IoT (Internet of Things) is the backbone of a grand technological future. It is a concept of connecting multiple devices through the internet. Today, all industries make use of this technology and therefore have revolutionised their respective business sectors.

Taking a step further, IoT in the web and app development is making path-breaking contributions towards the world of technology. It has enabled a shift in the way users interact with websites and applications. Making the lives easier and more synchronised is the major advantage of IoT in mobile app development. As IoT begins to take over the world of technology, having a functional mobile app helps users to seamlessly connect to the world via a smartphone, a tablet, or a smartwatch.

Let us take a closer look at how IoT can impact Mobile Application Development

Enrich the User Experience

Providing a seamless user experience and keeping them engaged is one of the most important aims of the businesses and developers. With the rise of IoT, and through its continued growth we have a great advancement in the concept of everything smart – smart cities, smart applications, and smart homes.

Living in a tech-enabled world, brands today focus on enhancing the user-experience using smart applications that interact with your fitness equipment, watches, lights, speakers, and so on. This is where the IoT comes into the picture. It is IoT that keeps all these connected and synchronised to deliver a great user experience.

Open Source Development, a New Norm

Since its inception in the tech world, IoT has only grown and flourished across industries and sectors. This explosion has lead IT companies and developers to share their programs or applications openly for third parties to use. This encourages new and naive developers to build applications of their own.

Having an open-source development increases the opportunity to work with varied minds by leaps and bounds. This helps more and more creative minds to enter and develop smarter mobile applications. Bringing in transparency, companies and developers collaborating has today become a norm.

Creating New Platforms

Adopting IoT and creating apps with that at its core is a bit challenging for developers. Despite their constant and multiple adaptations, they are hindered by the dearth of the platforms. But this challenge didn’t stop them from working on their mandates, as they created brand-new platforms for their applications. This leads to the development of integrated IoT platforms, thereby enabling the developers to create more and more cross-platform applications. This trend will only encourage mobile app developers to focus on developing platforms as they offer profitable returns.

Opening up more opportunities for mobile app developers, IoT is no doubt a much-needed advancement in app development. IoT and Mobile App Development, together, will change the way we live, work, and relax. If you are planning to take some advantage of IoT and Mobile App Development, then contact us at contact@goodworklabs.com or  +91- 9863077000.

Here at GoodWorkLabs, we realize it can be stressful and difficult for a business to balance app development with an ordinary workflow. That’s why we’re here to help! With a core focus on Data Science, AI, and Machine Learning technologies and expertise in building B2B and B2C platforms, we have served our customers across e-commerce, retail, automobile, healthcare, real estate, NGO, and education domain. All this, and more has led us to be the industry leader that we are today! We are committed to help our customers by building custom solutions for them and optimizing their products.

In recognition of our efforts, we’ve been named one of the leading firms for app development by Clutch, a B2B market research authority. They leverage a unique ratings methodology to compare and contrast leaders across an array of service sectors.

We couldn’t have won this award without the support of our lovely customers. They took time out of their day to engage with Clutch analysts to assess our impact. We were evaluated along the lines of quality, attention to deadlines, and overall project management acumen. We’re happy to say we’ve maintained a wonderful 4.9 out of five stars! Take a look at a recent review below:

“We are extremely happy to be named as a Clutch Leader in the report on the top mobile app developers in India! We bring in digital transformation for our customers by constantly anticipating upcoming tech trends and building solutions around them.” – Sonia Sharma, CEO & Co-founder, GoodWorkLabs.

We’re proud to receive this recognition and look forward to helping even more clients reach their goals with our cutting-edge technology. Drop us a line if you’d like to work on a project with us today!

Cross-platform is commonly used by app developers to cut down on the development time and produce cost-effective results. However, cross-platform app development can lead to several performance & UX-related problems.

Cross-platform app development is the process or approach to develop applications that can run on multiple platforms. These applications use a reusable code that can reutilize to create the same form for several platforms. However, this method of approach comes with its advantages and disadvantages.

Let’s discuss in brief the pros and cons of cross-platform app development.

Pros

Reusable Code

One of the most significant advantages of this method of app development is the reusable code, which the developer can use across different platforms. Therefore, instead of developing separate applications for separate platforms, the developer can use and customize one code for different platforms. Moreover, the same code can be utilized for future projects as well.

Reduced Time

As mentioned above, the reusable code enables developers to use one code across all platforms. Doing so results in a significant reduction in development time and allows developers to complete development projects quickly.

Cost-Effective

Since one code can be used across all platforms, app owners don’t need to spend money on hiring separate developers for different platforms. Doing so saves a hefty amount of money. For instance, iPhone app development and android app development, if done separately, gets expensive.

Easy Development Process

Cross-platform app development makes the overall development process easy, resulting in a pleasant time for both developers and business owners. The cross-platform development framework supports HTML5 and CSS3, making it easy for developers to use.

Enhanced Market Reach

One of the limitations of single platform development is limited reach. If an application is developed specifically for iPhone, Android, or Windows, users will not be able to access it. And since single platform development is costly, app owners refrain from developing the same application on different platforms.

But cross-platform development enables app owners to launch the same application on all the platforms, enhancing the user base and market reach, which otherwise restricted in a single-platform application.

Integration with Cloud solutions

Cross-platform applications can integrate with various frameworks that offer several plugins to the developers for improving aesthetics, app functionality, and validity.

Simple to Update

Cross-platform applications are easy to edit and update. Since all the apps use a standard code, the update can follow across all platforms, which results in seamless operations.

Cons

Although cross-platform development comes with a bunch of exciting benefits, there are a few drawbacks to this approach as well, as discussed below.

Challenges in switching the platform

Almost all cross-platform frameworks use their JavaScript subsets, which may cause problems in the reusable code. The issues arise while switching to another platform; the reusable code becomes unusable.

Lengthy Integration Process

Another problem with cross-platform applications is the time-consuming integration process. The integration process with local settings and preferences is not easy and might require the support of third-party cloud providers to resolve the storage difficulties.

Limited Updates

The operating system may not support all the features a framework uses. For example, if IOS releases an update or adds a new element, you have to update the iOS version of your application accordingly. However, you cannot do the same with an android application until Google releases a similar update.

Sluggish Code

Cross-platform app development is not as easy as it seems, especially for novice developers. Developers need to use several cross-compliance during the development process that might lead to a sluggish code, and thereby a slow application.

The point of concern as a decision-maker or developer, how do you solve the problem of creating your mobile application for multiple platforms?

It has become an essential element for any organization, whatever its size. Some companies can focus on one operating system (operating system) and avoid all others. Nevertheless, many companies must focus on a multitude of mobile devices with different operating systems. Today, it’s vital for the app to support Android gadgets, iPads, Windows Phone, Amazon Kindle, tablets, BlackBerry, and more.

One of the most challenging situations for application developers is developing a native mobile application and using it on multiple platforms. Of course, as a business, you have to deal with different types of customers with varying types of devices. As a result, you need a mobile application that can work seamlessly on almost any platform (for example, Android, iOS, Windows, etc.).

Whether your company creates a mobile app for application stores or in-house use, you often face the challenge of developing it for multiple platforms. In general, this means targeting both iOS and Android devices.

Let’s understand cross-platform apps

In an apt scenario, cross-platform applications run on multiple operating systems with a single code base. There are two types of cross-platform applications.

1. Native Cross-Platform Apps
2. Hybrid ‘HTML5’ Cross-Platform Apps

Cross-Platform Apps

The majority of the mobile operating system has its own Software Development Kit (SDK) for creating mobile applications. These SDKs also have preferred programming languages, supported by the operating system vendor. As we know, for iOS Objective-C and Swift are the recommended programming languages ​​supported by Apple, while for Android, Java is the preferred language supported by Google. Typically, applications framed with these languages ​​using the official SDK are known as native applications.

Nevertheless, it is possible to use APIs (Application Programming Interface) furnished by the native SDK, in other programming languages ​​that are not compatible with the operating system vendor. These are the way native “multi-platform” applications created. Typically, a third-party provider chooses a programming language and makes a unified API over the native software development kit availed by the various operating system vendors. With this unified API, it is possible to cater to multiple operating systems with a single code base. Because the final application produced still uses native APIs, cross-platform native applications can achieve near-native performance without any visible straggle for the user.

Some widely used cross-platform framework include

• React Native

React native leverages the best parts of native development with React, considered best-in-class JavaScript library for building user interfaces.

React Native can use in your existing Android and iOS ongoing development projects, or you can start the development from scratch.

Consistency in terms of UI and UX on both Android and iOS across multiple devices is one of the critical benefits of react-native.

How React Native Enables Low-Cost App Development

React Native competitive advantage is its low-cost development. Following are key features which enable in cost reduction;

1. Reusable Components
2. Smooth Debugging
3. Less Operational and Maintenance Cost
4. A Single and Robust UI/UX
5. Affordable Way to Market

• Ionic

Based on: HTML5, CSS3, JavaScript and SASS.

Ionic is one of the most popular cross-platform frameworks built with Angular and Apache Cordova; it felicitates the ability to develop apps for multiple mobile platforms in the most efficient manner. Apps developed using the Ionic cross-platform framework can run on iOS and Android.

Ionic apps use regular web technologies like HTML, CSS, and Angular and designed like web applications. But Cordova, which it depends on, enables it to make use of the device’s native features.

1. Hiring a new set of developers is not required. The existing web developers can transition easily to developing mobile apps with ionic since they make use of similar technologies.
2. Ionic makes use of web technologies, so it’s handy to work with it.

• NativeScript 

Like Titanium, NativeScript aims to make Web-based programming available for application development. Telerik announced NativeScript, a company famous for its suite of GUI components for enterprise applications in 2014. It uses JavaScript as its primary development language. The native script also supports TypeScript, Angular, and uses CSS for style. In comparison to the other technologies mentioned above, NativeScript is relatively new, but it has a lot of potentials.

• QT

QT is a cross-platform workstation development library in the industry, launched 21 years ago, in 1995. QT supported iOS and Android cross-platform applications in 2013. QT encompasses C ++ with Qt Meta Language or Qt Modeling Language – Which is a markup language similar to HTML for creating cross-platform applications. Still, by default, the Qt GUI components do not adhere to iOS and Android, and C ++ is not a handy programming language because of its vast syntax, manual memory management, and compatibility issues. QT can be quite productive if there are hands of experienced C ++ programmers.

• RubyMotion

RubyMotion is the primary language for development. One of the earliest actors in this field. When they announced for the first time in 2012, it was only related to iOS but has supported iOS and Android since 2014. Rubymotion needs a separate GUI code for iOS and Android. Nevertheless, business logic can be reused on all platforms.

Hybrid ‘HTML5’ cross-platform Apps

Mobile applications are graphical interface applications. Most of the mobile apps rely on core web services for much of their business logic. Approximately speaking, in mobile applications, especially in the area of business process automation, almost 60% of the code deals with the creation and management of the graphical interface.

As we know, iOS, Android, and Windows Phone all have a very advanced browser component in their SDK. By leveraging this Web View component, programmers can implement standard HTML5 Web technologies to design and program elements of their application. In the end, the use comprises at least one native frame and HTML / JavaScript code executed in a web view. That’s why they are called “hybrids.” Application features that require sensor input, such as geolocation, camera, or lower-level features, such as file system access, primarily use a native JavaScript bridge provided by the infrastructure of the hybrid application.

Apache Cordova, originally called PhoneGap (launched in early 2009), is the most popular multiplatform hybrid framework. It is compatible with most major operating systems for modern smartphones. Because in hybrid cross-platform frameworks, HTML and CSS used to generate a graphical interface, almost all of it can utilize on different operating systems.

In hybrid applications, HTML, CSS, and JavaScript code furnishes with the app. As a result, there is no lag in loading UI-related code, as you experienced when loading Web sites on the network. On powerful and modern phones, it is possible to create a user-friendly interface with HTML5 technologies. With Cordova, primarily for B2B applications, it is possible to reuse the code between 80% and 90% on all platforms.

On the contrary, some programming languages used in native app development are:

1. Java
2. Python
3. PHP
4. Ruby
5. C++
6. JS

The Ending Note

Cross-platform development is a breakthrough technology that allows small business owners to reach a large number of the target audience with a single application. Moreover, this process helps them save a significant amount of time and money, as well. It is also a lot easier to make a mark on app marketplaces of google play store and apple app store. It has a broader user base owing to the opportunity to reach a more general audience.

However, in the case of a few businesses or applications that offer a plethora of sophisticated features, cross-platform development can have some challenges. Therefore, it is essential to contemplate the pros and cons before selecting a suitable development process for your application.

Contact Us!

Xamarin is the undisputed leader in cross-platform development

With a boom in the use of smartphones among customers, application development has been growing at a rapid pace. Different devices, carriers, and software have created their own identity in the everyday lives of people around the globe. Almost anything gets done with the help of a smartphone.

In terms of global market share, Android tops the list. The next in line is Apple’s iOS and Windows, respectively. As a mobile app developer, it gets confusing at times to choose the best platform for an application, other than its native platform.

Learning a new language, the API’s, and other related stuff is not only tedious but can keep you stuck on your platform. Xamarin can help you there. You can build cross-platform mobile applications to facilitate similar functions like platform native apps.

Know Xamarin

Xamarin is the name of a software company founded in the year 2011. Acquired in 2016 by Microsoft, Xamarin provides tools to developers to help them create cross-platform mobile applications. All these applications have their natural features intact while sharing a standard code set at the same time.

Xamarin tools are readily available, and they get downloaded with Visual Studio. You can directly develop apps for Android, iOS, and Windows apps from the Visual Studio itself.

A significant part of the standard code gets written in C#, eliminating the need to learn any other language like Objective-C, Swift, or Java as well. Using Xamarin instead of the usual learning procedure will prove helpful to you in learning app development on multiple platforms.

How Does Xamarin Work?

On a very elementary level, Xamarin converts the total iOS or Android SDK to C# to facilitate coding in a more familiar language for the developers. With one style to code for both platforms, you do not need to remember too much of syntax as well.

This makes it easy to access any Android or iOS API through Xamarin tools.

Benefits of Xamarin

There are several reasons Xamarin is used by a lot of companies, with brands like Trello, Slack, and GitHub a few of the ones.

We bring you some of these profound benefits Xamarin has over other technologies-

– Single Tech Stack for Coding on All Platforms

Xamarin takes the help of C# integrated with a.Net framework for creating apps for a mobile platform. Through this, you get to reuse about 96 percent of source code leading to a speedy engineering cycle. Xamarin also does not need to switch among the development environments.

All of the Xamarin apps can be entirely built in Visual Studio, a replacement for the Xamarin Studio. The tools to facilitate cross-platform development come without any added cost.

– Performance Almost as Good as Native

With the traditional hybrid solutions based on web technologies, a cross-platform app can never get the classification as native. With Xamarin, however, a cross-platform app can still get classified as a native app. The performance metrics can be easily compared with those of Java for Android and even Objective- C, or Swift to create a native app for iOS.

The performance of Xamarin is also improved continuously to meet the standards of native application development. Visual Studio provides a total option to build, test, and track the performance of an app.

– Native User Experience

With Xamarin, you can create a superb experience with the help of platform-specific UI elements. A lot of simple apps for iOS, Android, and Windows get designed with the help of Xamarin.

The use of Xamarin with the Forms tool brings about a significant increase in the pace of application development. With such a speedy process of development, it becomes a fantastic option for business-oriented projects.

However, you might always have the chance to see a slightly depleted performance, due to the presence of an extra abstraction layer. For a customized user interface and increased performance, you can use Xamarin for iOS and Android separately to get the best out of it.

– Total Hardware Support

Xamarin provides your solution with native-level app functions. The tool eliminates every hardware compatibility issue through plugins and particular API’s. This allows Xamarin to work with conventional device functionality across all platforms.

With access to platform specific API’s, Xamarin provides the function of linking native libraries. It gives a better degree of customization and a native-level functionality with just a little added cost.

– Open Sourced with Strong Corporate Support

When Microsoft acquired Xamarin in the year 2016, the licensing policies underwent quite a lot of significant changes. Xamarin SDK, with runtime, command line tools, and libraries have all become open sourced and available as per MIT license through Visual Studio.

The cost of license tends to be a significant barrier, and by eliminating this, Microsoft opened up the doors to further development of this platform.

– Ease in maintenance

Because of its cross-platform ability, Xamarin makes maintenance and providing updates easier. Developers can deploy the changes or updates to the source file itself. These updates then automatically get applied to both the iOS and Android applications.

It is important to note that this only works for the applications running on Xamarin. In short, with Xamarin, you save a lot of time and money spent on keeping your apps up to date.

Conclusion

Ones above are just a few benefits of Xamarin for mobile app development, there’s a lot more which makes Xamarin the undisputed leader in cross-platform development. The feature-rich layout and subsequent benefits make Xamarin an almost perfect option for cross-platform development.

Additionally, Xamarin has a community of more than 700,000 developers. This number is only increasing as collaboration and enhancement of software becomes more comfortable than ever with Xamarin as the app development tool.

At GoodWorkLabs we’ve highly skilled developers who’ve delivered critical solutions based applications, for enterprises from different domains.

Please write to us today at contact@goodworklabs.com to discuss your requirements.

Xamarin is a robust cross-platform app development framework. Its technology stack is made up of C# and .NET. With the help of the xamarin framework, the cross-platform app development is simplified for Android and iOS platforms as the developers are able to reuse the maximum amount of code. It solves the difficulties many developers face while developing cross-platform apps like separate coding languages and UI paradigms. With Xamarin, you can use C# for iOS, Android, and Universal Windows apps. Let’s get into further details –

• C# – Allows writing your apps in C#. Existing code written in C# can be ported to iOS and Android using Xamarin very easily, and obviously used in Windows apps.
  
• Utilize MVC or MVVVM design patterns – This allows you to develop your application’s User Interface using the Model/View/Controller pattern. You can determine which parts of your application will be using native user interface elements of each platform (iOS, Android, Windows, Mac) and use this as a guideline to split your application into two components: “Core” and “User-Interface”.
  
• Build native UIs – Each OS-specific application provides a different user-interface layer. On iOS, you can use the UIKit APIs to create native-looking applications, optionally utilizing Xamarin’s iOS designer to create your UI visually. On Android, you can use Android views to create native-looking applications, taking advantage of Xamarin’s UI designer. On Windows, you will be using XAML for the presentation layer, created in Visual Studio or Blend’s UI designer. On Mac, you will use Storyboards for the presentation layer, created in Xcode.

Here are the various benefits of Xamarin:

Cross-Platform App Development

Xamarin is a perfect choice for Cross-platform app development. It allows you to build apps for Windows, Android, and iOS apps & also share codes over multiple platforms.

API Integration

There is no need to create different APIs for different mobile platforms because Xamarin allows you to use the same API to build iOS, Android, and Windows applications.

Useful Compiled Code

Xamarin allows you to generate productive and high-performing code that can access every native API. It is very easy to create device-specific applications over different mobile platforms.

Huge community and Support available

The integration process is very easy because of Xamarin. You can easily integrate Xamarin with various SDKs of specific mobile operating systems. It supports different devices that mean you just need to unite and Android SDK and GDK with Xamarin Studio to create an app. Xamarin.Android supports modern devices like Google Glass, Fire phone, and Android Wear, etc.

Shared Code Base

Xamarin Form is a library that allows you to reuse the code multiple times to create a native user interface for Android, iOS, and Windows devices. With Xamarin Forms you get 40+ cross-platform layouts and controls for a complete native interface. 

Summing Up

As contrary to most other cross-platform mobile application development tools, Xamarin allows you to build NATIVE apps running across multiple platforms, and not only this, it integrates the entire mobile application development process. In simpler terms, it reduces by one-third the time, effort, and money for the development of mobile application development.

Do you want to utilize xamarin for building your mobile application? Get in touch with GoodWorkLabs, the renowned product and applications development company in Bangalore. Know more about GoodWorkLabs here. You can contact us here!