Should I Use Ionic or Flutter for Cross-Platform App Development?

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Discussion Overview

The discussion centers around the choice between using Ionic and Flutter for cross-platform app development, particularly for hybrid iOS and Android applications. Participants explore the versatility, limitations, and preferences associated with these frameworks, as well as considerations for app development in general.

Discussion Character

  • Debate/contested
  • Technical explanation
  • Exploratory

Main Points Raised

  • Some participants express concerns about the limitations of cross-platform apps, noting that they can only utilize features common to both iOS and Android, which may hinder GUI development.
  • One participant prefers Ionic due to familiarity with JavaScript, despite disliking Angular, and suggests React Native as an alternative.
  • Another participant highlights the importance of being close to hardware for game development, implying that JavaScript-based platforms may not be suitable for such applications.
  • There is a shared sentiment that neither Apple nor Google supports effective cross-platform capabilities, leading to skepticism about finding a truly good solution.
  • A participant mentions their experience with Ionic and doubts its flexibility for a new social media app idea, considering starting with iOS due to a lack of Android development knowledge.
  • Discussion includes references to Java as a cross-platform GUI option, though it is noted that it does not work well for mobile platforms like Android and iOS.
  • One participant shares findings from a survey ranking cross-platform frameworks, indicating that while they are low-cost, compatibility issues persist.
  • Exploration of the Fyne framework for cross-platform development is mentioned, with a focus on its open-source nature and ongoing development.

Areas of Agreement / Disagreement

Participants express a range of opinions on the effectiveness and suitability of Ionic and Flutter, with no consensus reached on which framework is superior. Concerns about cross-platform limitations and preferences for different technologies are evident, indicating ongoing debate.

Contextual Notes

Participants note various limitations related to cross-platform development, including dependency on common features, GUI integration challenges, and the potential need for web-based applications to reach a broader user base.

ergospherical
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Has anybody used Ionic and/or Flutter for hybrid iOS & android app development? And if so, how versatile are they? I’m wondering whether to stick to iOS only or whether to try my hand at one of those (because I have no experience with android).
 
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Android is arguably has the larger sphere of interest worldwide at 75% while iOS is strong in the US market at 53%.https://www.techrepublic.com/article/why-is-android-more-popular-globally-while-ios-rules-the-us/

Cross platform apps suffer from a variety of ills since they can only use features common to both. GUI development is wildly different and could likely be a show stopper in app development for cross platform development. Some app developers go for a web-based approach using to maintain some commonality but it suffers from not being fully integrated into the platform GUI.

There are development platforms that bridge these GUI and platform specific problems most notably the Unity game engine but that may be overkill for your app. Unity can be ported to many different platforms.

https://www.gamesindustry.biz/artic...engine-is-unity-the-right-game-engine-for-you
 
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I haven't used either but if I were to choose one I would choose Ionic because I like JavaScript and I don't like Dart (mind you I hate Angular which I believe Ionic uses).

Rather than these two I would choose React Native.

I actually use Vue, but it doesn't compile to native mobile applications (although it can be transpiled to React Native), rather it can create PWAs which for my purposes are just as good.

If you are writing a game though, you need to be as close to the hardware as possible so none of the JavaScript based platforms are likely to be suitable.
 
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Remember that neither Apple nor Google want you to have effective cross platform abilities.

Probably you never will find a really good solution.
 
Thanks guys! In particular I had an idea for a new type of social media app, and when I was playing around with Ionic earlier I realized it's probably nowhere near flexible enough to do what I want. I'm somewhat familiar with xcode & swift and I have all the apple developer program stuff set up, so I think I'm just going to do it for iOS first because I have no idea how to develop for android.

The only issue is that, especially with social media, it's expected to be cross-platform otherwise you're restricting the user base too heavily. So maybe a web-based application would be a better idea. I'm not sure hahaha
 
Remember that neither Apple nor Google want you to have effective cross platform abilities.

Probably you never will find a really good solution.

The strategy that made Lotus rich was to first release junk and spend on advertising rather than more development. If it proved popular, try would have plenty of money to rewrite it for other platforms and better quality. If unpopular, then all development efforts would be wasted anyhow.
 
On a related note, Java itself is a pretty good crossplatform GUI for windows, linux and macos. It doesn't work as well for Android and not at all for iOS mobile platforms.

Here's a 2021 survey of crossplatform frameworks to consider. It has Flutter, Ionic and React at the top of the list:

https://www.thirdrocktechkno.com/blog/best-10-cross-platform-app-frameworks-to-consider-in-2021/

and a mobile specific version to consider:

https://www.sam-solutions.com/blog/cross-platform-mobile-development/

Basically saying these frameworks are low-cost but compatibility suffers.

Personally, I've been exploring Go (ala golang aka C reimagined by Google for the internet) for crossplatform and found Fyne frameworks that look intriguing, open source and actively being developed (open source not actively being developed means abandoned because the lead/only developer has moved on to other stuff or there's a fundamental issue that can't be fixed aka developer beware vs open source actively developed means things are missing but are promised to be added and it may never get that far oh well):

Anyway, here's the fyne blog:

https://fyne.io/blog/
 

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