Developers with strong views in support of and against one way may be found in every forum discussion regarding native vs. cross-platform software development. Few would acknowledge that each has advantages and disadvantages. Who is correct, then?
In actuality, it relies on your company’s objectives. Cross-platform and native solutions may both be very good, but which one you choose will depend on your particular requirements. Those who believe that both strategies have merit in this instance are right.
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TL;DR
For those of you who are already familiar with the fundamentals and only need assistance choosing between developing native and cross-platform apps, here is a brief synopsis of the essay.
The Third Method: Multiplatform Kotlin
If you wish to share logic and data processing code while maintaining native code for user interface and platform-specific features, take into consideration Kotlin Multiplatform (KMP).
You have a project that needs both high performance and quick development, but isn’t unduly dependent on platform-specific capabilities.
You want to combine the cost effectiveness and quicker time to market of cross-platform development with the performance and user experience of native applications.
By providing you with the advantages of both native and cross-platform programming, KMP provides a compromise.
A native mobile application: what is it?
Native mobile applications are made especially for iOS or Android. These are created by developers using platform-specific programming languages and tools, allowing their application to fully use the capabilities of the operating system.
Java or Kotlin are the options for Android. Android developers initially used Java, but in 2017, Google released Kotlin. Due to its support for both functional and object-oriented programming, the latter has becoming more and more popular.
Developers use Swift or Objective-C for iOS. The initial programming language used for iOS development was Objective-C, which is an extension of C. Swift, a high-level, contemporary language with improved performance and an easier-to-learn grammar, was released by Apple in 2014.
Native mobile applications include, for example:
Google Maps, WhatsApp, and Uber
These programs provide improved performance and user experience since they are tailored for their specific operating systems.
Tools for native apps
Native mobile development necessitates an integrated development environment (IDE) in addition to operating system-specific software development kits (SDKs).
Tools for Android development:
Android Studio
With extensive functionality and close connection with the Android SDK, this is the official IDE for Android programming.
IDEA IntelliJ
A potent JetBrains IDE renowned for its robust code navigation and refactoring capabilities.
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VS Code, or Visual Studio Code
An versatile and lightweight code editor that supports Android development via extensions.
ADT and Eclipse
An older but still popular IDE for creating Android applications that offers Android Development Tools.
Tools for iOS development:
Xcode
With all the tools required to create, test, and submit applications to the App Store, this is the official IDE for iOS development.
Mac version of Visual Studio
Microsoft IDE that facilitates iOS programming.
Benefits of in-house mobile apps
Improved performance
Platform-specific optimization makes them very responsive and quick.
Increased security
User privacy is improved by having access to platform-specific security measures.
High-quality UX
A seamless user experience that follows operating system design requirements and has a uniform appearance and feel.
Complete access to the feature set
Access to every feature and capability of the smartphone for a more comprehensive user experience.
Few bugs
Instant access to new features and improved SDK versions.
Wide-ranging functionality
Infinite access to the platform’s tools and APIs.
Improved support for the app store
Better performance makes it easier to publish and gives it a higher rating in retailers.
Excellent scalability
More scalable as a result of the tools’ availability and resource management flexibility.
Excellent UX and high performance
Better UX and great performance are the outcomes of direct code-resource interaction.
Drawbacks of in-house mobile apps
Expensive development
It is more expensive and needs different teams to develop for iOS and Android.
Time-consuming
Because distinct code bases are required, development and maintenance take longer.
Inability to reuse code
Platform-specific code reuse is impossible, necessitating distinct projects.
A cross-platform mobile application: what is it?
With cross-platform app development, developers may use a single code base to build mobile applications for many operating systems, including iOS and Android. In contrast, native app development need distinct codebases for every platform.
Cross-platform frameworks are used by developers to do this, allowing them to access the particular tools and libraries for each platform (such as the iOS and Android SDKs) via a unified interface. This facilitates the development and maintenance of applications for several platforms.
In order to make cross-platform mobile apps feel like native apps on each platform, they are usually compiled to utilize native UI components. These frameworks provide the underlying platform SDKs access to device sensors and functions like the GPS, camera, microphone, and battery level via an abstraction layer.
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Well-known cross-platform frameworks consist of:
Meta’s React Native
In March 2015, Meta published React Native, an open source smartphone framework. It’s a great option for developing cross-platform apps using JavaScript and, as of version 0.71, TypeScript.
Important characteristics:
Reusability: iOS and Android share code.
Hot Reloading: View code changes instantly without having to restart.
Native components: Apps have a native appearance and feel.
Big community: Get access to a large number of resources, plugins, and libraries.
Excellent performance: Compatible with the majority of mobile devices.
Third-party libraries: Easily add new features.
React Native applications:
Manager of Instagram Meta Ads, Pinterest and Skype
Flutter
Google’s open source user interface framework, Flutter, was formally unveiled in December 2018. Natively built applications for iOS, Android, Windows, macOS, Linux, Google Fuchsia, the web, and embedded devices may be made with a single code base. The Dart programming language is used by Flutter.
Important attributes:
Write once and run on many platforms with a single codebase.
Hot Reload: View code changes immediately without having to restart the application.
Create beautiful and responsive user interfaces with customizable widgets.
Excellent performance: For speed, it makes use of Dart’s Ahead-of-Time (AOT) compilation.
Open source: backed by a large and vibrant development community.
Platform customization: Adapt apps to the design specifications of the platform.
Get native features: Use plugins to include device-specific functionalities.
Apps developed with Flutter:
Alibaba’s Xianyu via Google Ads Hamilton myBMW
Ionic
With its smooth interaction with Angular, React, and Vue, Ionic is an open source UI toolkit that was released in 2013 and is used to create cross-platform desktop and mobile applications utilizing web technologies like HTML, CSS, and JavaScript.
Important characteristics:
Web technologies: Make use of JavaScript/TypeScript, HTML, and CSS.
UI toolkit: A vast array of UI elements that are responsive.
Connect Cordova and Capacitor to native device functionality by integrating with plugins.
Plugins and community: A robust community and a large collection of plugins.
Enterprise services: Provides commercial services including a CI/CD platform, specialized support, and tools for SSO, encrypted storage, and biometrics.
Ionic-created applications:
T-Mobile Sworkit Kotlin Multiplatform Pacifica MarketWatch
Kotlin Multiplatform, created by JetBrains and released in 2017, allows programmers to create shared Kotlin code for desktop, online, server-side, iOS, and Android apps. On November 1, 2023, it was deemed stable and suitable for production.
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Tools for cross-platform apps
You need specialized tools for each platform in order to develop and implement cross-platform mobile applications. The Android SDK has to be installed on a Windows, macOS, or Linux computer in order to use Android. Xcode and the iOS SDK are required for iOS, and a macOS device is required.
Visual Studio Code
A code editor that supports React Native development and is lightweight and adaptable.
Android Studio
Offers React Native applications strong capabilities and close interaction with the Android SDK.
Webstorm
A powerful JetBrains IDE that supports React Native and JavaScript well.
The Atom
GitHub offers a hackable text editor with a number of React Native developer plugins.
IDEA IntelliJ
A feature-rich IDE for Flutter development by JetBrains.
Benefits of cross-platform mobile apps
Cheap
Development expenditures are decreased since just one team of developers is required. By rapidly releasing on both platforms, the app may reach a larger audience, aiding in market testing and rapid momentum.
Reusability of code
Consistency of business logic across platforms is ensured by using a single code base.
Quick development
To shorten time to market, increase productivity and reuse code. The process is further accelerated by simplified application testing during development.
Simpler upkeep
Because there is just one code base to maintain, updates are simpler. This guarantees uniformity across builds aimed at various platforms.
Drawbacks of cross-platform mobile apps
Greater digital footprint
Because cross-platform apps are often bigger, mobile optimization is important.
Integrations that are challenging
Platform-specific features don’t always integrate well. Native development expertise could be needed for hardware-specific integrations, such employing GPUs.
Decreased efficiency
When compared to native apps, an extra abstraction layer and runtime may cause performance issues.
Features of the delayed platform
It can take longer to get new platform capabilities until the cross-platform
Which is better, cross-platform or native?
It’s crucial to decide between developing applications natively versus cross-platform. Your audience, budget, development schedule, performance, and security needs are just a few of the numerous variables to take into account. To assist you in selecting the optimal strategy for your project, here is a comparison.
The Third Method: Multiplatform Kotlin
Kotlin Multiplatform (KMP) provides a special method that blends the benefits of cross-platform and native programming. As I previously said, KMP allows you to share code for data processing and logic while retaining native code for user interface and platform-specific features. This implies that cross-platform development offers the cost-effectiveness and quicker time to market of native applications while maintaining the performance and user experience of native apps. Getting the best of both worlds is what it is.