Lecture 4: Mobile App Development Frameworks

Mobile app development frameworks are available in the tech world that you can consider learning to build your own
mobile application.
What is the Mobile Application Development Framework?
Mobile App Development Framework is a library that offers the required fundamental structure to create mobile
applications for a specific environment. In short, it acts as a layout to support mobile app development. The are various
advantages of Mobile App Development frameworks such as cost-effective, efficient, and many more. Moreover,
mobile application frameworks can be classified majorly into 3 categories: Native Apps, Web Apps & Hybrid Apps.
 Native Apps: A Native App is an application that is specifically designed for a particular platform or device.
 Web Apps: A Web App concerns with the application that is designed to deliver web pages on different web
platforms for any device.
 Hybrid Apps: A Hybrid App is a combination of both native & web applications. It can be developed for any
platform from a single code base.
Build Mobile Applications more efficiently and conveniently.

1. React Native
React Native is one of the most recommended Mobile App Frameworks in the development industry. The framework,
created by Facebook, is an open-source framework that offers you to develop mobile applications
for Android & iOS platforms. The React Native framework is based on React and JavaScript that aims to develop
native applications over hybrid applications that run on a web-view. Moreover, it is a cross-platform development
framework that uses the single code base for both Android & iOS applications. Some of the major benefits of React
Native are mentioned below:
 Code Re-usability & Cost-Effective
 Compatible with third-party plugins
 Re-usable components for optimal performance
 Provides hot deployment features
 Ease of Maintenance
There are various renowned mobile applications built with React Native such as Instagram, Soundcloud, Uber Eats,
and many more.
2. Flutter
Flutter, developed by Google, is a UI toolkit to build native applications for the mobile, desktop & web platform.
Flutter is a cross-platform mobile app development framework that works on one code base to develop Android as
well as iOS applications. The framework provides a large range of fully customizable widgets that helps to build native
applications in a shorter span. Moreover, Flutter uses the 2D rendering engine called Skia for developing visuals and
it’s layered architecture ensures the effective functioning of components. Some of the major benefits of Flutter are
mentioned below:
 Provides Full Native Performance
 Flexible User interface (UI)
 Provides Strong Widget Support
 Offers Built-in Material Design
 Fast Application Development
Some of the major mobile applications that are built on Flutter are – Google Ads, Hamilton, SpaceX
Go, Watermaniac, and various others.
3. Xamarin
Xamarin is also one of the most popular open-source framework used to develop mobile applications. The framework,
acquired by Microsoft, is based on .Net and allows you to build native applications for Android, iOS,
and Windows platforms. Xamarin comes with almost every required tools and library needed to build native
applications and offers you to create rich experiences using native UI elements. Moreover, Xamarin also supports the
feature of sharing the common codebase to make the development process more efficient and cost-effective. There are
various benefits of Xamarin, some of these are mentioned below:
 Huge Community of around 1.4 million developers
 Native API Access & UI Support
 Easier API Integration
 Target All Platforms
 Cost-Effective & Faster Development Process
Some of the most popular and renowned mobile applications that are built on Xamarin are – OLO, Alaska
Airlines, Storyo, and many more.
4. Mobile Angular UI
Mobile Angular UI is an open-source mobile application development framework that merges the implementation of
the Bootstrap and Angular framework. The framework offers various UI components such
as overlays, switches, sidebars, navbars, scrollable areas, etc. to provide robust and attractive user interfaces for the
applications. Furthermore, Mobile Angular UI supports fastclick.js and overthrow.js to create rich experiences.
Moreover, Mobile Angular UI supports cross-browser compatibility that allows it to automatic handling of
JavaScript code for each browser. Some of the major benefits of Mobile Angular UI are mentioned below:
 Responsive Framework
 Offers Interactive Components
 LightWeight
 No jQuery dependencies
 Easier conversion from the web or desktop application to the mobile app
There are various renowned mobile applications built with Mobile Angular UI such as Hotelier News, iKeyBox, and
many more.

5. Ionic
Ionic, developed in 2013, is an open-source framework that allows you to build cross-platform mobile apps using web
technologies like HTML, CSS & JavaScript. The application built through Ionic framework can work
on Android, iOS & Windows platforms. The framework offers numerous default UI components such as forms, action
sheets, filters, navigation menu, and many more for attractive and worthwhile design. Moreover, Ionic has its own
command-line interface and various other in-built features such as Ionic Native, Cordova-Based App packages,
etc. Some of the major benefits of Ionic are mentioned below:
 Faster Application Development
 Availability of Cordova Plugins
  Built-in UI components
 Platform Independent
 Based on AngularJS
There are various renowned mobile applications built with Ionic such as MarketWatch, Amtrak, and many more.
6. Adobe PhoneGap
Indeed, PhoneGap is among the most popular mobile app development frameworks. PhoneGap, purchased by Adobe
Systems in 2011, is an open-source framework that allows you to build cross-platform applications using languages
such as HTML5, CSS3, and JavaScript. The framework allows you to create a single mobile application that can be
installed as a native app over many devices. Furthermore, the PhoneGap framework does not depend on any hardware
configurations during the development of mobile applications. There are various benefits of PhoneGap, some of these
are mentioned below:
 Code Re-usability
 No Hardware Restrictions
 Plugin Library & Third-Party tools
 Robust Support System
 Compatibility with all the platforms
Some of the most popular and renowned mobile applications that are built on PhoneGap are – Wikipedia, TripCase,
Buildr, and many more.
7. Appcelerator Titanium
Titanium, developed by Appcelerator Inc, is an open-source development framework that allows you to build mobile
apps for all platforms. The framework is based on a Javascript-based SDK with over 5000 APIs for Windows,
HTML5, iOS, and Android that further allows the reusability of Javascript code up to 90% in case if you’re targeting
multiple platforms for application development. Moreover, the framework comes with various UI components that can
be used to create rich experiences for the users. There are various benefits of the Titanium SDK, some of these are
mentioned below:
 Various features for API Management
 Compatible with multiple platforms
 Easier API Integration
 Better Code Reusability
 Faster Development Process
There are various renowned mobile applications built with Titanium SDK such as Avis, Massachusetts Institute of
Technology (MIT), Comerica, and many more.
8. Framework 7
Framework7 is an open-source development framework that allows developing mobile, desktop, or web applications
with a native perspective. The framework allows you to use tools of your preferences with HTML, CSS,
& JavaScript and offers the additional support of Vue.js and React components for app development. Furthermore,
Framework7 provides a wide range of UI elements and widgets such as action sheet, side panels, list views, form
elements, etc. to make the development process more convenient and efficient. There are various benefits of
Framework 7, some of these are mentioned below:
 Easier Customization
 Provides various UI widgets and elements
 Paired with additional tools like Electron & NW.js
  Rich Ecosystem
 Ease of Maintenance
There are various renowned mobile applications built with Framework 7 such as Wappler, Blokt, Kidoverse, and
many more.
9. JQuery Mobile
JQuery Mobile is a cross-platform development framework that is used to build mobile and web applications for
various devices. The framework allows running a single code version across for all the devices. Furthermore,
the HTML5-based development framework comes with various plugins such as Image Slider, Content-Slider, Pop-
Up Boxes, etc. that help to create a feature-rich and interactive design. Moreover, the JQuery framework is compatible
with other mobile application development frameworks such as PhoneGap and various others. There are various
benefits of JQuery Mobile, some of these are mentioned below:
 Responsive Framework
 Supports multiple platforms & devices
 Lightweight Size
 Various Add-on Plugins
 Powerful Theming Framework
Some of the major mobile applications that are built on JQuery Mobile are – Untappd, Veev, and many more.
10. NativeScript
Last but not least, Native Script is an open-source framework that is used to build native mobile applications
using Angular, Vue.js, TypeScript, or JavaScript. The framework allows you to create both Android and IOS apps
from a single codebase. The apps built with the NativeScript framework use the same APIs as in Xcode or Android
Studio. Moreover, the framework is strongly recommended to those developers who want to build applications for
multiple platforms within a lesser duration and effective cost. Some of the major benefits of NativeScript are
mentioned below:
 Cross-Platform Development
 Direct access to Android & iOS APIs
 Native Performance
 Re-usability of Code
 Strong Backend Support
There are various renowned mobile applications built with NativeScript such as MayMyPhotos, Smart Evaluation,
and many more.
So, these are several major mobile application development frameworks that you can opt for as per your needs and
technological requirements. Now, what are you waiting for? Just identify your requirements, pick a relevant
framework, and start to build your mobile application!