Best Mobile Development Platforms
Mobile development platforms give developers a single environment possessing all of the tools developers need to create a mobile application. Most platforms are geared toward creating iOS or Android applications, but others are cross-platform applications and provide an environment with specific native tools. Others will possess hybrid functionality and tools to create applications across multiple operating systems. Companies in need of a mobile application provide their developers with a platform to write, manage, and deploy mobile applications. This process usually takes place entirely within a development or IT department but can occur throughout a small company or on an individual basis. The products can be used to create anything from games to e-commerce applications.
Mobile development platforms possess similar characteristics to integrated development environments (IDE) but are geared specifically toward mobile applications. Many mobile development platforms also possess tools for mobile app testing, mobile app optimization, and mobile app debugging.
To qualify for inclusion in the Mobile Development Platforms category, a product must:
Best Mobile Development Platforms At A Glance
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Xcode is Apple's integrated development environment (IDE) that provides a comprehensive suite of tools for developing, testing, and distributing applications across all Apple platforms, including iOS,
9,943,943 Twitter followers
Visual Studio is a comprehensive integrated development environment (IDE) designed to empower developers in building applications across various platforms, including Android, iOS, Windows, web, and cl
13,088,482 Twitter followers
Android Studio is Google's official integrated development environment (IDE) for Android application development, built upon JetBrains' IntelliJ IDEA. It offers a comprehensive suite of tools tailored
31,775,247 Twitter followers
What if you could build custom, AI-powered solutions that fit your business perfectly, without the risk or costly lock-in? The OutSystems AI-powered low-code development platform eliminates the compro
25,307 Twitter followers
.NET is a free, open-source, cross-platform framework developed by Microsoft for building modern applications and powerful cloud services. It supports multiple operating systems, including Windows, Li
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ServiceNow App Engine is a low-code application development platform designed to facilitate the creation, management, and evolution of custom enterprise workflow applications. This innovative solution
53,697 Twitter followers
Firebase is a comprehensive platform developed by Google that provides a suite of tools and services designed to help developers build, improve, and grow applications across various platforms, includi
31,775,247 Twitter followers
The iOS Software Development Kit (SDK) is a comprehensive suite of tools and resources provided by Apple to facilitate the creation of applications for iPhone and iPad devices. It includes a robust se
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Median.co is a webview app development platform trusted by web professionals and SaaS product teams to launch powerful mobile apps without the cost and complexity of traditional app development. It’s
1,178 Twitter followers
The Android Native Development Kit (NDK) is a comprehensive set of tools that enables developers to incorporate native code, written in C and C++, into their Android applications. By leveraging the ND
31,775,247 Twitter followers
Azure Advisor is a free, personalized cloud consultant designed to help organizations optimize their Azure deployments. By analyzing resource configurations and usage telemetry, it provides actionable
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The Samsung GALAXY SDK is a comprehensive suite of development tools designed to empower developers in creating innovative applications for Samsung's Galaxy devices. By providing access to advanced ha
752,965 Twitter followers
Twinr is a no-code mobile app builder that transforms any website into a fully branded iOS and Android app—without the high costs, long timelines, or complexity of traditional development. Our mission
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Your Application's Backend, Simplified. Launch your backend in minutes with no infrastructure hassles. Our low-code platform, ready-to-use components, and AI-powered tools will help you build faster a
3,482 Twitter followers
The AWS Mobile SDK helps you build high quality mobile apps quickly and easily. It provides easy access to a range of AWS services, including Amazon Lambda, S3, DynamoDB, Mobile Analytics, Machine Lea
2,220,162 Twitter followers
Learn More About Mobile Development Platforms
What are Mobile Development Platforms?
Mobile app usage is on the rise, and not just for personal use. Because of the huge volume of mobile devices currently in use—phones, tablets, etc.—businesses are designing mobile applications not only for sale or external profit but also for internal business use. For midsize and enterprise companies, as well as individuals with strong development knowledge, mobile development platforms are a key tool to make app desires a reality.
Mobile development platforms aim to bring together all the tools a developer would need to build an app from start to finish under one unified software offering. By using a mobile development platform, developers don’t have to worry about bouncing between different software for certain aspects of the mobile development lifecycle, which can lead to information loss or improper characterization of data.
Key Benefits of Mobile Development Platforms
- Tool and resource consolidation
- Beginning-to-end lifecycle control
- Broad functionality array
- Testing and debugging capabilities
- Simplified deployment process
Why Use Mobile Development Platforms?
Mobile development platforms help simplify the mobile development process by consolidating every key function and feature into one offering. Everything from planning to UI/UX design to testing can be done with a single piece of software.
Time savings — By using several pieces of software to cover the mobile development lifecycle, developers will likely spend a lot of time having to switch from software to software to work. They also may need to verify their code integrity with each switch to make sure each piece of software is using the latest version of the app or the most recent code changes. Alongside the learning curve of each new piece of software, hopping from solution to solution can be time-consuming and reduce time spent on other valuable components of the app.
Cost savings — Because developers using these platforms have to spend less time learning and switching between software to develop a mobile app, businesses can save on labor costs by using a mobile development platform. Additionally, the ability to use a single platform as opposed to several individual software offerings can save businesses money on both upfront and subscription software costs.
Who Uses Mobile Development Platforms?
As the name of the product may suggest, mobile developers and development teams are the intended audience for these products. Mobile development platforms typically require at least some, if not intermediate, programming knowledge specifically around mobile development languages (e.g., C++, Swift, Java), which can make using this software fairly exclusive to developers. Those looking to develop an app but not having much or any development experience may want to use a low-code or no-code development platform instead.
Kinds of Mobile Development Platforms
Mobile development platforms differ by the mobile operating system (OS) they cater to.
Android — As of December 2018, the Android mobile OS held 54.4% of the market share in the United States. Android mobile development platforms cater specifically to this highly popular mobile OS, allowing developers to build mobile applications for a huge variety of Android-based devices.
iOS — Of the December 2018 remaining market share, 44.8% was held by Apple’s iOS. Unlike Android, which can be run on numerous hardware brands, iOS is proprietary software and only runs on Apple’s devices (iPhone, iPad, etc.). iOS mobile development platforms help companies cater to iOS users and verify that their apps will run well for users.
Other — The remaining 1% of U.S. market share is a mixed bag of other mobile OS with systems such as Blackberry and Microsoft. These mobile OS are typically designed for proprietary mobile hardware. The mobile development platforms built to handle these other OS keep in mind the strict requirements to run on these proprietary operating systems and hardware.
Hybrid — A class of mobile development platforms that might see growth in the future, hybrid platforms allow developers to build applications for multiple OS types on a single platform. Hybrid mobile development platforms help companies reach several audiences without having to build two or more separate but similar applications. Instead, they can build for multiple operating systems under the same platform, usually with HTML5, without loss of quality or scope.
Mobile Development Platforms Features
While the following list is not exhaustive, these are the features you would typically find in a mobile development platform solution.
Front-end design tools — These tools typically comprise the user interface (UI) and user experience (UX) components of the app. Front-end design tools help companies and developers create an easy-to-use, engaging experience for the end user, aiming to minimize frustration and confusion while maximizing utility and feature quality.
Back-end design tools — While the front-end handles user interaction, the back-end handles the raw functionality of the app. Back-end design tools can include code editors, code libraries, snippet libraries, frameworks, and a vast array of other development resources that can be used towards constructing a mobile application.
Debugging — The process of finding errors in code, debugging allows developers to verify their app code is completely and correctly built out. It can be incredibly frustrating to compile code and have it fail without understanding why—debugging helps prevent that frustration.
App testing — While debugging can help identify syntactic errors in code, testing tools help find practical errors in an app’s function. Testing tools can help identify issues such as workflows that work syntactically but not practically, links that don’t properly launch, graphics that don’t load, and more. This function helps to create and maintain a quality user experience.
Additional Mobile Development Platforms Features
Integration capabilities — Some mobile development platforms offer an integration option—via plugins or APIs—with a variety of software, from product and project management offerings to service desk software and beyond. Software integration can help the overall development process be more fluid and unified through multiple departments or teams.
Potential Issues with Mobile Development Platforms
Learning curve — All development platforms are different, which can introduce issues when switching to a new platform. Developers will not only need to worry about building the app itself but also about how to use the platform. If switching to a new development platform, consider taking some time to train the devs on the platform and its features.
Feature saturation — As with any platform, it can be easy to get overwhelmed by the volume of features available. You might end up getting a platform that does far more than you need it to, which can end up being more distracting (and expensive) than helpful for some developers. Before purchasing a mobile development platform, work with your development team to see what features they might need in particular or what features might go to waste. This will help with making a better, more informed decision for your business needs.
