Best Cross-Platform Mobile App Development Tools for 2021 and their defining features

Best Cross-Platform Mobile App Development Tools for 2021 and their defining features

Reading Time: 7 minutes read


The ongoing Mobile Revolution is present to be all time high with different types of facile mobile phones getting manufactured and ingrained are the multifarious mobile apps. It is becoming a product of ubiquitous usage among the mobile users for performing their day to day activities. Apps stimulate you to at once book tickets, track delivery orders and place orders through the ecommerce platforms.

Almost every Mobile App Developer is keen on and interested in building cross-platform apps other than any type of apps. Momentarily, before we choose the best cross-platform app development services it becomes a necessity to precisely know about what cross-platform development are and their preferences among the many businesses.

What is Cross-Platform Development?

It can be creating an app for business utilizing separate apps that are available on cross platform tools especially, with programs developed through various languages getting integrated over a unique mobile platform.

Cross-platform mobile app development offer the technological advantage for developers to adhere to a single app and ensure its functionality gets operable across different mobile platforms. Some of the universal programming languages that can be used for this purpose are Javascript for React Native and Dart for Flutter. Businesses mostly prefer using the cross platform development simply for to achieve the mobile apps efficiency and business performance.

Why Cross-Platform App Development Framework?

The complexity of employee management on a daily basis can be efficiently sorted out using cross-platform mobile apps. This involves linking different types of mobile devices and platforms that originate from iOS, Android, Windows etc. Here we have specified the list of cross-platform app development approaches given below:

  • Hybrid Apps
  • Rapid Mobile App
  • Windows Universal Apps
  • Progressive Web Apps

In overall, the qualities of cross-platform apps have superseded native apps and hence we are going to highlight them in our following sections.

Best Cross-Platform App Development Tools

At first, businesses have to choose the right cross platform tool and framework for building an efficient app. With plenty of cross platform frameworks being made available, it is really a challenge for a mobile application development company to relay on a singular mobile platform. Therefore, we have handpicked the best 5 cross-platform development tools with defining features for businesses to depend on the 2021 year.

1. Phone Gap

Phone Gap is a versatile mobile app development framework that can be worked flexibility to deploy cross-platform apps. The Phone Gap has the ability to impress any designer who is well versed in working with front-end technologies. It is a free open-source software environment that permits integral development of cross-platform mobile app in 2021. This Framework is much popular among app developers and is also known to be called Apache Cordova.

Features

  • A sturdy Framework that is easy to work
  • Supports FOSS environment and easy to share
  • Anytime flexibility for developers


2. Appcelerator

Appcelerator basically works using JavaScript and then develops the universal code responses that engages in effortless deployment and testing of mobile applications. It is practically viable for experienced developers to reuse of the same codes and develop the cross-platform mobile application. The feasibility of Appcelerator Framework is far much higher present with the schema-less database, integrated with Arrow DB for achieving the zero setup efforts.

Features

  • It is a cost effective Framework
  • Java Scripting to pack, distribute and examine cross-platform apps
  • Fundamental Source Code is made accessible to the user at any time.

3. React Native

React Native is a Cross Platform Mobile Application tool that supports the notion learn once, write everywhere programming approach. It provides cross-platform app developers the opportunity to build native functionality over a singular code base and ensure to its portability across Android and iOS mobile applications. React Native will be a perfect fit for agile development that would be effective for building a category of projects.

Features

  • Delivers the look and feel of a Native Application
  • Modular and Intuitive cross platform mobile app framework
  • Great Support from Communities

Read Also – React Native End-to-end Testing and Automation with Detox

4. Flutter

Flutter is capable of handling the hot reloads through developing source codes that can be loaded into the Dart Virtual Machine. It gives cross platform app developers the chance to rebuilt the widget tree and then inspect for its flawless performances over the iOS and Android App. Flutter is among the favorites for all mobile app development company to quickly start their project and secure the end product by saving on valuable time.

Features

  • Maintain a single codebase for developers to get productive
  • Easy to use set of Creative Designs that is absolutely customizable
  • Develop the brand driven design at any time

5. Xamarin

Xamarin is a comprehensive cross platform framework for developing apps compatible with mobile, tablet and desktop system. It gives app developers the comfort zone to bear the complete responsibilities of both Android App Development and iPhone App Development in quick succession time. It supports the adaptation of C# and F# programming languages together with the Razor template engine. It has an intrinsic native interface that can be made used to build the latest products that exactly matches the client’s specifications.

Features

  • New Versions have a low disk impact present with quick installation times
  • Fantastic visual experience for mobile platforms
  • Based on the requirement install Android SDK

6. Ionic

Ionic Framework is built-in with the HTML5 programming codes to build Hybrid Apps effectively. It can help in providing the adequate support, speed and third party access for the end user who persist along with the Hybrid Apps instead of pure native apps. However, it demands each and every time for a wrapper like Cordova source code to continue working as a native app.

Features

  • Effective market your app among those users suffering from limited time
  • Get the Native-style UI Layout for cross platform apps
  • Leverage the use of cross platform API to call the native SDKs from web code 

7. Unity 3D

Unity 3D has a native app shell and a gaming engine to develop hybrid mobile apps in quick time. It can be used to build graphic-rich powerful games for Android, iOS and Windows Platforms. The Unity 3D Framework can also be utilized for building some of the non-gaming applications like educational, Home Design and Marketing Apps. It permits the use of other app-focused technologies including development platforms for building a native like application.

 

Features

  • Great Cross Platform Mobile App Development tool for streamline interface and workflow
  • Offer speedy cross platform app installation and setup
  • Easy to integrate Location based Apps

8. Felgo

Felgo provides an easy to use Software Development programming kit that can be accessed over a QT Framework. This framework consists of popular C++ structures that can be effectively utilized in cross platform development. Felgo leverages the QT core by using an app and game element. It achieves the status of a standalone platform through plugins for in-app purchases, analytical tools etc.,

Features

  • Swift and attractive native like cross-platforms apps resembling the best of UIs
  • Ability to build systems apps using JavaScript and C++
  • Build the multiplayer game faster using Felgo Cloud Services

9. RhoMobile

RhoMobile provides Rhodes through a Ruby-based open source framework. Basically, RhoMobile equips RhoHub a hosted development environment for cross platform app development vastly compatible over RIM, Windows, Symbian, Android and iPhone Devices. It uses RhoSync an independent server which can store up all the application data that needs to be integrated to your mobile apps along with the updates on user devices. It is one of the easiest of programming framework that can build native like applications best capable of achieving mobility across different mobile platforms.

Features

  • Ruby language is easier to write programs
  • Ruby Apps supports JRuby threads and can work with Java containers
  • RhoMobile offer the dry approach to programming and thus prevents the repetition of codes

10. Kony Mobile Platform

Kony Mobile Platform is capable of developing universal apps built-in with requisite features. It can handle channel-specific APIs, third-party library integrations through foreign function interface etc. Kony One Server helps businesses to produce mobile optimized contents with offline sync and thus enable SMS push notification to be transmitted on demand. Kony Visualizer has the ability to power the front end using multi-channel JS API Framework and so creates a wide array of services for smartphone brands like Android, Windows, iOS and Blackberry.

Features

  • Visualizer has the power to import all kinds of Native API
  • Supports the use of Jquery, Bootstrap and Angular Frameworks
  • Enable web contents to be packed within the app that fully comply native to web contexts.

11. Sencha

The Sencha ExtJS is mostly similar to React Native and equal on functionality. It has the resources to offer a visual application builder for HTML5 framework that can be further empowered by the reusability of custom components. Sencha produced cross platform apps can be tested and previewed over browsers and mobile apps at ease.

Features

  • Team productivity can be improved utilizing IDE plugins
  • Decrease the cost of web app development
  • Impressive MVC architecture for code readability

Conclusion

The steady progression of your mobile app development is largely dependent on the best cross platform mobile app development tools that you intent to choose, while taking full advantage of the cross-platform frameworks. The everlasting revolution steered by the internet would greatly influence your business to build an online presence. In the future, businesses will begin to shift online providing entrepreneurs the benefit of Mobility.

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Written by

Futuristic & Rebellious, Farah Azhar or Rudy as he is fondly referred to by teammates, is an expert analyst of modern discourse, and writes to offer new and inspiring perspectives on debatable topics. Farah Azhar is a seasoned writer with over 6 years of experience talking about Data & Analytics, AI & ML, and SDG initiatives.