Top Mobile App Development Frameworks in 2022
Mobile app development frameworks are useful in solving key mobile technologies and making them easily accessible. That said, knowing which framework to use can be a challenge, as they are often chosen based on technological preferences or the requirements of the project.
Additionally, since the popularity of these frameworks can change over time, you always want to know what is trending and what to adopt so that you can develop the best app possible.
In this article, we’ll look at three of the best mobile app development frameworks for 2022. We’ll also look at a couple of frameworks that have fallen out of favor and explain why you might avoid them.
What are the Best Mobile App Development Frameworks in 2022?
This can be a tricky question to answer because, ultimately, it depends on what you’re trying to build, how big your team is, what features you need in your app and many other factors.
Let’s briefly look at three of the latest frameworks in more detail and go over what each one is and why it’s a great choice for mobile development in 2022.
React Native
React Native is a JavaScript framework for building native mobile apps. It uses the same UI primary building blocks as regular iOS apps and Android apps.
With React Native, you can build applications that work on both platforms without having to write different codebases for each one of them. This means that your development team won’t have to deal with two different programming languages (JavaScript and Java).
React Native is used by many companies, such as Facebook, Instagram, Airbnb, Baidu, Tesla Motors Inc., Uber Technologies Inc., Bloomberg Media Group LLC, and more than 500 other companies from around the world, so it’s definitely something worth considering if you want your app to stand out among all the others.
Flutter
Flutter is an open-source mobile app development framework used to create high-quality native apps on iOS and Android from a single codebase.
Flutter apps are written in Dart, which has been heavily optimized for mobile devices. Flutter also supports Firebase Cloud Messaging (FCM) for sending push notifications and offers a plugin architecture so you can use third-party libraries.
In addition to its cross-platform functionality, Flutter offers a number of other advantages: it’s fast and gives you great control over animations, it supports hot reloading, the UI elements are built using material design, and there are plenty of tutorials available online. Developers love working with Flutter because they can create beautiful apps at an accelerated pace.
Xamarin
Xamarin is a mobile app development framework for building native apps using C# or F#. It supports Android, iOS, and Windows platforms. Xamarin also supports many different third-party libraries so that you can use them in your app without any hassle.
Unlike other frameworks, Xamarin does not require you to learn new languages or technologies–like Kotlin for Android or Swift for iOS–but instead allows developers to use their existing skills in C# or F#, which makes it easier for them to develop cross-platform apps with ease.
Xamarin is owned by Microsoft and is also one of the most popular choices when it comes to choosing between hybrid app development frameworks due to its amazing features like Native UI and shared codebase, which helps developers reduce their development time.
There are a few flaws with this framework, such as a lack of updates since 2017, no support for Google Play Services (GS) dependencies on Android, and slower update cycles than React Native, etc. Overall though, it’s still considered one of the best frameworks available right now.
What are Some Mobile Development Frameworks to Avoid in 2022?
Now that we’ve looked at three great options, it’s worth pointing out that there are three lesser options that you may choose to avoid in 2022. Let’s briefly go over these frameworks so that you can understand why they aren’t recommended for your mobile app development project in 2022 and beyond.
Cordova
Cordova has been around for years, so it’s not a new technology. It’s a hybrid app framework that uses web technologies to build apps with a native user interface.
The problem with Cordova is that its APIs are constantly changing due to changes in underlying web technology. In other words, if you’re building an app today on Cordova and want it to work on iOS or Android five years from now, there’s no guarantee that it will work as expected.
In addition, Cordova apps don’t perform as well as native ones because they’re running in a browser engine instead of using the device’s hardware directly (which is why we recommend using React Native instead).
Ionic
Ionic has been around for a few years now, and it’s not going anywhere anytime soon. But to be honest, it’s not the best choice. Ionic was built on top of AngularJS, and while the most recent iteration has been updated to support the latest versions of Angular, it’s still a framework that’s on its way out.
If you’re looking for a simple framework for building hybrid apps, then Ionic might still work for you. But if you want to develop native apps, or if you just want something more robust with better performance, then you would be better off with React Native or Xamarin.
PhoneGap
PhoneGap is a framework that lets you build mobile apps using HTML, CSS, and JavaScript. This allows developers to use their existing web development skills in order to create mobile apps.
The reason PhoneGap is so problematic is that it’s very difficult to find developers who know how to use it properly. The framework itself isn’t bad; it’s just that most developers don’t have the right kind of experience needed to use it effectively.
There are Plenty of Great Choices on the Market
Because almost everything in the front-end world is a tradeoff, it’s impossible to say with certainty which framework is “best.”
Every project is different and every team is different, so frameworks that work well for one might not work well for another. There simply isn’t an all-encompassing framework that works perfectly for every possible situation.
However, it’s safe to say that some frameworks are certainly better than others; and in 2022 React Native, Flutter, and Xamarin are some of the best frameworks for mobile app development. If you’re looking to have a mobile app developed but don’t know how to tackle the project yourself, outsource your project to the team of experts at Touch To.