10 Best Frameworks for Developing an Android App

In the last couple of years, the app development industry has seen an unfathomable growth of smartphone and android users around the globe. More and more organizations and startups are investing in Android app development to establish brand value and target potential customers. With over 74 percent share, the Android OS dominates the overall app development landscape. It has the capability to run on different mobile phones, giving support to thousands of games and apps. An Android operating system provides a huge marketplace to the developers for developing and deploying Android applications across different smartphones and mobile devices.

Table of contents
Frameworks
Ending note

Earlier, the cost and time used for Android application development were exceptionally high. But now, it is not quite true. There are plenty of libraries and android frameworks available in the market that not only provide the developer with robust, constructive tools but also streamline the development process by resolving various common issues and reducing the development time. Let’s find out some of these frameworks and how they can make the development process easy.

Framework #1: Corona SDK

corona android app development framework

Corona SDK is a software development kit that allows developers to build mobile applications for the Android platform. It is a cross-platform framework that gives power to developers to develop 2D games and mobile applications. This framework allows for quick development approximately 10 times faster than other mobile app development platforms. It has Lua-based APIs that make it easy to add sophisticated features into your app. You can instantly see the changes that you make in your app and publish them to across major platforms.

FEATURES

  • 100% Free
  • Easy To Learn
  • Publish to Major Platforms
  • Windows & macOS support
  • Build apps for Apple TV & Android TV
  • Real-Time Testing

Framework #2: PhoneGap

phone gap framework

PhoneGap is an application development framework developed by Adobe System and commonly used to develop hybrid mobile applications. For developing an app in this framework, the developer needs not have complete knowledge of mobile programming languages. Instead, the basic knowledge of web development languages like CSS, HTML, and Jscript is enough. You can create a single codebase that can run on multiple platforms using PhoneGap so that you can reach your audiences no matter what kind of device they are using.

PHONEGAP TOOL SETS

  • PhoneGap Desktop App
  • PhoneGap Developer
  • PhoneGap Build
  • Plugin Library
  • Third-Party Tools
  • Developer Community

Framework #3: Xamarin

xamarin framework

Develop a native app for different mobile platforms like Android, iOS, and Windows using existing skills, teams, and code. Xamarin allows you to create native apps for multiple platforms on a shared C# codebase. You can use the same language, IDE and APIs on every platform. It is a flexible framework as everything you can do in Swift, Objective-C or Java, you can do the same thing in C# with Xamarin. You can also push cutting-edge apps with same-day support for new OS releases. It also works for iOS and Windows. You can test your app’s functionality which is only allowed on the cloud with timely monitoring of your app.

Framework #4: Sencha Touch 2

sencha touch android framework

Sencha Touch 2 is the leading cross-platform mobile application development framework based on JavaScript and HTML5 for creating universal mobile apps. It provides over 115 built-in components that let you create impressive apps on the Android platform. The apps built with Sencha feature fluid animations, adaptive layout engine and smooth scrolling that respond instantaneously to all user actions.

FEATURES

  • High-Performance, Native-Looking UI Widgets
  • Adaptive Layouts, Animations, and Smooth Scrolling
  • Backend Agnostic Data
  • Advanced Mobile Charting
  • Device Features and Native

Framework #5: Appcelerator

appceletor framework

Appcelerator: This framework provides everything that you need to create great native mobile apps using a single JavaScript codebase. This cross-platform is open to all and has a power of Titanium plus direct access to any native API with Hyperloop. It is available for free. Apart from mobile application development, this framework is also used for mobile backend as a service (MBaaS), mobile test automation, crash detection and performance management, and mobile analytics.

PRODUCTS

  • Appcelerator 5.2.1.GA
  • Appcelerator Dashboard
  • Appcelerator Studio
  • Appcelerator Arrow
  • Appcelerator Insights
  • Apple Watch SDK
  • AppU
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Framework #6: B4X

With Basic4Android, anyone who wants to can develop mobile apps with the help of simple, modern and powerful development tools. Apart from Android, it also supports a wide range of other platforms like iOS, Windows, Mac, Linux, Arduino, Raspberry PI, ESP8266 and more. Compiled apps are 100% native. B4X is a modern version of Visual Basic. It is simple and powerful.

PRODUCTS

  • B4A: Android
  • B4i: iOS
  • B4J: Desktop, Server and Raspberry Pi
  • B4R: Arduino & ESP8266 boards

Framework #7: JQuery Mobile

jquery framework

JQuery mobile is a touch-optimized mobile app development framework which is an HTML5 based user interface system created to make responsive apps that can be easily accessible on smartphones, tablet or other mobile devices.

Features:

  • Seriously cross-platform with HTML5
  • Theming: Built to be branded
  • Download Builder: Customize for speed

Android Frameworks #8: Ionic – One Codebase, Any Platform

ionic framework for android app development

Ionic is another free, open-source, and robust Android app development framework that is licensed under the MIT and was launched in 2013. It provides the developers with a complete, vast library of UI components, building blocks, and other tools designed to help them build modern cross-platform, Android, and progressive web as well as native mobile apps using a single codebase. It offers premier native plugins that can be used to include different features, like Bluetooth and fingerprint authentication, without any hassle. This client-side framework uses a combination of HTML, CSS, and JavaScript for building high-performance native applications.

Features:

  • Uses AngularJS MVC architecture and Cordova plugins
  • A set of APIs
  • Reusable HTML tags and codebase
  • PWA support
  • Virtual DOM, JSX, TypeScript integration
  • High-performance and easy-to-move codebase
  • Third-party tools

Framework #9: React Native

react native framework

When talking about Android app development frameworks, the list is incomplete without React Native. Developed and launched by Facebook in 2015, this open-source mobile framework is built on the top of ReactJS and allows you to use React framework along with its native capabilities for developing Web, Android, and iOS apps. Providing support for several IDEs, third-party plugins, development tools, and additional features makes this framework a big hit among developers and companies. Many renowned companies, such as Tesla, Instagram, Baidu, and Walmart, employed this tool and leveraged its features to develop their apps for different platforms, including, iOS, Android, UWP, and Web. Using the declared components and useful features such as accelerometer enables developers to integrate and design a rich UI.

React Native enables the developer to use the building blocks and UI components similar to standard Android and iOS apps, making it impossible to differentiate an app developed using Java or Swift or Objective-C from that of an app built using React Native framework. The changes made in source code are instantly manifested in the preview window. The optimization of specific parts of an app can be done by combining the native source code with different components (Java, Swift, or Objective-C).

Framework #10: Unity

unity development framework

Unity is a real-time android frameworks, commonly known as a game engine in the gaming industry, used for simplifying and facilitating game development. This platform includes and offers various optimization features and conventional tools game developers might require to build, test, and deploy high-quality 2D and 3D games across major platforms, including AR, iOS, VR, desktop, Android, console, web, and Xbox. The Unity game engine provides a collection of libraries to build consistent, intuitive, and engaging graphics, layout, visualizations, and design.

It supports one-click deployment to allow developers to easily deploy their unity build on Android OS by making use of the Android SDK (Android Studio). With unified APIs, you can compile the developed and configured code directly, quickly to your Android native code. The game engine provides a collection of libraries to create consistent, intuitive, and engaging graphics, layout, templates, visualizations, and design. It comes with built-in build settings that you can specify and use to perform different tasks and achieve specific functionality. Its user-friendly and dedicated workflows and tools enable you to develop interactive and stunning experience while delivering native-alike speed and performance.

Features:

  • Multi-lingual support
  • Faster code execution & lesser development time
  • Social media integration
  • SDKs and APIs
  • Unity asset store
  • Multi-platform support
  • Strong, big community

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Ending note

All these android frameworks are the perfect options for Android application development for smartphones, tablets, etc. Android is believed to be one of the quickly growing mobile operating systems, which has the potential to provide great opportunities to developers. These Android frameworks reduce the burden on mobile app developers by eliminating complex development tasks.

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