Ionic 6 - A coming of age

Here at Elixel we have been avid users of the Ionic framework ever since its inception in 2012, the same year we were founded. As we ourselves have grown, Ionic has developed from a fledgling framework, to a hybrid app household name, with over 5 million developers world wide now making use of it’s cross platform, cross framework approach.

What is Ionic?

Unless you are a developer, you may not have heard of Ionic before, so here’s a quick summary. In their own words:

“Ionic offers a library of mobile-optimised components, gestures, and tools for building fast, highly interactive apps”.

The system provides developers with the means to create apps for Android and Apple devices, and the web, using one single code source. Rather than having to build a number of apps individually for each, Ionic ensures that the visual and behavioural differences users expect from apps on each device are maintained, whilst making production quicker. In recent years, it has also become cross-compatible for developers, working in Angular, React, Vue or pure Javascript, so developers can use the tools they are most experienced in whilst still gaining the benefits that Ionic brings.

Why do we use Ionic?

Now-a-days there are many ways to build apps, both hybrid and native, and each method has its pros and cons. Here’s why we choose Ionic for our app development:

• Cross platform - we can use one system to build apps for whichever devices you want, saving time and money. With a few tweaks here and there we can get you to multiple markets fast
• Minimum viable product - When you’ve got an idea that you want to bring to life, it’s important to get it out in the open quickly so you can begin to test and adapt your business model to the needs of your users. Ionic’s predefined components means we can draw up prototypes or MVPs to demonstrate the core of your product often within 6 months so you can start seeing real world results.

• Experience - Every development framework has it’s differences, like any language. We want to supply you with a high quality, reliable product that you can trust. Using our 9+ years of experience in Ionic allows us to do that, avoiding uncertainty and risk.

What’s new about Ionic 6?

As with any new framework release, Ionic 6 has improvements for speed, reliability and additional features to continue to make cross platform development a breeze. The biggest difference however is that this is the first Ionic release specifically made in line with the annual updates of iOS and Android. Every September, driven by the release of their new devices, Apple and Google release major software upgrades which mobile development software then has to cater for. By aligning their major updates from now on, Ionic is staking their spot as a mature, rounded framework that is here to stay. We certainly hope so, and congratulate Ionic on a fantastic 10 years, with many more to come!

If you have a mobile app you are looking to get developed, an app that needs updating to the latest version of Ionic or a mobile app that isn't hitting the mark with your customers, get in touch today.