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9 Best Code Editors for React Native App Development

Posted on by Abhishek Kalyan

React Native, a JavaScript-based framework, gained mainstream adoption when Facebook open-sourced it in 2015. Now, the framework is widely used to develop high-quality, native-like, and powerful cross-platform apps, thanks to its various benefits. 

Since React Native has become a sought-after platform for creating futuristic applications, many React Native app developers want to get insights into the best code editors or IDEs available for this framework. So, here we have shed light on the best editors that can contribute to developing high-performance applications.

Best React Native Editors for App Development

Nuclide

Nuclide is one of the best IDEs for building React Native apps as it comes with inbuilt support for the React Native framework and JavaScript. Facebook launched this editor to streamline the mobile app development process and overcome the limitations of other IDEs like Eclipse and AppCode.

Besides, it offers all the features of Flow, including Code Diagnostics and Autocomplete, which is indeed a significant benefit for React Native app developers who have to deal with apps primarily written in Flow.

Key features of Nuclide are:

  • Flow Support
  • Debugging
  • Remote Development 
  • Hack Language Support

Atom

Atom is an open-source editor that works across multiple operating systems, including Windows, Mac, and Linux. Developers widely use it for almost all major technologies. Since this editor has a large active community, a lot of its plugins or enhancements allow React Native app developers to build high-quality apps. Additionally, hacking the core and writing packages is easy with Atom, thanks to HTML, CSS, and JavaScript.

Key Features of Atom are:

  • Autocompletion
  • File System Browser
  • Cross-Platform Editing
  • Multiple Panes
  • Built-In Package Manager
  • Find and Replace

Sublime Text

Sublime has been an all-time favorite editor for mobile app developers as it offers a lot of themes and packages. Since its inception in 2008, the Sublime Text has undergone a lot of iterations so far, which makes it a seasoned and sophisticated player in the tech market.

Key Features of Sublime Text are:

  • Multiple Selections
  • Command Palette
  • Split Editing
  • Goto Anything
  • Customize Anything
  • Distraction Free Mode
  • Instant Project Switch
  • Cross-Platform Support

Visual Studio Code

Visual Studio Code is a powerful source editor introduced by Microsoft for Windows, Mac, and Linux. Since the editor comes with inbuilt support of JavaScript and TypeScript, it has gained a lot of traction among React Native app developers.

Key Features of Visual Studio Code are:

  • Git Commands Built-In
  • Code Debugging 
  • Extensible and Customizable
  • Easy Deployment

Vim Editor

Vim is a highly configurable, open-source text editor that facilitates creating and changing any kind of text. The editor is rock stable and has various plugins, including vim-jsx, vim-react-snippets, and vim-babel.

Key Features of Vim Editor are:

  • Integration with Multiple Tools
  • Powerful Search and Replace
  • Persistent, Multi-Level Undo Tree
  • Extensive Plugin System
  • Support For Ample Programming Languages and File Formats

Spacemacs Editor

Spacemacs is a community-driven, open-source Emacs distribution. The editor is based on layers, which facilitates adding and excluding pre-defined features.

Key Features of Spacemacs are:

  • Great Documentation
  • Command Line Editor
  • Highly Customizable
  • Simple Query System to Find Available Packages and Layers Quickly
  • Mnemonic Prefixes to Organize Key Binding Properly

GNU Emacs Editor

GNU Emacs is a customizable, extensible, free/libre, and self-documenting real-time editor that comes free under GPL License. This editor is one of the powerful text editors today.

Key Features of GNU Emacs are:

  • Full Unicode Support For Almost All Human Scripts
  • A Packaging System For Downloading and Installing Extensions
  • Content-Aware Editing Modes
  • Highly Customizable
  • Complete Built-In Documentation
  • An Ecosystem of Functionalities like text editing, debugger interfacem project planner, and more.

Deco

Deco is an all-in-one IDE for creating React Native apps that can be downloaded and used without any environment setup. It improves React Native app development workflow by allowing developers to edit UI in real-time and focus on component reuse.

Key Features of Deco are:

  • Real-Time Tweaking
  • Component Search and Insert
  • New File Scaffolds

WebStorm

WebStorm is a highly configurable, open-source IDE that has a vibrant plugin ecosystem. It offers advanced support for JSX and React, and provides core coding assistance for developing React Native apps.

Key Features of WebStorm are:

  • Version Control System
  • Intelligent Coding Assistance
  • Built-In Terminal
  • Support For the Latest Technologies
  • Seamless Tool Integration
  • Debugging, Tracing, and Testing

Final Words

These are the top code editors that facilitate the React Native app development process because of its powerful features. You can consult with an experienced React Native app development company to choose the best editor or IDE for your project. They will meticulously understand your requirements and objectives to suggest you an editor that suits the best to your project.

Wonderful Ways IoT is Impacting Mobile App Development

Posted on by Abhishek Kalyan

IoT has witnessed significant growth in today’s technological age. And when powered by the capabilities of mobility, the technology fostered new advancements in the form of user experience, innovation, and business performance. 

IoT devices and mobile apps are deemed two sides of a coin. They complement each other to redefine businesses and customer experience. And industries across the globe are progressively investing in IoT development services to create IoT-enabled app and makes the most of this blend.

The fusion of IoT and mobile apps is helping businesses from diverse industry verticals to make headway. So, it won’t be vague to say that apart from other industries, IoT has also revolutionized the mobile app development industry. Herein, we have outlined a few ways to explore how this technology impacts the app development process.

How IoT is Impacting Mobile App Development

Shifts Focus

Earlier, app developers used to focus on creating user-friendly apps. However, the IoT growth has shifted their focus on developing IoT-enabled apps that establish an effective integration with the sensors or smart devices. An IoT app helps in everything – expediting business operations, improving customer experience, reducing operational cost, discovering new business opportunities, and more.

Reduces Efforts

The emergence of IoT has brought forth ample opportunities and possibilities in the market. The technology provides one centralized platform that decreases the efforts of IoT app developers in creating an IoT app and performs multiple tasks.

For instance, an IoT application development company uses Beacon technology to manage centralized appliances using a single device at a particular location. Simply put, when a user enters his home, beacon technology emits a signal and sends notifications to perform activities like check security camera, switch on lights, turn on AC or heater, etc.

Emphasizes on App Security

IoT enables an unprecedented amount of entry points, making the apps more prone to data hacks and thefts while transferring sensitive information. So, IoT app developers emphasize on the app security and implement various proven techniques to ensure that users’ privacy doesn’t hamper at any stage and overcome the data security challenge.

Brings Modification

The futuristic apps must support connected devices or say IoT to stay in the market. In a way, IoT has made modifications a necessity, and IoT app developers are going the extra mile to make apps adaptable to smart connected devices.

Final Words

The future of mobile apps seems brighter due to the advent of IoT technology. Given the above factors, it is apparent that IoT is the biggest revolution in the mobile app development industry. And IoT app developers will leave no stone unturned to develop smart apps and steer the innovation curve towards a better-interconnected future.

A Guide on Developing an Offline-First Mobile App

Posted on by Abhishek Kalyan

Every mobile app in the market today requires an internet connection to a certain extent and the reason is quite obvious – exchanging data between the user and the server. However, an app that demands a constant internet connection to work seamlessly has some acute disadvantages. One of the biggest pitfalls is the app becomes useless when there is no internet connectivity.  To counteract this, you should turn to an offline-first mobile app development approach to offer a better experience to users.

What is an Offline-First Mobile App?

An offline-first app, as the name suggests, doesn’t need a constant internet connection. It downloads data from the server and stores it locally on the user’s device, which can be accessed offline. And when the internet connection is available, the app downloads updates from the server, while simultaneously uploading the changes that the user had made offline.

Why You Should Adopt Offline-First App Development Approach

Like the continuous expansion of the internet, the issues related to its connection are also widespread. Being a business person, you must know that most users are impatient. If your app loads slowly or stops working abruptly due to low or no internet connection, they can get frustrated especially when they’re in the middle of something using your app. After experiencing such issues, users might abandon your app. So, creating an offline-first app with the help of iOS/Android app developers can avert situations like this.

Besides, the offline-first approach can be beneficial if your app has a large database that enables users to search for specific information. By developing a smaller version of a database that can be downloaded to the user’s device, you not only make your app more useful but also ensure that users can access the information even if there is no internet connection.

If you think your app has some features that don’t need constant internet connectivity to function, you should definitely go for an offline-first approach. Developing an offline-first app may be more complicated than developing an app that operates entirely with the internet, but it also comes with benefits like better performance and user experience.

How to Develop an Offline-First App?

The first and foremost thing to consider while developing is an offline-first design is how your application will handle the absence of constant connection to the database. Basically, there are three ways to store, sync, and update the local data which includes caching, manual replication, and real-time data synchronization.

Caching

Caching is the easiest way to manage local data and make it accessible if the app isn’t connected to the database. This approach can do wonders only if your app is simple. However, if you want to make your app capable of editing data and applying changes to it without an internet connection, caching is not the best idea.

Manual Replication

Manual replication allows users to change the viewed data offline by marking objects as “changed”. Users can manually upload the changes and download new data when the app connects to the server. However, this approach can be unpredictable and crash because of the issues with the internet or server, leading to data conflicts or poor app performance.

Real-Time Data Synchronization

This approach is akin to manual replication but allows data to be uploaded automatically rather manually. An offline app that leverages more advanced synchronization protocols transfers the changed version of the data as well as the actions made to edit it. This enables the system to resolve data conflicts automatically and improve the overall app performance.

Things to Consider While Developing an Offline-First App

Conflicting Data

What if the server changes the database online and the user simultaneously edits the exact part of that data offline? The server will encounter two conflicting pieces of data while trying to upload the information, which can lead to unpredictable system behavior and server crashes.

This situation is comparatively easier to handle, but many other issues can result in data conflicts. To cope with these issues, you need to create an app that could resolve conflicts quickly and predictably. For instance, you can clarify which piece of data has a higher priority to deal with the conflict described in the above situation.

Offline Features

An offline-first app works in two different modes – online and offline. Developing an online mode is easier since all the mobile design guidelines apply here while managing offline mode can be quite complicated.

Besides, an offline-first app should have useful features that work while not connected to the server. These features will depend on the kind of your app and the technical aspect of your project, as there are certain limitations to what can be done offline.

Making Online and Offline Functions Clear to Users

Understanding your app’s functionalities is one thing, but making them clear to the user is completely a different challenge. Finding hard to determine which functions are available offline and which works online can trigger a confusing experience. 

Let’s understand this phenomenon with an example of a shared text editor with a document that simultaneously can be edited by two users. If one user goes offline while another continues to edit, there will be two versions of the same doc. Consequently, there will be a lot of unnecessary work and unhappy users. To avert such a situation, you can let users decide whether they want to continue editing offline or not. Also, warning them about the conflicting versions via a notification will save their time and improve their experience.

Final Words

By adopting an offline-first approach, you provide a stable user experience no matter if your app is connected to the internet or not. Developing an offline-first app for Android and iOS may be complicated, but it will take your user experience to the next level. If you’re wondering if your app can benefit from offline-first approach or planning to invest in iOS/Android app development services, feel free to contact us. We will be more than happy to answer your queries and estimate your project for free.

7 Factors to Consider Before Developing a React Native App

Posted on by Abhishek Kalyan

Planning to develop a mobile app using React Native? If so, it is a great choice. This framework has been gaining massive momentum due to its enormous benefits. You can easily develop a cross-platform app within a fixed budget and timeline using React Native. Besides, the apps built with React Native are quite rapid to reserve a spot in the app store market and help you gain a competitive edge. However, you must consider a few factors before investing in React Native app development services. These factors can navigate your app development journey and contribute to its success.

Factors to Consider Before React Native App Development

The Reason Behind Building a React Native app

React Native is one of the leading and sought-after frameworks for developing a cross-platform app. But it doesn’t mean that every application can be built in this framework.

The App development framework depends on your project requirements. If you aim to develop a multi-platform app, you can achieve this using WebView. However, you also have to publish your application across all platforms, which people are already doing.

On the other hand, if you’re more concerned about high performance and appealing graphics using React Native, you might have to face disappointment. Most React Native apps fail to manage heavy tasks and offer better user experience (UX) than native apps.

We suggest you hire React Native app developers who are experienced enough to develop high-quality apps using this framework. They can leverage underlying components that are barely accessible from a WebView app.

Choose the Right Navigation Library

Partner with an experienced React Native app development company that can help you choose the right navigation library as it plays an important role in the app development process.

React Native provides two types of navigation libraries, including the Native navigators and the JavaScript Navigators. The former type is famous for its outstanding performance, while the latter is known for its easier setup.

So, you must discuss with your React Native app developers which type of navigation libraries will suit the best to your project.

App’s Scaling for Different Devices and Screens

Considering app’s scaling for different mobile devices and screen sizes is also an essential factor when it comes to React Native app development. Basically, scaling can be done in two ways – choosing different UI/UX based on screen size or the same for all screens.

React Native app developers go for the first option for building most of the apps. However, for developing a gaming app, the second option is more viable.

You can use third-party packages like React Native Responsive UI, or Dimensions API to identify the screen size.

Performance of Your App

React Native enables working in short development cycles that help in creating app quickly. The processing of React Native apps is fast, and they don’t have heavy components that impact their loading speed. In case your app loads slowly, there are many powerful ways to improve its performance.

Besides, the hot reload feature expedites the bundling of processes and allows developers to see even a small change in the app in real-time.

Animations

We understand that animations are imperative for apps these days, but React Native is not that effective in the animations. You can use animations, but developers have to frequently test the animation on the device because emulators don’t provide accurate feedback and leave them in doubt.

However, using useNativeDriver=true can help you yield better performance.

Easily Transform Web Project into a Mobile Version 

Code Reusability in React Native allows developers to roll out a single update for both platforms simultaneously. This helps in quickly detecting as well as fixing bugs. Even React Native app developers who haven’t worked on the project can understand the code easily.

Besides improving productivity, the framework also provides flexibility to the development team. In turn, this reduces the time required for quality assurance and facilitates transforming a web project into a mobile version.

React Native Styling

The working of React Native Style is akin to CSS, but the framework provides limited inheritance and doesn’t support cascade and many other properties. So, you should find workarounds or alternatives to achieve what you want.

Moreover, in this framework, every single element is flex by default. You must try to keep components small to overcome styling issues extensively. It will keep both the user interface as well as the styles fixed on a single page.

Final Words

React Native has become a sought-after framework among businesses and developers since its inception. The factors mentioned above can help you to improve the performance, scalability, and usability of your React Native app. To get a thorough understanding of these factors and other aspects, approach the experts of a React Native app development company. They will guide and help you in the best possible manner.

How an Android Instant App Can Improve your User Base

Posted on by Abhishek Kalyan

Every time you roll out an Android app, you have a rough idea of what it can bring to the table or yield you. These goals could be generating a certain amount of ad revenue in a year or getting high ratings on Google Play. Whatever else you want to achieve, reaching out to as many users as possible is always one of your main goals. And luckily, an Android instant app is the feature that can facilitate meeting this goal.

What is an Instant app?

An Instant app allows users who never installed your app, to test out a portion of your app without installing it on a device. It helps you to reach out to the many users and increase your app installation rate.

Necessarily, leveraging this innovation, you can separate each of your app’s features in a stand-alone module. Users can quickly load these modules by tapping on the URLs that redirect to a specific module.

Let’s take an example to understand this technology in a better manner.

Imagine a friend sends you a link to a cat video, but when you tap on it, you learn that you have to install the application to watch this video. Though you install the app not to miss out watching the best cat video, it is bad scenario users are reluctant to experience. However, most of us have installed an app just to complete a single task.

Now again, imagine the cat video scenario. However, your Android app developers place the code and resource to play video content within its own instant app function module and assign this module to a specific URL. And when you tap on the link, Google Play will identify that this URL is linked with an instant app module and retrieve the code and resources required to play this video. Consequently, you can watch this trending cat video of 20 seconds without installing the app, which also leads to a much better user experience.

Benefits of an Android Instant App

Removes Barrier Between Your App and Users

Though downloading an app isn’t a time-consuming task, it is still the biggest obstacle between your app and potential users. No matter how compelling your Google Play page is, some users always back out right before installing the app. However, an instant app overcomes this obstacle by giving them a preview of what they will get after app installation.

Enhances Opportunities to Connect with New Users

Previously, in order to connect with new users, you have to bring them to Google Play through a website, blogs, or social media platforms. However, instant apps eliminate this reliance on Google Play by allowing users to access your app from any medium that supports URLs, providing you abundant avenues to reach new users.

Ensures Referrals are the Best Compliment

A user sharing your application among friends and family is the best compliment for your app. The word-of-mouth marketing helps you to reach a new audience, so make sure to create an excellent first impression. Earlier, providing a consistent experience to users who haven’t installed your app used to be difficult, but now you can provide a seamless, native experience with instant apps to users and encourage them to spread a word about your brand.

Provides App’s Access Even if Users Have Slow Internet

With weak internet connectivity, installing an app can be tedious and frustrating. However, instant app modules are way smaller and consume only 4MB or fewer data to access them. If app installation is not possible, accessing an instant app module is still a viable option.

Increases the Appeal of Time-Sensitive Apps

An application designed for a specific event or location isn’t a new kid on the block. Most people are reluctant to install an app that they can use for a limited period or in a certain location. However, an instant app can increase the appeal of these apps by enabling users to access the key features of your application at the tap of a URL.

Final Words

An instant app can help you to reach more users to try your app and expand your user base. Developing and offering an instant app to your target market gives you the best of both worlds – your users and business. Besides, they are comparatively easier to build. Android app developers can create an instant app right from scratch or transform an existing app using Android Studio.

If you want to develop an instant app and unleash new opportunities to connect with new users, we suggest you invest in Android app development services of Beyond Root.

How to Develop an IoT App – A Compete Guide

Posted on by Abhishek Kalyan

The IoT industry is vast and offers enormous opportunities to help businesses make headway. Given the rapid growth of IoT, we can say that IoT devices will soon be ubiquitous, from smart cities and utilities to people’s homes and cars. Owing to the increasing IoT devices, the IoT development services and solutions are becoming more prevalent than ever, though it may still be hard to find the best IoT app developers.

Herein, we will shed light on consumer IoT because it the sphere that demands mobile apps the most. In other sectors like agriculture and enterprises, IoT devices may not require mobile interface as they can directly connect to the cloud or be controlled using web applications.

However, consumer-oriented IoT devices typically need apps. Smart homes are probably the first that that strikes our mind when we think about IoT for consumers. And the smart home technologies and devices are rapidly gaining momentum with each passing year. Besides smart homes, consumer-based IoT apps are required in healthcare, agriculture, automobiles, and child and pet care.

IoT will change the way we live in our homes, drive cars, work, and entertain ourselves. The number of connected devices and IoT apps are growing quickly in these industries. If you’re also planning to develop an IoT app and disrupt any of these markets, this guide is for you.

Things You Need to Know About IoT App Development

How to develop an IoT app totally depends on your idea. Though feature-set will be different for a connected car app and a smart home app, you need to know some basic things before embarking on your IoT app development journey.

Major IoT Components

An IoT system comprises four components, including hardware, software, cloud, and network.

Hardware has various low-energy sensors that operate over Bluetooth and connect via the internet. To implement your idea, you have to choose whether you need third-party or custom hardware. A mobile device will also serve as hardware in your IoT system.

Software is a cloud-based IoT app – web or mobile – that is used to manage and control IoT devices connected to it. The IoT app also collects real-time data from sensors and shows it to users.

Cloud plays a vital role in IoT as it processes and arranges data. The most significant advantage of this component is that you do not require physical resources for storing data.

Network transfers data from a mobile device to sensors or devices and vice-versa. It links all devices within the IoT ecosystem.

Besides these IoT components, you must also learn critical challenges of IoT implementation that are:

  • Delivering Value to Clients/Customers
  • Hardware Compatibility Issues                          
  • Data Connectivity Issues
  • Inaccurate Data Collection
  • Analytics Storage Space
  • Data Security Issues

Make sure that the IoT app developers you hire, create a robust solution that overcomes these challenges. Now let’s explore how you can create an IoT app.

How to Develop an IoT Application

Choose a Platform

IoT platforms provide useful toolkits to expedite the IoT app development process. There are currently multiple IoT platforms like Google Cloud, AWS, and Cloud, each having its own features. You can select any of them, but pay heed to the what technologies they support and how much they cost.

Choose the Hardware

If you don’t have your own hardware for your IoT project, you should turn to third-party hardware. But make sure your hardware connects accurately and aligns with your product’s requirements.

Think of Scalability

The relevance of your app depends heavily on scalability. It should be able to manage a massive amount of data, along with multiple devices and processes. Cloud is deemed the best technology for this purpose.

Make Sure Your App Operates Fast

When it comes to transferring data and remotely controlling devices, the app’s speed plays a significant role. Make sure that your IoT app operates faster. Imagine your connected car doesn’t respond quickly when you give a command using your own app. Disappointing, right? This is why you should focus on the app’s speed and performance.

Ensure the Security

Security should be the top priority of your app. Unfortunately, IoT is vulnerable to data infringement when a plethora of devices is connected in one network. And these attacks can expose private and sensitive data when people use IoT for multiple areas like homes, cars, and healthcare devices. So, implement proven strategies to ensure the security of your IoT app and device.

How much IoT App Development Costs

The development cost of an IoT app depends on features, third-party services, technologies, developers’ location, and hourly rate.

To give you estimation, we would say that if IoT app development costs $100,000 in North America, the same app will cost $25,000 if you hire an Indian IoT application development company.

The cost of a basic IoT app ranges from $15,000-$25,000 and a complex projects ranges from $30,000-$50,000, depending on your feature scope.

Final Words

IoT mobile apps are on the rise now. They are becoming a crucial part of our lives by freeing us from daily chores and reminding us things we often forget. By developing a smart IoT app, you can penetrate this ever-growing industry and unleash massive revenue opportunities.

The most important things to consider before developing an IoT app are security, speed, and network stability. Without these features, it would be hard for you to get loyal users who not only use your app but also recommend it to their friends/family. Thus, collaborating with experienced IoT app developers to ensure your app is stable, secure, and lightning-fast would be the best option.

Guide on Choosing the Best Tech Stack for Mobile App Development

Posted on by Abhishek Kalyan

Planning to develop a Mobile app for your business?

If so, let’s think for a moment that the mobile app is a dish and the tech stack is its ingredients. Just as we cannot make a delicious dish without the right ingredients, similarly, we cannot develop a smooth and functional mobile app without the right technology stack.

So, to give away the recipe for building an app, we have shed light on the advanced ingredients using which you can develop a future-proof app.

Let’s dive in..

Native App Development

Businesses invest in native app development because of its various benefits like fast performance, full-device integration, excellent user experience, security, and responsiveness. This approach requires platform-specific languages, software development kits (SDKs), integrated development environments (IDEs), and other tools provided by OS vendors. Besides, native apps are perfectly compatible with specific operating system – iOS or Android. So, you have to employ different app development technologies for each platform. Apps like Pokemon Go and Lyft are the results of native app development.

Technology Stack for iOS Apps

Programming Languages: Objective-C and Swift

For developing an iOS app for your business, you can choose either Swift or Objective-C. Objective-C is a superset of C language and provides a dynamic runtime environment, along with object-oriented capabilities.

However, businesses incline toward Swift because it is more functional and provides code that is less prone to errors, thanks to its inline support for manipulating data and text strings. Besides, this programming language has dynamic libraries that developers can directly upload to memory, thus reduce the initial size of the app, and improve its performance considerably.

Toolkit: Apple Xcode

Apple Xcode is a fully-featured development environment that allows you to develop mobile as well as desktop apps. This resourceful toolkit comes with a graphical editor for designing interactive user interfaces, integrated support for Git repositories, built-in documentation, and instrumentation and debugging tools.

Software Development Kit: iOS SDK

The iOS SDK has an application programming language (API) that serves as a bridge between the apps and the platform they operate on. This SDK provides specialized tools for the touchscreen interface of Apple and its proprietary iOS, which is used to run apps on iPhones as well as iPads.

Technology Stack for Android Apps

Programming Languages: Java and Kotlin

Java and Kotlin are the sought-after programming languages for native Android app development. Java has been around for years and has established itself as a language with vast open-source tools and libraries to support Android app developers. However, it has some limitations that hamper the Android API design.

On the other hand, Kotlin has lately introduced itself as a more stable development option for Android apps. The language is designed to overcome the limitations of Java and is inherently clean, lightweight, and less repetitive. As a result, Kotlin helps to create a fully operational Android app having animated micro-interactions and smooth transitions between screens.

Toolkit: Android Studio and Android Developer Tools (ADT)

Android Studio gained popularity because of its offerings like code editing, performance tooling, a flexible build system, debugging, and a quick build/deploy system. The toolkit allows Android app developers to create high-performance applications.

Besides, ADT provides Android-specific coding support and enables developers to exploit various on-device debugging tools, emulators, a graphical UI builder, and fully scriptable test automation support.

Software Development Kit: Android SDK

To write codes with the latest features, developers should download and install each version of SDK for a particular mobile device. The components or tools of the Android SDK can be downloaded individually. Third-party add-ons are also readily available for download.

Both Apple and Google provide their own development tools, SDKs, and interface elements for building a native app. You have to consider your budget, goals, and target audience to decide which native app development approach suits the best to your business.

Hybrid Mobile App Development

Hybrid app development uses a shared code developed using standard web technologies, including HTML5, CSS3, and JavaScript. The shared code is subsequently wrapped in a native container – the WebView and shipped as a regular application. Businesses usually prefer this app development approach because of its various benefits like low cost and easy maintenance.

Technology Stack for Hybrid Apps

Cordova/PhoneGap

Apache Cordova is an open-source framework designed to run HTML/JavaScript-based apps inside the native container on a mobile device. These apps can access device-specific features like cameras and sensors, thanks to the native device that JavaScript APIs exposed.

Moreover, PhoneGap supports multiple frameworks and libraries, such as AngularJS, jQuery, and Knockoutjs. Thus, hybrid mobile app developers do not have to rely only on HTML and CSS to design user interfaces.

Ionic

Ionic is an open-source Angular-based framework that allows hybrid mobile app developers to build robust and versatile apps having a native look and feel. The framework is used to design basic native functionalities within an application to facilitate its operation on different OS and devices. The key benefits of this Ionic are:

  • Supports robust and rapid app development
  • Several ready-made plugins
  • Mainly built using HTML, CSS, and JavaScript, which are familiar technologies
  • AngularJS compatible
  • Engaged community

Besides, the development and maintenance cost of Ionic apps is far less than native apps.

Cross-Platform App Development

Cross-platform app development is sought after among businesses due to its code reusability, low development cost, and easy deployment and maintenance. Developers use a single code base to develop a cross-platform app that runs on different platforms simultaneously. This codebase also connects to native components via APIs to provide native-like UX.

Also, you need to know that hybrid and cross-platform apps are not similar. The only common feature between them is code shareability, which speeds up their development process.

Technology Stack for Cross-Platform Apps

There are multiple frameworks for cross-platform apps. Let’s take a closer look at some of the popular ones.

React Native + JavaScript/TypeScript

React Native is the most demanding JavaScript framework used to create mobile apps with a native look and feel for both Android and iOS. The framework uses a similar fundamental UI building block as native Android and iOS apps. The only difference is that React Native app developers need to put these blocks together using React and JavaScript in case of cross-platform app development.

Besides, React Native brings forth a novel and highly functional methodology for developing user interfaces. The React Native apps are written and run in JavaScript, but their UI is entirely native.

Alternatively, cross-platform apps can also be built using TypeScript language that provides excellent features for rapid and simple error detection when building React components. Generic components are beneficial in the TypeScript toolbox as they offer an additional security layer while writing components. This, in turn, tightens the feedback loop and helps developers to detect errors rapidly.

Businesses prefer this platform because the cost of developing a React Native app is about 40% lower than a native app.

Xamarin + C#

Xamarin is a quite handy tool for cross-platform development that enables developers to share approx. 90% of code across major platforms. The framework uses C#, which is a statically typed programming language with mature tooling and IDE support. Apps developed using this language are cross-compiled to native iOS and Android binaries. Developers can also utilize device-specific APIs and functionality from within C#.

How to Choose the Best Technology Stack

Now you have a stack of technology stacks for developing a mobile app, how would you find the best one for your app development project? Having a solid plan of the tech stack is imperative to create a high-quality, secure, scalable, and easy-to-maintain app. So, we have outlined a few factors that you can take note of, to choose the best app development technologies.

Type of Project

If you’re planning to develop a complex mobile app with excellent performance and a fully custom UI implementation, go for native. Kotlin and Swift have commonly used programming languages for developing Android and iOS apps, respectively.

Validating an idea

If you are a startup and want to validate your app idea with an MVP, get feedback of users, and gain a competitive advantage, count on cross-platform approach. React Native is the right choice of developing an MVP as it is cost-effective and easy to create with wide platform coverage.

Time to Market

If you want to expedite your app development and quickly step in the market, consider a framework or language with a plethora of ready-made solutions for common development purposes like authentication and social media integrations.

Final Words

To wrap up, we would say that choosing the best tech stack aligning with your goals and vision can help you hit the moon and create a dominating presence in your respective industry. If you want more insights on how to choose a tech stack for your app development project, book a free consultation with our expert.

Why You Should Choose Flutter for Hybrid Mobile App Development

Posted on by Abhishek Kalyan

In this fast-paced age, competition among businesses is harder than ever. They continuously seek new avenues to stay ahead of the curve. Since this a digital era, most of them invest in mobile apps to reach out to a diverse audience and extend their roots. However, due to ever-increasing technologies, it becomes difficult for them to choose the right one. For years, small businesses have counted on React Native and Xamarin for developing a budget-friendly app, but Google’s Flutter has now started making a statement in the mobile app market.

Flutter is an open-source hybrid mobile app development framework that helps build cross-platform apps using Dart programming language. The rising popularity of this framework is evidenced by the fact that it is now among the top-20 software repositories of GitHub. It achieved this feat within a few months of its release. Let’s explore what makes Flutter unique and why you should choose this framework for hybrid app development services.

Benefits of Flutter

Single Codebase

Flutter allows hybrid mobile app developers to create a cross-platform app using a single code base. It means that they don’t have to code separately for Android and iOS apps. This helps them to quickly develop it and improve its design, quality, and speed to elevate its installation rate.

Dart as a Programming Language

Flutter uses Dart as a programming language to provide certain benefits to the developers. First, Dart is Google’s in-house production, so it is best-suited for Flutter. Second, Dart uses a reactive framework and manages both backend and frontend on its own.

Use of Customizable Widgets

Flutter provides a comprehensive library of fast and customizable widgets that give the app a native-like feeling. In Flutter’s UI toolkit, the widget catalog is divided by category for easy usability. These widgets are integrated to create a highly portable and responsive app that operates on multiple platforms and layouts.

Native Themes for iOS/Android

Flutter offers different native themes for both operating systems. The theme elements, like icons, fonts, and patterns, ensure that both platforms provide users with native user experience.

Stateful Hot Reload

The “Stateful Hot Reload” or “Hot Restart” functionality of Flutter allows hybrid mobile app developers to view changes made on the app in real-time. This feature instantly refreshes the app UI like a webpage, helping developers save up to 40% of their time.

Multiple Packages and Extensive Community

Flutter has a plethora of open-source packages that expedite the mobile app development process. This library, supporting both iOS and Android, is growing rapidly with the help of the ever-growing developer community.

Powerful Design Experience

Flutter facilitates designing powerful UI experience of the app, thanks to its easy implementation of the design specifications. This immensely benefits the developers, especially when it comes to creating a native-like experience through hybrid mobile app development.

Easier Animations

Flutter has a 2D Flare tool that makes it easy to create spectacular and complex animations with vector graphics and run them in Flutter’s rendering engine. The primary goal of this tool is to minimize the time to implement changes that need animations.

Create Apps for Mobile, Desktop, and the Web

Announced at Flutter live 2018, Hummingbird enables hybrid mobile app developers to use the same code to develop apps for mobile, desktop, and web simultaneously.

Final Words

With ample benefits, it is no surprise why some of the giants, like Google Ads, Alibaba, and AppTree, have developed their apps using Flutter. On top of this, the framework is backed by Google, which means you will never have a lack of support. So, considering Flutter hybrid app development services can help you quickly step into the market and gain a competitive edge.

A Comprehensive Guide on Hiring a React Native App Development Company

Posted on by Abhishek Kalyan

React Native is a powerful tool to create high-performance, budget-friendly apps that are easy to maintain and update. If you are considering React Native as the core technology for your project and seeking a reliable React Native app development company, you’ve landed in the right place.

In this article, we will discuss hard skills to look for in React Native app developers and all other essential factors to consider before hiring a whole development team.

So let’s dive in…

Hard Skills a React Native App Developer Should Have

Before hiring a React Native app development company, you can segment their developers into three categories – junior, middle, senior – based on their skills, experience, and knowledge.

Let’s explore the knowledge of junior, middle, and senior-level React Native app developers to understand which category is the perfect fit for your project.

Junior-Level React Native Developers

Junior developers have 0-6 months of experience, who are usually recent graduates or have switched their roles. They should be able to:

Write JavaSript Code – Since React Native is an open-source JavaScript framework, a junior developer should have expertise in writing code using JavaScript ES6 or later, including all its features as well as enhancements.

Work with React Native – A junior developer should be well-versed in React Native frameworks and its components, libraries, and API. They should also know basic React assumptions.

Implement Navigation – They should know the main types of navigation, such as push and modal, within an application, and how to implement them.

Work with Redux – Redux is an open-source library that facilitates managing states share across components and developing predicable apps that can operate in different environments. This is the most convenient and robust tool to manage states, and junior React Native app developers should know how to use it.

Perform Testing and Debugging – They should have a basic understanding of testing and debugging principles as well as tools.

Though junior React Native app developers don’t have work experience, they must have some pet projects where they have practiced the skills mentioned above.

Middle-Level React Native App Developers

Middle-level specialists have at least two years of experience and a record of working on several different projects. Besides, they have problem-solving skills, can work independently, and take accountability for their work. They should be able to:

Improve App Performance – They should have hands-on knowledge of techniques to optimize the performance of various types of React Native apps.

Incorporate Hardware Features – Middle-level developers should know how to integrate hardware features like camera, microphone, and GPS sensors into the app, and overcome all the challenges that may occur during the process.

Integrate with Third-Party Services – Middle-level React Native app developers should know the ins and outs of integrating third-party services like social media platforms and payment gateways, and how to work with their APIs to extend the functionalities of applications.

Sign and Deploy Apps – Middle React Native app development specialists should understand the flow of signing an app, how to get all the required components for this task, and how to deploy an application on Google Play and App Store.

Store Data and Cache Offline – They should be familiar with various kinds of React Native app development databases and libraries. Besides, they should understand all the nuances of offline data caching and decide when to use ready-made code and when to create caching logic from scratch.

Middle-level React Native app developers of a company are independent and need less supervision. They can generate ideas on how to resolve an issue, but can’t make critical decisions about an app.

Senior-Level React Native App Developers

Senior developers have at least three years of experience in developing and launching various React Native apps. Within this period, they already have trained newcomers and managed teams. So, they should be able to:

Port Native Apps – To successfully convert native apps into React Native, developers must have knowledge of programming languages used for native app development such as Java, Kotlin, Swift, and Objective-C.

Integrate Native Libraries – They should have hands-on experience in integrating native libraries and frameworks into React Native apps to develop comprehensive solutions.

Set-Up Continuous Integration (CI) and Continuous Delivery (CD) – CI/CD tools improve code quality, allow developers to identify and fix bugs quickly, and enhance transparency as well as visibility of the development process. So, senior developers should know how to set up the CI and CD.

Build an Effective Workflow – Senior React Native app developers should know the difference between various app development techniques, choose the best one for a particular project, and support the team with the transition to a new or more effective workflow if required.

Contribute to Deciding Architectural Solutions – Senior developers are responsible for the app’s architecture as it is one of the most important decisions for an app development project. They should participate in research and share ideas regarding the architecture of the app before its development.

To summarize, the ideal developers are those who have all the skills required for your project. So, counting on a React Native app development company is the best way out. They provide you with a cross-functional team of experienced developers, designers, strategists, consultants, and managers who steer your app development journey right from ideation to deployment.

Factors to Consider while Hiring a React Native App Development Company

Hard skills or experience is just the tip of an iceberg. It would help if you consider various other factors to find a suitable React Native app development company for your project, which are:

Soft Skills – Soft skills describe the team’s personality or behavior and are as important as hard skills for the success of a project. Your React Native app development team should have skills like curiosity, helpfulness, problem-solving, teamwork, approachability, communication, and accountability. It helps you to work and communicate with them without any friction.

Cultural Fit – Finding a team that is a cultural fit for your company is equivalent to finding like-minded people who want to add value to your business. For a long-term project, cultural fit matters more than hard skills and experience. It improves engagement, performance, cohesion, and productivity, strengthening relationships with your outsourced React Native app development company.

Portfolio and Feedback – A portfolio reflects the experience and capabilities of the company. If they already have worked with global clients and delivered high-profile projects, you can rely on them. Don’t forget to verify if they have knowledge of the latest React-based libraries and tools.

Besides, you can ask the company for the references of their existing clients. If possible, try to find feedback from their previous or current clients. A good understanding of their capabilities helps you to partner with the best React Native app development company.

Financial Stability – Once you’re satisfied with their technical and other capabilities, analyze their financial strength if you’re investing in a big project. Poor financial stability of a React Native app development company may jeopardize your project.

Also, explore the company’s website as well as fetch and validate information gathered from all secondary sources. This is a crucial step to hire a reliable app development team.

Final Words

Finding and hiring the best React Native app development company can be a challenging task. We hope this guide lessens your difficulties and helps you find the right team that can deliver you a high-performance app aligning to your business goals.

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