Top 4 cross-platform app development tools for 2020-2021
Tags: reactnative, ios, android, development
Published: 2020-10-01 13:46:49

In most cases, native software technologies are incompatible with each other. Java cannot be used for developing iOS applications. You can’t employ Swift to create smartphone solutions for Android.

As a consequence, engineers have to build the same algorithms, features, and business logic for different operating systems and using different tools. 

Although the end software product has high quality, writing two codebases—which means that you need to hire both iOS and Android developers—is likely to be too costly. 

Additionally, this increases the working time for debugging and post-launch project maintenance. 

Cross-platform frameworks emerged to address these challenges. Although native apps usually provide enhanced user experience (UX) and performance, now cross-platform technologies allow development teams to make great modern applications much faster. 


<h2>The key advantages of cross-platform development are:</h2>

- cost reduction
- reduced time-to-market
- facilitated project maintenance after release
- hiring only one team to build an application for two or more operating systems
- the ability to reuse the code across different platforms



As today’s market is very competitive, vendors constantly improve their technologies, making enhancements and releasing updates. In this article, I will consider React Native, Flutter, Apache Cordova (formerly PhoneGap), and Xamarin. Let’s get started!


<h2>Top 4 cross-platform frameworks for 2020-2021</h2>


<h3>1. React Native</h3>

React Native is one of the most well-known cross-platform technologies that we mainly employ in our [custom software development company](https://smartym.pro/). 

When React Native was initially released 5 years ago, it quickly gained huge popularity. Software engineers finally got the ability to write mobile solutions that look and perform like native apps. 

React Native is an open-source framework that was invented by Facebook on the base of React, a [JavaScript](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/JavaScript) library for making UIs (user interfaces). 

When working with React Native, changes to the code can be easily reloaded without rebuilding the whole product. The idea behind React Native is that you compose the UI from JavaScript cubes, which significantly simplifies the development process.

Using this technology, you can create apps for both mobile and web devices. React Native supports the “Learn once, write anywhere” paradigm, allowing the customer to reduce costs and time-to-market. It is especially suited for making scalable and performant applications.

At the moment, thousands of digital products are built with this framework, from Fortune 500 companies to high potential startups.

Facebook, Instagram, Tesla, Oculus, Walmart, Skype, Pinterest, SoundCloud Pulse, and many others [employ React Native](https://reactnative.dev/showcase) in their projects.

React Native [takes the 3rd place](https://insights.stackoverflow.com/survey/2019#most-popular-technologies) on the list of the “Most wanted frameworks, libraries, and tools” on StackOverflow Developer Survey 2019. 

In 2018, this cross-platform technology had the 2nd highest number of open-source contributors. including programmers from Microsoft, Expo, Infinite Red, etc.

Explore [the main benefits of React Native](https://smartym.pro/blog/latest-technology-trends-will-react-native-solve-all-challenges/) for cross-platform development.


<h3>2. Flutter</h3>

Invented by Google, Flutter is a user interface development kit that enables programmers to create modern and high-performance solutions for mobile and web devices. Flutter is an open-source tool that you can access for free. 

Although it was released just 3,5 years ago, it quickly won the hearts of developers. 

Many world-famous companies chose this technology to build their projects, for instance, Alibaba Group, Baidu, Grab, Nubank, and eBay. Check out [more examples](https://flutter.dev/showcase) on the official Flutter’s website.

Allowing teams to reuse Java, Swift, and Objective-C code, the framework has rich functionality: APIs for 2D, third-party SDKs, animation, and other cool features to write beautiful apps. 

Flutter provides Stateful Hot Reload, which lets software engineers easily make changes and see the result without losing the product state. 

With numerous fully-customizable widgets, it helps create native user interfaces much faster. These widgets incorporate OS differences that include fonts, icons, navigation, etc. 

This enables programmers to ensure high product speed and native look across all platforms. Flutter contains detailed documentation with multiple samples, text and video tutorials. 

According to StackOverflow Developer Survey 2019, Flutter takes the third place in the list of the most loved tools, libraries, and frameworks globally.


<h3>3. Apache Cordova (formerly PhoneGap)</h3>

Apache Cordova is another popular cross-platform technology for mobile app development. 

Invented by Adobe Systems, it allows programmers to make digital products for each operating system—iOS, Android, Windows, etc.—by leveraging standards-based web tools to bridge the gap between mobile devices and web applications.

Built with HTML5, this open-source framework employs HTML, CSS, and JavaScript. Apache Cordova doesn’t require the use of SDKs, hardware, and compilers to create smartphone solutions. 

The tool also provides engineers with a wide range of plugins that facilitate the development process.

Apache Cordova is especially suited for building simple projects that are intended to have 5-18 screens. 

If your objective is to launch a smartphone application to address internal business challenges while having a small audience, this framework will be a great choice.


<h3>4. Xamarin</h3>

Xamarin is a cross-platform framework, which can be accessed and used for free. Extending the [.NET platform](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/.NET_Framework), it provides developers with tools to build software for multiple devices and operating systems, including, iOS, Android, Windows, and tvOS.

Programmers employ Xamarin, .NET, and a C# to write performant mobile solutions that ensure a consistent user experience across all platforms. Furthermore, it contains a variety of libraries to access native APIs, animation, and 2D graphics.

It also offers various tools and features, for instance, AI-Assisted IntelliSense that allows using artificial intelligence in the software development process to write and audit code faster.

Enabling real-time collaboration, Visual Studio Live Share lets teams edit the codebase and fix bugs simultaneously. Xamarin is a perfect choice if you want to launch a high-performance cross-platform solution.

As of April 2017, about 1.5 million software engineers used Xamarin and its products in 120 countries globally. Xamarin is supported by the community of over 60,000 open-source contributors from all over the world.


<h2>Summing it up</h2>

React Native, Flutter, Apache Cordova, and Xamarin are one of the best cross-platform technologies for 2020. React Native is a great choice if the primary goal is to launch a beautiful performant application that offers a seamless user experience.

Flutter is rather a new technology that enables software engineers to create quality modern products while reducing time-to-market. Flutter provides a variety of highly customizable widgets to facilitate and automate the development process.

The main advantage of Apache Cordova is that it bridges web and mobile by using standards-based tools. You should employ it in case you aim to release a simple application with up to 18 screens.

Xamarin offers many useful features to launch digital products for a number of operating systems, including iOS, Android, watchOS, and others. If your programmers have experience in working with Xamarin, .NET, and C#, this is excellent news.


Certainly, there are other cool cross-platform frameworks. I described 4 technologies that we enjoy in our [mobile app development team](https://smartym.pro/mobile-app-development/) the most. 

Furthermore, many world-known organizations use React Native, Flutter, PhoneGap, and Xamarin to address technical challenges. If you want to share your thoughts about the topic, feel free to leave comments below.