The use of mobile applications is increasing constantly. Mobile Operating systems such as Android and iOS continue to evolve and offer new features to increase user traction with high-performance apps.
According to Forbes, “App downloads from the iOS App Store and Android’s Google Play topped 64 billion in the first half of the year, App Annie says. That’s up 10% from 2019 numbers. The 27% of waking hours consumers spent on mobile in early 2020 was up 20% from 2019 levels.”
For mid-large entities, it is important to launch enterprise-level apps on different platforms to comply with the modern business requirements and excel in the competitive market. Launching applications on Google PlayStore and iOS App Store with native technologies can turn out to be an expensive and time-consuming process. However, companies don’t have adequate time to opt for the native mobile application development process.
In order to overcome this challenge, cross mobile app development service is gaining popularity. Several frameworks and tools help build cross-platform applications. Xamarin, a free, open-source cross-platform app development platform has turned as the foremost choice of the developers due to its agile methodology, extensive functionalities, and cost-effectiveness.
After choosing this technology, app programmers faced the dilemma of choice between — Xamarin. Native and Xamarin. Forms. Both offer different functionalities. In order to leverage these tools effectively, it is important to select developers with technical expertise or partner with a reliable Xamarin app development company.
In this blog post, we will have a detailed discussion about Xamarin and also, the specific features of Xamarin. Native and Xamarin. Forms.
A Glance on Xamarin
- Xamarin is the open-source cross-platform to build Android and iOS apps with .NET and C#.
- Xamarin extends the .NET developer platform with tools and libraries specifically for building apps for Android, iOS, tvOS, watchOS, macOS, and Windows.
- This technology supports different API platforms to offer the experience of native platforms.
Xamarin. Native
- Xamarin.Native is also known as a Xamarin Traditional.
- This platform code is stored either in a Portable Class Library (PCL) or a shared project.
- Tools such as Xamarin.Mac, Xamarin.iOS, and Xamarin.Android ensures the implementation of platform-specific functionalities and provide a native user experience.
Xamarin. Forms
- Xamarin. Forms is an advanced version of Xamarin Native.
- Write a single XAML for different platforms with one attempt.
- Provides functionalities of the Xamarin platform.
- Create business logic in C# as well as UI can also be represented in the proper code or in XAML format. It allows sharing with multiple platforms.
The above mentioned are important points about Xamarin. Native and Xamarin Forms. Furthermore, let’s know the major differences between them.
Development Time
Xamarin. Native
This platform allows developers to build the solutions with a single and shared C# codebase, which has the support of cutting-edge technologies. Due to the advanced and latest trends integrated into the solution, it helps to reduce the development time as well as cost.
Xamarin also allows programmers to create and share app logic for different purposes which include web service calls, database interactions, input validations, and backend integrations. The UI code with this technology is written by utilizing all the features of the MVVM framework and for different platforms, the codes are built separately. With this, the level of sharing the code used to rise up to 75%.
Xamarin.Forms
With Xamarin.Forms, the code-sharing process turns easier and also enhances by 95%. This advanced technology allows developers to create and share single UI code for different platforms. As compared to Native, the development cycle of Xamarin.Forms are faster.
App Functionalities
Xamarin. Native
The Xamarin. Native offers an extensive array of controls, plugins, and APIs for both iOS and Android platforms. It helps developers to leverage the benefits of the specific platform functionality. For app designers, it is easier to bring the touch of flawless UI and Ux solutions.
If your focus is on designing aspects then this framework is the right choice for your development process.
Xamarin. Forms
This framework allows programmers to share UI code across multiple platforms. But it has certain limitations also and the sharing of code can lead to some complexity. It ensures to create a complex and intense graphic UI for several platforms.
The major reason that developers prefer to opt for this technology is that it delivers a high level of functionalities and can be customized based on user experience.
Conclusion
Xamarin is the most popular and widely used cross-development platform. Both Xamarin. Forms and Xamarin. Native of them are advanced and based on modern functionalities, here we have covered the important points to know all about these platforms for your next project.
