Today’s society is entirely dependent on the numerous apps that are installed on our Android or iOS devices for our everyday activities, job habits, and study routines. We check the Gmail app notifications, use UberEats to buy delivery, use Teams or Slack to communicate with coworkers, and follow Instagram users we like. The frameworks, which are multicomponent technologies that enable the creation of numerous mobile app development, made all these things possible.
What is an Application Framework?
An application framework is a specific solution that offers pre-made templates, components, and structure for application development, as you may have previously guessed. It is mostly concentrated on creating different kinds of application architecture, such as:
- Native applications (the OS-specific apps for iOS, Android, etc)
- Hybrid applications (multi-platform apps, usually written on JavaScript, CSS, and HTML5)
- Web applications (accessible through a web browser).
The component-based interface and centralization of base code under one area in the Android framework allow for reuse of the app design and code. With all of these characteristics listed, it’s clear that the main goal of the Android framework is to make it easier for programmers to build apps and write code.
It goes without saying that the enormous popularity of this market has encouraged the creation of many Android frameworks that can standardize while accelerating deliverability for Android devices.
There are now many well-liked solutions available for developers to pick from, including Ionic Framework, Framework7, Xamarin Framework, NativeScript Framework, and React Native Framework.
Finding the best resources to build top-notch Android OS applications definitely depends on focusing on the most well-liked Android frameworks. Let’s examine the best framework for Android app development in more detail and see which will enable you to produce Google Play-competitive goods.
Top 10 Android Frameworks that Are Worth You Attention
The ultimate framework you choose for an Android project will depend on the tools you select, as well as the project’s requirements and main objectives. Now let’s examine the most well-liked but efficient Android frameworks for 2022 and identify their most useful characteristics that programmers can undoubtedly take advantage of.
Ionic Framework
With the use of HTML5, CSS3, and JavaScript, Ionic is a free and open-source Android framework that has received MIT (Massachusetts Institute of Technology) certification. Due to its cross-platform functionality and ability to incorporate AngularJS, Ionic has emerged as one of the most well-known frameworks for Android development.
The CLI (Command-line Interface) for this Android framework is straightforward and supports functions like logging, live reloading, and emulators. Ionic already has a sizable community because of its Cordova and Angular foundation.
Ionic has been used by more than 5 million developers in more than 200 countries to create about 4 million apps. Additionally, it interfaces with a wide range of networks and services, such as Instagram, Google Play, and others.
Flutter Framework
Flutter is a multi-platform mobile app SDK that can be used to create applications; it differs from other Android frameworks in that it is designed and maintained by Google.
It is written in the Dart programming language and streamlines the process of cross-platform development. Flutter is the ideal framework for creating hybrid apps when it comes to choosing one.
A 2D rendering engine named Skia is used by Google’s Flutter Android framework to create visuals that resemble material design and Cupertino design.
Developers may run UI, unit, and functionality tests using Flutter’s strong testing framework. Furthermore, Flutter includes industry-leading hot-reload capabilities that enables seamless testing without necessitating an application restart.
Corona SDK
The 2009-created Corona SDK is the ideal software development tool for creating quick apps and games. Compared to previous Android frameworks, this all-purpose, cross-platform framework enables 10x faster development.
The lightweight, multi-paradigm programming language Lua, which is integrated into Corona and provides excellent speed, usability, and flexibility, is stacked on top of C++/OpenGL to accomplish this.
Corona, a free game development tool with real-time testing support that runs on both Mac OS X and Windows, is very well-liked among game creators.
A dynamic advertising platform designed for developers, over 500 APIs, and native UI support are all features of this Android framework. With capabilities including graphics, networking, widgets, particle effects, and more, its API suite is feature-rich.
Corona SDK has grown in popularity among Android app developers due to its ease of understanding and integration into Android. As of this writing, this Android framework is referred to as Solar2D and is a cross-platform engine for creating TV, desktop, and mobile applications.
Framework7
Framework 7 is one of the best open-source, MIT-licensed Android frameworks available today and is almost the newest framework for Android development. It has a number of essential features for quick and efficient app launching.
It includes almost all of the essential and supplemental Mobile UI that is easily implementable in various projects. The endless scroll, lazy loading, pull to refresh, swiper slider, and other wonderful features are favourites among developers.
The majority of developers pick Framework7 as the top Android framework for building PWAs (Progressive Web App). Additionally, it is simple to combine with Cordova to create hybrid mobile apps using HTML, CSS, and JavaScript rather than the usual Android programming languages like Java, Kotlin, and XML.
Additionally, the Android framework has a wide user base, a user-friendly interface, and is routinely updated to newer versions, all of which are necessary for maintaining a solid, uninterrupted workflow.
React Native Framework
React Native is a potent open-source framework supported by Facebook that provides a wealth of support for other development tools and their IDEs. It is founded on React, a JS toolkit for developing web applications.
The framework is used by numerous Fortune 500 organisations, including Tesla, Walmart, Airbnb, Instagram, and many others to create native mobile apps.
Developers can write code once and run it anywhere thanks to the majority of React Native APIs being cross-platform, which speeds up development and lowers expenses.
Similar building pieces to those found in the majority of Android development frameworks are used in React Native. Developers can link updated files while maintaining the current state of the app by using React Native’s hot-reload feature. React Native’s developer community has expanded considerably more quickly than Facebook had anticipated.
According to Google Trends, the Android framework has been growing in popularity over the past few years. Approximately 1600 developers have used the Native framework as of right now.
jQuery Mobile Framework
One of the HTML5-based cross-platform frameworks that is also considered as the easiest tool for launching mobile and web applications is the jQuery Mobile framework for Android development.
The primary distinguishing feature of jQuery Mobile is the ability to “write code once” and have it run on a variety of platforms, including Android, iOS, Windows, Symbian, and Blackberry.
The fact that the entire basic app interfaces can be written in HTML, with little to no or even no JavaScript code, is another fantastic aspect that developers love about this Android framework!
It’s also one of the most widely used tools for navigating and interacting with the HTML DOM tree. The jQuery Mobile Android framework may substantially simplify Ajax, CSS animation, and different event handling.
Additionally, it has a built-in theme system that allows developers to modify the application styling for each project to perfectly match the colours, preferences, and tastes. Mobile jQuery is one of the most popular frameworks on the market and has a sizable community because of its incredibly lightweight size (around 40KB when minified) when compared to other Android frameworks.
Appcelerator Titanium
Appcelerator Titanium is an open-source platform for developing native apps with a single JavaScript script, and according to some developers, it is the greatest Android framework. Titanium gained popularity because it enables the creation of multi-platform mobile apps using between 60% and 90% of the current code. The JavaScript programming language is used by the framework to guarantee the excellent speed of apps.
Solid games may be created using Titanium, and Appcelerator Titanium-built mobile apps can make use of hardware-specific features like Android menu buttons, OS-centric controls, and platform-appropriate notifications.
Over 345,577,760 apps are currently running on this Android framework. Additionally, it offers many other beneficial features including application monitoring, performance control, and automated testing on mobile devices.
Xamarin Framework
One of the best Android frameworks, Xamarin is owned by Microsoft and provides a cutting-edge toolkit that lets programmers create native apps for many mobile platforms using a single C# codebase.
The Xamarin-built apps may be evaluated on a variety of devices utilising Microsoft’s cloud testing service. Additionally, the code-sharing function makes it a developer favourite because it shortens the coding process and lowers the amount of problems.
With 1.4 million developers using it in 120 countries, Xamarin is one of the more established cross-platform frameworks for Android compared to other frameworks.
Due to Xamarin’s integration into the Visual Studio IDE, major corporations in the energy and healthcare sectors have switched to adopting this framework. Xamarin has been around for a while, but compared to other Android frameworks, its popularity among developers has grown significantly over time.
NativeScript Framework
NativeScript is a free open-source framework that enables programmers to create applications using Vue, TypeScript, and Angular. It is ranked as one of the best frameworks for developing hybrid apps. The Telerik software business in Bulgaria is supporting this Android framework. Developers may easily reuse a broad variety of plugins directly in the projects with NativeScript, from Gradle to CocoaPods.
The framework makes it possible for web designers who are proficient in JavaScript, HTML, CSS, and Native UI markup to create stunning progressive web apps with NativeScript.
One of the main benefits of using NativeScript for Android app development is that it offers UIs with the providing engine of the native platform, producing performance and UIs that are similar to those of native platforms. High-performance on all native platforms is made possible by NativeScript when JS is executed on the UI thread.
Wrapping Up
As you can see, there are currently many Android frameworks to select from, and each one offers a unique set of capabilities for each kind of app project. Any of these choices, which are employed by the biggest tech companies in the world, can develop into the ideal Android app development framework for the advancement of your concept.
To start your app project successfully, it takes more than just thinking about the Android development framework you’ll employ. In almost all circumstances, you’ll also require the help of mobile app development services, which will enable you to incorporate all of your original concepts and the most useful features into a single Android app product.