Which is the Best Cross Platform Framework for Mobile Apps and Games?

Cross platform framework is the one where the codes are written and applications are developed to work on more than two or more platforms.

Furthermore, cross platform framework development has an added advantage. In a normal scenario, if mobile app developers want to develop their mobile apps and games for multiple platforms then they have to create multiple versions of the same app using the different source code.

While it looks very practical. However, it is very expensive in terms of development costs. Moreover, cross platform development framework helps mobile app developers in creating multiple versions of the same app or game without any need for creating new codes.

In addition, many of the mobile app and gaming development companies use cross platform frameworks for developing mobile apps and games.

In this post, we will discuss which is the best cross platform framework for creating mobile apps and games.

Best Cross Platform Framework for Mobile App Development

Here are some of the best cross platform framework for mobile app development mentioned below:

1. PhoneGap

PhoneGap which is also known as Apache Cordova is one of the most popular cross platform frameworks for developing cross platform mobile apps. According to the stats by W3Tech, more than 3000+ cross platform mobile apps are being developed using PhoneGap.

PhoneGap uses HTML, Javascript, and CSS for developing mobile applications.

Pros of PhoneGap

• There is no requirement of high programming skills in HTML, Javascript, and CSS as PhoneGap makes the use of the skills of mobile app developers. Furthermore, it increases workflow and time to train which helps various businesses to operate without any problem.
• PhoneGap is an open-source cross platform framework and free to use.
• PhoneGap is versatile in nature. Meaning that the mobile app developers who are not using a particular platform are allowed to develop a mobile app for that platform. For instance, developers who are not familiar with the Mac can create mobile apps for iOS platform and vice versa.

Cons of PhoneGap

• PhoneGap’s performance is very poor when it comes to high graphic mobile apps and games.
• All the plugins are available in order. However, many times, the plugin is found to be outdated or not supported anymore.

2. Xamarin

Xamarin is cross platform framework which allows mobile app developers to create native mobile apps for multiple platforms using C# code as a base. Moreover, with Xamarin mobile app developers can do anything with C# which they can do the same in Swift, Objective-C or Java. In addition, they are also allowed to use the same IDE, APIs, and languages anywhere.

Moreover, Git integration is provided in the Xamarin Studio itself.

Pros of Xamarin

• It provides a sample of apps which makes the development process quick and easy. Also, these apps can be used for references as well.
• 75% of developed code can be shared across all major mobile platforms with the help of Xamarin, which leads to less cost and provides more to market the app.
• Xamarin provides quality assurance and functionality testing for various mobile devices for ensuring seamless integration.

Cons of Xamarin

Using Xamarin, mobile app developers still won’t be able to access various open source libraries of both iOS and Android platforms because of the compatibility issues. Furthermore, it is advised to hire Xamarin developer as developing a mobile app on Xamarin is not an easy task.

3. Appcelerator Titanium

Appcelerator helps to develop native mobile applications by using Javascript as a code base. Plus, it provides web content to the native mobile application, by ensuring that the code is not wrapped around web container, unlike other few solutions.

Pros of Appcelerator Titanium

• Provides tools for rapid mobile application development. A prototype mobile app can be developed with less time and effort for evaluating user interaction with a user interface.
• The database in Appcelerator is a schema-less store which is called as ArrowDB which lets mobile app developers deploy data models with zero efforts for setting up.
• Provides seamless integration with existing continuous delivery systems like MDM and SCM solutions.
• Provides inbuilt connectors for MongoDB, Box, MSSQL, and various others.

Con of Appcelerator Titanium

Appcelerator Titanium is very laggy and buggy and also users complain about poor support from the developer community.

4. Sencha Touch

Sencha Touch was developed by Sencha Inc and is a cross platform framework which depends on hardware acceleration techniques. Moreover, it used for developing large business mobile applications and its maintenance. Sencha Touch uses HTML5 as its primary programming language.

Pros of Sencha Touch

• Sencha Touch provides a lot of inter-operable sub-apps like Sencha Touch Charts or Sencha Architect which can be used with Sencha Touch with ease.
• Provides integration with PhoneGap for accessing native API and packaging.
• Amazing themes are available for every mobile platform.

Cons of Sencha Touch

• Themes offered by Sencha Touch is very limited and its availability is not easy.
• Commercial license of this app is very difficult to understand.

Best Cross Platform Framework for Mobile Games Development

Here are some of the best cross platform framework for mobile games development mentioned below:

1. Unreal Engine 4

Unreal Engine 4 was designed by Epic Games as the powerful engine for mobile games. Moreover, its latest engine was designed to run on Nvidia Tegra K1 processors made specifically for smartphones.

Also, this gaming engine can be used for less graphic intensive applications as well. Like the simple but most popular Flappy bird.

Pros of Unreal Engine 4

• Rendering technology of Unreal Engine 4 is very fast and efficient because of the different functions.
• It is known as the best optimization tool for gaming.
• Unreal Engine 4 has number of tools and functionalities for various situations.

Cons of Unreal Engine 4

• Mobile game developers are required to buy a licensed copy of Unreal Engine 4 and then pay 5% tax after their game becomes profitable.
• Experts on Unreal engine 4 are very less so select the development team carefully.
• Unreal Engine 4 is not suitable for simple games because the cost of such work will be very higher.

2. Unity

Unity is another cross platform framework for developing mobile games. Furthermore, it has a built-in integrated development environment(IDE). It used for developing games for multiple mobile platforms and consoles. Moreover, it is the most efficient mobile game development platform for developing games. Therefore, if you are not familiar with the Unity development framework than you should hire Unity developers for developing new games.

Pros of Unity

• Unity provides a wide range of programming languages like Javascript, Boo, C# etc. which makes easier for developers to adapt to it and learn.
• It's the best way to start developing games and is way better when compared with other cross platform framework for games. Also, it's a popular choice for beginners.
• It covers a wide variety of platforms from iOS, Android, Mac, Windows, gaming consoles, etc. It also compatible with virtual reality platforms as well.

Cons of Unity

• Unity has a very slow rendering.
• For getting the access to source code in Unity you need to pay for it.

3. App Game Kit

App Game Kit was developed by Game Creators. It was built for enabling developers to code their games once and then deploy it to various mobile devices available in the market today.

This framework has its own BASIC programming language making the engine easy for both experienced as well as beginner developers. Moreover, developers can code in C++ if they wish to.

Pros of App Game Kit

• Comes with built-in integrated development environment(IDE).
• Allows testing on a mobile device by broadcasting the app using a wireless connection.
• Plug-ins in App Game Kit are extendable.
• Supports multiple programming languages.

Cons of App Game Kit

• Provides no screen for editing.
• APKs compiled are very large.
• Have only a few skilled developer and support by developer community is also not good.

Wrapping Up

So, these are the top cross platform framework for creating new mobile app and games. Moreover, businesses should choose these frameworks wisely as one wrong choice can lead to loss of time and money. Furthermore, if businesses are having less knowledge about all these frameworks then they should hire mobile app developers for developing the mobile apps for businesses.