10.07.2021
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6 Best Programming Languages for iOS App Development in 2021

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Which programming language is the best for iOS apps development in 2021? Let’s unlock the world of possibilities of popular ones for your mobile application.

Today, if you want to pick up the right programming language for iOS App Development for your new project, you need to narrow down the huge list and try to have a clear shoot at one of them to be successful. All of it is enough to make your head spin. 

To help with that challenging task, we’ve prepared the list of 6 most popular languages for iOS App with their use, advantages and disadvantages. 


What the iOS Programming language means?


Utilizing of mobile applications is growing fast after each passing day. Mobile application is a must-have option for nearly every online business. The latest StatCounter data reported that 56% of internet access are made via mobile devices, and 27% of them are iOS. 

iOS programming language is a system software compliant with iPhone, iPod Touches, iPad and Apple TV. iOS is a subgroup of the Mac OS X operating system. 

When you are going to begin a new project, which programming language can be the best for it? Using an accidental program for your iOS app seems like to use a knife instead of screwdriver to fix your home. The unique syntax of a programming language, the way it runs and compiled can change the project as a whole.


Why do you need to find the right language for developing Mobile App? 


  • To achieve your business goals

The matter of fact, there is no generic language for mobile apps development. Your choice primarily depends on what your business goals are. This means you need to define your goals first in order to choose the right app development language.

  • To make the process fast and easy

Thanks to right iOS Programming language apps you can speed up the process. Learn the main advantages and disadvantages of languages you choose to pick up the best one.

  • To return investment

Choosing the right programming language for the new project give you the best return on your investment in the long run. There is no doubts —  iOS app development is certainly something worth to invest in.


If you are looking for the right technology for iOS App Development in 2021, you are in the needed place. Scroll down to know about the most popular programming languages used for developing iOS, their use, and the complexities of each of them.

With that said, let's jump right into it! Here is the list


6 Most Popular Programming Languages for iOS App Development


So, what will you select one for your iOS development project in 2021?

The answer is very subjective and depends on many factors including your business purpose, product’s feature, targeted audience, and the budget. To make the things clear, you need to know pros, cons of the programming languages, similarities, and differences between them. 

Let’s highlight the 6 best programming languages for developing iOS apps. 


1. Swift


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What is Swift?

If you are looking for the best programming language for iOS development, then you should seriously pay attention to Swift.

Swift is a free, open-source language that is ideal for iOS application development. It is popular thanks to its elegant code with minimal but inclusive features. Swift is still a young programming language with indisputable potential.

Developed by Apple Inc. Swift helps apps run on various platforms, such as macOS, iOS, and watchOS, tvOS. Anyone with an idea can build something great with this programming language.


Popularity

Swift is the most popular language for iOS mobile app development. People is buzzing about future of this tool. Introduced by Apple in 2014, it has quickly became popular:

  • #9 in PYPL Popularity Index of Feb. 2021. 
  • Loved by 60% of StackExchange developers in 2020.

Developers love Swift a lot. With this programming  language, they can experience more effortless programming and focus on the app logic instead of worrying about the memory of each object. 


Companies Using Swift

Various companies like to use Swift as a programming language for their iOS application development. The list includes Linkedin, Clear, Kickstarter, SkyGuide, Apple, Slack and many more. 

It is even used with IBM Swift Sandbox, IBM Bluemix, and most popular iOS apps like WordPress, SoundCloud, and Mozilla Firefox.


Swift for iOS development — pros and cons

What makes the swift programming language so popular for iOS development?

Swift is easy to learn, understand, and use. It is rather safe and flexible, less errors to prone. Its strong side is compatibility (especially with Objective-C). Swift has a huge development community

  Like every coin has two sides, Swift comes with pros and cons. In addition to amazing features, this language has several weak sides that’s why many developers have doubts about using Swift for their iOS app development. 


When to use Swift for iOS app development?

Swift has its uses in different areas, but as we said above, it is the initial programming language for the iOS Programming language operating system. Swift is definitely the future of iOS development. It lets everyone build amazing apps very quickly. This language seems to monopolize iOS development.


2. Objective-C


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What is Objective-C?

Objective-C is a programming language created as an extension of the C language with object-oriented programming capacities. It was developed by Tom Love and Brad Cox in 1984. 

It is a very mature and easy-updated programming language. And that is not all. It is more stable than Swift and extremely compatible with C and C++ libraries.

As a matter of fact, Apple picked the Objective-C language during the first creating iOS applications. It was conveyed by Apple co-founder Steve Jobs when he established NeXT PCs during the 1980s. 


Popularity

As a general-purpose language, Objective-C primarily used for programming for Apple's operating systems such as OS X and iOS and their APIs: Cocoa and Cocoa Touch.  

According to Stack Overflow's popularity report, Objective-C is ranked 20th. It is currently only used by 4.1% of developers worldwide.


Companies Using Objective-C 

Quite a considerable list of brands worked with Objective-C for many years: Uber, Instagram, Pinterest, Slack, and Snapchat, just to name a few. 


Objective-C for iOS development — pros and cons

Objective-C is a dynamic type of programming language. It is stable and mature. This language has easy compatibility with C++ libraries and a lot of legacy codes support the nest coding style

On the other hand, Objective-C is hard to learn, and unavailable as open-source. It is an old programming language, so security is an issue. In addition, the lack of strict typing causes untraceable bugs. Objective-C doesn’t support dynamic libraries as they are larger in size.


When to use Objective-C for iOS app development?

So when Objective-C cam actually be a better choice?

According to the Apple’s release of Swift in 2014, Objective C was the primary language for Apple  iOS Programming language mobile apps. This programming  language enables message passing among objects which is really useful for Apple iOS operating systems. So using Objective C for creating iOS mobile apps will still pay off.


3. C++


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What is C++?

C++ is a powerful and flexible object oriented programming  language. It is one of the best choices for app development and one of the most difficult languages to learn. 

According to Wikipedia, C++ is a high-level, general-purpose programming language created by Bjarne Stroustrup as an extension of the C programming language, or "C with Classes". 


Popularity

C++ is one of the oldest and most popular programming languages:

  • #5 in PYPL Popularity Index of Feb. 2021. 
  • Loved by 43% of StackExchange developers in 2020.


Companies Using C++

C++ is the primary language that propels the mobile industry in the present day and many top app development companies prefer using it for developing platform independent mobile apps.

It is the programming language that has been used to develop some of the most powerful tools like Photoshop, World of World of Warcraft, Google chrome and PayPal.


C++ for iOS development — pros and cons

C++ is fast and powerful, general-purpose programming language. If you use C++ you have full control over the app development process. This language provides total memory management control. C++ has ready-to-use in-built libraries and compilers.

C++ as a powerful programming language has a lot of benefits for both developers & end-users. However, the drawbacks as well.

This program is not ideal for web development, relatively difficult to learn, especially for beginners. Its syntax is complex and standard libraries are small. In addition, C++ is not well-designed and vulnerable to security issues. 

Being old and so universal in application this programming language has two more disadvantages: lack of feature of a background garbage collector, and lack of GUI adaptability for different platforms.


When to use C++ for app development?

Despite of a list of drawbacks, C++ is still one of the best programming language for mobile app development. 

Thanks to it’s consolidating debugging experience and powerful environment, C++ can be used to build cross-platform mobile apps for Android, Windows, and iOS. It is also used to write APIs and support operations.


4. Python


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In recent years, Python is a programming language that have gained too much popularity in the iOS development market. Its popularity grows leaps and bounds every year and remain a special place in software developers’ world. 


What is Python?

Python is a high-level and general-purpose dynamic, fastest-growing programming language. Because of its advanced features, it has become one of the most popular and one of the favorites programming languages for iOS apps development of all times. 


Popularity

Python is one of the most popular languages. Developers pay great attention to this technology and choose it willingly. When it comes to popular programming languages for iOS application development, Python comes to the mind of most developers (about 9 million Active Developers). 

  • #1 in PYPL Popularity Index of Feb. 2021.
  • Loved by 67% of StackExchange developers in 2020, and wanted by 30%, the most of any language.


Companies Using Python

Python is one of the best mobile application development technology. Today, large corporations use it widely for creating rich-quality, stable, and interactive web-based apps. 

Quora, Netflix, Reddit, Facebook, Instagram, and other famous brands prominently using Python as their programming language. 


Python for iOS development — pros and cons

What makes Python a popular language for iOS app development? There are many fascinating features available in Python that make it the best programming language for iOS app development in 2021. 

Python is an object-oriented, portable, and high-level programming language. It is easy to learn, use, and deploy. Developers like Python because it is fast to create, saving the time, effort, and money. The language offers expensive support to libraries. 

Along with benefits, Python has some drawbacks.

This programming language is slower than other languages. Design limitations waste more test timing. The language is less suitable for gaming and mobile development. Python consumes high memory space. In addition, Python knowledge doesn’t translate well to other systems. A runtime error is also an issue with the language.


When to use Python iOS for app development?

Python is a programming language that every developer should be able to use. It has almost everything you could ask for in such technology: flexibility, speed, and efficiency. Moreover, Python with its convenient and straightforward syntax is super easy to learn.

This language is broadly used in machine learning programming, data analysis, web development, machine learning, and DevOps that are flexible and easy to launch. However, it is less popular for educational purposes, prototyping, and quality assurance, and it is not a perfect solution for mobile application developers.

If advantages and popularity are enough to get you motivated, Python is the one to choose for your new project. 


5. HTML5


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What is HTML5?

The next iOS Programming language we talk about is HTML 5. 

HTML is known as a technology used to create and present websites by defining their content's meaning and structure.  


Popularity

HTML5 is the latest version of HTML, and the most popular markup language. HTML, together with CSS, became the 2nd most popular programming language in 2020.

HTML5 compliant with modern development practices in the programming world. Furthermore, HTML5 has showed the best results as Web browser experience for both users and developers.


Companies Using HTML5

5679 companies allegedly use HTML5 in their tech stacks, including Udemy, reddit, and Lyft.


HTML5 for iOS development — pros and cons

HTML5 is easy to learn, cost-effective programming language. It enables to provide good page ranking. has new features like summary, audio, data, data list, command, etc. This program support offline access and takes less time. HTML5 allows to create offline apps.

But at the same time, HTML5 doesn’t allow to build native apps. It has limited functionality, and responsive design problems. It is challenging to support old browsers. The language of HTML5 is still improving


When to use HTML5 iOS for app development?

Developers usually use HTML5 in combination with CSS and JavaScript, and together they are referred to as the "big three of frontend".

Using HTML 5 app combined with CSS and other tools you can create a hybrid iOS. This app is not a local app. Hybrid apps include browser controls and page rendering in an app using HTML and CSS.

HTML5 is the right choice in 2021 if you want to quickly develop a simple iOS application that can also be accessed offline.

If you are planning to build location-based apps, then HTML5 can be the right choice. Its latest features like media elements, multi-platform functionality, and agile market deployment help to manage the app development process effectively.


6. Flutter


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What is Flutter?

Flutter (Uses Dart Language) is an open-source, a comprehensive app Software Development Kit (SDK), which uses the Dart programming language for developing iOS apps. It was created by Google in 2015 and officially presented in 2017. 

Flutter is highly recommended because of its full support of native features, ready-to-use widgets, and tools.

This programming language allows to create cross-platform apps, providing Flutter developers an easy way to develop natively compiled visually attractive, natively-compiled across all devices like mobile, web, and desktop applications through a single codebase. 


Popularity

The community of Flutter developers is increasing. 

In 2020 Flutter reached the highest peak of popularity. It is being improved every day to support more and more platforms. Windows and Linux support this programming language, so more possibilities will be available for Flutter on the web. 


Companies Using Flutter 

Some applications whisch using Flutter: Birch Finance, Google Ads, Tencent, Reflect, The New York Times. Apps like Xianyu app by Alibaba and so on, were developed using Flutter.


Flutter for iOS development — pros and cons

Flutter is free and open-source, time and cost-efficient programming language. It is easy to maintain and develop new features. Flutter has the best performance similar to native, and its tons of own widgets. It has Rich motion APIs, adaptive layouts. This language provides the same good looking custom UI across all the platforms.

However Flutter has some lacks. This programming language has a small number of libraries. The community is youth and small, the talent pool is limited. Apps have relatively a larger size.


When to use Flutter iOS for app development?

Flutter is the fastest growing mobile app development framework for building natively complied apps across all type of devises from a single codebase.

Flutter is pretty much easy to understand and fast to develop.

if you want to create not only an iOS and Android app but you also plan to create a desktop and web version, Flutter is worth considering. If your team members know Dart programming language, Flutter will be right choice for your company.


Conclusion


So, there we have it! Those are the top 6 programming languages for iOS apps in 2021! We have discussed each language along with its popularity, pros and cons, and usage. Now, it is easier for you to choose the best programming language for your new project.

iOS Programming language is the most widely used operating system in the world since Android. Picking the best programming language for iOS app is an important decision that can have a vital impact on your business success. That's why you should determine your goals and expectations and, on this information, choose the best solution for you.

I hope this article has been helpful.

Get coding!

___________________________________________

Author: Svitlana DomanchukCopywriter

Опубліковано в категоріях: IT Articles

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