Last Updated: September 23, 2019
Last Updated (2019-09-23)
I’m developing a mobile channel for an e-commerce (Shopify) project.
Developing using native platform tools like Android Studio for Android and xCode for Apple usually takes time so I searched for a hybrid mobile app for faster mobile development.
So what is Hybrid Mobile App? This is a platform that you can use to develop multiple mobile apps on different platforms using one code base.
Here are some platforms that I found:
- IONIC – https://ionicframework.com/
- QuasarJS
- PhoneGap
Most of these frameworks used Cordova framework to easily connect your hybrid mobile app to mobile device native functionalities like camera, push notifications, and more.
I used IONIC version 3 on my existing project. It’s good. You can easily build an app using this platform.
The only thing that concerns me is the deployment and testing for Apple Store (AppStore) applications. As a Microsoft Window’s user, I can’t easily deploy it because I needed a real MacOS device to build files for xCode (development tool used for Apple Apps).
I tried 3 options for AppStore Deployment:
- Virtual OS – I tried and it doesn’t work. It’s too slow for the development and testing
- Buy a Mac – Too expensive to buy a new notebook with MacOS
- Online Mac/Mac In Cloud – We ended up using MacInCloud service and subscribed in a Pay-as-you-Go plan: 30USD for 2 months with maximum of 30 hours usage. Using this service I managed to build and deploy our mobile app in AppStore.
If you have any questions about IONIC or Shopify feel free to contact me.