23 January 2025
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Looking to create a mobile application for your business, or do you have an immediate need to launch a stable and functional product in the market? As technology continues to evolve, developers frequently encounter challenges in keeping current with the most efficient and effective tools available.
In the constantly changing landscape of mobile app development, selecting the mobile app development frameworks for creating mobile applications is not merely a technical choice; it’s a fundamental aspect of your project’s success.
Wondering which mobile app development frameworks will be leaders in 2025? With a wide array of frameworks for app development at your disposal, picking the right one can be difficult.
Also know how these frameworks can help businesses grow by streamlining the app development process, reducing time-to-market for new features and products. Because of their scalability, apps can expand to meet corporate needs without sacrificing functionality. Frameworks facilitate cost-effective development with integrated tools and templates, allowing for the reinvestment of funds into other business domains. They increase client engagement by reaching a larger audience and guaranteeing cross-platform compatibility.
In this guide, we will examine the top frameworks to assist you in making an informed choice for your business, each tailored to various requirements and objectives.
Mobile application development involves creating software applications specifically for mobile devices and tablets. During this development phase, developers utilize various programming languages based on their requirements and employ different tools to build user-friendly and effective applications. The app’s design is developed, and this design is evaluated through wireframes and prototypes to ensure every detail is refined before producing the final version.
Once the design is completed, the development phase begins, during which programmers utilize languages such as Java, Swift, Python, Flutter, or Kotlin. After that, the application undergoes testing to confirm that it is free of any errors. When everything checks out, the app is released on the Google Play Store or Apple App Store, allowing users to conveniently download and access it.
In simpler terms, Mobile App Development Technologies enable developers to:
Various categories of applications, or apps, are determined by their development techniques and internal features. Before we dive into the popular mobile app development frameworks let us discuss the types.
A native app is specifically designed for a single operating system (such as iOS or Android).
These apps are generally available for download through app marketplaces like the Apple App Store or Google Play Store.
Unlike web apps, native apps can utilize all the features of the device, including the camera, vibration, and GPS.
Once downloaded, they appear as an icon on the home screen of the device.
Native apps offer improved control over the app’s orientation, dimensions, and resolution.
Developers have access to layout tools that assist in their development processes.
They can define the screen size and aspect ratio, allowing the mobile app to preserve the aspect ratio across different screen sizes.
A web application is software that operates within your web browser. When used on a mobile device, web apps resemble and function like mobile applications — although they are not identical.
Businesses need to share information and provide services remotely. They utilize web applications to conveniently and securely engage with customers. Common website features such as shopping carts, product searches and filtering, instant messaging, and social media news feeds are designed as web applications.
They enable access to sophisticated functionality without the need to install or configure software.
A hybrid app is a type of application that can be downloaded and used on various mobile platforms such as Android and iOS.
It is designed in a way that enables developers to utilize the same codebase across all operating systems. This type of app is created using widely used front-end development technologies and languages, including HTML5, JavaScript, and CSS, which ensures functionality across different platforms.
In simpler terms, developers are not required to create distinct codebases for Android and iOS; they can write the code for a mobile app once while still supporting multiple platforms.
If you are looking for cross-platform solutions to reduce costs and accelerate app development? But unsure of which technology to pick from the diversity of mobile application development frameworks available.
Then let’s take a quick look at the top 14 mobile app frameworks for 2025.
With over 34,000 apps utilising the framework’s components and over 42 billion downloads globally, the mobile app development market is not only vibrant but also flourishing.
Within a few years of its release, React Native has emerged as a popular and trendy choice among mobile app developers.
Currently, React Native benefits from the contributions of individuals and companies worldwide, including Callstack, Expo, Infinite Red, Microsoft, and Software Mansion.
React Native combines the most advantageous aspects of developing with React for native application development. It is a top-tier JavaScript library designed for creating user interfaces.
According to IEEEorg, there are 49% of React Native customers in the United States, 9% in India, 7% in the United Kingdom, and 5% in Canada. In terms of percentage, 27% of the information technology and services sectors use this framework, while 17% of IT firms use it for all app development tasks.
React Native enables you to build fully native applications without sacrificing your users’ experiences.
It offers a fundamental set of platform-agnostic native components such as View, Text, and Image, which correspond directly to the native UI building blocks of the platform.ks.
There are multiple factors contributing to the worldwide popularity of React Native.
To begin with, using React Native allows companies to write their code a single time and deploy it for both iOS and Android applications. This results in significant time and resource efficiencies.
In addition, React Native was developed on the foundation of React – a JavaScript library that was already immensely popular at the time of the mobile framework’s introduction. We will explore the distinctions between React and React Native in detail later in this section.
Moreover, the framework enabled frontend developers, who previously could only engage with web-based technologies, to build strong, production-ready applications for mobile platforms.
What makes React Native unique?
The distinction between React Native and other cross-platform development tools, such as Cordova and PhoneGap, is that React Native utilizes real native views and components instead of rendering WebViews in its code. This is one of the factors contributing to the remarkable success of React Native.
Advantages:
If you have a fresh idea for your next-gen business, React Native will be considered to be the best frameworks for mobile app development to mold your vision into a reality.
Initially launched by Google in 2017, Flutter is a widely-used app development frameworks for developing mobile, web, and desktop applications using a single codebase. To create applications with Flutter, it is necessary to utilize Dart, Google’s programming language.
Flutter comprises a comprehensive framework that encompasses widgets, a rendering engine, testing and integration APIs, as well as tools designed to assist developers in creating and deploying visually appealing mobile applications.
Examples of applications created with Flutter Development comprise Google, Alibaba, and Abbey Road Studios.
Advantages
Ionic is one of the other mobile application development frameworks that maintains 4.4+ star overall rating (out of 5).
Ionic is an open-source framework that utilizes Apache Cordova (PhoneGap) and Angular, empowering developers to create Android and iOS applications that deliver smooth mobile performance. Recognized as one of the top frameworks for mobile applications, it enables developers to produce robust and feature-packed native applications.
A key benefit of Ionic is its provision of various UI components, including filters, forms, views, navigation menus, and action sheets, for application design. Ionic serves as a comprehensive framework that allows developers to create Progressive Web Apps (PWAs), as well as hybrid and cross-platform mobile applications.
Advantages:
Therefore, if you’re searching for an opportunity, get in touch with Dev Story and choose the app development frameworks that will allow you to take a reasonable chunk of the quickly expanding mobile industry.
Xamarin was introduced in 2011 and is become a product of Microsoft in 2016, utilizing the C# programming language. Xamarin is a mobile development framework based on .NET that allows for the creation of applications for Windows, iOS, and Android. It acts as an abstraction layer that manages communication between the shared codebase.
Applications can be developed for various platforms with 90% code reusability, enhancing development efficiency. Xamarin offers a user-friendly development environment. It is primarily utilized for creating hybrid applications.
Benefits:
SwiftUI, developed by Apple, stands out as the premier framework for application development. It enables creators to design user interfaces for iOS, macOS, watchOS, and tvOS utilizing the Swift programming language. A key feature of this framework is its declarative syntax, which allows developers to write concise and straightforward code, significantly reducing time and effort.
SwiftUI provides a comprehensive set of tools and APIs, offering a variety of built-in components and distinctive functionalities that expedite coding and improve user experiences. Overall, the SwiftUI App Framework empowers developers to create intuitive solutions for Apple’s platforms with greater ease, in less time, and without complex coding.
Advantages:
PhoneGap is indeed one of the leading frameworks for mobile app development. Acquired by Adobe Systems in 2011, PhoneGap is an open-source framework that enables the creation of cross-platform applications using languages such as HTML5, CSS3, and JavaScript.
This mobile application frameworks facilitates the development of a single mobile application that can be deployed as a native app across various devices. Additionally, PhoneGap does not rely on any specific hardware configurations during the development of mobile applications. There are numerous advantages to using PhoneGap.
Benefits
As a highly regarded cross-platform mobile development framework, Corona SDK enables the creation of 2D applications across all major operating systems. From Android and iOS to macOS and Windows, Corona SDK stands out as one of the most flexible and popular mobile app development frameworks. It utilizes the Lua programming language and benefits from OpenGL hardware integration, which contributes to its reputation for speed and reliability.
Corona SDK serves as the foundation for numerous gaming, educational, and utility applications currently available in the market. Renowned for simplifying and speeding up mobile development, it is widely preferred and recognized as the most effective option for developing the next generation of mobile applications.
Advantages:
Apache Cordova is a one of the mobile development frameworks that is open-source, enabling developers to create mobile applications using HTML, CSS, and JavaScript.
Cordova enclose your web application within a native shell, allowing it to utilize the device functions across various platforms.
Apache Cordova allows developers to build mobile applications utilizing web technologies like HTML5, CSS3, and JavaScript, avoiding the need for platform-specific APIs. The applications run inside wrappers designed for each platform and depend on standards-compliant API bindings to access the functionalities of each device.
Advantages:
This open-source framework is favored for minimizing the loading time and amount of code for applications. The framework excels in developing mobile apps that utilize TypeScript, CSS, Vue.js, JavaScript, and Angular. Top companies opt for Native Scripts due to its features such as reliable backend support, business assistance, full access to iOS and Android APIs, cross-platform capabilities, and a native user experience without web views.
Advantages:
When it comes to creating complex mobile applications, Onsen UI is regarded as one of the popular mobile app development frameworks. It is among the top and most advanced technologies for creating mobile applications.
With JavaScript, HTML, and CSS, the technologies used to develop mobile apps produce stunning HTML applications.Additionally, it supports Reacts, Vue, Angular JS1, and Angular 2+ libraries.
Depending on the platform, this platform is capable of creating apps. Tabs, stack navigation, lists, forms, and other UI elements are all part of its collection. Onsen UI has become JavaScript framework-agnostic with version 2, allowing developers to create mobile applications using or without a JavaScript framework.
It is simple to create hybrid apps and Progressive Web Apps (PWAs) that seem native with this mobile applications framework.
Because the fundamental archive is context-skeptic and written entirely in JavaScript, you can use it with the tools and framework of your choice.
Because the mechanisms can be auto-styled according to the platform, the same source code can be used to support both iOS and Android.
Onsen UI features include:
Kotlin is a statically typed, cross-platform programming language with type inference. JetBrains Language created Kotlin, which was released in 2016. The main purpose of Kotlin is to work with Java and its many JVM versions.
Its syntax is really short because of the type inference functionality. Kotlin targets the JVM and can compile to native code or Javascript. Google declared on May 7, 2019, that their preferred programming language for Android app developers is Kotlin.
Kotlin features include:
By fusing the capabilities of the Angular and Bootstrap frameworks, the Mobile Angular UI framework facilitates the development of mobile applications.
Development is made easier with Mobile Angular UI, and HTML5 may be used to create apps. For a smooth experience, mobile app developers can also utilize overthrow.js and fastclick.js.
This is one of the frameworks for app development that easily supports complicated programs and provides robust server-side support.
Features of Angular UI for Mobile
One of the other open-source top mobile app development frameworks called Framework7 makes it possible to create native-looking desktop, web, and mobile applications.
In addition to supporting Vue.js and React components for app development, the framework lets you use the HTML, CSS, and JavaScript tools of your choice. To further facilitate and expedite the development process, Framework7 offers a vast array of user interface elements and widgets, including action sheets, side panels, list views, form elements, etc. Framework 7 has many advantages, some of which are listed below:
Advantages:
Consider the requirements of your app. Is it necessary for it to function on both iOS and Android, or is it designed for just one platform? Understanding this will assist you in determining which app development frameworks to select.
Examine the strengths of your development team. Selecting a programming language or framework that aligns with their existing expertise can enhance the speed and ease of the development process.
Various frameworks provide varying levels of speed and efficiency. Native frameworks such as Swift (for iOS) and Kotlin (for Android) typically deliver the highest performance, although their development time is longer. Cross-platform frameworks like React Native and Flutter can reduce development time, but they may not achieve the same performance level.
Having a large, engaged community can be incredibly beneficial. Frameworks that provide numerous guides, tutorials, and individuals available for assistance make the development process easier and more manageable.
What is your available time and budget? Certain application development frameworks are more efficient and cost-effective to use, particularly if you can repurpose code for both iOS and Android.
Consider the future growth of the app. Can the framework accommodate new features and updates going forward? Ensure that the framework will continue to receive long-term support and updates.
Since the introduction of the first mobile phone in the 1970s, mobile app development and frameworks for app development has seen numerous revisions.
Apps grew increasingly sophisticated as mobile phones started to proliferate and development increased. The initial applications mostly used user-supplied input to show information. However, a lot of apps available nowadays can give customers information without asking them to.
There are no indications that mobile applications are becoming slower. Blockchain, AI, VR, and AR are some of the technologies that are changing how mobile apps are developed. Additionally, the apps that run wearables and phones usually take front stage.
The creation of AR and VR apps has advanced significantly in recent years, and as these technologies continue to grow, the future appears even more interesting. Companies can get a competitive edge in the market by investing in AR and VR to create more dynamic and engaging experiences.
Thanks to the creative solutions created by mobile app development companies, augmented reality and virtual reality are two technologies that have the potential to drastically alter marketing from e-commerce to a variety of enterprises and alter the marketing approach.
These technologies improve usability, from AR-based navigation in maps to virtual clothing trials in e-commerce. AR and VR are used by gaming and educational apps to provide interactive entertainment and learning.
By enabling highly personalised, predictive, and context-aware applications, machine learning (ML) and artificial intelligence (AI) will have a big impact on user experiences in the future of mobile app development.
The goal is to anticipate user needs and provide smooth interactions through the use of predictive analytics, conversational AI (chatbots), augmented reality (AR) integration, personalized recommendations, intelligent automation, enhanced security through AI, and the development of edge computing for faster on-device processing.
The potential for increasing app functionality, user engagement, and customer satisfaction is enormous as AI and ML advance in sophistication. Whether you like it or not, artificial intelligence will have a big impact on mobile technology in the future.
One of the most persistent mobile app trends is the Internet of Things (IoT), which isn’t going anywhere.
Mobile applications with IoT capabilities act as an interface through which users can manage and keep an eye on these IoT devices. For example, customers can remotely control the lighting, security, and temperature of their homes with smart home apps.
Apps for fitness and health can connect to wearable technology to monitor health indicators. Manufacturing process management and remote monitoring are made possible by industrial IoT apps.
Mobile applications will be essential to using this technology as the number of IoT devices increases, promoting convenience, effectiveness, and creativity in a variety of industries.
For more than ten years, the excitement surrounding fifth-generation wireless technology (5G) has been growing. However, 5G access was only introduced by the majority of carriers in 2021.
5G is all about speed. It is exponentially faster than 4G technology, not merely faster. 5G can function at 100 times the speed of the majority of current networks. This is significant because it enables people to connect not only with phones but also with wearables, gadgets, and machinery.
Information is sent in milliseconds because of its rapid speed, which lowers latency and improves user experience.
Simple and complicated use cases are both possible. Users viewing HD videos on their smartphones without any delay or quality loss might be a straightforward use case.
It is impossible to discuss the future of mobile apps without bringing up apps made for wearable health monitors, fitness bands, and smartwatches.
These applications are transforming industries like entertainment, healthcare, and fitness. Exercise planning, heart rate monitoring, and step tracking are all possible with fitness applications.
Apps for medical wearables can track important health metrics, warn users of possible health hazards, and even send data to physicians for remote monitoring. Immersion is offered by wearables with an entertainment focus, like VR and AR spectacles.
Wearable apps will remain a major trend in mobile development as wearable technology develops and becomes more prevalent in daily life.
Making mobile app security a top priority is crucial to establishing a safer online space and guaranteeing that users may take use of mobile technologies without sacrificing their security and privacy.
Insights from the experiences of 604 companies and 3,556 cybersecurity and business leaders affected by a data breach have been released in research by IBM and Ponemon Institute.
The highest-ever average cost of a data breach was $4.88 million in 2024. Keep the business you run from being disrupted by a data breach.
For example Apple’s privacy guarantees and two-factor authentication increase user confidence while lowering security threats. It seems that consumers are becoming more careful when disclosing sensitive information.
Security-as-a-Service, AI integration in cybersecurity, and Mobile RASP (Runtime Application Self-Protection) are important trends in mobile security that highlight how app security is changing to fend off new threats. Taking up security Artificial intelligence and automation help reduce breach expenses.
Therefore while incorporating the above features of implementing the above said trend application development frameworks plays the major role ensuring smooth integration and scalability.
They offer the tools and frameworks required for effective development, cutting time to market without sacrificing quality standards.
Teams can improve the application’s overall functioning and user experience by streamlining their procedures and concentrating on innovation with the correct framework.
There are a lot of intriguing trends in mobile app development that bode well for the future. There will be difficulties associated with these prospects, especially in the areas of cross-platform development, security, and privacy.
This field is undergoing fast transformation. The ones who are able to innovate, learn, and adapt will prosper.Mobile application frameworks enable developers to innovate at scale and expedite the application development process. Fortunately, there are several alternatives available to developers when it comes to creating an application that works on a variety of devices and operating systems.
At Dev Story, we assist our clients in creating mobile applications that establish a stronger connection with their clientele. Since we are a technology-agnostic company and think that technology may provide endless possibilities, we choose the best framework for mobile app development for our clients based on the particular project needs, timeframes, budget, and a number of other considerations.
