Mobile applications are one of the binding forces that connect businesses with their customers on a more personal level. Thus, allowing the customer to feel as though they are appreciated and looked after. As such, the business builds a stronger brand and reputation.

With constant advances occurring in today’s digital world, companies of all sizes are taking part in the development of apps, incorporating them into their marketing strategies, and engagement purposes.

Most businesses prefer to customize their apps, and make them unique to their own products. Which is why many resort to building their apps on an Android operating system. Android has many varying features that give developers more options to customize, along with a large community that offers assistance and guidance.

However, it’s not as simple as deciding you’re going to use an Android framework to customize your mobile application. App development is no easy task and there are so many options to choose from. But do not stress! We’re here to give you a list of the best 14 Android frameworks to work with:

Game Development

1. Unity

This is the best Android development framework when it comes to multi-platform 2D, 3D, virtual reality, and augmented reality-based games or experiences. There are both cost-free and premium varieties available to choose from. Developers are either able to develop with C# or UnityScript language (similar to JavaScript).

Unity allows developers to export their games onto varying platforms such as iOS and Windows. As it is a physics engine, developers are able to control a range of features like momentum, light rendering, and graphic aspects. It also has a built-in editor which enables you to manage animations and edit any images.

One of the biggest advantages of Unity is that it is fairly easy to use and allows developers to establish an outstanding platform that can form a great connection with your company’s consumers.

High Performance Development

2. Kotlin

Kotlin is a modern programming language for Android, which incorporates resources from both functional and object-orientated programming. It runs on a Java Virtual Machine and as such, uses the same idea as Java coding language.

Developing apps with Kotlin, you have the guarantee that they will be just as quick and efficient as ones that are created with Java. As of 2020, Kotlin is regarded as the 4th most preferred programming language. Platforms like Pinterest, Uber, and Twitter are migrating to Kotlin for their Android application development process.

3. Corona SDK

If you’re looking to create fast apps and games, this could be the platform for you! Corona SDK enables 10x faster development speeds than any other framework. This framework is completely free and available for both Windows and Mac OS X!

It also integrates native UI support with a well-versed advertising platform and over 500 APIs. The API features are great for networking, design graphics, particle effects, widgets, and so much more! Corona SDK is easy to learn and gives you the ability to integrate into Android for the developers.

4. Sencha Touch

This is an enterprise-first platform that’s created for native mobile app development and is based on HTML5 and JavaScript, allowing for the creation of various Android apps. It comes ready with almost 50 built-in UI fundamentals and native themes, which helps developers to develop attentive and audience-grasping applications.

Sencha Touch uses hardware acceleration tools in order for the apps to function with high performance. Some of the main pros include: compatibility, fast execution, and responsive touch features. When building an app with this framework, you’ll be creating an immersive platform for your users with smooth scrolling, fluid animations, and greatly adaptive features.

5. TheAppBuilder

This framework uses HTML5 to support a code-less user interface. What does that mean? You don’t need to know how to code in order to create an app! It has an effective drag-and-drop framework that allows developers to create apps quickly and efficiently.

It comes ready with content updates, push notifications, feedback and polls. Once your app is created, you’re able to submit it directly to the Google Play store to increase your businesses reach with a diverse group of consumers. One of the greatest features of TheAppBuilder is the generation of analytical reports, so you’re easily able to find any complications and solve them!

6. SproutCore

This is an open-source JavaScript framework that is fantastic for developing REALLY FAST apps with all sorts of features! SproutCore is an HTML5 platform (designed by Apple), which utilizes a MVC design. This enables for high performance and comparability for your application.

It comes equipped with a complete set of tools that are needed to develop a desktop application, this includes: UI components, routing, testing and deployment resources. With over 50,000 tools, this framework has worked its way up to the top for Android app development.

Native App Development

7. React Native

This is a strong open-source framework that gives support for various development tools and their IDEs. Many well-known companies use React Native to develop their apps, such as: Walmart, Instagram, and Tesla.

A great feature is that most of their APIs are cross-platform, meaning developers can program their code just once and run it wherever. This ultimately improves the speed and saves the company money!

As with most frameworks, React Native has building blocks for its development process. Developers are able to integrate updated files whilst keeping the current state of the app.

8. Xamarin

This framework (owned by Microsoft), is equipped with a state-of-the-art toolset, which allows developers to create native apps for various mobile platforms on a C# coding language. As it is owned by Microsoft, it uses their cloud testing abilities to test the apps built on multiple devices.

The code-sharing features of Xamarin is one of the leading factors, as it reduces time and the amount of issues run into during the development process.

9. Appcelerator Titanium

Similarly to others, this is an open-source platform for developing native apps with (and there’s no catch here): a single JavaScript code! It’s quite liked as it allows for the development of multi-platform apps which use approximately 60%-90% of the already written code.

Appcelerator Titanium makes use of hardware features such as OS-centric controls, Android menu options, and platform notifications. Some other great features incorporated into this framework are: application monitoring, automated testing, and performance regulation.

Hybrid App Development

10. Ionic

This is a completely free framework that is approved by MIT and enables developers to create advanced hybrid apps with the use of CSS3, HTML5, and JavaScript. It is popular due to its cross-platform abilities and the capability to incorporate AngularJS.

Ionic hosts a command-line interface which integrates features such as logging, emulators, and live reload. Also, it has the ability to migrate to various services like Instagram and Google Play!

11. Flutter

This framework is created by Google and is a multi-platform mobile SDK which can be used to develop your very own mobile applications. However, it works slightly different from most Android frameworks.

Flutter utilizes a cross-platform process and uses the Dart coding language. Flutter though, is definitely one of the best choices for hybrid app development.

The greatest advantages:

Quick rendering
Screen reader
Cross-platform
Hot reload
Fast development
Open-source and free
Themes for both iOS and Android

12. Cordova

Cordova, like other frameworks, is an open source platform that developers can use to create multi-platform accessible applications with a single code base such as Appcelerator Titanium. It operates based on standard web technologies; CSS3, JavaScript, and HTML5. It is a medium between mobile and web applications.

Although Cordova is mainly designed to develop online apps, it is able to offer support for offline situations, which makes it ideal for the development of desktop applications.

13. PhoneGap

This is an open-source framework which is supported by both Adobe and Apache. It enables developers to create apps using CSS3, HTML5, and JavaScript. It allows developers to simultaneously view the changes during the development process.

It is most often used for developing hybrid apps, and is able to perform highly along with the freedom aspect, which means developers can work without hardware restrictions.

14. NativeScript

Another top framework for hybrid application development is a free open-source platform, which allows developers to build apps using TypeScript, Vue, or Angular. The great thing about this framework is the ability to reuse plugins from those directly in the projects, which is a huge plus for developers.

NativeScript is especially great for experienced developers in JavaScript, CSS, and HTML to create highly advanced apps. One of the greatest advantages being: UIs with the platform’s engine in order to receive results in native-like UIs and performance capabilities. As such, guaranteed success!

14 Frameworks and Still Unclear on Which to Choose?

Choosing the right Android framework is no easy task, especially if you’re not an experienced developer. Each business has different needs which would correspond differently to each framework. At ISU Corp we’re able to assess everything together and help you make the right choice.

Interested? Contact us today!