“Should we build mobile first?” is no longer a valid question. In today’s world, if you aren’t building products with a “mobile first” approach, you are building them wrong. About 97% of Americans own smartphones now, and mobile has about 65% of the market share compared to desktop and tablet use. That means the vast majority of users are accessing websites and applications on their phones.

For some businesses, a mobile-optimized website may not be enough to handle all your user’s needs; some organizations may need to build a complete mobile app. This is a complex process not to be undertaken lightly, however, with the right planning and resources, it is possible.

Understanding Mobile App Development Frameworks

There are many mobile app development frameworks available these days, and which one you choose will depend on your needs, existing tech stack and the skills of your current developers (or whether you will be outsourcing development.)

• Native Mobile Apps

Native mobile apps utilize device-specific OS and languages and are built specifically to run on a single particular device. For example, an iOS native app will only run on an iOS device and will typically be written using Swift and Objective-C. A native Android app only runs on an Android device, and is written in Kotlin and Java (this is an over-simplification, but that’s the gist.)

The benefit of developing a native app is that it can allow you to build richer, more complex features because it interfaces directly with the device OS and hardware. Native apps can be less prone to bugs and run more smoothly than hybrid apps.

The downside of building a native app is the time and expense. It requires developers to be versed in specific skills and languages that they may not use for anything else, or, if your developers don’t have these skills, it will require you to outsource development.

• Hybrid (Cross-Platform) Mobile Apps

Hybrid apps are typically what we are talking about when we talk about mobile app frameworks. They are built using tools that most full stack developers these days are familiar with, and are designed to be platform-agnostic, so they work across all devices.

The most popular hybrid app frameworks include React Native, Flutter, Xamarin, and Ionic. These are ecosystems that let developers build mobile applications using the same languages and tools they would use to build progressive web apps.

The downside of cross-platform app development these days is less apparent than it was even just a few years ago. Frameworks like Flutter have come a long way, and now, the apps developed with them are often indistinguishable from native apps.

Top Mobile App Development Frameworks

Let’s look at the top three mobile app development frameworks.

• Flutter

While React Native is still the most well-known and frequently suggested framework for developing apps in 2024, Flutter is giving it a run for its money, and many devs now tout Flutter as their favorite mobile app framework.

Flutter was developed by Google as a cross-platform hybrid app development tool, and is used not just for building iOS and Android apps, but also for MacOS, Linux, and Windows. It’s not a programming language – rather, it is an SDK and development environment.

It uses Dart under the hood and doesn’t require any knowledge of JS/HTML/CSS (although Dart is an OOP language and does require previous experience with object-oriented languages.)

• React Native

The de-facto framework for mobile app development, React Native has dominated this space for a long time, primarily because of its similarity to React, which many devs already use for web development. It is maintained by Facebook and uses Javascript under the hood.

React Native has a very low barrier of entry for front end and full stack web developers, is supported by a massive community of other devs who can all offer assistance and answer questions, and is extremely well-documented and extendable with numerous libraries and packages.

• Xamarin

Xamarin can be a little trickier to get up and running for those coming from the front end/full stack world because it uses C# rather than JavaScript. However, the concepts of object-oriented programming are the same, and it is not too difficult for engineers to make the switch.

Xamarin plays really nicely with Visual Studio Code and makes app development extremely quick. It allows you to build apps across iOS, MacOS and Windows devices.

Emerging Trends in Mobile App Development Frameworks

With the rapid advancement of AI and interconnected devices, mobile app development is advancing just as quickly as every other area of the tech industry. Mobile development now needs to take into account that users expect to be able to use their mobile devices to control their TVs, lights, drones, etc., and they are beginning to take it for granted that AI will be present in their apps.

Another emerging trend in the mobile development industry is the development of apps for foldable devices. Once thought of as a gimmick that would never catch on, foldable devices are becoming more and more prevalent as touch screen technology improves. This will have broad implications for app design, especially UI layout.

FAQs

What is the best mobile app development framework?

There is no one “best” framework for mobile app development: the best framework for you will depend on your needs, budget, and the skills of your development team. People who have previous experience using React for web development will likely find React Native to be the easiest framework to use, while those with previous experience with C# might prefer Xamarin.

Is Flutter no-code?

Flutter is not no-code, but you can build a fully functional mobile app using Flutter’s no-code tools. Flutter relies on Dart, a programming language developed by Google specifically for cross-platform app development.

How much does it cost to develop a mobile app?

The cost to develop a mobile app depends on how complex you want the app to be, the quality of the build, and who you are paying to develop it. Estimates for the cost to build a simple mobile app range wildly – from $5000 to $50,000. The ultimate cost will depend on whether you are paying your in-house developers to build it, outsourcing, hiring a freelancer, or building it yourself.