In today’s fast-paced world, people are more reliant on mobile apps to make their lives easier and more efficient. Whether it’s millennial or Gen-Z, day by day, the usage and popularity of smartphones are increasing, where Android takes the first place, acquiring 70.89% market share and dominating the market globally.
Over the past few years, we can say that Android app development has seen tremendous growth and evolution, but the pillar to sustain in the long run and give the best user experience lies in choosing the right framework. When it comes to providing one quality, developers are ready to turn to the best frameworks to streamline the development process.
To help developers, there are so many options for Android app development frameworks available, but some stand out in this. This blog will help to get detailed knowledge about Android app development and its frameworks.
What Is Application Framework?
Before diving in to learn about the popularity of the mobile operating system, let’s briefly understand what an application framework is.
It is a pre-built software library that helps to develop software applications efficiently, it offers a set of libraries, tools, and templates to streamline common tasks. It also helps developers to save time, consistency, and network communication.
The whole point of designing an application framework is to reduce the general issues that will be taken care of during the development time following the best practices, helping to speed up the development process. This is used by employing the codes by reusing them across different applications. Application frameworks are not only limited to graphical user interface development but also in different other domains, including web-based applications, front-end frameworks, mobile app development, and more.
As one thing leads to another, the concept of application frameworks is not a new concept, with different longstanding examples including Smalltalk, MacApp, and Struts for Java- these are some examples of web-based applications that have been in the industry for a long time and are continue to be relevant today.
Also Read – Top Mobile App Development Framework
Mobile Operating System Market Share
When it comes to the virtual landscape, there are two key players in the mobile app development ecosystem: the mobile operating system and the application framework. On one side, application frameworks provide tools and resources to enhance app functionality, on the other side, mobile operating systems help to provide the platform for mobile app development, improving the user experience of the apps we use daily.
With the constant influencing and improvements in the direction of innovation in the tech industry. That has resulted in an increasing market share of mobile operating systems below-
List of Top Frameworks For Android Development in 2024
When it comes to Android app development frameworks, the list is long. To go through them and find the best might be a daunting task, which is why we have curated this list to help you out. Every framework has its strengths and weaknesses, and selecting one for your project requires careful consideration. We are presenting some of the best Android app development frameworks as top choices for app development below-
React Native – Best Framework for Android App Development
One of the best and most popular open-source frameworks ‘React Native‘ was developed by Meta in 2015 and became famous as an Android framework used for building high-quality mobile apps. It helps the developers to build cross-platform apps for iOS and Android devices with a single database. React-native delivers a native-like experience that utilizes native UI components for delivering.
React Native is the best framework for Android app development and the base of many leading mobile apps such as Instagram, Skype, and Facebook. React-Native seems to be a compelling option for apps that require top-quality performance and robust or seamless integration with native functionalities.
Features of React Native
- React Native helps to reuse the code helping to improve code maintainability.
- Live and Hot reloading helps developers to see their changes in real-time without recompiling the entire app.
- The large and active community of developers to find solutions to your errors.
- Have a rich set of pre-built components that leads to a speedy development process.
- React Native uses NPM libraries that make the installation process prompt.
Flutter – Popular Framework for Android Development
Flutter is a well-known framework for Android app development and is used to build efficient and natively compiled applications for mobile, web, and more. Flutter was developed by Google, which was not only limited to the Android framework but also works best for cross-platform frameworks, allowing developers to create applications for different platforms.
Flutter is a great choice for developers as it has amazing cross-platform compatibility and strong performance, making it an attractive option. Flutter is a free, open-source framework compatible with existing codebases that is widely accepted and used by developers and organizations globally.
Features of Flutter
- Flutter allows developers to build applications that run on different platforms, including Android.
- Flutter uses a widget-based architecture which helps to customize and create complex UIs.
- Flutter allows for customization which helps to give your app a personalized and unique look.
- Flutter is integration-friendly with popular development tools like Visual Studio code, making it easy for developers to get started.
- Flutter has a rich set of widgets that helps to grant control of pixels along with support for customization.
Ionic – Top Android App Development Framework
Ionic is another great open-source Android app development framework for creating cross-platform mobile, desktop, and web apps using web technologies such as HTML, CSS, and JavaScript. The initial beta version of Ionic was launched in March 2014. It offers a wide variety of pre-built UI components and tools that help developers focus mainly on the front end for Android, iOS, and the web from a single code.
Ionic is a great option for its intuitive UI components and software development tools, hastening the development time making it a viable choice.
The majority of the code is mainly developed within the web browser, except for specific native mobile device functionality.
Features of Ionic
- Easy to integrate with different libraries including Angular JS.
- Ionic is commonly used for cross-platform mobile application development.
- Ionic supports the creation of Hybrid apps and PWAs.
- Ionic has a hot reloading feature through which you can see changes made immediately.
- Ionic offers a vast library of customized UI components for a different feel and look on different platforms.
Xamarin – Famous for Cross and Android App Development
Xamarin is Microsoft’s popular Android Framework used in over 13,000 apps. It lends help to developers to create cross-platform applications. It uses C# and supports Windows, Android, and iOS implementing native-app experiences. Furthermore, it has a lot of libraries and seamlessly integrates with modern IDEs like VSCode.
It utilizes integration with Microsoft cloud testing service, allowing for it to be evaluated on different devices. Additionally, its ability to help code-sharing makes it a feasible option to reduce any errors and minimize any other issues during the development process.
Features of Xamarin
- Developers can share 90% code between platforms, helping them to save their effort and time.
- Xamarin provides a way into platform libraries that grant access to APIs from large players of the market, such as Apple, Facebook, and Google, enriching their capabilities.
- With the help of Xamarin, applications are built to excellent native-like performance.
- Xamarin is an open-source providing cost-free development opportunities.
- Xamarin provides an extensive ecosystem with .NET and Microsoft Visual Studio.
Native Script
Native Script is an open-source best Android app development framework that helps the development of applications using JavaScript and TypeScript. It helps developers build mobile apps providing access to device
APIs and native user interface with a single codebase.
NativeScript helps developers use extensive tools and libraries including Angular, Vue.js, and more to give the native feel and look to mobile apps. NativeScript allows access to native APIs and components making sure of native experience.
Features of Native Script-
- It has flexible development tools and an environment that developers can use.
- Due to its open-source nature, Native Script makes it approachable for developers.
- NativeScript has a LiveSync feature that can help to see code changes and updates in real time.
- NativeScript has a huge ecosystem of plug-ins and extensions to build your app’s user interface.
- NativeScript extends official support for popular JavaScript Frameworks like Angular and Vue.js helping you to build native apps using this framework.
Apache Cordova
Apache Cordova is an open-source application that helps developers build Android frameworks using web technologies such as HTML, CSS, and JavaScript. it was formerly known as PhoneGap developed by Nitobi. Cordova helps web developers to use their HTML, CSS & JavaScript to build applications.
Apache Cordova supports the framework of many major platforms including Android, iOS, Windows, and more. Through Cordova, a developer writes the app and translates it into specific platform formats using the respective SDKs.
Choose: iOS Mobile App Development Services
Features of Apache Cordova
- Cordova provides a set of JavaScript APIs that helps to provide access to native device features and capabilities.
- Cordova offers an extensive library of plug-ins to widen their app’s functionality.
- Easy to develop the user interface of their app using different web technologies.
- Cordova can provide debugging tools to find and resolve issues more efficiently and effectively.
- Cordova offers essential components that help the developers to concentrate on implementing their custom functionality.
Framework7
Framework7 is a free and open-source framework for building web and mobile applications with a native feel and look. It is called for its simplicity and ease of use, making it a perfect option for developers looking to create cross-platform easily. Framework7 is customizable, helping it to change its appearance as per your app’s requirements.
Framework7 was launched in 2014 and is said to be the top Github cross-platform mobile framework. As per experienced developers, Framework7 is of exceptionally high level of performance, usability, and top design quality.
Features of Framework7
- It provides an offline-first approach that helps to design apps that function without the internet.
- Framework7 supports pre-designed components used to create attractive user interfaces quickly.
- Framework7 helps to design more responsive designs to adapt to different screen sizes.
- Framework7 is customizable and helps developers modify its styles and components to match their requirements.
- Framework7 has wide-ranging built-in animations that help to add extra effects to enhance the user interface.
JQuery
JQuery Mobile is a lightweight and widely used JavaScript library that makes web development tasks simpler. it helps to offer a more convenient and better way to simplify HTML documents, create animations, and perform AJAX interactions with ease. One of its well-known strengths is its comprehensive selection and traversal capabilities that help developers write concise code that helps to reduce the need for lengthy JavaScript Code.
JQuery helps to streamline web development by summarizing common tasks such as DOM into some easy-to-use methods. JQuery is an efficient tool for developers that helps them to work more promptly and maintain codes more easily.
Features of jQuery
- jQuery helps to make event handling easier by offering methods to attach and manage event listeners.
- jQuery includes built-in animations and effects to create more visually appealing web pages.
- jQuery has vast plugins and extensions to improve and extend its functionality.
- jQuery offers utility functions for tasks such as working with objects and arrays and handling data.
- jQuery supports internalization and localization features, helping to create a globally accessible audience.
Conclusion
As a business, whether you are starting or looking to upgrade a cutting-edge custom application that surpasses your competitors, these frameworks are for you. They offer a variety of features and capabilities that help developers create native or cross-platform apps efficiently. It provides tools for UI design, access to hardware and sensors, network communication, data management, and more.
If you are planning to build an Android framework? then we believe the above-given write-up will help you. But, each framework has its strength that caters to different preferences and requirements. So, ultimately the choice of an Android mobile framework depends on your project goal, code reusability, and development speed. With proper discussion with developers, you can get the framework that suits your needs and fits your requirements.
