Android app development has seen exponential growth over the last decade. With over 2.5 billion active Android devices worldwide, Android continues to dominate the mobile OS market. Building apps for Android presents promising opportunities and a large addressable market for developers.

However, native Android development using Java and Kotlin can be complex. This complexity arises from the need to account for the fragmentation of Android devices and OS versions. Developing native apps that work seamlessly across the diversity of Android devices is challenging.

This is where cross-platform mobile app frameworks come into the picture. These frameworks allow developers to build Android apps using common app development languages like JavaScript, C#, and Python. The frameworks handle the compilation of native Android apps behind the scenes. They provide developers with the power of native apps without the complexity of native Android development.

In this blog, we explore the top 6 cross-platform frameworks for building Android apps in 2024.

Why Frameworks Matter

Mobile app development can be extremely complex. Modern apps are expected to work flawlessly across a wide variety of devices and operating system versions. They need to handle intricate user interfaces, data management, and performance optimizations. On top of that, new features and requirements emerge constantly.

Frameworks help manage this complexity by providing structures and tools that speed up development and reduce errors. They handle cross-platform compatibility, boilerplate code, and other complex tasks so developers can focus on the app logic and user experience. Frameworks enable faster iteration so developers can implement new features and updates quickly.

By building on the frameworks' existing capabilities, developers avoid reinventing the wheel for common tasks. They can create higher-quality apps in less time. Frameworks significantly boost productivity compared to coding an app entirely from scratch. That's why frameworks have become essential for professional mobile app development.

Top 6 Android Frameworks

Mobile app development has exploded in popularity in recent years. Android currently dominates the global smartphone OS market share. As a result, there is a huge demand for Android app developers.

When building Android apps, developers have a choice between writing native Android code in Java or Kotlin or using a cross-platform framework. Cross-platform frameworks allow code reuse across iOS, Android, web, and desktop apps.

Frameworks can speed up Android development and allow access to native device capabilities on Android. In this article, we'll compare the top 6 Android app frameworks for 2024 based on popularity, capabilities, and ease of use. The frameworks we'll cover include:

Flutter

Flutter is an open-source app development framework created by Google. It uses the Dart programming language and allows developers to build iOS, Android, web and desktop apps from a single codebase.

Overview

• Enables cross-platform development for iOS and Android from a single codebase

• The hot reload feature allows you to quickly view code changes

• Large repository of reusable widgets and tools

• Uses Dart programming language which is easy to learn

• Offers native performance on both iOS and Android

Pros

• Fast development with hot reload

• Expressive and flexible UI

• One codebase for multiple platforms

• Excellent documentation and community support

Cons

• Dart language has a learning curve for some developers

• Limited capability for platform-specific APIs

• Not as many third-party libraries as native platforms

Example Apps

Some notable apps built with Flutter include Alibaba, Google Ads, BMW, eBay, and Capital One. It's used by companies wanting to quickly build for iOS and Android from the same code.

React Native

React Native is an open-source mobile app framework created by Facebook. It is based on Facebook's React Javascript library and enables you to build native mobile apps using Javascript and React.

Overview

• React Native lets you build mobile apps that look, feel, and perform like native apps for iOS and Android using the same Javascript codebase. It uses native UI controls instead of web views and compiles to native code so that your apps are performant.

• The framework is maintained by Facebook and a community of companies and developers. It offers access to native platform features like the camera, location services, etc via JavaScript APIs.

• Instead of writing native Java or Objective-C/Swift, you write Javascript and React Native handles converting it to native views and commands. This allows code reuse across iOS and Android platforms.

Pros

• Write once, deploy natively to both iOS and Android

• Re-use code across platforms which saves development time

• Fast refresh for instant reload of the app during development

• Large ecosystem of open-source components and libraries

• Hot reloading to push updates instantly without rebuilding the app

• Familiar React pattern makes it easy for app developers to build mobile apps

Cons

• Limited capabilities compared to truly native development

• More difficult debugging compared to native languages

• Smaller community than native platforms

• Performance can be impacted by very complex applications

• Recent major version upgrades have led to breaking changes

Example Apps

Some well-known apps built with React Native include:

• Facebook

• Instagram

• Skype

• Tesla

• Walmart

• Bloomberg

• Discord

Overall, React Native is a proven and scalable open-source framework for building cross-platform native apps using React and Javascript. Its large community and reusable code make it ideal for teams looking to build mobile apps efficiently.

Xamarin

Xamarin is an open-source mobile app framework owned by Microsoft that uses C# and the .NET framework for building apps on Android, iOS, and Windows. Some key aspects of Xamarin:

• Owned and maintained by Microsoft, so it benefits from strong continuous support and updates. Microsoft has invested heavily in advancing the platform.

• Uses a C# codebase which allows developers to use their existing C# skills and reuse code across different platforms like Android, iOS, and Windows.

• Supports native API access, so Xamarin apps can leverage platform-specific features and don't feel like web apps wrapped in a native shell.

• Xamarin.Forms framework streamlines UI code by allowing cross-platform UI development with XAML. Reduces the amount of platform-specific UI code needed.

• Integrates directly with Visual Studio on Windows and Visual Studio for Mac, providing a robust and familiar IDE.

• The downside is that the framework can have a steep learning curve, especially for developers without C# experience. Besides, app sizes can also be larger than native.

• Overall Xamarin enables high-performance native apps with C# code reuse across platforms. Microsoft ownership provides stability. It remains a popular choice for dev teams familiar with C#.

Ionic

Ionic is a popular open-source SDK for building cross-platform mobile apps using web technologies like HTML, CSS, and JavaScript. Some key things to know about Ionic:

• Ionic is focused on the frontend UI experience and relies on Apache Cordova for access to native device features.

• It uses Angular for building the UI components, which will be familiar to app developers.

• Apps are written with web standard technologies and compiled into native app binaries.

• Ionic provides native-like animations, gestures, UI components, and icons out of the box to make apps feel natural on each platform.

• The framework is quite lightweight without a lot of overhead.

• Ionic apps can be deployed both as progressive web apps or native app store packages.

Pros:

• Familiar for app developers.

• Large selection of UI components and themes.

• Fast development cycle and live reload capabilities.

• Write once, deploy anywhere model.

Cons:

• Not a true native SDK, so may lack some native performance optimizations.

• Limited capability outside of Webview without Cordova plugins.

• Less flexibility for platform-specific customization.

Overall, Ionic is a top choice for developers with web expertise looking to build mobile apps using familiar skills and tools. The large component library and theming make it easy to quickly create great-looking apps that function across iOS, Android, and the web.

NativeScript

NativeScript is an open-source framework for building native mobile apps with Angular, TypeScript, or JavaScript. It enables developers to reuse their app development skills to build iOS and Android apps with native UI and performance.

Some key benefits of NativeScript include:

• Open Source - NativeScript is developed by Progress and released under the Apache 2.0 license, allowing the community to contribute and extend it.

• Write Truly Native Apps - NativeScript compiles code into native ARM binaries instead of interpreting JavaScript through a bridge. This allows full access to native APIs and avoids performance overhead.

• Angular Support - NativeScript has excellent integration with Angular, allowing developers to build native mobile apps with Angular and reuse web components, services, and more.

• Access Native APIs - Get full access to native APIs on iOS and Android for capabilities like GPS, storage, sensors, and more. No need to wait for cross-platform APIs.

• CSS Flexbox Layout - Style native UI using familiar CSS flexbox instead of platform-specific layout code. This makes it easier to achieve consistent UI across iOS and Android.

• Vibrant Plugin Ecosystem - Extend NativeScript's capabilities using its community-driven plugin ecosystem for features like maps, cameras, Bluetooth, animations, and more.

Overall, NativeScript is a proven open-source framework for developers looking to efficiently build high-quality native mobile apps using web skills like Angular, TypeScript, and CSS. Its large community, frequent updates, and focus on native UX/performance make it an excellent choice for many mobile projects.

Kotlin Multiplatform

Kotlin Multiplatform is a framework from JetBrains that allows you to use the Kotlin programming language to build apps for multiple platforms including Android, iOS, web, and desktop from a single code base. Some key advantages of Kotlin Multiplatform include:

• Kotlin-first development: You can leverage your existing knowledge of Kotlin to write platform-agnostic business logic and share it across platforms. This avoids duplication of code and effort.

• Multiplatform support: Kotlin Multiplatform allows you to target iOS, Android, JavaScript, Linux, Windows, MacOS, and more from the same code. This provides massive reach for your apps.

• Code sharing: You can share around 70-80% of your app code across platforms with Kotlin Multiplatform. This significantly speeds up development and reduces maintenance overhead in the long run.

• Seamless interoperability: Kotlin Multiplatform integrates smoothly with platform-specific languages and APIs like Swift/ObjC on iOS and Java/Android on Android. This allows access to native features easily.

• Access to native performance: Kotlin Multiplatform compiles down to native binaries for each platform giving you native-like performance without emulation layers.

• Open source: Kotlin Multiplatform is open source and free to use. The project is under active development by JetBrains.

Overall, Kotlin Multiplatform is a great framework choice if you want to leverage Kotlin to build for both Android and iOS from the same codebase. It provides massive reach while allowing code reuse across platforms.

Conclusion

As we've seen, there are several excellent frameworks available for Android app development in 2024. Each framework has its own strengths and ideal use cases.

So, evaluate your own needs and experience, as well as your target platforms. For many situations, cross-platform frameworks like React Native and Flutter offer significant productivity advantages. But native development in Java or Kotlin ensures the highest performance and access to new platform features.

Whichever framework you choose, following best practices will help you build high-quality apps efficiently. Leverage the Android Jetpack libraries, ensure accessibility, optimize for different devices, and focus on performance. With the power and flexibility of these frameworks, you can build secure, user-friendly Android apps that delight.