A well-developed mobile app contributes to the revenue of a business by increasing customer engagement. However, multiple operation systems, development platforms and devices in the market make mobile app development company a confusing task. Therefore, mobile app development companies look forward to develop apps that work across different operation systems and devices uniformly, with the help of cross-platform app development platforms like Xamarin App Development.
Launched in 2011, Xamarin helps to build a robust mobile app that works across different platforms. However, using Xamarin to develop cross-platform apps has its own advantages and disadvantages.
Let’s have a look:
Pros
Development cycle speed-up
According to Xamarin cross-platform development experts, 90% of the Xamarin code can be recycled or reused in the development of other applications for different platforms. Xamarin mobile app development coding is based on C# and native .Net libraries. Maximum part of the code can be reused, which saves developers of their time and efforts and helps to speed-up the development cycle while developing applications for various platforms.
Near to Native App performance
Applications created on Xamarin platform can be considered very close to native application. Xamarin is consistently evolving to reach the level of native app creating technologies. The performance metrics which developers derive from the codes of Objective-C, Java, Swift etc. can be expected from Xamarin platform coding. This platform also offers tracking and testing of the performance of the app. Before publishing an app, developers can run automated UI tests through the Test Cloud paired with Test Recorder tool.
Client’s Native App experience
User experience reviews reveal that the applications created using Xamarin platform remain impeccable and absolutely flawless. For platforms like Android, iOS, and Windows, simple applications can be developed using Xamarin platform. At application run-time, Xamarin. Form tool converts the components of UI into the platform-specific user-interface elements. This is especially beneficial for business-oriented projects.
Hardware Compatibility
Applications can be created using Xamarin through many plug-ins and APIs which provide native-level support of device hardware and therefore, all hardware compatibility issues get eliminated. The developers can develop applications with common device functionalities which can run smoothly on various platforms. They can also do better app customization by linking with native libraries.
Cons
Large Operational Software overheads
Developing mobile applications using Xamarin involves linking of codes and referencing between target operating systems of various devices and .Net frameworks. In simple words, this linking and referencing increases startup and download timings of the application.
UI or User-Interface Development is time-consuming
Even though a major portion of Xamarin coding can be reused cross various platforms, the core user-interface creation is not portable. Therefore, developers are required to do some part of the coding for each platform which is very time-consuming.
Limited outside coding support
The code developed in Xamarin App Development cannot be reused or transferred for HTML5 or native applications for iOS or Android. The availability of Xamarin professionals is also quite limited. Those who develop the app for you using Xamarin should have knowledge of .NET along with mobile development, and platform-specific frameworks and, architecture that makes use of Objective-C and Java languages.
Unanticipated risk of cross- platforms
Many cross-platforms carry an unanticipated risk or a possibility of extra work. Xamarin’s framework libraries cause unreasonable app file size to be downloaded from Google Play or iOS App Store may be because of high usage of Xamarin App Development core library functionality in the app. The app size difference can range between 3MB to 15MB.
With Redbytes, you’ll find it easy to explore the potential of latest technology and have a well-developed mobile app of your own. We are one of the leading Xamarin Cross-Platform Development Companies. Feel free to call us or request a quote and learn how our services can prove beneficial for your business.