Top 15 cross platform app frameworks we should consider this year for quality app development

Statista says that more than 98% of smartphones around the globe use either the Android platform or the iOS platform as their primary operating system. So, when it comes to mobile application development as well as choosing the right platform- most of the owners and developers get confused. I mean they cannot select only one platform in 2020. If they choose the Android platform, they will mourn for the iOS users and if they choose the iOS platform, they have to mourn for the android users.

But thanks to the technology that now in 2020 you do not have to go through such kind of situation while an application development. Now, you can easily grab all platforms’ users even without spending a lot of bucks. How? The answer is simple- you just have to pick the right cross platform app frameworks. 

cross platform app frameworks comes with a lot of benefits for both the developers and the owner. With the help of a cross platform app frameworks or tools, a developer will be able to reuse the significant account of code. So, he/she does not have to put extra time and effort to make the app available on all the platforms. Nowadays, more and more developers are tending towards cross platform app frameworks due to the huge business benefits, low-cost development, easy cloud integration, code usability, and more benefits. 

Now Vyrazu Labs will tell you about the top 15 cross platform app frameworks that really offer both ease and pace. We have tested all these frameworks during application development for our native and overseas clients. And today we will share our experiences with these frameworks. So, no more ado, let’s know the best 15 cross platform app frameworks-

Best 15 cross platform app frameworks

1. Xamarin

Xamarin is one of the popular names when it comes to counting the best cross platform app frameworks in 2021. According to experts, it is a streamline as well as simplified iOS, Android, and Windows mobile app development platform. Xamarin uses .NET and C# in order to deliver useful app solutions for all the operating systems at the same time. With the help of Xamarin, you do not need to create apps separately for each platform. And that’s why it has become popular among the designers as well as the developers. 

Features of Xamarin 

• Here developers will get the native kind app development functionality and that will easily satisfy the cross platform need. With the help of APIs and plugins, Xamarin effectively reduces the hardware compatibility problems. Along with this, it also offers customization and promotes likings with native libraries. 
• It is able to support a direct inclusion of Java, Objective C, and C++ libraries. With the help of this framework, developers will be able to reuse many third-party codebases encrypted in Objective-C or C++ and Java. 

Other features-

• Application loader
• Android SDK manager
• Visual Studio integration
• Gaming
• Diagnostic tools
• Storyboard files
• Custom control

2. Glide

Glide is the next important cross-platform development framework. It comes with a very helpful image loader library. This library mainly helps to deal with the android ecosystem and releases Android applications that work finely without any problem. And the biggest plus point is that this library has been recommended by Google and since then developers are trusting this tool more in comparison with other available options in the market. With this tool, operating images i.e. upload, rotate, resize, etc is super easy. Even Google I/O 2014 official application is using Glide. Not only Google I/O 2014 official application but also there are lots of other open-source projects using this framework over the years. 

Features of Glide

• We can call Glide as both the single and central platform. It effectively helps to manage multiple physical offices, teams, departments, and client portfolios. 
• Glide comes with a library of standard templates for common advisory, compliance, and internal activities. Here you can easily create a custom workflow in order to track all the relative things. 
• Apart from this, Glide also offers amazing animated GIF support
• It also supports image caching

3. Ionic

Ionic is one of the most popular cross platform app frameworks available in 2020. It is based on AngularJs. The best benefit of using this platform is that it helps the developers to use a combination of many languages such as JavaScript, HTML5, CSS, and so on. It uses the Cordova wrapper in order to rightly access the native platform controllers. 

With the help of this platform, developers can easily create robust as well as creative user interfaces and add stunning user-friendly features into the application. According to experts, applications that are developed using this framework are highly interactive and offer a native-like smooth user experience. Experts also say that Ionic is a perfect candidate for Progressive Web Apps development. 

Features of Ionic

• Ionic is a completely free framework. With the other frameworks, you may have to spend nearly $1,000 for development, test, and marketing tasks. But with Ionic, you do not need to pay a single penny. So, it’s going to reduce your overall app development cost also. 
• It is an open-source solution so we can say that there will be no instability problems. It comes with great stability that developers simply enjoy during mobile application development. 
• According to developers, its data-binding and extension to HTML syntax are truly helpful. Along with this, new developers get the chance to learn Angular coding via this cross platform apps development framework. 
• Ionic also comes with Cordova based plugins. The plugin is written using JavaScript. By adding a few simple codes, adding mobile camera access, GPS, and other features are possible. 
• With this cross platform apps development framework, as a developer, you just have to apply Ionic derivative and UI elements and the rest areas will be well taken care of by itself. When you will launch an app on different platforms, themes will be automatically changed and offer the same native feel.

4. React Native

React Native can be called as a great blend of JavaScript and React JS. This does not only come with the benefits of JavaScript and React JS but also lets developers write modules in Swift, Objective-C, and Java languages. 

With the help of this cross platform apps development tool, developers can easily perform several heavy operations such as video processing, image editing, and even some tasks that are not parts of a framework API. 

Facebook has been backing this project. Facebook has been pouring both time and energy in order to improve this framework. So, we can say that React Native is going to be a fail-proof, future-proof, and sustainable choice for developers around the globe. 

Features of React Native

• This is a popular open-source cross platform apps development platform. Lots of developers are working an equivalent technology as well as encountering equivalent bugs. So, some bugs are going to be solved even before one notices. The developer forum is rich with useful tips and workarounds. 
• With the help of this framework, it is now easier for all the developers out there to delve into other’s projects and respond accordingly. According to expert developers, this framework increases the flexibility of a development team and making updates and upgrades of web applications becomes easy. 
• An internet page created by using React loads faster in comparison with a page created by using JavaScript. Not only users will experience fast page loading but also Google will scan the pages faster and offer a better score to the page. This is really a great advantage for web applications. 
• With the help of React Native, developers can easily use the same codes when it comes to deploying the app on both Android and iOS platforms. In this way, the developer will not only save time and effort but also the owner will also be able to save a lot of bucks. According to recent research, 90% of the codes can be reused between the mentioned platforms.

5. Flutter

3 years back in 2017, Google has introduced an amazing cross platform apps framework, Flutter. It is mainly an SDK- Software Development Kit ad it is designed to assist perfectly the Android and iOS app development tasks. According to experts, it is also helpful when it comes to developing Google Fuschia apps. Apps created by using Flutter mainly run on several platforms with dynamicity and uniformity. 

Features of Flutter 

• It is another jewel on our list of the best 15 cross platform app frameworks and liked by a lot of developers around the world. Flutter effectively saves time, money, and effort. With the help of this framework, developers will only write code once and maintain it and later use the code for two apps. So, there is no need to write code separately for a different platform. 
• Flutter comes with native codes, third-party integrations, and platform APIs. And as a result, the development process becomes super easy as well as delightful. Apart from this, developers can also easily access the native features and Software Development Kit on both iOS and Android platforms. Developers will be also able to reuse the hugely used programming languages such as Swift and Kotlin.
• Flutter is created by using Dark Programming language. Dart mainly uses AOT and JIT compilation in order to effectively improve the startup time and boost performance.

5. NativeScript

It is a popular JavaScript-based cross platform apps development framework in 2020. Developers who have been in search of a tool that offers WORA functionality, they can use this NativeScript tool without any second thought. NativeScript also offers amazing native APIs and developers can easily reuse the existing plugins directly from NPM. 

Features of NativeScript

• NativeScript is just the opposite of ReactNative. It comes with a complete web resource. The web resource is loaded with various kinds of plugins to satisfy different needs. So, with this framework, there is no need to include any third-party plugin or solution. 
• It offers a smooth, accessible, and platform-native UI without allowing any kind of WebViews. Here developers just need to define only for once and let the NativeScript run everywhere. Developers will be able to easily customize the User Interface for specific screens as well as devices. 
• With NativeScript, developers do not need to have additional native development language knowledge as it gives developers the freedom to easily access both native Android and iOS APIs.

7. Node.js

Experts say that Node.js is an amazing option when it comes to picking the best Best 15 cross platform app frameworks in 2021. It is basically a JavaScript runtime framework built on the Chrome V8 JavaScript engine. Node.js is also an open-source framework and lets the developers easily create server-side and scalable networking apps. Experts say that apps created by using this framework are super responsive as well as efficient. 

Features of Node.js

• Node.js comes with asynchronous APIs. These APIs are non-blocking in nature i.e. server based Node.js does not wait for data from the APIs.
• Its library is amazingly speedy when it comes to code execution. 
• Apps created by using this framework do not buffer but they output the data in chunk form. 
• It uses the single-threaded model with the event looping functionality in order to create smoothly functioning applications.

8. PhoneGap

PhoneGap is one of the best terms that developers want to hear when they need to pick the best cross platform app frameworks. PhoneGap uses various programming languages such as HTML5, CSS, and JavaScript. It also offers a cloud solution to all the developers that if they want they can share an app in the development process in order to get feedback from others. This framework also supports some in-built features like GPS, Camera, Storage, Phonebook, and so on. 

Features of PhoneGap

• With the help of this crossplatform app development framework, developers will be able to easily create applications by using existing web technologies such as JavaScript, CSS, and HTML5.
• As a crossplatform app development framework, it mainly uses the single code base when it comes to creating applications for different platforms. 
• PhoneGap also comes with a plugin able architecture. With the help of this kind of architecture, access to the native device APIs can be extended if required in a modular way.

9. Appcelerator Titanium 

Appcelerator Titanium is another popular term in the world of super-effective cross platform app frameworks. The main aim of this framework is to make the mobile app development process smoother as well as easier. Just within a single code base, creating a cross platform app seems super easy with the help of this development framework. Appcelerator Titanium streamlines the application development process with the JavaScript code’s native component. 

Features of Appcelerator Titanium

• Appcelerator Titanium comes with different kinds of tools in order to satisfy rapid application development needs. With the help of this framework, now creating a prototype will require very limited time and effort. It is going to directly evaluate the user interaction with the User Interface. 
• It comes with a schema-less data store- ArrowDB and it lets the developers easily deploy data models without any additional effort for the setup. 
• Appcelerator Titanium can also enable the integration of existing continuous delivery systems such as SCM solutions. 
• Apart from this, it also comes with pre-built connectors and those are available for MS SQL, MS Azure, Salesforce, and so on.

10. Sencha Touch

Sencha Touch has been in practice for over a decade. It mainly helps to develop web-based cross platform applications. In a more specific note, we can say that apps that use the hardware acceleration techniques are created by using this amazing framework. Developing large business apps and maintaining the apps properly, are super easy and fast with Sencha Touch. 

Features of Sencha Touch

• Sencha Touch comes with amazing built-in native looking themes for the vital app platforms. 
• In order to rightly work with the data sources, it also offers a robust agnostic backend data package. 
• Sencha Touch supports Cordova integration for its native API access. It is the most popular feature of this crossplatform app development framework. 
• It also offers code compatibility between new and old ones

11. Corona SDK

It is one of the most popular app development frameworks in 2020 that lets developers easily create 2D mobile applications for all the vital app platforms including Windows and Kindle. It is able to offer 10X faster mobile application development. The language mainly focuses on the major components of the development process such as speed, extensibility, portability, scalability, and so on. Apart from this, we can say that it is also free of cost cross platform apps development framework available in 2020. It works finely on both Mac OS X and Windows and supports real-time testing at the same time. 

Features of Corona SDK

• Corona SDK comes with more than one thousand APIs. These APIs let the developers easily sprite animations, music, audio, object tweening, Box2D physics, native elements, texture management, and data list. 
• It gives instant responses to the code changes along with a real-time preview of the app’s performance. 
• It also supports more than 200 plugins that include analytics, in-app advertising, and hardware features.

12. jQuery Mobile

It is a touch-optimized as well as lightweight cross platform apps development framework. It is a great framework when it comes to developing android systems for smartphones and tablet computers. jQuery Mobile is a custom theme based applications for various platforms such as iOS, Android, WebOS, and Blackberry. 

Features of jQuery Mobile

• jQuery Mobile has built on jQuery core and ‘write less, do more’ UI framework. It is an open-source solution with cross platform and cross browser natures. 
• jQuery Mobile is written using JavaScript. It uses both jQuery and jQuery UI in order to build proper responsive websites. 
• In order to create pages with minimal scripting, jQuery Mobile also integrates CSS3, HTML5, jQuery, and jQuery UI into its framework.

13. Dojo Mobile

It is a popular HTML5 framework. And it comes with a deep pool of widgets. According to expert developers, it is one of the most popular as well as trusted cross platform app frameworks that let developers easily build excellent web-based applications for various platforms such as Android, iOS, and Blackberry. Dojo Mobile also ensures the native-like UIs and performance. 

Features of Dojo Mobile

• Dojo Mobile framework has a solid dependency on CSS3 features and it also has the potential to boost the android mobile app. 
• It is a lightweight solution in order to ensure the best user experience. 
• It comes with a lot of amazing widgets such as views, heading, lists, IconContainer, Panes, TabBar, Openers, Form Controls, Layout, Indicators, and so on.

14. Android 10

It is the latest version of Android. It is a powerful cross platform app development tool that lets developers easily create a high performance of Android applications. It comes with a new Jetpack library with a large number of quality UI themes and other components to create eye-catching app experiences. According to expert developers, they can make the app development both easier and fast with the Android 10 framework. 

Features of Android 10

• Android 10 comes with stronger features in order to improve overall user privacy. 
• It also supports foldable as well as Vulkan extensions 
• Apart from this, Android 10 is rich with quality features such as Gesture navigation, Undo app removal, live caption, better notification control, and so on.

15. Retrofit 

Retrofit is the last cross platform app development framework on our list. It is an open-source framework and it is able to exchange data between a backend side and an application. Apart from this, it also comes with functionality for headers, multipart request body, mocking responses, file upload and download, and much more. 

Features of Retrofit

• It is a super lightweight cross platform app development framework in 2020 and it comes with a short learning curve. 
• It is a type-safe HTTP client for both Android and Java. It works with both synchronous and asynchronous API. 
• The entire development task can be super easy with the Retrofit library and Gson converter.

Now we have the long list of top 15 cross platform apps development frameworks that modern developers can easily use in 2020. These 15 options are expert-recommended also. When it comes to developing an application, you should first recognize your requirements and then you will be able to pick the best application development framework. 

If you are facing issues to find the best cross platform app frameworks or want someone to build an app for you using the best framework, you can directly contact us. We are 24/7 here for our clients. From making an app to upload it on various platforms- everything will be done within a short span of time with us. So, do not wait for more, let us know your requirements and serve the best cross platform app frameworks and apps on your plate!