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Ask HN: Is cross platform app development a thing?

4 points by seedie ↗ HN
Many apps are only available on Android or iOS. I'm wondering if it makes sense to do a side project cross-platform when companies are already saving resources to only develop for one platform. When starting a new side project, would you concentrate on one platform or try to design with cross platform development in your mind. What language would you choose?

5 comments

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sharemywin
depends on your use case. games are different than productivity which is different than the next uberdoorgig thingy.
seedie
What would you say are the differences between the app categories, why does it make a difference? Because some rely more on os specifics? I don't know nearly nothing about app dev so I try to understand.
PaulHoule
Sony got into big trouble with the Playstation 3 because it was an exotic machine and hard to program so they created the PhyreEngine which was a cross-platform toolkit that made it practical to target many competitive platforms

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/PhyreEngine

which ironically was based on Microsoft’s .NET. It was capable of making AAA games but also accessible to independent devs. Many games are based on other platforms like Unreal that make many aspects of the game portable. Of course games have graphics, sound and real-time requirements that most applications don’t have.

sharemywin
If your just trying to get functionality out and the UI isn't a big part of the value proposition then why not.