5 Platforms That Mobile App Developers Use To Make The Development Process Smooth

09 Mar 2023

It is impossible to imagine a world without smartphones. In fact the usage of these phones has increased promptly, resulting in great demand for mobile applications. As per the survey conducted by the Statista, in 2020 more than 218 billion mobile apps had been downloaded. Statista has further predicted that the mobile application industry will be expected to generate nearly 613 billion USD by 2025.

Apparently, the use of mobile applications is growing, causing an increase in the demand for the development of mobile applications. Hence, to create a mobile application that has the potential to receive the acceptance of users it is important for the programming community to choose an appropriate mobile app development platform. Hire app developer that have thorough knowledge of using app development platforms.

What is an App Development Platform?

Mobile app development platform is a software that allows organizations to build and test an application quickly.

These MADPs encompass frontend app development toolkits, administration APIs and backend as a service (BaaS) products to aid businesses.

These platforms are useful both in the Android and iOS mobile application development and only few of them can be used to build cross-platform applications.

Features of Best Mobile App Development Platforms

• Codeless or low-code mobile application development platforms
• Code-centric developer tooling
• Micro mobile application development platform patterns
• Mesh app and service architecture (MASA)
• Monitoring and analytics
• Core back-end services
• AI Services
• DevOps support
• Mobile Application development platform compatibility
• Scalability
• Security

Advantages of Using an App Development Platform

Reduce Time to Market

To improve the speed of the development process which includes coding,testing, and launching an application; the existence of server-side support, pre-built toolkits, and integration with third- party applications is essential.

Once you have achieved this it becomes easy for you to trace the progress of your project and optimize the app building process. It will also give you enough time to market your product.

On the other hand, if you are a startup or even a small business and want to convince your investors. Then short time to market is a key to introducing a minimum viable product (MVP) as soon as possible. You can also hire app developer who can assist you in the development process.

Smaller Development Team

In countries like the USA, an average mobile app developer earns around 72K USD, as per a report published by PayScale.

In the pink companies can easily pay this amount but for SMEs it’s a challenge because they need to pay the entire development team or they can hire app developer. App development platforms are the perfect solution in a condition like this, these platforms help companies to build finest mobile applications.

Using these platforms during the development process reduces the operation costs and also eliminates the need to hire a big development team. Undeniably, businesses can initiate the mobile app development process with small development teams if they have subscribed to the MADPs.

No Hassles to Manage Infrastructure

When organizations work on the development process using MADPs they don’t feel the need to invest their time in buying, managing, and updating the infrastructure. Computing models such as BaaS, PaaS, IaaS, and SaaS, allow companies to build, administer, and deploy applications without physical data centers.

Indeed, these platform service providers have their own data centers across the globe that ensures uninterrupted services.

Best Mobile App Development Platforms

Microsoft Xamarin

With time Xamarin has become developers’ and users’ favorite because of its easy-to-use functionality. Moreover, the platform is suitable for Android, iOS, and Windows devices, and also offers cross-platform mobile application development services.

Pros

• One single code for an app can be used across multiple platforms (such as Android & iOS).
• Xamarin uses tools to test for problems. With the help of the Test Cloud function, developers can test more than 2,000 devices and can check the highest possible quality of the app.
• As part of Microsoft’s Visual Studio, Xamarin’s libraries and tools are free and open source.
• Since multiple platforms use one programming language it is easy and time-saving to update all the versions of an app at one time.

Cons

• The community of the Xamarin platform is limited because it's new in the market. Companies may find it difficult to look for an experienced Xamarin developer, while developers may have trouble finding help when they face challenges. Hire app developer in Xamarin today, all you need to do is contact SynapseIndia.
• The platform has fewer resources to manage its bugs.
• Xamarin library is extensive which means complex projects may require additional native coding.

Flutter

This Google open-source SDK is known for its modern appeal. It has achieved global recognition for its versatility in user interface construction and characteristics such as developing innovative and seamless animation. To create the most powerful applications, this mobile app platform uses dart language, which makes Flutter a great choice for developing 2D games or clothing store apps for iOS or Android.

Pros

• It is easy to fix bugs because it allows instant changes in the app.
• Flutter-based apps are known for their sleek performance
• Testing and quality assurance becomes easy and less time-consuming because of the single code base.
• Building an app in Flutter is fast and efficient.

Cons

• Apps developed under Flutter are weighty ones.
• The resource base of Flutter is limited, which means, your developers will need to write a few resources from scratch.
• It is essential to learn Dart if you want to work with Flutter.

Adobe PhoneGap

The mobile application development platform list is never-ending but if you are looking for something that can fit aptly into your future growth strategy then this platform is specifically designed for you. The open-source free framework of PhoneGap makes it easy for organizations to execute their expansion strategy. It is also possible to extend usage on the app by using plug-in architecture, thus becoming more useful for phone users.

Pros

• PhoneGap cross-platform ability makes it developers’ favorite. They can create a single app and can deploy it on all mobile platforms.
• The framework allows uniformity in cross-platform mobile app development.
• Working knowledge of Javascript, CSS3, and HTML5 is enough for developers to build a cross-platform application.
• The PhoneGap native-app container, PhoneGap Build supports several PhoneGap or Cordova plugins which helps in extending the native functionalities while developing apps.

Cons

• Since plugins with hooks are not supported by PhoneGap Builds so at times it can act as an obstacle to the functionality.
• Since it is essential to download iOS SDKs while developing an iOS program, hence, Mac becomes essential for PhoneGap app developers.
• PG, with all its complexity of plugins and APIs, may fail to deliver while developing a gaming app.

Sencha

It's anything but a major surprise that Sencha has become a part of our list of the best mobile app development platforms. The platform is already famous with its strong data pack and rich UI resources (over 115 parts), reasonable for those searching for data-intensive cross-platform applications. The application is composed of the HTML5 code base and can be introduced on various operating systems, including Android, iOS, Blackberry, Windows, Kindle, and Tizen.

Pros

• Sencha offers rich UI components which cover all major functionalities.
• Code can be translated with the help of the mobile app development tool
• Rationalized configuration system

Cons

• The platform is expensive.

Appcelerator

One of the best mobile app development platforms is Appcelerator. It performs an excellent job when it comes to adapting the high-performance mobile app model for enterprise users. Titanium SDK development framework, shortens the time to develop a mobile application for operating systems like iOS and Android. It offers enough cloud storage that allows integration with third-party libraries and supports businesses in multi-region global deployments.

Pros

• Appcelerator’s Titanium speeds up the application development process because it allows the development in a very flexible way.
• Titanium indulges in the development process when the app interacts with a web service since the application itself is developed by using web technologies.

Cons

• Appcelerator offers users StoreKit which is a module to enable In-App Purchase to Apple’s App Store, but it’s nothing more than a pain. Buggy, poorly documented and it seems to work only partially.

Final Thoughts

Now, you know the best platforms for mobile app development along with their pros and cons. You can select the platform as per the need of your business and project.

But if you have any doubt regarding the mobile app development platforms then we are here to guide you. SynapseIndia has a team of experienced developers who are proficient in their skill. To hire app developer that aptly fits your need contact us today.

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