In this article, you will learn about cross-platform app development. We have explained the term cross-platform app development and all its pros and cons.
Introduction to Cross-Platform App Development
The development of software applications that are compatible with numerous mobile operating systems is known as cross-platform app development. Whether you or your company is creating a mobile application for the app stores or for use internally, you are often faced with the challenge of needing to develop it for multiple platforms. Basically, this means targeting both iOS and Android devices.
Pros And Cons Of Cross-Platform App Development
Pros Of Cross-Platform App Development
Cross-platform development has many advantages, including:
- Reusable Code: You can write your code once then export your app to many operating systems and platforms without making a dedicated application for every single platform. This is possible in cross-platform app development.
- Convenience: Cross-platform development tools save your efforts learning multiple programming languages and instead offer you one substitute for all of these different technologies.
- Maintainable Code: You only have to update your codebase once and the changes would be synced and reflected in all the apps on different platforms, Whenever you modify or update your app.
- Cost Efficiency: You can save the cost of having multiple teams working on different versions of your app and substituting them with one team, In cross-platform development. Almost all cross-platform development tools are also free to use, with some offering paid memberships for additional features.
- Market Reach: Publishing your app on multiple platforms will help you cover a wider net and increase your chances of having a larger user base and consequently a higher return on investment and higher revenues.
Cons Of Cross-Platform Development
While cross-platform development tools have a lot of advantages that make them worthy, they certainly do come with a few setbacks including:
- Performance: While some cross-platform development tools provide you with a performance that is close to a native app, they are still never quite as good. This is the reason you shouldn’t be using cross-platform development tools if your app’s performance is a high priority for you.
- 3D and Graphics: Delivering the best graphics and user experiences are not specialties of cross-platform development as they can lack access to core OS libraries like graphics. Cross-development probably won’t be the best option for you if your app relies heavily on graphics, which is the case with many mobile games.
- Platform-Specific Features: Many of the basic features shared between different platforms are offered by cross-platform app development tools but they can lack some of the specific features offered by Apple, Google, and Microsoft on their respective operating systems.
- Device-Specific Features: You can have access to different aspects of your device with cross-platform app development tools, like the camera or GPS. Yet there may be chances that your app needs to access and deal with the device hardware directly, then it’s better and more efficient for you to develop a native app.
- Delayed Updates: It could take some time until those changes are reflected across all cross-platform app development tools, Whenever a new update is released for a specific platform with any changes or added features.
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