Xamarin

Xamarin vs Native App Development: What Is Best for 2018?

Xamarin is often advertised as one of the best tools from cross-platform mobile app development. But it has cons too. Do they make it worth sticking to native app development? Let’s find out.

May 16, 2018
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Mobile app development is one of the leading fields in the IT industry, today. When it comes to creating a mobile application, it is impossible to avoid the topic of the tools used in this process. When you are working on your mobile app project, you are presented with a lot of different options depending on the OS your app is going to be running on – iOS, Android or Microsoft. Web developers usually choose one instrument that is considered to be the most effective to build a mobile app, be it JavaScript or any other platform.

Xamarin is becoming more widely used and we will try to answer the question ‘why’ today. In order to do that, let’s take a look at the battle of Xamarin vs Native 2018 to see if Xamarin is truly worthy to compete with native app development, and why.

What Is Xamarin?

Xamarin represents a relatively new and efficient instrument for cross-platform mobile app development. Its main distinguishing feature is that Xamarin allows users to share the code across the main platforms. It’s important to note that the percentage of the code shared can reach over 90%.


Xamarin was originally built as an open source development tool in 2001, based on the .NET Framework. In 2011, the Xamarin developer team started its own company.



Xamarin is developed on the basis of a Microsoft technology stack, with all its peculiarities. As of now, the community of Xamarin users has exceeded 1 million. Notably, Xamarin gained its popularity as an instrument for developing cross-platform mobile apps after it became a part of Microsoft Corporation (Microsoft acquired this commercial project in 2016).

The language used in Xamarin is C# which makes it possible to build native-looking apps while ensuring their high performance. Since C# is a part of the .NET framework, it is compatible with various useful features, including LINQ, Asynс, Lambdas and many more.

Xamarin allows mobile apps to perform well on different platforms, including but not limited to the native ones. That’s why using Xamarin over native development seems to be the better choice for a more efficient development these days. It transforms building process into a much easier one and provides more opportunities for using an application.

Of course, with its advantages, Xamarin also has its downsides, just like anything else. Do the advantages outweigh the disadvantages? In order to compare the pros and cons of development with Xamarin, let us see what they represent.

Advantages Of Using Xamarin

Disadvantages Of Using Xamarin

What Is Native App Development & Has It Lost Its Popularity?

Native app development is quite common in the industry, as well. The main characteristic of native apps is that they can work on only one platform. That means that the application’s code has to be written separately for each OS from scratch. For instance, if you need solution for Android, you will have to use Java, but, if it’s an iOS app that you want, you’ll use Swift.


Native application development is supposed to be the traditional approach for mobile app building. Each OS platform has its own peculiar technical features, as well as software and hardware specifications. That’s why, by their design, the instruments for native app development meet the requirements of each OS specifically.



This allows developers to design apps that have native support and all the components that are required for running on a particular OS. As a general rule, apps designed for a particular platform demand use of a specific layout or design layout for the tablet and smartphone versions separately.

Native app development definitely has its strengths and weaknesses, just like Xamarin does. Let’s take a closer at them.

Native App Development Perks

Native App Development Downsides

Evidently, the Xamarin vs native comparison suggests that using a tool such as Xamarin for mobile app development is easy, fast and cheap, especially when comparing to product development for a particular platform. The programmer can take the code that has already been written and use it again in the process of Xamarin mobile app development.

To sum it up, we’ve gathered all the information on Xamarin vs native app comparison in the table below.

Conclusion

There’s no doubt that Xamarin cross-platform development has become quite attractive for mobile app developers. When we’re comparing the efficiency of using Xamarin vs. native app development, however, keep in mind that choosing mobile app building tools requires analyzing a wide range of factors.

Both Xamarin and native app development have their advantages and downsides that should be considered individually in every single case. It is up to you to select the most appropriate method for making your app fast, easy-to-use and cost-effective.

If you have any other questions, you can always turn to EGO-cms for answers. We are dedicated to providing consultations and answering any questions that you may have in mind promptly and competently.


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