A Comprehensive Guide on Mobile App Development Technologies

Mobile apps are continuously strengthening our lives like never before. With the alarm clock being replaced with a mobile app, the radio device is replaced with a mobile app, the camera being replaced with a mobile app, and whatnot. Mobile devices have almost taken the driver's seat in our lives, and that is why more businesses are taking the help of mobile app development companies to develop mobile apps.

Mobile apps need to keep up with new trends. Alone in Q3 in 2020, 33 billion new apps were downloaded globally. Undoubtedly, the pandemic is one of the reasons for the digital boom to this figure, but, even before the pandemic, the demand for mobile apps was very high. A well-engaging and useful business app indeed enhances the brand value. And to get engaging and great mobile apps, technology plays a huge role. Flutter, Xamarin, ReactNative, are just the tips of the icebergs, continue reading to delve into more mobile app development technologies and other aspects for unstoppable apps.

In the forthcoming session, we will talk about different technologies by bifurcating them under different aspects of mobile app development:

Best framework for mobile app development:

1. React Native

React native is one of the best JavaScript libraries to build native applications for all platforms and devices. It is used to develop Android and iOS applications. It becomes a favorite technology, and which is why mainstream players like Netflix, Tesla Motors, Facebook, Dropbox, Airbnb, and many others opted for it.

Features

• It provides an interactive layout of any UI. It enables fast and quality assured application development that can help developers and clients.
• It ensures a consistent look and feel of the platform, even at the different OS.
• It gets integrated easily with third-parties and thus removing additional integration tasks for developers.
• Its hot loading feature allows developers to build an app together along with that, it showcases instant results.

2. Xamarin

It is one of the vital frameworks for cross-platform. It is used to develop apps for Android, iOS, Windows, and other platforms with a single shared .NET codebase. It renders the same experience as native apps.

Features

• It removes all hardware compatibility issues with the help of particular APIs and plug-ins to provide native-level functionality.
• Its libraries like OpenGL ES and frameworks help to develop rich custom UI, complex animations, and complex games.
• It supports versions for TV, IoT, and wearable.
• Provide convenient maintenance.

3. Flutter

Blacked by Google, it is one of the popular cross-platform mobile application development technologies. It uses “Dart” language that helps make debugging, fabricating UIs, effective analysis quicker. It is used in the development application of Android and iOS platforms.

Features

• Its “hot load” feature applies changes instantly without losing the current state of the application.
• It has got Skia for rendering itself, which means you do not have to adjust UI to transfer it to a platform.
• It removes the performance bug of interpretation and thus offers a native app-like performance.
• It can customize anything on the screen.

4. NativeScript

NativeScript is built with JavaScript and used for cross-platform app development. It allows reusing third-party libraries in the app using no wrapper.

It allows developers to build applications using JavaScript or any other languages that trans-compiles to JS. Daily Nanny, Regelneef, Strudel are some examples of NativeScript.

Features

• It gives complete and direct access to Android and iOS APIs. Further, it allows reusing free plugins, SDKs, and CocoaPods.
• It uses HTML to develop applications with customized features.

5. Mobile Angular UI

It is open-source with the fusion of HTML5, Bootstrap 3, and Angular.js features to build flawless mobile applications. It promotes some amazing UI mobile components like sidebars, navbar, switches, overlay, and lots more.

Features

• It uses ionic components along with mobile Angular UI components.
• With mobile Angular UI, you can test speed and responsiveness.
• It allows developers to convert desktop apps into mobile apps.
• It does not have any dependencies on jQuery.
• It allows developers to create great mobile components.

Best programming languages for mobile app development:

There are many programming languages for mobile app development, but we present some important languages that are widely in use.

1. Java

Java is an object-oriented programming language, it is a popular choice for Android mobile app development. Known as the king of all programming languages, it has laid the firm foundation of millions of mobile applications. It is one of the most versatile languages as it helps to keep your app flexible, extensible, and modular.

It runs on Java Virtual Machine (JVM), plus it provides better security and ease of simplicity in developing the app. In fact, it is a popular choice for gaming applications because of its unparalleled capabilities.

Features

• It is a highly safe and secure language.
• It is a platform-independent language as it works on the principle of “Write Once Run Anywhere”.
• It has got a vast community that always comes up with extended support and help related to Java.
• It has a plethora of inbuilt tools and IDEs for your diverse applications.

2. PHP

Another popular and favorite language for mobile app development is PHP. It is an ideal choice for web and mobile app development. It is a popular choice to build apps from scratch with the capabilities to build for multi-platform.

It has got some famous frameworks like Laravel, Zend, Symfony, CodeIgniter to build highly engaging and user-friendly mobile applications. It is a widely popular choice for building apps for platforms like e-commerce, CMS, educational, and lots more.

Features

• It helps to build secure apps to protect them from cyber threats.
• Since it is an independent platform, it is very compatible with smooth and powerful integration.
• It provides full integration with Pusher, Mix, Memcache, and MongoDB.
• It can solve the problem in a short duration of time.
• It is compatible to work using different languages.

3. Swift

Swift is the choice when you are building something specific to Apple OS. It is a faster option than Objective-C. It supports ARC across all APIs, which helps to save time on memory management. It officially supports Linux, Windows, and macOS.

Features

• It allows the frontend and backend to share code extensively.
• It is interoperable with Objective-C, and thus porting becomes quite easy and risk-free.
• It is less prone to crashes and errors.
• It is a more compatible language for programming.
• It reduces developer efforts as it has interactive coding.
• It integrates with memory management.

4. Python

Python is the most versatile language used for mobile app development. It is an object-oriented programming language that allows developers to create simple and complex operations. It extends support for other programming languages like C++, C, JSON, and Java. Python has a plethora of libraries that offer automatic memory management, dynamic, and many more features.

Features

• It has extensive support libraries and clean object-oriented design to boost developers’ productivity manifolds.
• Build prototypes and test out ideas more quickly than other languages, which further reduces the development cost.
• It has an object-oriented approach which allows the programs to be efficient in the long run.
• It is a portable language, which means it makes the shift from one OS to another smoothly.

5. HTML5

It is the fifth version of HTML and used for everything from animation to apps. Developers use it to build simple to most complex apps. Most organizations prefer it for cross-platform mobile app development as it helps them deliver highly functional and engaging apps. Work on the principle, “Write once, run anywhere”, accelerates more marketing time, app visibility, affordable development, and above all offline browsing support.

Features

• It comprises in-built geolocation APIs.
• Help to reduce cookie size with its local storage and session storage as it stores the data temporarily.
• Pages can load correctly even when you are offline.

Best tools for mobile app development:

1. PhoneGap

It is an open-source widely known Apache Cordova that uses a single code base to create apps for multiple platforms using JavaScript and HTML. It allows developers to mix code snippets of hybrid and native for amazing results.

Features

• It is a powerful tool to develop an app without appointing an expert.
• Developers can extend the functionality of the app using plug-ins architecture.
• Integrates with various libraries to improve application development.
• It has got significant community support.

2. Appcelerator

It is an open-source framework used for developing native apps on platforms like iOS, Android, Windows using a single JavaScript codebase. It has got fantastic user interface controls including control for cursors, buttons, and navigational options.

Features

• It re-uses most codes across multiple platforms, almost up to 90% of codes, which results in quick app development.
• Using Appcelerator to construct a prototype before developing the app which saves a lot of time for developers.
• It has a now grown-up community of million developers to provide support for any errors instantly.

3. Ionic

It is a popular choice to develop a hybrid app using technologies like HTML, CSS, and SaSS. It is also used to build Progressive web apps (PWA) which have similar functions just like native apps. You need some expertise to build apps using Ionic.

Features

• Without waiting for app approval, you can deliver app updates, fix bugs, and change content.
• Can customize themes and components for greater interface and attract users towards the application.
• It becomes easy to use a variety of plugins to meet complex business requirements.

4. Sencha

Sencha is a powerful tool for mobile application development with a unified user experience without writing any CSS or HTML. It is a great choice to create native apps that are compatible with the latest versions of Android and iOS.

Features

• End-to-end testing solutions.
• Minimal dependencies on different libraries and versions.
• It commercially supports UI widgets for toolbars, menus, and lists.
• Great configuration system.
• Easily manage millions of data.
• Flexible layout system.

Mobile app development trends:

Mobile apps are continuously evolving with technology advancement, consumers’ demands, and other trends that are making a noise. Now let’s have a glimpse at the latest mobile app development trends:

1. IoT integration

IoT is driving business to a new level. An app integrated with IoT technologies is a matchless combination to deliver the best service to users. Smart home technology is a perfect example of the rise in the use of mobile apps seamlessly integrated with IoT. Another example of the smart use of IoT in applications is fitness apps.

2. Chatbot and voice search

The chatbot is another prime trend that is dominating the industry. With chatbot using the AI technology in the app, the user can ask their queries 24X7. Chatbot enabled with AI will facilitate functioning like human beings.

Although a very less percentage of apps use chatbots, but, in the coming years it will rise. Starbuck is a prime example of a chatbot. Even voice search is a trend that developers should look up to. With the rise in local voice search, don’t miss this vital feature in your application.

3. Augmented Reality

Augmented Reality is another prime to look up to in 2021. AR can be used in wide ranges of cases. It is especially used by e-commerce apps and makeup apps to see how the clothes or style will look on the user. For example, L'Oreal has opted AR in its virtual makeup app to see what makeup looks like on a user's face.

4. Mobile wallets

In 2018, the mobile wallet transaction values reached $4296 billion in 2018 and by 2022, it is expected to reach $13,979 billion. By integrating payment gateways, the payment process can be smoother and quicker. Many mobile wallet applications like Amazon Pay, PayPal are earning popularity. High security and accuracy are an important part of mobile wallets.

5. Super app security

With the rise of the digital age, the threats are also rising on the same platform. For the success of the app, the app must be secure and safe. With end-to-end encryption, you can level up the security of the application.

Factors to consider while choosing technology stack:

Before anything else, you must consider the following factors to consider while choosing a technology stack:

1. Type of project

Type of project is a prime factor to consider while technology stack for mobile application. Based on the kind of client need and audience target, you can choose a prime technology for it.

2. Long-term strategy

The technology you are going to incorporate in your application should be valid for the long run. In the future, when your company grows, will the company be able to cope up with the growing demand and goal? It is very necessary to have an answer to this question before finalizing the technology choice.

3. Goal of application

The goal of the application is an important factor to keep in mind while finalizing the technology for the app. If you are choosing a high latency app, the choice of technology would be very much different than a low latency app. If your app relies on heavy load processing then you need a powerful technology stack.

4. Validation

Validation of an idea plays a major role in choosing the technology. The technology must be able to validate your idea with practicality along with high user engagement, a step ahead of competitors, and error-free.

5. Marketing time

If you wish for more marketing time then you must choose a framework that speeds up the development process with an abundance of ready-made solutions, so that you have plenty of time to market your product.

Concluding Words

We hope and wish after reading about different aspects of mobile app development technologies, you will be able to make the right choice. You can take the help of an experienced mobile app development company Ahmedabad to get into deep research.