Cross Platform Apps

Each operating system has its SDK and technology stack: Java or Kotlin for Android and Objective-C or Swift for iOS apps. Cross-platform app developers create a unified API running on top of a native SDK, make use of native IDEs, and build iOS and Android apps that share the same codebase. Native cross-platform applications are primarily built with Xamarin, React Native, and Kotlin Multiplatform. Although mobile apps are designed for smartphones and tablets, it is the back-end layer that handles their business logic. Since both iOS and Android SDKs feature advanced web components, it is possible to create parts of an application graphical user interface (GUI) with HTML5, CSS, and JavaScript. Next, developers wrap the code in WebView — a browser bundled inside of a mobile app, which renders the contents as a good old website. Some hybrid apps even interact with a smartphone’s hardware, although the functionality can be limited. The most promising hybrid app development frameworks on the market right now are Apache Cordova (formerly known as PhoneGap) and Flutter.