising in the custom mobile app development scene. And there are some good reasons why you should consider this one.
- Corona SDK helps reduce errors and bugs, allowing developers to create smooth cross-platform solutions.
- Since it works on Lua programming language, it is easy to learn and use.
- A top-selling feature of the SDK is that the same language allows app development for different platforms.
- When compared to other frameworks, it provides affordable hybrid development services.
6) Jquery Mobile
It is easy to find a top mobile app development company that uses jQuery. While this framework isn’t all that easy to learn, once you are familiar with it, it can be versatile.
This framework is quite popular among the cross-platform developer community. A top reason is that it is highly optimized for touchscreen devices, which, as we all know, is the need of the day. Therefore, you can expect hybrid apps with a native-like look and feel.
Moving on, it is also quite adaptable to the various screen sizes and resolutions thanks to its media queries feature. Being a top hybrid app development framework, jQuery is an amazing framework that delivers stellar results.
Why Choose Jquery Mobile
Some good reasons to make jQuery your hybrid app development framework of choice are, as mentioned below:
- jQuery supports the majority of mobile platforms and so do its libraries.
- Since it is running at 90%, you don’t have to worry about compatibility issues
- This framework comes with complete documentation, making hybrid app development easier.
- jQuery has huge community support.
7) Angular App Development
Angular is a popular choice for any mobile app development company in question.
Based on JavaScript, this framework is highly adaptable for creating interactive web applications. The ionic framework we discussed is based on Angular.
Now, what makes Angular stand out is that it enables the user to access the content faster. Thus, it delivers faster download speeds along with more effective information processing.
When combined with designing elements like HTML5 & CSS3, Angular is an effective framework for cross-platform mobile app development.
Why Choose Angular
Angular is one of the most popular choices among the development community. A few reasons to make it your hybrid app development framework of choice are, as mentioned below:
- AngularJS is easy to use
- With a wide range of UI design elements, it provides high personalization.
- Developers can create multiple channels of apps that can run on various devices, including desktops, tablets, and mobile phones.
- The community and support for Angular JS is huge.
8) Titanium – Faster Hybrid Applications
As most of you might already know, a top hybrid app development company would only use the best technology. And this is Appcelerator Titanium of them. First launched in 2007, it has 20 million downloads to its name, making it one of the most popular choices.
Now, how this works is simple. It takes the JavaScript source code and turns it into a native application with the help of a web kit. This is one of the reasons why it is compatible with different platforms, including Windows Phone, iOS, Android, BlackBerry, Facebook apps, and HTML5 apps.
Why Choose Titanium?
There are many reasons to choose titanium for cross-platform app development. Let’s discuss a few of these:
- Mobile Apps made through Titanium are highly performing
- Titanium comes with a higher success rate
- Titanium’s SDK is open-sourced, making it a much cheaper development option.
- Support for Titanium is good
9) Intel XDK
XDK is a hybrid app development framework based on HTML5. This allows the development team to use various web technologies to create hybrid apps. In addition, this framework comes with a simple code base, making it a developer’s favorite.
Therefore, you can find mobile app development services based on Intel XDK anywhere. The best part is that anyone can build a custom version of it. While it is true that the interface of XDK isn’t as modern as some of its other counterparts, it gets the job done.
Why Choose Intel XDK
Some reasons to choose Intel SDK are, as mentioned below:
- With open-source tools and technologies, Intel XDK offers stellar platform integration and hybrid app development.
- In this framework, you can use web UI widgets including Material Design, Bootstrap 3, AngularJS, HTML5 Canvas, and WebGL technologies
- A top hybrid app development framework helps developers reduce development time by a long shot.
Conclusion
With hybrid app development frameworks, you don’t have to look for iOS or Android app developers for hire. Because you get the best of both worlds in one app. In this blog, we took a closer look at some of the best cross-platform app development frameworks.
Now, if there are still questions you want to ask or learn more about hybrid mobile apps, it is recommended that you consult a hybrid app development company.
Niketan Sharma is the CTO of Nimble AppGenie, a prominent website and mobile app development company in the USA that is delivering excellence with a commitment to boosting business growth & maximizing customer satisfaction. He is a highly motivated individual who helps SMEs and startups grow in this dynamic market with the latest technology and innovation.
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