What will we be discussing in this article? Firstly, I will compile a list of the top JavaScript frameworks that I believe you can use in 2024 for developing mobile apps. I will go over the advantages and disadvantages of each framework and explain why it is deserving of a spot on this list. Secondly, what distinguishes a JavaScript framework for mobile apps from one for web apps? Although there are many frameworks available, they can generally be divided into two categories: web apps and mobile apps.
Goal:
Web App Frameworks: Mainly intended for desktop and laptop users, these aid in the development and arrangement of web apps. To provide a flawless user experience, these top-performing frameworks frequently incorporate data binding, routing, and templating.
Frameworks for Mobile Applications: These are designed specifically for creating applications for iOS, Android, and other mobile operating systems. They prioritize delivering a performance-enhancing, native-like experience and granting access to mobile device functionalities such an accelerometer, camera, and geolocation.
Achievement:
Web application frameworks: These frameworks put the user’s experience first in the context of web browsers, emphasizing quick rendering and effective data management.
Mobile App Frameworks: These frameworks put an emphasis on quick load times, fluid animations, and low resource consumption when it comes to optimizing performance on mobile devices.
Interface User:
Web App Frameworks: Web app frameworks frequently include pre-made user interface (UI) components that adhere to web standards and are suited for desktop browsers.
Mobile App Frameworks: By offering UI components that imitate native mobile elements, mobile app frameworks give users a more native-like experience.
1. Electron
A framework for creating desktop applications is called Electron. It makes use of HTML, CSS, and JavaScript. Electron makes it possible to create cross-platform applications with a single JavaScript codebase that work on Windows, Linux, and macOS.
On every supported architecture, the apps function. It doesn’t require any prior knowledge of developing native apps. Founded in 2014, Electron is an open-source project maintained by the OpenJS Foundation and a vibrant community.
2. React Native
The best JavaScript library for creating native applications for various platforms and devices is called React Native. You can construct robust applications for iOS and Android with React Native.
Additionally, it makes it possible to create version of specific components that are platform-specific, making it easy to use a same codebase on multiple platforms.
This community-driven JS library was introduced by Facebook in 2018.
3. Cordova
Apache Cordova is an open-source framework for developing mobile applications, formerly known as PhoneGap. This free framework uses HTML5, CSS3, and JavaScript to construct cross-platform applications.
Writing a single piece of code that runs on many platforms—Android, iOS, and Windows—is possible with Cordova. The time and effort required to build distinct codes for each platform is reduced. With Cordova, developers can produce hybrid mobile apps for every platform, just like they could with native apps.
4. Expo
Expo is an open-source framework for creating native iOS, Android, and web apps that facilitates the creation of a single project that is compatible with a variety of platforms. Expo is used by over 400,000 developers and has a single codebase with true native functionality.
Expo is a great option for developers who intend to use React Native. It offers several helpful capabilities for building and expanding apps, including as quick sharing, online support, live updates, and more.
5. Ionic
One open-source user interface toolkit is the Ionic framework. It makes it easier to create cutting-edge, highly effective cross-platform applications with a single codebase.
Ionic uses touch-optimized gestures and hardware-accelerated transitions to operate swiftly and effectively. It can leverage the same JavaScript, CSS, and HTML codebase to construct adaptable user interfaces for all the major app platforms.
6. Capacitor
The development of cross-platform progressive web apps, iOS, and Android is made possible by capacitors. It makes use of HTML, CSS, and JavaScript. It is also an open-source native web app runtime.
By giving developers access to the complete native SDKs for every platform and enabling the creation of universal apps, Capacitor distributes these apps to the App Stores. With the use of pre-existing Cordova plugins or a straightforward plugin API, adding new native functionality is simple.
7. Tauri
Tauri framework assists in creating small, lightning-fast binaries for all major desktop operating systems. For the purpose of building the user interface, developers can use any front-end framework that is compatible with HTML, CSS, and JavaScript.
Tauri now offers package binaries for every major desktop platform, and mobile platform binaries are on the way. Rust, upon which it is based, contributes to increased security and performance. The framework offers improved file interaction security and aids in the development of reusable plugins to expand Tauri core.
8. NativeScript
Angular, TypeScript, or JavaScript can be used to construct native iOS and Android apps with the help of the open-source NativeScript framework. You can use the same code base to create web and mobile apps using NativeScript.
Both large and small businesses can create cross-platform mobile apps with the aid of NativeScript. The ability to reuse pre-existing code and tools is one of NativeScript’s main advantages for developers.
Updating, modifying, and troubleshooting newer versions is quite simple.
It is not necessary to understand Cordova plugins because JavaScript provides access to platform-specific APIs.
9. Quasar
Quasar is an open-source framework built with Vue.js. The MIT-licensed framework facilitates the rapid creation of responsive websites or apps by web developers. It facilitates simultaneous deployment and simple code writing.
One codebase can be used for web, Electron, and mobile applications. Having large libraries like Bootstrap is not required while using Quasar because the framework can fulfill its own requirements without taking up much space.
10. NW.js
NW.js makes it possible to use any Node.js module from the DOM and facilitates the creation of web applications using HTML5, CSS3, and WebGL. It fully supports browser features, Node.js APIs, and all third-party modules.
NW.js is available for Windows, Linux, and macOS X and provides source protection for JavaScript. NW.js, which is based on Node.js and Chromium, makes it simple to package web applications as native apps.
