Cross-platform app development is key to expanding a business’s market reach and customer age. It is all about developing applications and systems that run everywhere using a shared codebase. Many companies find it cost-effective to create apps that are easy to run on iOS, Android, and other devices, making cross-platform development a cost-effective way to deploy apps globally within the least possible time.
The recent trends in cross-platform app development include React Native, Xamarin, and Flutter frameworks, making it easier to create beautiful, scalable, and information-rich applications with embedded widgets, native UI components, and functionality. Let us look at the benefits of cross-platform app development, its user experience, and future trends that will continue to shape this development approach.
Benefits of Cross-Platform App Development: Cost-Effectiveness and Time Efficiency
Every business strives to achieve its objectives with the least possible cost. Cross-platform app development is aimed at achieving that, making cost-effectiveness the biggest benefit of this approach. The use of a single codebase makes it easier to develop mobile apps and web apps that include similar user interfaces, elements, and features. This allows companies to allocate budgets and resources for the development of features such as machine learning and robust database integration to provide customers with more contextual and personalized results.
Moreover, cross-platform apps have a faster development cycle with reduced testing and deployment times. It becomes easier to adopt new elements or features and implement them with quicker time-to-market.
Platforms like React Native and Flutter have live reload and hot reload features that help make iterative changes without the need to rebuild the app. There are also several pre-built libraries, documentation, and tutorials that make mobile app development services much faster than standalone app development.
Expanding Your Audience: Reaching Users on Multiple Platforms
Businesses prefer to use cross-platform apps because it helps them read a wider audience on multiple platforms, such as the web, Android, and iOS. A single codebase ensures that the app stays coherent irrespective of the screen size, type of device, or mobile platform.
Notable apps that use cross-platform functionality include Walmart, Google Play, Airbnb, Instagram, Skype, Netflix, and Skype. Although they may have used different development frameworks they maintain UI/UX and features consistency that helps users benefit from the app.
If you are looking to expand your customer reach, you should opt for mobile app development services that specialise in adding cross-platform functionality to your apps. Untitled10, with its command over multiple frameworks such as Flutter, Ionic, Node.js, and .NET, can develop mobile and web apps that can help you dominate the global business strategy, helping you reach new customers beyond borders.
User Experience Across Devices: Maintaining Consistency in Design and Functionality
Maintaining consistency across UI?UX functionality is a key challenge cross-platform developers face. However, the following are some areas to look for to maintain high consistency between your apps:
- Ensure the screen size fits all devices.
- Get your apps to pass the quality assurance phase before they are deployed across devices.
- Maintain visual consistency with typography and colours, ensuring it is readable for users.
- While platform rules may differ, the app should maintain fluid navigation and UI patterns.
Existing platforms like Flutter and React Native can help developers achieve consistency while maintaining shared code across devices. This can help your users enjoy the same features, UI elements, and design, whether they are Android or iOS users.
Future Trends in Cross-Platform Development: What to Expect in 2024 and Beyond
Future trends in cross-platform development include the use of progressive web apps (PWAs), integration of machine learning and artificial intelligence, the evolution of the UI/UX designs to being more personalized yet minimalist, and the expansion of the Internet of Things (IoT) services that makes life easier for the consumer. Beyond the usual, cross-platform development is quickly adopting low-code/no-code platforms that provide drop-and-drag functionality for even faster app deployment.
Moreover, platforms like Flutter and React Native are also experiencing changes. While Flutter may integrate complex UI and animation features that reduce the need for external libraries, React Native, with recent updates to its architecture, continues to embed a rich Javascript console that has improved built-in components and DevTools. This, combined with virtual reality components and cloud-based solutions, will power the future of cross-platform development.
Additionally, if you want to adopt a different platform for cross-platform app development, Kotlin Multiplatform Mobile (KMM) is also a prospect that can help you scale your apps. Currently used by Netflix, CashApp, and others, it can be utilized to integrate ML functionalities to reduce the time it takes to code across platforms.
Case Studies: Successful Cross-Platform Apps and Their Market Impact
Airbnb is an excellent example of a cross-platform and hybrid app that was able to increase market share while reducing production costs and deployment times.
The short and long homestays company began with Objective-C for iOS and Java for Android but quickly faced challenges with longer deployment times and difficulty synchronizing features. Between 2015 and 2017, they moved to a unified codebase to ensure consistent experiences across devices, choosing React Native as their framework of choice. Airbnb continues to use Swift and Kotlin combined with React Native to maintain resource efficiency and consistent UX.
Conclusion
Transitioning to cross-platform application development can be a pivotal decision for many businesses. While cross-platform has its benefits of cost and time efficiency, it also has many trade-offs, such as performance issues, lags, and inability to adjust complex features due to either iOS or Android system limitations. Irrespective, it can deliver a consistent user experience across multiple platforms, being an ideal choice at a low cost. Contact Unititled10 today and let us develop your cross-platform mobile app that can help your business grow.
Frequently Asked Questions
What is cross-platform app development, and how does it differ from native development?
Cross-platform development involves the use of a unified and single codebase that is easy to implement and manage across both Android and iOS platforms. This reduces the need to allocate resources for native apps that are difficult to manage and scale in the current global context.
Which frameworks are best for cross-platform app development in 2024?
Many estbialished framrworks such as React Native, Kotlin Multiplatform Mobile (KMM), Ionic, Flutter, and Xamarin can be used as best for cross-platform development in 2024.
What are the cost implications of choosing cross-platform development over native development?
Due to the use of a single codebase, cross-platform development is less resource-intensive, leading to lower development costs as well. Many businesses choose this approach to lower their production costs while investing more in features.