At present, Android has a much larger market share than iOS and will continue the market share dominance in future in all probability. But Apple’s App Store still generates more revenue that Google’s Play Store. Also, the iPhone and iPad users are more likely to indulge in in-app purchases and mobile commerce transactions. Hence, your enterprise must target multiple platforms while developing a mobile app to accomplish more downloads and generate more revenue. You can opt for cross-platform mobile app development to create apps for multiple platforms with a single and unified code base. The unified code base will further help you to bring down mobile app development cost. You should compare native app development vs. cross platform app development before taking decisions.

You can even accelerate cross-platform mobile app development by using a number of widely used tools and frameworks. Like other cross-platform development software, Xamarin enables you to build apps for multiple platforms – iOS, Android, and Windows – with a single and shared code base. While working with Xamarin, a developer can share code, language, APIs, and IDEs across mobile platforms. But Xamarin, unlike other cross-platform mobile app development tools, helps you to make the app popular by delivering native user experience. Overall, there are many benefits of Xamarin for using it for Cross Platform mobile app development: it provides a number of features and tools to curtail mobile app development time and cost.

Benefits of Xamarin: Why You Should Choose Xamarin over Other Cross-Platform App Development Tools?

Write Apps in a Modern Programming Language

Xamarin enables you to write the app for iOS, Android, and Widows in a single programming language – C#. Unlike Java and Objective-C, C# is a modern programming language. It makes it easier for programmers to implement language-level asynchronous programming and functional programming concepts. The language features provided by C# enables programmers to express concepts without writing additional code. At the same time, C# also helps programmers to write readable code and make the mobile app maintainable.

Write the App Code Once

While using Xamarin, the developers are required to write the app once in C#. After writing the C# code, they can take advantage of portable class libraries (PCLs) to share the code base across multiple mobile platforms. In addition to availing a number of commonly used PCLs, the developers even have option to create the app logic as a PCL. Xamarin further enables developers to make both code and libraries available to each targeted mobile platform.

Share the Code Base across Mobile Platforms

The developers can share the same code, images and media resources across iOS, Android, and Windows easily with Shared Projects. Shared Projects further includes these resources on each targeted mobile platform automatically. At the same time, it allows programmers to use platform-specific code conditionally. Hence, a developer can use Shared Projects to make a single code base available across platforms and projects.

Make Apps Deliver Native User Experience

The developers can use Xamarin.Forms to create native user interfaces (UIs) for iOS, Android, and Windows Phone. They can build native UIs by sharing the same C# code base across platforms. Also, the layouts and controls provided by Xamarin. Forms are directly mapped to native controls at runtime. Xamarin apps deliver native user experience by accessing the native features of the underlying mobile platform and platform-specific hardware of the underlying device.

Facilitate Device-Specific Processing

Most cross-platform mobile app development tools require developers perform device-specific processing through custom plug-ins. The plug-ins often affect the user experience delivered by the cross-platform app. But Xamarin makes it easier to make the mobile app deliver richer user experience by accessing standard UI controls. The standard UI controls make the app access specific features provided by each mobile platform. For instance, an Android app can use the standard UI controls to avail platform-specific functionality like iBeacon or Android Fragmentation.

Choose from Loads on Components

Xamarin makes it easier for developers to enhance an app’s functionality and performance by choosing from a wide range of components. A developer has option to choose from several Xamarin components according to his precise needs. Also, he can use the integrated development environment (IDE) to download the required components from Xamarin Component Store, and add them to the app. Xamarin further enables developers to add the required controls and web services APIs to the mobile app, along with backend solutions like Microsoft Azure, SAP and Salesforce.

Test the Mobile App Elaborately

Xamarin also enables business owners for elaborate mobile app testing across devices and platforms. The developers can take advantage of Xamarin Test Cloud to test the mobile app with over 2000 real devices. They can use the test frameworks to automate the mobile app, upload the test suites, and execute the tests on thousands of devices in the cloud. Also, Xamarin Test Cloud helps developers to fix the defects and performance issues found in the app by generating elaborate test reports with results and screenshots.

Take Advantage of Robust IDEs

Recently, Microsoft announced a full-featured IDE on Mac – Visual Studio for Mac. Visual Studio for Mac comes with robust features like MSBuild build engine, source editor, debugger, extension system, integrated unit testing, and NuGet-based package management. It further replaces the conventional IDE for Xamarin – Xamarin Studio. While using Xamarin, the developers can take advantage of the tools provided by Visual Studio for Mac. They can even improve the quality of app code by using the Roslyn-based C# IntelliSense.

Reduce Cross-Platform Mobile App Development Cost

Xamarin helps you to reduce both mobile app development time and cost by using a single and shared code base. You can save money by deploying the same C# programmers to write an app for iOS, Android, and Windows. Microsoft allows developers to use community edition of Visual Studio and Visual Studio for Mac without paying licensing fees. However, you have to incur additional expenses to avail advanced features of enterprise and professional editions of Visual Studio.

Xamarin is currently being used by large organizations and enterprises like the World Bank, Siemens, Kellogg’s, Honeywell, National Instruments and Dutch Tax Office. This also proves effectiveness and benefits of Xamarin as a cross-platform mobile app development tool. Microsoft has been upgrading the cross-platform mobile app development software regularly to simplify mobile app development and meet the emerging mobile app development trends.