Mobile application development is an exciting field for programmers as it has all kinds of opportunities, from freelancing to working at large companies and launching your own apps like Angry Bird, Flappy Bird, or Pokemon Go and becoming an App millionaire.
If one of your goals in 2021 to learn Mobile application development and you wondering how to start, then you have come to the right place. In this article, I am going to share 10 technologies you can learn to become a mobile application developer or someone who wants to improve as a mobile application developer for Android and iOS platforms can learn in 2021.
This list includes things like framework, programming languages, and platforms, almost everything a mobile developer needs.
In particular, I have included cross-platform mobile development frameworks like Flutter and React Native, programming languages like Kotlin, Swift, and Dart, and platforms like Android and iOS, which are essential for any mobile app developer in 2021.
Though, one of the most important things to note here is that you don’t need to learn all the things I have mentioned here; in fact, all of them are presented here for informational purposes so that you can choose which technologies and platforms are suitable for you.
For example, if you are interested in developing native iOS applications for iPhone and iPad (they make most of the money on mobile apps) then learning Swift 5 and iOS 14 is a good idea, but if you are interested in the Android platform (they have the highest reach) then learning Kotlin and Android 10 is a good option.
And, if you are interested, like me, in developing cross-platform native mobile apps (both Android and iOS app from a single codebase), then you should learn Flutter or React Native, two of the leading frameworks for building a native mobile application. Whatever you choose, I have also provided links to some excellent resources which can help you to learn these technologies.
Btw, this is in continuation of my articles about essential things for developers earlier I have shared about 10 Things Web Developers Can Learn in 2021 and essential skills for Java developer, if you haven’t read them already, you can read them now.
10 Technologies Mobile Developers Can Learn in 2021
This is an excellent framework for developing cross-platform native mobile applications in 2021. Like Golang, TensorFlow, and Angular, Flutter is also from Google, which uses Dart (another programming language from Google) and provides SDK for developing a cross-platform native mobile application.
It’s always been challenging to release your app to different platforms like Android, iOS, and Windows Mobile, as you need to maintain separate codebase. Flutter solves that problem by allowing you to create mobile apps for both iOS and Android devices using the same codebase.
Flutter has seen a lot of growth in the last 2 years, and its now the #1 framework for developing native mobile apps. If you have already decided to learn Flutter and looking for a resource, then I suggest you check out this Flutter & Dart — The Complete Guide [2021 Edition] by Maximilian of Acadmind on Udemy, one of my favorite courses to learn Flutter in 2021.
Apart from Flutter, if there is another framework you can check out for developing native cross-platform mobile apps, then they React Native. It uses React and JavaScript for producing high quality native mobile apps.
It’s the right choice for all web developers who wants to become a mobile app developer and already familiar with technologies like JavaScript and React. If you are one of them, then I suggest you learn React Native in 2021.
Also, there are a lot of resources to learn React Native, both free and paid, but if you ask my recommendation, I highly recommend you check out Stephen Grider’s The Complete React Native + Hooks course, one of my favorite resources to learn React Native online. Stephen is one of the best instructors of Udemy and his teaching style is really great
Kotlin is a general-purpose programming language from JetBrains, the company behind tools like IntelliJIDEA, Reshaper, and PyCharm. If you don’t know, Kotlin is the official programming language for developing Android applications as announced by Google a couple of years ago.
It’s a beautiful, JVM based programming language and compatible with Java, another popular language for developing Android applications.
If you are serious about developing mobile apps for the Android platform, the world’s most popular mobile platform, then you should learn Kotlin. If you need a resource, check out this Kotlin Fundamentals course from Pluralsight.
Swift is another programming language from Apple which you can use to develop mobile applications for iOS (iPhone and iPad), macOS (MacBook Prob), watchOS (Apple Watch), tvOS (Apple TV), and beyond. It’s a simple, elegant, and powerful programming language, full of modern features the developer loves.
Swift allows you to write safe code without compromising speed and performance. If you are serious about developing mobile applications for Apple products like iPhone, iPad, and MacBook Pro, then you should learn Swift 5.1 in 2021. Swift 5.1 also makes it easier to create and share a binary framework with others.
If somehow you didn’t like React Native and Flutter and looking for alternatives, then you can also check out Native Script. NativeScript is a free and open-source framework to develop a mobile application for both Apple iOS and Google’s Android platform.
It allows you to build native mobile apps in both TypeScript and JavaScript and using Angular and Vuejs. If you are a frontend developer and already know frameworks like Angular or Vuejs, then Native Script can be the right choice for you.
NativeScript features deep integration with both Angular and Vuejs and allows you to write code on any language, which translates into JAvaScript like TypeScript or CoffeeScript.
This is the latest version of the Android platform. It was released on September 3, 2019, and unlike the previous Android version, it doesn’t have any sweet names like KitKat, Oreo, or Lollipop.
If you are interested in the Android platform or already an Android developer, you can learn Android 10 to learn new features like Dark Themes, Smart Reply, Gesture navigation, 5G Networks, Enhanced location, and privacy tools, etc.
This is the latest release of the popular iOS platform, which powers the iPhone and iPad, two of the most powerful devices of humankind. I just updated my iPhone on iOS 14, and I am really impressed with sleek writing without lifting my finger.
It also comes with some exciting features developers have long been asking. For example, with the iOS 14 SDK, your app can take advantage of Dark Mode, Sign In with Apple, Core Data syncing with CloudKit, PencilKit, and more.
This is another framework for developing hybrid mobile applications using JavaScript. Ionic also allows you to build cross-platform mobile apps, which means you can create an application for any platform using one codebase.
Ionic Framework is a free and open-source and provides a portable UI toolkit for developing high-quality cross-platforms apps for native iOS, Android, and the web- all from the single codebase. It also has an Ionic React that leverages React for building hybrid mobile apps.
If you want to learn Flutter, which you should, if you are serious about building cross-platform native mobile applications, then learning Dart could be beneficial for you because Dart is the programming language that powers Flutter.
If you don’t know, Dart is a programming language from Google aimed at developer productivity. Unlike Golang, another programming language from Google, Dart is in between Java and JavaScript, and you can learn it quickly if you are familiar with any of this language.