Working with hybrid mobile app frameworks makes the lives of developers simpler. Let us see how.
The transition from desktop to mobile applications wasn’t sudden; it happened gradually. Mobile apps can reach wider and more diverse audiences more quickly. Speaking of mobile applications, several factors contribute to their success. Frameworks are one among them.
According to Statista’s Annual number of global mobile app downloads 2016-2022 report – The number of mobile app downloads worldwide has been increasing constantly from 2016 onward, surpassing 200 billion in 2019. In the most recently measured year, consumers downloaded 255 billion mobile apps to their connected devices, up by more than 80% from 140.7 billion app downloads in 2016.
Developers can write code once using these frameworks and create mobile applications compatible with major platforms without extra effort.
These apps seamlessly run on Android and iOS devices. Also, they can reuse the code for progressive web and desktop applications.
To embark on building hybrid apps, seven top frameworks stand out:
1. NativeScript
NativeScript, initially developed by Progress. It supports JavaScript and languages that convert to JavaScript, like TypeScript. It boasts strong integration with modern Angular versions. This offers features like Angular CLI integration, router support, and code generation.
NativeScript also integrates with Vue through a community plugin. It enables Vue CLI, Vuex, and other Vue.js features. Apps built with NativeScript are genuinely native.
They provide a platform-native UI without WebViews and ensure native performance. Developers can easily utilize third-party libraries from various sources without wrappers.
2. React Native
React Native allows developers to create mobile apps using JavaScript. It adopts the same design principles as React, enabling the construction of a rich mobile UI using declarative components.
With React Native, developers do not build a “mobile web app” or an “HTML5 app” but a real mobile app indistinguishable from those built with Objective-C or Java.
It uses the same fundamental UI building blocks as native iOS and Android apps but combines them using JavaScript and React.
3. Quasar
Vue.js powers the Quasar Framework. It empowers developers to write code once and deploy it as a website, mobile app (iOS, Android), and desktop application from a single code base.
Quasar offers state-of-the-art UI adhering to Google Material guidelines and various performance optimizations. It provides features like:
- Minification
- Cache busting
- Tree shaking
- Code-splitting
- Es6 transpiling
The framework offers extensive documentation and an active community. It claims to be the most performance-focused.
4. Kendo UI
Kendo UI offers an extensive collection of JavaScript UI components. These are compatible with jQuery, Angular, React, and Vue for hybrid mobile app development.
Powered by Progress Telerik, Kendo UI provides many ready-to-use widgets for various frameworks. This facilitates the rapid development of high-performance hybrid mobile apps.
While open-source, Kendo UI primarily targets enterprise customers. It offers world-class support and strict QA-tested components. Notable clients include HP, NASA, and numerous other global enterprises.
5. Ext JS
Ext JS is an enterprise-grade framework for building cross-platform web apps using HTML5 and JavaScript. It excels in developing data-intensive, cross-platform web and mobile applications.
With a native look and feel across supported platforms, Ext JS delivers near-native performance. It offers ready-to-use widgets for iOS, Android, Windows Phone, and Blackberry. It also features a drag-and-drop HTML5 visual application builder and supports integration with Angular and React.
Each hybrid mobile app framework caters to different needs. It ranges from a focus on performance to specific platform requirements. The choice depends on the project’s goals and whether for individual development or enterprise-grade solutions.
6. Axway Appcelerator
It is a JavaScript-based hybrid app framework. It offers full support for Android and iOS. This results in compiled code that combines native elements with JavaScript for enhanced performance in hybrid mobile app development. Notably, it offers integrations for Angular and Vue.
Appcelerator presents a valuable option for crafting hybrid mobile applications. To begin, one should acquire Titanium Studio and access the Titanium SDK.
It has various mobile platform APIs and Cloud services for app backend functionality. The framework’s platform-independent APIs simplify hardware access.
Appcelerator harnesses Hyperloop to unite Titanium’s cross-platform capabilities with direct native API interaction through JavaScript. It includes both free and paid plans.
7. Svelte Native
It stands as the newest contender in the hybrid app development arena. It has seen a rapid rise in its popularity among web developers.
Svelte Native relies on the synergy between Svelte and NativeScript. Diverging from approaches like React Native, which performs tasks on the mobile device, Svelte Native introduces a novel approach that shifts this workload to a build-time compile step.
Moreover, it forgoes techniques like virtual Document Object Model (DOM) diffing. Instead, it generates code that updates native view widgets in response to app stage changes.
It is important to note that this framework is still in its infancy and may exhibit some early-stage issues. Also, it could become a significant player in hybrid mobile app development.
Also Read: Best Practices for Enhancing Mobile Apps User Experience
Summing Up
These top 7 hybrid mobile app frameworks empower developers by simplifying cross-platform development. They allow code to be written once and deployed seamlessly on Android, iOS, web, and desktop applications.
Each framework offers unique strengths. They cater to various project requirements for performance-focused options.
The right framework choice depends on specific project goals. This makes hybrid app development more accessible and efficient for developers.
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