What are the top cross-platform app development frameworks in 2022?

With so many cross-platform app development frameworks available, it can be overwhelming to find the best fit for you. We’ve compiled a list of five tools you can use within your organization.

The continued growth in the app development market has created a surge in the adoption of cross-platform app development across mobile technology companies in recent years. A 2022 statistical projection puts the total revenue in the app market to be around $437 billion.

This trend has caused a drop in the use of native development, resulting in higher demand for the more economic-friendly cross-platform development frameworks. Consequently, there is an overwhelming amount of cross-platform app development tools floating around.

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This post will round up the top cross-platform app development tools in 2022 and their features.

What is a cross-platform app development framework?

A cross-platform app framework is used to develop apps for the different operating systems from a single codebase. With cross-platform frameworks, developers can easily code applications once and deploy them to run effectively across various platforms such as iOS, Android and Windows.

This application development method saves time and increases productivity for app development companies. Below are the best cross-platform app development frameworks in 2022.

Top frameworks for developing cross-platform apps in 2022

Ionic

Ionic is a popular cross-platform framework that runs on AngularJS. It’s been in the application development space for a long time. With Ionic, developers can use a combination of programming languages such as Javascript, HTML5, CSS and a Cordova wrapper to access native platform controllers easily. This cross-platform tool enables app developers to create unique and beautiful user interfaces and user-experience functionalities within the app.

Features

• Open-source front-end framework
• Based on the SAAS UI framework
• Uniquely designed to work on mobile operating systems
• Top choice for businesses that use progressive web app development

React Native

React Native allows users to write actual code using a JavaScript framework. The tool is popular among firms dedicated to developing exceptional app solutions. React Native is also an open-source tool with a sizable community around it, making it a beginner-friendly framework and one where users can easily get help when stuck.

In addition, React Native is created to combine JavaScript and React.JS, allowing developers to write modules in Objective-C, Swift or Java. Apart from the programming features, developers can now perform complex operations like video processing, image editing and other activities using native modules and libraries in React Native.

Features

• React Native is based on React, which has about the best in class JavaScript libraries.
• The app is compatible with third-party plugins like Google Maps.
• React Native has one of the best responsive user interfaces.
• Apps Developed with the React Native framework are known for having a pleasant UI/UX.

Flutter

Flutter is an open-source cross-platform framework developed by Google. The tool facilitates the development of applications from iOS, Android, Linux, macOS, Fuchsia and Windows from a single codebase.

Although Flutter is one of the contemporary cross-platform tools, it has gained massive ground in the app development market. One unique thing about Flutter is that it comes with a built-in graphics engine. This means that the hassle of creating different interfaces for iOs and Androids is solved when you use Flutter.

Features

• With Flutter, developers can use a portable GPU to execute graphics code from the Flutter engine.
• The tool eliminates the need to update your application’s UI components manually.
• Flutter offers a great choice for developing minimum viable products because it matches speed with cost-effectiveness.
• With Flutter, you can easily trace your code changes when you recreate a widget tree.

Xamarin

Xamarin is an open-source cross-platform tool for building modern responsive iOS, Android and Windows applications. It’s mainly used in enterprise environments and has a huge user base. The top features developers can benefit from this app are garbage allocation and memory allocation.

Features

• The tool is good at eliminating hardware compatibility issues.
• The native libraries allow developers room for native-level customization.
• The framework supports the incorporation of objective-C, C++ and Java, making it easy for developers to use third-party codebases.
• The tool also speeds up and lowers the cost of mobile app development because of its compile-time checking.

Node.js

Node.js is another popular cross-platform app development tool built on the chromeV8 javascript engine with the capacity to execute codes outside the web browser. It’s best suited for server-side development and scalable networking applications.

Features

• Node.js support asynchronous programming as servers running Node.js do not wait for API data.
• The tool has a library capable of executing codes at high speed.
• The framework has buffer classes and libraries such as stream-buffers to speed up stream data access.

Choosing a cross-platform app development framework

All cross-platform app development frameworks are built with efficiency and scalability in mind. Which of these frameworks is suitable for your business? Unfortunately, there is no straightforward answer to this as your choice is subject to your business model and application requirements.