What is Cross-Platform Development?

Cross-platform development refers to the process of creating software applications that can run on multiple operating systems and devices using a single codebase. Instead of developing separate native apps for iOS and Android, cross-platform development allows developers to write code once and deploy it across both platforms (and sometimes even beyond, like the web).

The key advantages of cross-platform development include:

• Cost-effectiveness: One codebase means lower development and maintenance costs.
• Faster time-to-market: Developing once for multiple platforms shortens the development timeline.
• Consistency: Ensures uniformity across platforms, delivering a similar experience to users on different devices.

With these benefits in mind, let’s explore the leading frameworks available for cross-platform development.

Top Cross-Platform Development Frameworks

1. Flutter

Developed by: Google
Language: Dart

Flutter has quickly become a favorite in the cross-platform development space due to its performance and flexibility. This framework enables developers to build natively compiled applications for mobile, web, and desktop from a single codebase.

Why Choose Flutter?

• Performance: Flutter uses its own rendering engine, which allows for near-native performance.
• Beautiful UI: Flutter excels at creating highly customizable UIs with its rich widget library.
• Hot Reload: Developers can see changes in real time, speeding up the development process.
• Strong community and support: Backed by Google and a growing ecosystem of developers.

Best for: Apps with custom UI designs, animations, and high-performance needs, like eCommerce or social media apps.

2. React Native

Developed by: Facebook
Language: JavaScript

React Native is one of the most popular cross-platform frameworks, especially among developers who are already familiar with JavaScript and React. React Native allows developers to build apps using native components, resulting in a user experience that is closer to fully native apps.

Why Choose React Native?

• Reusability: JavaScript code can be shared between mobile, web, and even desktop applications.
• Large community: With a vast ecosystem of libraries and tools, React Native has strong support from its developer community.
• Native-like performance: While not entirely native, it achieves high performance for most app use cases.
• Flexibility: Can be integrated with existing native apps and can also leverage native modules when necessary.

Best for: Apps that prioritize code reusability and developers with JavaScript expertise, such as content delivery apps, media streaming, and simpler eCommerce platforms.

3. Xamarin

Developed by: Microsoft
Language: C#

Xamarin is a mature cross-platform development framework that uses C# and .NET to build native-like applications. It allows developers to share up to 90% of their code across platforms, significantly reducing development time.

Why Choose Xamarin?

• Native user interface: Xamarin allows access to native APIs and UI components, offering a nearly native experience.
• Microsoft ecosystem integration: Seamless integration with Microsoft products like Visual Studio and Azure.
• Stability: With strong corporate backing from Microsoft, Xamarin is a reliable choice for enterprises.

Best for: Enterprise apps, apps requiring hardware-level integrations, and developers who are already invested in the Microsoft ecosystem.

4. Ionic

Developed by: Ionic
Language: JavaScript (HTML, CSS)

Ionic is a hybrid mobile app development framework that focuses on building web apps and progressive web apps (PWAs) that can also be packaged as native mobile apps. It uses web technologies like HTML, CSS, and JavaScript to create the user interface.

Why Choose Ionic?

• Web-friendly: If you have a web app that you want to convert into a mobile app, Ionic makes the process simple.
• Rich plugin library: Offers a large collection of plugins that enable access to native device features like the camera, GPS, and more.
• Ease of use: Built on top of Angular, making it easier for developers with web development backgrounds to transition into mobile development.

Best for: Apps that are primarily web-based or require lightweight, cross-platform deployment like PWAs, basic utility apps, and content-heavy apps.

5. Unity

Developed by: Unity Technologies
Language: C#

Although primarily known as a game development platform, Unity is also a versatile tool for developing interactive apps and experiences. It’s especially suited for apps with 3D graphics, simulations, or AR/VR capabilities.

Why Choose Unity?

• AR/VR support: Unity has become the go-to framework for developing augmented reality (AR) and virtual reality (VR) applications.
• Multimedia apps: Unity excels at handling graphics, animations, and audio.
• Cross-platform flexibility: In addition to mobile, Unity supports platforms like consoles, desktops, and even wearables.

Best for: Game development, AR/VR apps, and apps with 3D visualizations.

How to Choose the Best Framework for Your App

With so many strong options available, choosing the best cross-platform development framework for your app depends on your specific needs. Here are a few key factors to consider:

1. Project Requirements

   • If your app needs high performance and a native feel, frameworks like Flutter, React Native, or Xamarin are ideal.
   • For lightweight, web-based apps, Ionic may be a better fit.
   • For 3D or AR/VR experiences, Unity stands out.

2. Team Expertise

   • If your team has experience in JavaScript, React Native or Ionic will feel familiar.
   • For C# developers, Xamarin or Unity would be great choices.
   • If you’re looking to experiment with newer technologies, Flutter offers a fresh, modern approach.

3. Performance

   • If your app needs to handle complex tasks, animations, or graphics-heavy content, Flutter or Unity would offer the best performance.
   • For less intensive apps, React Native or Ionic can get the job done without compromising much on speed or usability.

4. Budget and Timeline

   • Cross-platform frameworks like React Native, Flutter, and Ionic can help reduce development costs by sharing a single codebase across platforms.
   • Consider your app’s long-term maintenance needs as well—some frameworks may require more resources to maintain than others.

Conclusion

Cross-platform development is a powerful solution for building apps that work across multiple platforms, allowing you to reach a larger audience while saving time and resources. The right framework depends on the nature of your project, your team’s expertise, and your performance goals. Whether you opt for Flutter’s smooth performance, React Native’s flexibility, or Ionic’s web-friendly approach, each framework offers unique strengths to help you create an app that stands out.

Make sure to assess your needs carefully and select the framework that aligns best with your app’s vision and future growth.

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If you are working on a web or mobile project and cannot decide between React.js and Angular, the below comparison can help you decide.

Some may think that it is not possible to compare React to Angular because Angular is a full-stack MVC framework, whereas React is merely a view library. But it is not so.

Comparing them is a smart idea, though, because they are both capable of producing fantastic apps and are ideal technologies.  Here we will compare the two most popular javascript Frontend frameworks for supporting one of the most demanding digital business goals.

REACT.JS

React.js is a free and open-source JavaScript toolkit for creating fast and appealing user interfaces. It combines ease of development (due to small chunks of code known as “components”) with a heavy emphasis on user experience. Since React is the View layer of the MVC architecture, you have practically complete control over the Model and Controller frameworks you use.

ANGULAR

Angular is a Google-created open-source framework for developing web applications. Angular uses TypeScript rather than JavaScript. Angular, unlike React, is a full-featured MVC framework, so you will not need any other solutions after you have mastered it.

COMPARISON OF REACT AND ANGULAR

View library vs. full-stack framework

Some argue that comparing React JS with Angular is not a good idea because they are both slightly different things, as explained at the outset. But, if both can create fantastic apps, does it really matter?

Angular appears to be a better alternative because it is a full-stack MVC framework that does not require any other libraries. React JS, on the other hand, does require additional libraries, but whether this is a plus or a negative depends entirely on your project goals.

React, being an independent view library, allows you almost limitless choices when it comes to creating user experiences, and you can also be fairly selective about the libraries you employ.

Data binding

Two-way data bindings are used in Angular. When you use two-way data binding, your model state automatically switches when you modify any element of the interface.

React employs one-way data binding, which means that the interface model is updated only after the model state has been updated. The model state remains unchanged while the UI components are changed.

One-way data binding allows React developers to have more freedom and control over their mobile and web apps because the data flow is unidirectional.

Server Rendering 

Angular makes web developers’ lives easier by providing pleasant and searchable static versions of the application. Angular renders an application using server-side rendering by creating a static view before it becomes fully interactive. It is up to you to figure out how to combine JSON with client-side caching to boost server speed. When it comes to decreasing traffic between the client and the server, nothing beats Angular.

Angular is built on a testing framework that includes features like dependency injection and mocking objects. We cannot distrust Angular’s future advances because it has Google as a backup. It can also reduce code size by eliminating the need for recompilation and reflecting modifications in the front-end more quickly.

Mobile App Development

With React Native and React JS, you can create genuinely native and cross-platform mobile apps. While React Native has a somewhat different syntax than React, it is pretty simple to pick up if you have worked with React before. Otherwise, you can hire a ReactJS developer who is aware that React Native allows components to be generated and bound in Java, Objective-C, or Swift code.

The Angular framework, on the other hand, makes use of Ionic, a platform that allows developers to create high-performance cross-platform mobile apps with a single codebase. Ionic applications can be utilized on any device, including the web. This open-source framework offers developers user-friendly tools as well as powerful services. It also comes with a large library and building pieces that make development much easier.

If both programs are well-written, the performance difference between them will be difficult to discern.

Self-Sufficiency

Since React is a UI framework, apps created with it require the use of extra libraries. Redux, React Router, and Helmet, for example, optimize state management, routing, and API interaction. Additional modules or libraries are required to perform services such as data binding, project generation, component-based routing, form validation, and dependency injection.

Angular is a full-featured software development framework that rarely requires the use of third-party libraries. Data binding, project generation,  component-based routing, form validation, and dependency injection are all functions that may be implemented using the Angular package.

Learning curve 

React is a simple framework with no dependency injection, traditional templates, or overly complex functionality. If you’re familiar with JavaScript, the framework will be simple to grasp.

Since there is no predetermined project structure, learning how to build up a project takes time. You’ll also need to master the Redux library, which is used for state management in more than 50% of React applications. Continuous framework changes necessitate additional developer effort. Furthermore, there are many best practices in React that you will need to master in order to accomplish things correctly.

Since Angular has such a large library, understanding all of the ideas related to it will take much longer than learning React. Angular is more difficult to grasp, with a lot of superfluous syntaxes and complicated component management. Some complex features are built into the framework’s core, so developers will have to understand and use them. Furthermore, a single problem can be solved in a variety of ways.

Although TypeScript is similar to JavaScript, it takes some time to master. Since the framework is regularly updated, the developer must devote more learning time.

Popularity

In the programming community and discussion forums, both Angular and React have gained popularity. According to statistics from the most popular platform, Angular has 56,586 stars whereas Reactjs has 142,606 stars.

In contrast to the full-fledged Angular framework, React is just a library. While comparing with the library framework Reactjs, however, Angular consistently received a high average number of stars. It is because of the early release of React, it has a higher number of stars.

Templates 

With Angular directives, HTML Angular employs templates based on an extended form of HTML. The syntax of those directives is complicated and advanced, so you will have to start from the beginning.

All you need to know about React is JavaScript. A JSX is a brilliant component that combines markup and JavaScript logic in one file. You may write your markup in your JavaScript code, thanks to the use of an XML-like language, which keeps everything in one place and improves code completion.

Testing

Jest is used by React (often in conjunction with Enzyme, a JavaScript testing tool). Jest is a robust mocking library that requires no configuration and comes standard with every React project. However, lately, react-testing-library is more often used.

The Angular CLI downloads all of the tools you will need to run tests with the Jasmine framework. Although Angular includes numerous capabilities, such as unit isolation and was designed with testability in mind, many Angular developers find Jasmine’s output to be difficult to comprehend.

Conclusion on Angular Vs React:2022

There is as such no more appropriate framework. To stay competitive, both are constantly updated. For example, while React was thought to win due to its virtual DOM, Angular tied the score thanks to changing detection. While Angular was thought to be the winner because it was created by Google, the enormous and dedicated React community more than made up for Google’s fame and made React comparable to Angular.

Guest Author: Harikrishna Kundariya 

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React Native is a JavaScript development framework that uses React to create user interfaces for iOS and Android devices. This allows developers to reuse code across both web and mobile platforms. React Native was developed by Facebook and released in 2015 and has done nothing but grow since then. Some of the reasons why we love React Native are that it’s open-source, cross-platform and easy to learn. It also leads to shorter development times, provides a native interface and makes it easy to implement changes. But don’t take our word for it! In this article, we’ll review some of the Best React Native apps available in 2022 to show you the wonders that can be created or revamped using this framework.

Instagram

With over 1 billion monthly users, Instagram is one of the most popular social media platforms out there. Although not originally developed with React Native, the team behind Instagram decided to integrate the React Native platform in 2016. This move definitely paid off as this meant that features could be shipped faster in both iOS and Android and it significantly reduced development costs.

UberEats

The original version of the UberEats Restaurant Dashboard was built for the web using the React library. However, Uber also wanted to develop iOS and Android versions. This is where the company turned to the React Native framework as it allowed it to go mobile using the same language it was already using for the web (i.e., JavaScript within a very similar framework). The outcome was excellent and has made it possible for Uber to stay on the list of top food delivery platforms in the US.

If you want to see how React Native was implemented for UberEats, you can take a peek at this page.

Skype

In 2017, Skype decided to develop a new app based on React Native, changing a lot of the design and functionalities of the original app. Most of the beloved Skype features were transferred to the new version, with various new features added (such as a Giphy integration).

Walmart

Just like Uber, Walmart had already chosen React for the web. It was only natural, then, for the company to use React Native for its mobile app projects. Choosing React Native came with many benefits for Walmart such as doubling the development speed, a significantly improved unit code testability, and a shared business logic with the existing React/Redux web app. The resulting mobile app includes a wide variety of features, including order tracking, shopping lists, an item finder and a scanner. All of this made the Walmart Shopping & Grocery app one of the best React Native apps in 2022.

If you want to read Walmart’s React Native journey in detail, you can take a look at this article.

Tesla

Founded in 2003, Tesla is currently one of the largest electric car producers. When the time came to develop a mobile app for its users, Tesla turned to React Native as the platform made it possible for both iOS and Android apps to have the same features. Tesla car owners can now lock and unlock their car, track their car’s location and heat or cool their car, all from their mobile app.

Facebook Ads Manager

As Facebook is the company behind React Native, it makes sense that they use this platform for many of their projects. One of the best React Native apps in 2022 was definitely Facebook Ads Manager. This was one of the first 100% React Native apps created by Facebook and it includes a clean interface, simple navigation and an intuitive user experience.

Shine

Shine is a mindfulness app that reflects the voice of minorities while empowering diversity and women in business. Launched in 2017, Shine received a Webby Award in 2019, a Google Play Award in 2019, and was among the App Store Best of 2020. This all shows how popular this app is, particularly in the United States and Canada.

The creators of Shine wanted to develop a cross-platform mobile app with native components that also allowed for the continuous development of new features. This meant that React Native was the perfect platform for the job.

Gyroscope

Gyroscope is a health app that tracks your online productivity and monitors your sleep patterns and eating habits, among many other features. React Native gave the Gyroscope team the possibility to develop their app without outsourcing the work. It also made it easy to present a wide array of statistics and personal health data in a visually-appealing way and to quickly implement new ideas. Moreover, React Native made it possible for Gyroscope to integrate with Apple watches and Fitbit.

If you want to see how the Gyroscope app was built using React Native, check out this article.

Pinterest

Around 2017, Pinterest decided to integrate React Native into its mobile app development process as it would be time-effective while not sacrificing the quality of the user experience. The company had already used React for its web app so React Native for mobile was the natural next step.

If you’d like to know more about Pinterest’s React Native journey, you can take a look at this interview.

Discord

Discord is a voice and chat app created specifically for gamers. The company behind it decided to use React Native as it allowed it to build an iOS app quite quickly from its existing React web app. It took just two weeks! Today, the app is also available for Android, has millions of monthly active users, and is 99.9% crash-free.

You can check out some of the reasons why Discord still chooses React Native here.

Final thoughts on the best React Native apps

React Native has proven to be an excellent cross-platform tool. It saves companies time and money while delivering native-like results. Thousands of apps are currently using React Native, including both startups and Fortune 500 companies.

If you’d like to explore why you should use React Native for your next mobile app project, you should take a look at this article.

We believe the list above proves the potential of our favorite cross-platform framework and we hope you agree. That said, would you add any apps to our list of best React Native apps in 2022?

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Augmented reality also has various applications, some of which we covered in a previous article. These applications include medical training, business logistics, interior design, and education. So, if you are looking to dive into the world of AR app development and are not sure where to start, you’ve come to the right place.

Vuforia

Vuforia Engine is one of the most popular augmented reality frameworks available today. It is an SDK that supports all the main platforms (Android, iOS, Unity and UWP). PTC, the company behind Vuforia, offers a wide array of products for AR development, including Vuforia Engine, Vuforia Chalk, and Vuforia Studio.

Some of the features Vuforia Engine has to offer for app development include recognition of 3D objects using Model Targets, and physical spaces using Area Targets. Image tracking, VuMark tracking, ground plane, cylinder targets, multi-targets, and barcode scanning are also supported.

Some of the companies that have chosen Vuforia Engine for augmented reality app development include Lego and Mercedes-Benz.

When it comes to pricing, Vuforia offers a free basic plan and a Cloud version for $99/month. There’s also a Premium plan available for using advanced features.

ARCore

ARCore is an augmented reality SDK developed by Google and released in 2018. This SDK was designed to develop mobile apps for Android devices and works on phones that run on Android 7.0 and subsequent versions. Not only that, but it is also supported by iOS 11+, Unity, Android NDK and Unreal.

Some of ARCore’s features include motion tracking, environmental understanding and light estimation. The SDK is completely free and you can take a look at some of its fundamental concepts here as well as some case studies here.

Wikitude

The Wikitude company was founded back in 2008 and was initially focused on location-based AR experiences through a web browser. Then, in 2012, it launched the Wikitude SDK focused on the development of augmented reality mobile apps.

Wikitude allows you to develop apps for Android, iOS and Windows for tablets. You can also use it with a wide variety of cross-platform development frameworks such as Unity, Cordova, Xamarin and Flutter.

Regarding features, the SDK includes import and render of 3D objects, building apps for smart glasses, instant tracking, integration with external plugins, object, scene and image recognition, cylinder tracking, and much more.

When it comes to pricing, there is a free version of the Wikitude SDK, but it includes watermarks. Paid subscriptions plans start at $2490 for one app.

ARKit

Apple has various augmented reality tools. The most popular one is the ARKit SDK (originally owned by Metaio), currently on its fifth version and compatible with iOS 11 or subsequent versions.

ARKit AR mobile app development features include 2D image detection and tracking, 3D objects recognition, facial tracking, light estimation, and location anchors.

This SDK is free and, if you want to learn how to use it, you can take a look at Apple’s tutorial here.

ARToolKit

ARToolKit was originally developed in 1999 by Hirokazu Kato of Nara Institute of Science and Technology. It has had many versions and changed hands a couple of times since then. One of the previous owners, ARToolWorks, created artoolkitx to make sure the popular open-source software continues to be updated.

The SDK is free to use and includes support for iOS, Android, Windows, Linux, SGI and macOS.

Documentation for ARToolKit is scarce, but artoolkitx makes up for it with detailed guides. ARToolKit does offer pretty impressive functionalities. Some of this augmented reality SDK’s features include 2D and 3D images processing, camera position and orientation tracking, both single and dual camera support, automatic camera calibration, and integration with smart glasses.

EasyAR

This toolkit is another great option to create amazing augmented reality web and mobile apps. EasyAR is compatible with Android, iOS, UWP, Unity, Windows and macOS.

Some of the tools EasyAR offers include EasyAR Cloud SpatialMap, EasyAR Sense and EasyAR Cloud Recognition Service.

EasyAR lets developers identify 3D objects, recognize images and clouds, record the screen, transfer files to cloud storage, perceive environments, and export, import and integrate assets.

This toolkit offers a free version, as well as a Professional Edition for a monthly fee of $39 and a Classic Edition for a one-time fee of $1399. You can find all the relevant documentation here.

Some of the projects developed with the help of EasyAR include the Vogue, Pepsi and KFC apps.

MAXST

This award-winning augmented reality SDK was developed by a Korean company of the same name. The company offers an AR development platform, a spatial AR platform, an industrial AR solution and an AR device solution.

Some of the features of the MAXST SDK include image, marker, and object trackers, visual SLAM, QR/barcode scanner, and cloud recognition.

The SDK also supports a variety of platforms, such as Android, iOS, Windows, macOS and Epson.

If you are thinking about using MAXST, you can find some documentation here. When it comes to pricing, you can try the SDK for free for a non-commercial app. If you want to take things to the next level, you can choose between the Pro-One time fee plan for $699 or the Pro-Subscription plan for $49.90/month. Both plans cover just one app.

DeepAR.ai

DeepAR is a British company that offers an augmented reality SDK launched in 2014 (with 60 million monthly users). DeepAR is compatible with Android, iOS, HTML5 and macOS, with Windows coming soon.

Some of the top features of this SDK are face tracking, face filters, make-up try-on, hair color segmentation, emotion detector, and body tracking. Some of the companies that use DeepAR include Lego, Sephora, Ray-Ban and Verizon Media.

Pricing for this SDK varies according to the expected monthly active users (MAU) for your app. It is free up to 10 MAU (although it comes with the DeepAR watermark) and then there are four paid plans up to 100k MAU. These are the Basic (up to 1k MAU for $25/month), Startup (up to 5k MAU for $100/month), Growth (up to 30k MAU for $500/month) and Pro (up to 100k MAU for $1000/month) plans.

Kudan

Founded in Bristol in 2011, Kudan is behind an excellent SLAM (Simultaneous Localization and Mapping) tool. This augmented reality tool works with Unity, iOS and Android.

Its features include camera re-localization, map scaling, marker-based tracking, and increased accuracy. Some examples of projects developed with Kudan are AR glasses for consumer head mount displays, AR glasses for construction and medical industry clients, and AR navigation applications.

When it comes to pricing, Kudan offers a free version as well as paid one-year licenses starting at $1500.

Final thoughts on augmented reality tools

Augmented reality is becoming increasingly popular and including it in app development is starting to feel essential for many companies. As you can see, there are various SDKs and toolkits available to help you in your AR journey. We hope this list of best augmented reality tools for app development has given you an idea of the top tools available and helped you determine which one best fits your particular technical and financial needs.

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Augmented reality (AR) is not a new concept. However, the technology really took off in 2020 amidst the COVID-19 pandemic. Brands using AR technology are seeing an increase both in user engagement and conversion rates, making it really worth their while.

In a past article, we focused on virtual try-on—a simple and trending way to try on fashion items through augmented reality. Augmented reality has quite a few uses beyond what we discussed in that article including medical training, business logistics, interior design, and education. In this article, we’ll be focusing on some real-life examples of augmented reality brought to life by popular brands.

1. IKEA Place: iOS mobile app

IKEA took full advantage of the benefits of augmented reality in an attempt to help shoppers find the best fit for their homes. IKEA Place makes it easy for users to see how different products they’re looking to buy will look like in their homes.

When it first came out, the mobile app only allowed users to place virtual furniture in a specific place in their homes. Now, IKEA Place has evolved into a full 3D experience where customers can design a whole room. We’re definitely excited to see what IKEA comes up with next using augmented reality!

2. The Weather Channel: studio effects

The Weather Channel’s news studio has been around for almost four decades. The studio is always looking for new ways to engage and educate its viewers, which is why it chose to use AR for its studio effects, taking the audience into the eye of the storm.

This technology makes it possible for the broadcasters to show people what weather phenomena (such as Hurricane Florence in 2019) really look like, as well as the dangers they can pose. For example, you can see anchor Jim Cantore explain the dangers of an ice storm through augmented reality here.

3. Nintendo and Niantic: Pokémon Go

You have probably heard about this groundbreaking mobile game. Pokémon Go is one of the pioneers when it comes to the use of augmented reality. Released in 2016, the game is still highly popular bringing in $1B in 2020 alone.

Through their phone, users can see and catch various Pokémon that appear across their home cities, collect items at PokéStops and Gyms that are placed in specific locations, complete tasks, battle other Pokémon, and many other activities. The use of augmented reality has proven to be very effective in creating high user engagement. Users are not only very engaged with the game, but also with the world around them, given that the game is anchored on the physical world.

4. Walmart: employee mobile app

Walmart’s in-house team designed Me@Waltmat, a mobile app that focuses on employees and incorporates machine learning and augmented reality.

The app includes features such as shift scheduling, pay monitoring, instant employee communication, and a voice-activated personal assistant. Moreover, the app is used to check inventory and make sure items are restocked promptly.

5. Amazon: hair coloring

Among its many ventures, Amazon has launched a hair salon that lets you preview what your hair would look like with different hairstyles and colors through augmented reality. Through a tablet embedded on a mirror, customers are able to see how different shades and hairstyles would look like on them using the front-facing camera. Customers can also easily shop using their smartphone to scan QR codes on the wide array of products showcased in the salon to then receive them at home.

Amazon is no stranger to using augmented reality in this way. Back in 2019, they introduced the “Live Mode” feature that lets mobile users try on different shades of lipstick.

6. Snap Inc.: Snapchat

Snap Inc. also caught on to augmented reality early on, starting to experiment with it back in 2015.

The company’s messaging app is not only famous for messages that disappear after a short time, but also for offering the possibility to add augmented reality filters through its “Lens” feature. Users of the mobile app can use lenses to transform themselves and the world around them. For example, you can turn yourself into a dog that sticks out its tongue, do a face swap or add a golden butterfly crown.

7. Magicplan: home renovations

This mobile app makes it easy for construction managers to create and share floor plans, field reports and estimates.

Through its augmented reality Room Scan feature, magicplan easily scans any room, automatically adding and detecting corners, even if obstructed. The mobile app not only makes contractors’ lives easier, but it is also beneficial to homeowners looking to renovate their homes as they can get all the information they need to make decisions regarding home renovations quite quickly. 

Final thoughts on Augmented Reality

Augmented reality is here to stay. It is making our lives easier in many ways, saving us time and providing entertainment. The examples above are just the tip of the iceberg when it comes to what augmented reality is capable of. We are looking forward to seeing what else this technology has in store!

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React Native is a JavaScript development framework that uses React to create user interfaces for iOS and Android devices. It was developed by Facebook and released in 2015. It helps developers reuse code across web and mobile platforms. With React Native resources, your JavaScript codebase is compiled to a mobile app indistinguishable from a native iOS app built using Objective-C or a native Android app built using Java.

The benefits of using React Native include that it’s open-source, cross-platform, and easy to learn, it leads to shorter development times, it provides a native interface and it makes it easy to implement changes.

In this article, we’ll cover a variety of free and paid resources that every React Native developer should be aware of. We’ll go over React Native tutorials and courses, list some of the top blogs, podcasts and YouTube channels, detail the most sought-after development tools and take a look inside the React Native community. 

React Native tutorials and courses

Whether you are just thinking about learning how to use the React Native framework or are a seasoned React Native programmer, the tutorials and courses below should be of use during your React Native journey. We’ll start with free options and also include some paid ones.

1. Official React Native documentation

If you are a “do-it-yourself” kind of person, the official React Native documentation is the best place to start. The documentation is quite comprehensive and includes plenty of examples to help you along.

Do note that you will need to understand the fundamentals of JavaScript to make the best of the documentation. If you’re not familiar with this programming language, you can take a look at Mozilla’s tutorial or, if you just need to brush up, you can take a look at Mozilla’s reintroduction to JavaScript.

2. React Native Training in Medium

React Native Training includes a series of stories and tutorials to learn React Native. There is also a React Native Training YouTube channel.

These React Native tutorials cover more specific areas (such as making a linear gradient view or processing image loading) and are a great complement to the official documentation or any other straightforward tutorial you might choose.

3. React Native Express

This guide is meant to be used in addition to the official React Native documentation. React Native Express encompasses everything you need to know to start working with this framework, including topics such as JavaScript fundamentals and key React Native libraries that are not covered in the official documentation.

The author of this React Native tutorial also wrote a book called Fullstack React Native that you can get here.

4. Codecademy

Codecademy offers free courses for a variety of programming languages. They have a free React Native course that covers core components, style components and navigation. You also have the option to access quizzes and portfolio projects with the pro version. This also gives you access to several other React Native courses.

You can make use of their free trial if you want to see if it’s worth it, after which the pro version costs $149.99/year for students.

5. Programming with Mosh

This is a video crash course taught by Mosh Hamedany, a software engineer with 20 years of experience. For this React Native tutorial, you should have some existing knowledge of both React and JavaScript.

Mosh also offers paid courses like The Ultimate React Native Series: Fundamentals and The Ultimate React Native Series: Advanced Concepts. The courses start from $19 or you can also buy an all-access membership for $29/month.

6. Udemy courses

Udemy offers a variety of courses for React Native developers for just $14.99. Some of our recommendations include React Native – The Practical Guide [2022 Edition], The Complete React Native + Hooks Course and React Native: Advanced Concepts.

React Native blogs, podcasts and YouTube channels

Blogs, podcasts and YouTube channels can be extremely helpful whether you are looking for React Native resources for beginners or are an expert who wants to keep updated on the latest news about React Native and get some solid tips.

There are countless podcasts, blogs and YouTube channels devoted to React Native and React in general so we’ve made a selection that covers various aspects of the programming framework. We won’t overwhelm you with extensive details, so here is a list of some of the top React Native blogs, podcasts and YouTube channels out there.

Blogs

• React Native’s GitHub blog
• ReactDom
• Mike Grabowski’s Medium page
• React Native Coach
• alligator.io

Podcasts

• React Podcast
• React Native Radio
• Software Engineering Daily
• React Round Up
• devMode.fm

YouTube channels

• Ben Awad
• Michael Thomas
• freeCodeCamp.org

React Native development tools

There is no shortage of React Native development tools. For this article, we have decided to make a list of the best free React Native resources for developers, including integrated development environments (IDEs), inspecting and debugging tools, libraries and many other tools that help you with specific aspects or features of mobile app development.

IDEs

• Visual Studio Code

This free and open-source IDE created by Microsoft is very popular (and not only for React Native). Visual Studio Code is lightweight and includes many powerful features. You can add themes, debuggers and connect to other services. It also includes troubleshooting tools and is fully customizable.

Specifically for React Native, Visual Studio Code works as an excellent code editor that includes the React Native Tools extension for debugging.

• Android Studio and XCode

Android Studio and XCode are IDEs for native Android and iOS development, respectively. These IDEs are required to set up the tools you need to build a React Native app.

Inspecting and debugging

• React Native Debugger

This is a remote debugging app that combines Chrome DevTools, React DevTools and the Redux Devtools Extension in the same window.

• Reactotron

Reactotron is a desktop app used for inspecting React and React Native projects. The app works for macOS, Linux, and Windows.

• React DevTools

This is a package available for Chrome and Firefox. React DevTools means you can debug a React Native app from a mobile browser, Safari or an embedded view.

Other tools

• Postman

Postman is an API platform used for checking requests. When using Postman, you can build complex HTTP requests swiftly, organize them in collections, and share them with other members of your team.

• Zeplin

Zeplin offers a React Native extension that generates JavaScript snippets from colors, layers and text styles.

Libraries

• Redux

Redux is a state management JavaScript library that can be used with React Native.  It lets you centralize your app’s state so you can build apps that are more predictable and easier to debug.

• React Navigation

React Navigation is a library that provides routing and navigation for React Native apps. It is easy to use and completely customizable. It also has an extensible platform and includes components built for both iOS and Android.

React Native community

React Native has a strong community behind it. There are countless React Native developers that are willing to share their knowledge and help when others run into issues. Here are some places where you can find support and resources for any of your React Native projects.

Stack Overflow

You can find countless React Native developers in Stack Overflow. There you can read the existing questions or ask your own to solve any issue you may have with your React Native development.

Meetups

There are React Native Meetups happening all around the globe. These are the perfect place to learn and network with other developers.

React Conf

There is also a yearly React conference that includes various panels and talks in addition to after-hours activities where you can get to know other React Native developers.  You can find past conference talks on the React Conf YouTube channel.

Slack/Chat channels

There are also many Slack and chat channels available where you can interact with your peers. Here are just a few:

1. Reactiflux
2. Android United
3. GitHub

Final thoughts on React Native development resources

We hope this article on React Native development resources has given you enough material to work with. We certainly hope to have covered everything you might need as a React Native developer.

The post React Native development resources appeared first on asap developers.

In this article, we’ll focus on this retail customer experience trend as well as the benefits augmented reality has brought to the table.

What is virtual try-on?

Virtual try-on is a simple and trending way to try on fashion items through augmented reality. It can be used to see how makeup, clothing and glasses would look on you, or even check how a piece of furniture will fit in your home. This gives potential buyers a more realistic and personalized online shopping experience. Some of the big companies currently using this technology include L’Oréal Paris, Adidas and Macy’s.

You are probably already familiar with the visual try-on technology through Instagram or Snapchat filters. You can find countless face filters (as well as animojis and characters) on these platforms, often used to improve your pictures or just have a laugh.

However, although extremely successful as a form of entertainment, virtual try-on seems to be shaping up to be the future of the retail customer experience. We’ll focus on that below, but first, let’s take a look at what augmented reality is.

What is augmented reality (AR)?

Augmented reality is defined as “an enhanced version of the real physical world that is achieved through the use of digital visual elements, sound, or other sensory stimuli delivered via technology.” You may remember Pokémon GO as one of the first AR hits to be launched into the market back in 2016.

Of course, augmented reality has countless uses beyond what we are discussing in this article. These include medical training, business logistics, interior design, and education.

However, although AR extends far and wide and can definitely cover more than visuals, this is the aspect more associated with the topic at hand. In the context of virtual try-on, AR makes it possible for people to interact with the products they wish to purchase, thereby improving their online customer experience. But what benefits does it bring? Is visual try-on here to stray? Let’s take on these questions below.

Is Augmented Reality the future of the retail customer experience?

It’s no secret that online shopping is highly popular. However, there are certain items that people feel more comfortable purchasing at a shop. Enabled by AR, virtual try-on is a great resource to tackle this user pain point. And it is already doing a great job at it. Almost 70% of shoppers make a purchase when using virtual try-on technology. Moreover, shoppers are willing to pay more for products if they can try them on using augmented reality.

AR is extremely versatile and makes it possible for virtual try-on to be used for basically any fashion item. This helps shoppers make a decision and, in turn, leads to higher conversion rates and improves brand loyalty. However, we feel it’s important to point out that, the simpler the virtual try-on experience, the better, as shoppers are less likely to use it if too many steps are involved.

The fact is that augmented reality helps decrease risks for shoppers when it comes to items they are not sure will fit or look good on them if purchased online. It is also a great cross-sales strategy and reduces the number of product returns.

As we’ve mentioned, a lot of this technology was developed in response to the COVID-19 pandemic, but we are sure it will continue to be useful once we have managed to move past it. Augmented reality does not only make online shopping easier and more personalized, it also grants users access to special online offers or items that may not be available in their local shops .

Final thoughts on Virtual try-on

Augmented reality is already quite strong when it comes to the retail customer experience. If well executed, virtual try-on is extremely convenient and practical when it comes to online shopping, especially when looking at clothing items or items outside of your geographical area.

Given all of its benefits, we believe AR in the retail customer experience is here to stay.

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San Francisco companies reopening offices

The State of California reopened back in July and most restrictions have been lifted in San Francisco, although specific businesses still require full vaccination and/or wearing masks. The Department of Public Health has also provided guidelines to safely return to normal activities.

Back to the office policies vary widely among tech companies, so we’ll give you an overview of what the leading companies in the industry are doing.

Among the companies that started coming back to the office in the last few months is Salesforce.com Inc, which started reopening back in April for vaccinated employees. It did so starting with a workforce of just 100. Facebook reopened the following month with 10% capacity, but has now held off on further progress for a few months.

Apple, on the other hand, has pushed back its plans to get employees in the office at least three times a week to January of 2022 due to the Delta variant. Amazon and Uber have made similar decisions.

When it comes to Google, they have implemented a voluntary return-to-the-office policy until January, requiring all returning employees to be fully vaccinated.

Other companies, such as DoorDash and Adobe, will require employees to spend half their time at the office and the other half working remotely. Adobe has already opened its offices at 50% capacity while DoorDash will be implementing its plans early next year.

Finally, companies such as Grammarly, Slack, Twitter and Dropbox are focusing on a mostly or completely remote work experience. Twitter actually reopened its San Francisco headquarters back in July to swiftly close them once COVID cases started surging again. It has now vowed to let employees work from anywhere forever.

What reopening looks like

As we’ve seen, San Francisco companies have taken different approaches to reopening their offices, but we would like to focus on a particular company that has greatly adapted to the challenges the COVID pandemic has posed.

Fast has a 10,000 square feet office in San Francisco and started the reopening process with 10 on-site employees last July (out of a workforce of 228). In-office employees must be vaccinated, but are not required to wear masks. Fast does not force its staff to get vaccinated, but won’t allow unvaccinated employees back to the office or at company functions. 

Fast went fully remote during the pandemic, hiring talent remotely, and its staff is currently spread around the globe. Although 86 of the company’s employees still reside in the Bay Area, Fast has decided to give them the choice to work at the office or from home.

The current setup makes for a quieter office and Fast is still adjusting to the new dynamic but seems to have succeeded in creating a healthy and safe work environment for all. 

Hybrid work

As we’ve seen above, hybrid work (i.e., splitting time between remote and on-site work) seems to be the most popular option for tech companies in the San Francisco Bay Area.

Hybrid work has been proven to increase productivity and often save employees a considerable amount of time they would usually spend on their commutes. It also makes it easier to implement social distancing and balance work and personal life.

The hybrid model also allows companies to hire talent from around the globe and works wonders for employee retention.

Of course, this sounds wonderful in theory, but it definitely has its challenges. Companies choosing to turn to a hybrid work model should make sure to consider employee needs, build an infrastructure that supports remote work and invest in company culture.

Final thoughts on reopening San Francisco companies

Although San Francisco companies are reopening their offices, it is clear that this will be a slow and complex process. Moreover, they will probably not return to their usual work dynamics, with many tech companies opting for a safer and more productive hybrid work model. We’ll have to wait a few more months to see this fully implemented but, hopefully, 2022 will bring more stability.

If you are planning to reopen your business or offices, you can get the necessary information and resources from the City and County of San Francisco here.

The post Back to the office: San Francisco companies are reopening offices appeared first on asap developers.

At asap developers, we’ve been offering agile web and mobile application development services for the San Francisco Bay area companies since 2008. We are passionate about technology and helping businesses grow by creating products that improve everyday life for both our clients and their customers. Our goal will always be to create impactful digital products that make your business thrive.

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Before we start

Adding a global activity feed to a mobile application sounds difficult, but, luckily for us, there are third-party libraries to help us, which is one of the things that we like most about React Native.

Today, we’ll use react-native-activity-feed and also, as the documentation states, we’ll need to include the react-native-image-crop-picker if we are using native packages or expo-image-picker if we are using Expo.

To install all of these libraries, run the following scripts on your terminal from your React Native root project folder.

If you are using Expo:

• expo install expo-activity-feed expo-permissions expo-image-picker

If you are using native packages:

• npm install react-native-activity-feed OR yarn add react-native-activity-feed
• npm install react-native-image-crop-picker OR yarn add react-native-image-crop-picker

Remember that, if you are using Xcode, every time you add new libraries to your project you have to run npx pod-install to install pods dependencies.

Important note: to use react-native-activity-feed you need to have a GetStream account (we’ll look at this in the following steps). That said, GetStream provides paid plan options to use its resources; you can still use the Activity Feed package for free for development purposes, but only for a limited time.

Let’s jump into the code of a Global Activity Feed using React Native

First of all, you need to create a React Native project.

If you don’t know how to create your app, just run the following commands on your terminal:

• npx react-native init ProjectName

Now that you’ve created the application, let’s get to coding!

Important note: this example was made using React Native 0.66.

First steps

First, we need to create an account on https://getstream.io/accounts/signup/

After signing up, we’ll navigate to our dashboard where we’ll see that an application has already been created for us. This app includes an App ID, a Key and a Secret Key. We will use those values later.

By clicking on “PRODUCTION APP”, we can access our ‘Feeds’, access keys and other information. Note that we can create new feeds in this section.

Express backend client

It is very important to know that we can’t use our Secret Key inside a desktop/mobile/web environment, so we need a backend client.

Therefore, in a separate folder from the one containing the mobile project, we will run npm init in our console and provide a project name (e.g.: backend-server).

Inside this folder we need to install the two libraries using the following commands:

• npm install express –save
• npm install getstream

Link: Backend.js

This Express server is very minimalist and its main purpose is to allow us to create a user token for the frontend application. Keep in mind that we are always creating and or getting and subscribing to the feed using a user with id ‘tester’. If we want to add more users, we can change this or send the param inside a query param.

With the server running, now we have to fetch a request to, in this case, http://localhost:3000 from the mobile application.

Mobile application

Link: App.js

In this example, we have an activity indicator running while we get the user access token to start our StreamApp. The only two values we have here are the STREAM_API_KEY and STREAM_APP_ID; the token is the one that we got from the backend.

GetStream provides many components to use and customize. The most important one to establish the connection to our feed is StreamApp, which includes the API key, the app ID and a private token. We also need to send our user ID to see our user information in the post we create.

We can customize our feed however we want. We can also copy/paste the GetStream components to our code and make some modifications. In this example, we’ll customize the UserBar component for every Activity, and we’ll also add a LikeButton easily and in just a few lines as you can see in the link above!

Finally, we will see how the notify prop on the FlatFeed component shows that, every time there is a new post available, we will be notified and can tap on the notification area to see the new posts. If we prefer swiping down to update the feed, we can set the notify prop to false.

Global Activity Feed preview

Final thoughts on building a Global Activity Feed using React Native

As we’ve seen, adding an activity feed to our React Native application can be done with just a few lines of code and it is not as hard as it might seem.

The best advantages of this library are that it is easy to use, it is easy to adapt and customize to our designs, and it provides many other features to use in our development projects.

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