Cross-Platform App Development: Benefits & the Future

Updated on :October 18, 2023
By :Paul Richards

Businesses must increase their visibility and extend their presence on all popular platforms; mobile apps, web apps, and social media for maximum exposure to target audiences. In this essence,  the two most extensively used mobile application platforms stand as Android and iOS. This is where cross-platform app development comes into the picture and gets the upper hand over native applications. One of the other critical advantages of cross-platform development is its cost-effectiveness and the use of single code on multiple platforms with simplified portability. 

GooodFirms Roundtable is a series of podcast discussions where top leaders of successful startups and IT services companies to share their valuable insights, tips, and experience on different topics, which can benefit anyone planning to start their own business. 

In this podcast discussion, GoodFirms has interacted with Gireesh Kaushik, CTO of Grawlix Software Private Limited. 

Grawlix Software Private Limited is an ISO 9001 and 27001 certified leading IT Services and Software Development Company having offices in India, US, and UK. The company offers specialized services, such as mobile app development, website development, custom app development, digital marketing, MVP development, e-commerce development, and much more. Businesses can look to hire skilled developers for carrying out varied projects at affordable costs.

This podcast discussion focuses on the following points

  • What are Cross-Platform Applications?
  • Impact of different screen sizes on mobile app development
  • Core advantages of cross-platform applications 
  • Native App Development Vs Cross-platform development - How to Choose?

Also, this podcast highlights a few other critical areas 

  1. React Native or Flutter: Which framework is best for cross-platform development?
  2. What new frameworks are getting introduced into the market?
  3. How to create an appealing UI/UX design for cross-platform applications?
  4. How GoodFirms helped Grawlix survive the stiff competition and thrive as an app development company?

During the entire duration, we would be talking about cross-platform applications, but before we can dive in and share your valuable information and experience with our audience, can you please explain what cross-platform applications are to our technical and non-technical audiences and perhaps give a few examples for better understanding.

Cross-Platform allows you to develop software applications that can run seamlessly on multiple operating systems and platforms. For example, if you are creating a cross-platform mobile app, it must be compatible with Android or iOS platforms. Similarly, desktop applications must support Windows, macOS, or Linux.

So, as per my understanding, cross-platform app development means making applications that are compatible with multiple OS. Now, whether Android or iOS, different hardware devices are manufactured with different screen sizes, and consumers expect apps to work on their smartwatches, mobile phones with foldable devices, and many others. So how have different screen sizes affected the development process of mobile applications? How does it differ from the development practices that existed before?

The developers must work on different screen sizes when creating an application. The screen sizes help them build wireframes for designing the basic layouts, buttons, and other visual elements. They can use advanced technologies and tools like artificial intelligence, Photoshop, Sketch, and Figma to build a powerful and intuitive mobile application user interface for different sizes.

Quotation 1

More and more entrepreneurs want a larger customer base for their applications with fewer expenses and shorter development cycles and cross-platform applications do exactly that. Now, this is just one advantage. What are some of the other advantages of using cross-platform applications? 

The core advantages of using cross-platform applications are

  • Easier Maintenance - The maintenance and update of a single app across platforms become easier for development teams
  • Seamless Synchronization - The seamless synchronization at one go or in the batch of updates across OS helps save a lot of time and money.
  • Automated & Scheduled Releases - With automated & scheduled releases, the users can expect to have the latest version of the app at all times.

So, cross-platform applications come with a lot of advantages but there must be scenarios where cross-platform applications are not a great fit. Being a mobile app development company since 2014, can you please state your experience or scenarios wherein you suggested the customer go for native mobile app development instead of a cross-platform app?

There are a few viable scenarios when a customer should give more preference to native mobile app development over cross-platform apps. These include

  • UI/UX

User Interface and User Experience (UI/UX) are crucial for gaining customer satisfaction. While using the native platform, the developers have more tools and components in their hands, whereas cross-platform limits the UI/UX components. 

  • Development Time 

To make your application more efficient and user-friendly, you have to deploy more time building it. This is where you can select a native application platform. However, when you choose a cross-platform development, you can get your applications built rather quickly. 

  • Developing Complex Apps 

If you are building applications that require access to APIs, such as Bluetooth, you have to choose a native platform. Cross-platforms, on the other hand, are a good choice if you want to create a basic application. 

  • Cost

Native applications are way more expensive than cross-platform applications. Hence, if you go for a cross-platform application, you can save nearly 30%-40% of the costs on the platform.

Quotation 2

While we are discussing the frameworks used for cross-platform app development, I have noticed that there are tons of articles on the internet about whether to choose React Native or Flutter for development processes. What is your take on this? Which framework is used by Grawlix for cross-platform application development and why?

The Company uses both React Native and Flutter frameworks for the development process, depending on the clients’ requirements.

Since we are talking about cross-platform applications, can you let our audience know about new frameworks which are coming into the market to develop cross-platform applications? How are they addressing the shortcomings of the existing ones?

You can get access to a wide range of digital technologies and advanced software applications with much ease. You can select an entryway based on the specific needs of your engineering team and their insights into a particular system. Cross-stage application development is a viable answer for organizations due to its simplicity and feasibility. The applications made on this platform are robust and enhance the gadgets’ efficiency. It helps to reduce the burden on the organizations as they have to create a plan for consolidating programs.

Quotation 3

When I and my team were researching this podcast episode, a number of blogs also highlighted that building an effective UI/UX for cross-platform apps is incredibly difficult. From your experience, can you please share how designers work at Grawlix to ensure the user experience is not compromised while developing cross-platform applications?

According to Gireesh Kaushik, the most essential aspect of user experience is the user flow, which must be user-friendly. 

Lastly, how has GoodFirms helped you survive the cutthroat competition in the IT industry and thrive as a mobile app development company?

For every brand or business that wishes to get online exposure to its target audiences, GoodFirms is precisely the best platform on offer. It is a full-fledged research and review platform that helps software buyers and service seekers to opt for the best software or service provider. Based on my experience, I believe GoodFirms is a top software review and rating site. 

To listen to this podcast discussion, click here.

What’s Next

Cross-platform mobile application development has already gained impetus among the mobile app developers' community as organizations are planning to expand their business prospects and capture a larger market share. Also, you must note that the choice of platform largely depends on specific business requirements. 

Cross-platform development is getting more powerful and better with the introduction of new and advanced frameworks and next-generation technologies, such as artificial intelligence, predictive analytics, Big Data, metaverse, and more. 

To get your company name enrolled for the next podcast discussion, you can send an email to [email protected]

Paul Richards
Paul Richards

Paul  Richards is a Senior Content Creator at GoodFirms, an IT Research and Reviews firm with 8+ years of rich experience. An ardent sports enthusiast and travel freak, he loves to share his ideas and knowledge on everything technology, software systems, digital marketing, and the latest industry trends. An avid reader, he likes to explore and browse various websites to accumulate more information on different topics.

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