Best Xamarin alternatives for cross-platform development in 2024
Are you searching for the best Xamarin alternatives for developing your next mobile app?
As Microsoft is no longer supporting Xamarin, developers will need to find reliable options to create high-quality Android and iOS apps.
Luckily, strong alternatives do exist. Below, we explore the leading frameworks and tools that can serve as replacements for Xamarin, providing detailed insights into each alternative.
Key takeaways
- .NET MAUI is the natural successor to Xamarin, offering enhanced performance and a streamlined development experience for both mobile and desktop applications.
- React Native, Flutter, Ionic, Kotlin Multiplatform, and Apache Cordova are excellent alternatives, each offering unique features and benefits. However, Median.co stands out as the most cost and time effective solution among them all.
- Median.co simplifies the process of creating webview iOS and Android apps powered by web content, enabling developers to quickly bring their websites and web applications to mobile platforms with advanced features and seamless user experiences.
- Median.co is a cost-effective alternative, ensuring a smoother transition from Xamarin while maintaining high performance and broad accessibility across both iOS and Android platforms.
Exploring the top alternatives to Xamarin
Microsoft has officially ended support for Xamarin, prompting developers to seek reliable alternatives for creating high-quality cross-platform apps.
This shift has led to a dynamic and diverse landscape of frameworks and tools, each promising to deliver native-like performance for both Android and iOS.
.NET MAUI
.NET MAUI replaces Xamarin, offering better performance and allowing developers to create mobile and desktop apps with a single codebase. Transitioning from Xamarin Forms to .NET MAUI is seamless.
React Native
React Native uses JavaScript to build native apps for Android and iOS. It combines JavaScript's flexibility with native performance, supported by a large community.
Flutter
Flutter uses Dart to create high-performance, visually appealing UIs for both Android and iOS with a single codebase. Learning Dart is required but offers full control over app design.
Ionic framework
Ionic uses HTML, CSS, and JavaScript to build mobile apps quickly.
It translates web technologies into mobile apps efficiently, making it ideal for fast development cycles and maintaining consistency across platforms.
Kotlin Multiplatform
Kotlin Multiplatform allows code sharing across Android and iOS while preserving each platform's native UI.
It follows the "Write once, run everywhere" principle, making it efficient for developers familiar with Java and Android development.
Apache Cordova
Apache Cordova wraps HTML, CSS, and JavaScript in a native container, allowing for quick and simple mobile app development.
It excels in speed for less complex projects but may have performance limitations and limited access to native features.
Median.co: Build webview iOS and Android apps
Median.co offers a straightforward solution to deploy iOS and Android webview apps with advanced native functionalities. To put this into action, follow the steps below:
- Step 1: Develop your Xamarin replacement web application using ASP.NET or a framework such as React and Vue.js.
- Step 2: Build iOS and Android webview apps using Median.co to combine your web application with native functionality, including through its extensive native plugins library.
You can make use of Median's NPM library to integrate a range of native functionality. This approach allows developers to use familiar web development technologies to create highly performant native applications efficiently.
Want to learn more about our plugins?
Launch a full-feature native app without native development!
Exploring webview and hybrid: Web-based mobile apps
Mobile app development offers various approaches, including webview apps.
A webview app uses a webview component to display web content within a native app container. This combines the web's reach with the personalized experience of native apps, delivering broad access and a tailored mobile experience.
A webview app can be enhanced by merging native functionality, making it a hybrid app. These apps integrate native features, improving user experience and performance.
The benefits of hybrid apps include enhanced app performance, access to native features, improved user experience, faster development time, and less expensive.
Benefits of webview apps
Apps that combine web technologies with native app features, known as webview apps, offer several benefits and drawbacks.
The benefits of webview apps include:
- Reduced development time: Faster app creation using shared codebase
- Lower costs: Cost-effective development by leveraging existing web technologies
- Swift deployment to both Android and iOS: Quick launch on multiple platforms
- Use of established web technologies: Employ familiar web tools and languages
- Efficient resource management: Optimal use of development resources
Overall, the efficiency, reliability, and cost-effectiveness of webview apps make them an attractive option for many mobile app projects.
Choosing the right alternative for your app
Selecting the ideal mobile development approach requires evaluating your team's skills and project goals.
Each option offers distinct features and tools, making it crucial to choose one that aligns with your developers' expertise and your project's needs.
Assessing team skills and experience
Choose a framework that matches your team's proficiency in specific languages and technologies. For example, Flutter requires Dart, while SwiftUI needs Swift.
Consider your team's ability to adapt to new frameworks to ensure efficient development.
Considering project requirements and goals
Ensure the framework can handle your project's performance, UI complexity, and native functionality needs.
Median.co's webview approach offers efficiency and cost savings by using a single codebase for both iOS and Android apps.
Evaluating community support
A strong community is essential for support and updates.
Frameworks like React Native and Median.co provide extensive plugins, resources, and clear documentation, supporting feature integration and problem-solving.
Some frameworks like Median.co specifically have open source communities providing support to specific issues. However, it is important to note that if an app is used for a critical business functionality, having a committed internal or external team of support becomes a necessity.
With Median, you get a dedicated team to support any issues after the app is published, serving as a one-spot solution for all aspects of app building and beyond.
Ongoing app maintenance and updates
Maintaining and updating your mobile app is important for ensuring a seamless user experience and keeping up with evolving platform requirements.
Since webview apps rely on web technologies, updates are less frequent compared to fully native apps. Only core functionality requires an app update, reducing the need for constant revisions.
Plus, with webview apps, any new functionality or content updates are available immediately to end users, without the need for them to download a new app version.
Median.co handles the heavy lifting: We simplify the maintenance and update process by managing the complexities for you. This ensures your app remains up-to-date with minimal effort on your part, allowing you to focus on delivering new features and improvements.
Want to know how it all works?
Get hands-on with Median’s comprehensive documentation, and build your app with ease.
Summary
In conclusion: it’s important (and pressing) for app developers to weigh options and choose the best Xamarin alternative.
Whether you choose .NET MAUI, React Native, Flutter, Median.co, Ionic, Kotlin Multiplatform, or Apache Cordova, each platform offers unique tools for mobile app development.
These frameworks cater to different project needs, leveraging web development skills or focusing on native user interfaces.
Aligning team expertise with project needs and leveraging robust community support is crucial when choosing a framework.
By focusing on these factors, developers can confidently select a framework that meets their goals and ensures successful cross-platform development.
Ultimately, Median.co stands out as a superior alternative for cross-platform mobile development by offering a streamlined, cost-efficient, and reliable solution, making it an excellent choice for developers transitioning away from Xamarin.
Frequently asked questions
Can .NET MAUI be used for desktop applications as well?
Indeed, developers can use .NET MAUI to craft desktop applications, enabling them to develop for both mobile and desktop platforms using a single codebase. This consolidates the development process and simplifies the creation of cross-platform mobile applications.
How does React Native ensure apps feel truly native on both iOS and Android?
React Native ensures apps feel truly native on both iOS and Android by enabling developers to include native code in their app development to enhance the native capabilities of their apps, using languages like Swift and Kotlin.
Is learning Dart necessary to develop with Flutter?
Developers must acquire knowledge of Dart in order to effectively develop using Flutter, as Dart serves as the fundamental programming language for creating intricate and tailored user interfaces within this framework.
To harness the capabilities of Flutter to their full extent, developers are required to dedicate time to mastering Dart.
Are there any cost advantages to using webview apps?
Indeed: Using webview applications can lead to cost savings as it reduces the time required for development and capitalizes on pre-existing web technologies. This approach renders them an economical option for specific application categories.
What are the expert recommendations for transitioning from Xamarin to other frameworks?
Specialists advise a phased shift towards frameworks such as.NET MAUI and hybrid Blazor apps to maintain consistency and reduce interruptions for ongoing projects that currently use Xamarin.
Why is Median.co a good alternative to Xamarin?
Median.co provides a streamlined and efficient solution for developers looking to transition away from Xamarin by enabling the conversion of websites into webview apps. This approach leverages existing web development skills and technologies, significantly reducing development time and costs for developing cross platform apps while ensuring native-like performance and broad accessibility across both iOS and Android platforms.
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