Hybrid or Native? This is a common question faced by any entrepreneur who wants to build a mobile app. If done correctly, cross-platform app development can provide many business benefits. Earlier it was difficult to build a hybrid app that had the performance similar to that of a native app. With the advent of modern Hybrid App Development frameworks like Flutter, React Native, Ionic and Mobile Angular UI, the quality gap between a hybrid and a native app has dwindled. We will have a look at the most popular cross-platform app development frameworks in this blog.
Best Hybrid app development frameworks that will rule in 2022
Hybrid app development has experienced exponential growth in recent years. Many new cross-platform app development frameworks have evolved that allow the developers to build hybrid apps that have a near-native performance.
Flutter
Flutter, a hybrid app development SDK from the house of Google, has emerged as one of the most popular hybrid app development frameworks in recent years. Flutter has brought a new approach to hybrid mobile app development. Through Flutter, the app developers can build hybrid apps having a near-native performance.
Key features of Flutter
The following are the distinguishing features of Flutter that make the platform one of the best hybrid app development solutions out there.
All in one solution
Flutter is an all in one solution, and this is the fact that attracts so many developers to the platform. Flutter allows the developers to build attractive UIs, deploy these UIs into the system and fix any bugs that the developers find, all on the same platform.
Widgets
The Flutter developers often find it easier to build apps in Flutter than in other frameworks. The major reason why it is easy for Flutter developers to build apps is that Flutter has a rich library of widgets. The developers can select the widgets based on the platform, the type of app to be developed and the location of the users. Apart from widgets, Flutter also has a lot of animations that help the developers build a more interactive and lively app.
Hot Reloading
Usually, the developers need to wait for a few seconds to see the effect of their changes. With a unique feature known as Hot Reloading, Flutter eliminates the time taken for rendering. In Flutter, whenever the programmers make some changes in the code, the DVM- Dart Virtual Machine changes only the code that is required to execute, keeping the app’s current state intact. This unique capability of Flutter allows the developers to see the change in code.
When the user requests a change, the DVM – Dart Virtual Machine creates a widget tree. Due to this, only the code needed to execute the change gets affected while preserving the app’s current state on the virtual server. This allows Flutter developers to see the change without worrying about messing up the overall code.
Versatile framework
In terms of integration capabilities, scalability and flexibility, Flutter happens to be one of the most versatile frameworks out there. The developers can use Flutter to re-engineer old apps and make the necessary adjustments according to current market requirements. Using Flutter, the app developers can also build a wireframe quickly to present the app idea to potential investors.
Pros and cons of Flutter
Pros
Can build attractive UIs using widgets
Faster app development
Easy customization and rendering capabilities
Cons
Relatively new framework
Heavy and large apps
Smaller community
React Native
React Native happens to be one of the most famous hybrid app development technologies available today. Backed by Facebook, react-native allows the developers to build impressive cross-platform applications. Before you jump on the react-native bandwagon and hire React Native developers, do have a look at the salient features along with the pros and cons of react-native.
Key features of React Native
The following are the features that make React Native one of the most sought after hybrid app development frameworks in the industry today.
Code reusability
One of the most helpful features of React Native is the platform’s ability to allow the developers to write the code once and utilize it on multiple platforms like Android, iOS and even windows. With React Native, the developers need not rewrite entire code from scratch for different platforms. Instead, react-native allows the developers to make minor modifications in the code and run the code on multiple platforms.
Support of third-party libraries
React Native supports a wide range of third-party libraries. Using the power of these libraries, the developers can easily enhance the performance of their React Native apps.
Native modules
React Native has JavaScript functions known as native modules. These native modules help the developers build apps with a near-native experience.
Pros and cons of React Native
Pros
- Fast to build apps with React Native
- Large developer community
- Older hybrid platform
Cons
- It has limitations in terms of debugging
- No custom modules
- Steep learning curve
Ionic
An HML5 based hybrid mobile app development framework, Ionic is built using technology layers to allow the developers to build feature-packed apps having an impressive interface. While the bottom layer uses AngularJS, the top layer uses Apache Cordova. AngularJS helps the developers build web apps, while Cordova helps them to build native apps. Thus, Ionic allows the developers to build hybrid apps that have exquisite native as well as web app features.
Key features of Ionic
Web standards
Reliable web technologies like JavaScript, CSS and HTML have been used to build Ionic. Ionic also uses modern APIs like custom elements and Shadow DOM. These factors help Ionic in having a stable API, unlike its competitors.
Compatibility
The high compatibility of Ionic is one of its major advantages. After version 4 of Ionic, the framework was refurbished so that it could work as a web component library. The idea behind doing this was to allow an Ionic app to be easily integrated with any top hybrid mobile app framework like Vue.js or React.js.
Compatibility with Angular
The Ionic developers get access to core Angular libraries. The Angular package makes it easy to integrate with the Angular ecosystem. The core Ionic systems easily work as a standalone web component library. The Angular package makes it easy for the Ionic developers to provide better features and functionalities to the Ionic apps.
Pros and cons of Ionic
Pros
Easy to learn
Has a single codebase
Better integration capabilities
Good documentation
Cons
Too much dependent on plugins
Has security concerns
No hot reloading
Big app size
Mobile Angular UI
The mobile Angular UI has two tools Angular and Bootstrap. Both of these tools have their own UI components. These tools allow the developers to build a great hybrid app. With mobile Angular UI, one need not take support from any other UI library.
Key features of mobile Angular UI
Mobile Angular UI helps the developers convert templates into optimized codes. This feature of Angular UI results in faster runtime performance. Understand that Angular is a popular web application development framework that is trusted by thousands of developers across the world. Mobile Angular UI offers a similar developer experience to those developers who want to build a mobile app using an Angular framework. With mobile Angular UI, it is very easy for developers to migrate a web app into a mobile app.
Pros and cons of mobile Angular UI
Pros
- Easy to learn the framework
- The developers can use Ionic components
- Easy access to UI components like modal, sidebars and switches
Cons
- Not as secure as some other platforms
- Difficult to debug
Hybrid is the way forward
The world is getting digital, and a mobile app can boost your business prospects in this digital world. A hybrid app is not only cost-effective, but it also increases your reach to the users of multiple platforms. A new era of hybrid app development frameworks has begun, an era that promises to bring a tectonic shift in hybrid app development. With the latest frameworks like Flutter, React Native, Ionic and Mobile Angular UI, it is now possible to build hybrid apps that have near-native performance.
Meta:- Want to build a hybrid app in 2022? Then you need to choose the best hybrid app development frameworks available in the market today.
