What Tools are used in Native, Hybrid and Cross-Platform App Development?

August 23 , 2024 Posted by Admin

In the app development workflow, enterprises now have three major options: native for each OS, hybrid, the combination of native and web solutions, and cross-platform, which utilizes platform-specific languages and tools that are combined into native code.

The app development market is now a hugely consuming enterprise of all industries.

As per Statista, even in 2024, mobile apps are likely to earn more than 935 billion U.S. dollars in income from in-app advertising and paid downloads.

But what makes these apps so powerful? This needs to be illuminated: the answer is the tool developers uses, making them a solid platform for clients and businesses alike.

Also, if you want to build an app for your enterprise, get our mobile app development services now—we are reliable, affordable, and experienced in handling the easiest to most complex app development projects.

Tools used in native mobile app development

Native apps do separate creation job for each OS, so first discuss Android native app development, then move to iOS app development.

Tools used for Android native app development

Android native app development requires Android Studio, which is built on JetBrains’ IntelliJ IDEA software and supports the Kotlin and Java programming languages.

Java: In 1995, Java, an object-oriented language, was launched to be used in Android mobile and desktop apps. It comes with a large library, tools, and frameworks, marvellous performance, and a varied array of client support.

• Type: Native
• Extensive Libraries: Android SDK Libraries (e.g., JUnit, Mockito, Selenium (WebDriver), Jackson etc.)

Kotlin: In 20211, an open-source pragmatic programming language for Android app development came to life. As compared to Java, it is relatively easy to learn. Kotlin lets you write safe and clear code, works well with existing Java code, and has good tools to support developers.

• Type: Native
• Extensive Libraries: Android SDK Libraries (e.g., Ktor, Coroutine, Room Database, Koin etc.)

Tools used for iOS native app development

Xcode, an Apple IDE, is used in iOS native app development. It is a graphical interface that covers all the code needed for iOS apps. Developers can use two programming languages, swift and Objective-C, using Xcode.

Swift: Apple launched it in 2014. Swift is an open-source programming language with an easy-to-understand syntax and is faster than Objective-C. It is memory-safe and type-safe, implying that it stops type errors. It is also open source and has a large supportive community.

• Type: Native
• Extensive Libraries: iOS SDK Libraries (e.g., UIKit, Foundation, Core Data, SwiftUI)

Objective C, launched in the mid-1980s, is an object-oriented programming language. Before 2014, it was the main language that Apple used and still supports for iOS app development. Its pros are that it is compatible with C and C++. Objective C can load code dynamically, suggesting it can make from heavy and complex to lightweight and simple apps.

• Type: Native
• Extensive Libraries: iOS SDK Libraries (e.g., UIKit, Foundation, Core Data, Core Animation) for building native iOS applications.

Tools for Cross-Platform and Hybrid Mobile App Development

After native, the better approach is cross-platform or hybrid app development. Although both are of different types, they most often use identical tools. So, let’s discuss what tool is used in both of these app development approaches.

React Native

Meta launched a famous open-source framework called React Native in 2015. Using this tool, developers can build hybrid and cross-platform apps using React and JavaScript, allowing them to share a single code for Android and iOS. React Native gives a performance similar to native. It comes with a large library of pre-built components.

• Type: Hybrid and Cross-Platform
• Extensive Libraries: React Native Libraries (e.g., React Navigation, Redux, Axios), Native Modules (e.g., camera, location)

Flutter

Google launched Flutter in 2014 as an open-source UI toolkit that uses the Dart programming language. This allows the creation of natively compiled apps for the web, desktop, and smartphones using one code structure. Flutter provides a visually pleasing and intuitive UI and comes with a large collection of customizable widgets.

• Type: Hybrid and Cross-Platform
• Extensive Libraries: Flutter Packages (e.g., provider, HTTP, sqflite, flutter_bloc)

Xamarin

Microsoft launched a new framework for hybrid and cross-app development called Xamarin. It uses .Net and the C# framework. Developers can make apps identical to native ones for Windows, Android and iOS with a single coding structure. Xamarin comes with a vast set of libraries and tools to create a UI/UX, intuitive and user-friendly app,

• Type: Hybrid and Cross-Platform
• Extensive Libraries: Xamarin.Forms Libraries, .NET Libraries (e.g., Xamarin. Essentials, SkiaSharp)

Ionic

Drifty Co. launched the Ionic hybrid app development framework in May 2013. It is used to create apps using a mixture of web technologies like CSS, JavaScript, and HTML. It offers a huge collection of plugins and UI components to smooth the workflow of mobile app development. Using a single-mode structure, Ionic can create apps for multiple platforms, such as iOS and Android, making app deployment and prototyping easy.

• Type: Hybrid and cross-platform
• Extensive Libraries: Ionic Framework Components (e.g., Ionic Native, Capacitor plugins, Angular, Vue, React integrations)

 Apache Cordova

It is an open-source mobile app development framework. Developers can make mobile apps using HTML, CSS, and JavaScript. These are then wrapped in a native container, which enables the app to access native device features through plugins, such as the camera or GPS, via a JavaScript API.

• Type: Hybrid and cross-platform
• Extensive Libraries: Cordova Plugins (e.g., Cordova-plugin-camera, Cordova-plugin-geolocation), Core APIs, and third-party plugins.

PhoneGap

Adobe, as a distributor of Apache Cordova, developed it. It is a branded version of Cordova with some add-on tools and services from Adobe. PhoneGap also allows for cross-platform and native app development using web technologies like HTML, CSS, and JavaScript to build the UI layer of the mobile app, which is then packaged in a native container.

Like Cordova, PhoneGap apps use plugins to access native device features. Their purpose is to make building and distributing hybrid apps easier, with some add-on features from Adobe.

• Type: Hybrid and cross-platform
• Extensive Libraries: PhoneGap Plugins (e.g., phonegap-plugin-push, phonegap-plugin-device), Adobe-specific tools, and services.

Build Your Own App

This guide lets you know almost all the vital tools used in native , hybrid, and cross-platform app development.

If you are ready to build any of these apps, connect with us to discuss your custom needs. We are a reliable mobile app development company. After you fill out the form by visiting our site, our professionals will approve your app project. You will receive the most friendly mobile app development services to develop a UX/UI and intuitive app.

Get our mobile app or web app development services now.