Kotlin Multiplatform Guide: Benefits, Use Cases & Costs

How Kotlin Multiplatform is Transforming Mobile App Development

Mobile app development has evolved much over the past decade. With the advent of smartphones, app developers have been working day and night to develop apps that are compatible with both Android and iOS. Nevertheless, making apps for each one of these systems separately is time-consuming and costly. This is where Kotlin Multiplatform mobile app development enters the scene.

It is a revolutionary solution in the context of mobile app development since it facilitates easier creation of cross-platform compatible apps with less effort. Here in this blog, we are going to learn how Kotlin Multiplatform is transforming app development, its advantages, and why it is better than other solutions like Flutter.

What is Kotlin Multiplatform?

Kotlin Multiplatform is the technology that allows for the sharing of code between platforms like Android, iOS, and even web applications. It is Kotlin-based, leveraging a cutting-edge programming language that’s already a favorite when creating Android applications. Developers can create one with Kotlin Multiplatform and apply it to many platforms. Hence, the time and effort saved.

The concept is straightforward: rather than writing isolated code for Android and iOS, you write shared code that can be executed on both. The shared code deals with the essential logic of the application, and UI and device code are applied for the user interface and device features. This also refers to shared code in Kotlin Multiplatform.

Also Read – Grand Central Dispatch (GCD)

Kotlin Multiplatform Benefits

Kotlin Multiplatform has many advantages for developers and businesses alike. Let us get a detailed view of some of the major advantages:

1. Code Reusability

Code reusability is perhaps the biggest advantage of Kotlin Multiplatform. Rather than writing code twice (for iOS and Android), the developer can write it once and reuse it on other platforms. It is time-saving and minimizes the chance of error.

2. Faster Development

Developers are able to develop apps quicker with shared code. They do not have to invest as much time in writing and testing code for every platform. Apps can be brought into the market more quickly, which is a huge benefit for companies.

3. Cost-Effective

Because there is less code to be developed, organizations incur less development costs. It is cheaper to have one team develop common code than to have two different teams for Android and iOS.

4. Improved Performance

Kotlin Multiplatform applications are optimized for performance. Unlike some other cross-platform frameworks, Kotlin Multiplatform does not use a virtual machine or interpreter. Rather, Kotlin Multiplatform mobile app development compiles code directly to native binaries so the apps run more nimbly and efficiently.

5. Flexibility

Kotlin Multiplatform allows developers to write platform-specific code when necessary. This allows them to leverage the native capabilities of each platform without these platforms sharing much code.

6. Native UI

Although KMP facilitates code sharing, it does not limit UI development. Developers can utilize platform-specific UI components such as Jetpack Compose for Android and SwiftUI for iOS, providing a native look and feel.

7. Smooth Integration

If the teams are already Kotlin-based, it is not an issue to apply KMP. It is a building upon already available Kotlin knowledge, which allows developers to port and create applications for various platforms easily.

Why is Kotlin Multiplatform Mobile so Popular for App Development?

No Middleman Needed Between Different Codes

There are also other development tools for apps like Xamarin, Flutter, and React Native, which rely on their own respective libraries and tools, so they need to have a “middleman” that speaks to Android and iOS. Kotlin doesn’t! It lets you utilize the tools that you already have on Android and iOS, so you won’t lose time or money to make other connections between code forms.

Write Your App’s Brain Once and Use It Everywhere

The “brain” of the app (business logic) determines what makes it all tick. Normally, while developing an app for Android and iOS, developers have to code this logic twice in two different programming languages, which may cause mistakes. With Kotlin, you code the logic once, and it will run on both platforms. Future updates become a cakewalk, and it saves time and effort.

Complete Freedom to Style the App’s Appearance

Kotlin decouples the shared code from the app’s appearance. This means that developers can style the app’s appearance however they want, with no restrictions. If something must be done differently for iOS and Android, Kotlin has a simple way of handling it through the functionality of “expect/actual.”.

Shared code in Kotlin Multiplatform

Shared code is exactly what Kotlin Multiplatform mobile app development is about. Here is how it goes:

Shared Module: They implement a shared module that houses the app’s core logic. It is developed in Kotlin and can be utilized across various platforms.

Platform-Specific Code:Developers implement platform-specific code for something like device-specific functionality or UI. They do this so the app will appear native on every platform.

For example, let us say you are building a weather app. The code that fetches weather data from an API can be shared between Android and iOS. However, the code that displays the weather information (like the design of the app) can be written separately for each platform.

Also Read – How much it cost to make an app?

Kotlin vs Flutter for Cross-Platform Apps

For mobile app cross-platform development, Kotlin Multiplatform and Flutter are the two trendy options. They are both highly capable but differently work.

Kotlin Multiplatform

Language: Utilizes Kotlin, which is already mature enough to be used with Android development.
Code Sharing: Has code share between platforms but includes platform-specific code where essential.
Performance: Compiles down to native binaries, providing a higher performance level.
Flexibility: More adaptable since it offers the ability for developers to utilize platform-specific capabilities.

Flutter

Language: Functions utilizing Dart, which is built by Google.
Code Sharing: Shares a majority of the code, such as UI, between platforms.
Performance: Dependent on a rendering engine, which could impact performance from time to time.
UI: Employs its own widgets, which do not appear and feel native on every platform.

Where Flutter is good for apps requiring the same UI on different platforms, Kotlin Multiplatform is suitable for apps requiring high performance and flexibility.

Best Frameworks for Kotlin Multiplatform

Kotlin Multiplatform mobile app development supports a range of frameworks and libraries that simplify development. Some of the most popular frameworks for Kotlin Multiplatform are:

1. Ktor

Ktor is an asynchronous server and client framework. It’s lightweight and Kotlin Multiplatform compatible, making it an excellent option for networking in your app.

2. SQLDelight

SQLDelight is a database library that produces typesafe Kotlin APIs out of SQL queries. It is an excellent database tool for database work in Kotlin Multiplatform projects.

3. Moko MVVM

Moko MVVM is a library used to make developers implement the Model-View-ViewModel (MVVM) architecture in Kotlin Multiplatform applications. It is particularly helpful in UI logic sharing across platforms.

4. Compose Multiplatform

Compose Multiplatform is a UI library for creating common UIs for desktop applications, Android, and iOS. It is constructed on top of Jetpack Compose, which is widely used for Android application development.

Performance Optimization in Kotlin Multiplatform

Kotlin Multiplatform mobile app development demands that performance should be of utmost concern. Apps need to be snappy and responsive. Kotlin Multiplatform supports various ways for performance optimization:

Smart Code Sharing – Share core business logic and non-UI code only between platforms. Reserve UI and performance-critical portions are platform-specific in order to attain speed and responsiveness.

Using Native APIs – For an activity that requires high performance (e.g., animations, file I/O, or networking), use native APIs of each platform rather than shared code. This will get your app run as fast as possible on each platform.

Good Multithreading – Utilize Kotlin Coroutines to carry out background operations without causing any slowdown, such as downloading data or handling big files. It prevents the freeze of UI and makes the app interactive.

Good Memory Usage – Eliminate memory leaks by managing resources like a pro. Prevent pointless object generation and utilize libraries such as kotlinx.serialization to handle data in an efficient manner.

Decreasing Platform Overhead – Minimize unnecessary abstractions that slow down performance. Directly working with the platform APIs when necessary can result in a performance boost.

Testing and Profiling – Test and profile your app on a regular basis using tools such as Android Studio’s profiler and Xcode Instruments to identify and resolve performance bottlenecks.

Kotlin Native vs Kotlin Multiplatform

You may be aware of Kotlin Native and probably wondered how it is different from Kotlin Multiplatform. Here is a summary comparison:

Kotlin Native

Purpose: Kotlin Native compiles Kotlin code to native binaries for a particular platform, such as iOS or macOS.
Scope: It is more single-platform-oriented than shared code across platforms.

Kotlin Multiplatform

Purpose: Kotlin Multiplatform is designed for sharing code across various platforms, for example, Android, iOS, and web.
Scope: It is wider, enabling developers to share code but still employing platform-specific code where necessary.

Briefly, Kotlin Native is a subset of Kotlin Multiplatform. It is the tech used to make Kotlin Multiplatform compile code to native binaries for platforms.

Practical Applications of Kotlin Multiplatform

A few leading companies have used Kotlin Multiplatform mobile app development to simplify their development efforts:

Netflix: The world’s biggest streaming service uses KMP to publish common logic for mobile studio apps, eliminating duplication and allowing faster, more consistent development. This way, they provide quality features at the world’s best rate of rapid production of TV shows and films.

Quizlet: Having 100 million active installations worldwide, Quizlet migrated their shared codebase from JavaScript to Kotlin with the help of KMP. The move greatly improved the performance of their Android and iOS applications, delivering productive study material to users across the world.

Cash App: Square’s popular payment app employs KMP for a few of its features in its app. The firm switched over from cross-JavaScript sharing incrementally to KMP in 2018, resulting in Android and iOS engineering teams performing much better and addressing code-sharing problems otherwise faced with JavaScript.

McDonald’s: McDonald’s utilizes Kotlin Multiplatform (KMP) to develop their Global Mobile App. They use it to get code reuse across various platforms, thereby avoiding the need to write the same code multiple times.

9GAG: 9GAG migrated to Kotlin Multiplatform from Flutter and React Native. Today, they are able to ship new features quicker and provide users with a smoother experience.

Philips: Philips employs KMP for use in their HealthSuite Digital Platform mobile SDK. This enables them to introduce new features rapidly and facilitates better cooperation between Android and iOS developers.

VMware: VMware employs Kotlin Multiplatform in various areas of their Workspace ONE productivity apps. This ensures everything remains in working order on various platforms.

Some other famous organizations that utilize KMP include Forbes, Autodesk, and Philips. These organizations use KMP in order to enhance code reusability, efficiency, and performance in the development process on different platforms.

Conclusion

Kotlin Multiplatform mobile app development is revolutionizing how we build mobile apps. It saves time, cuts costs, and provides improved performance by having shared code across platforms. From building a basic app to a sophisticated one, Kotlin Multiplatform provides the flexibility and capability you require.

As compared to other frameworks such as Flutter, Kotlin Multiplatform is superior in performance and flexibility. It is ideal for developers who intend to develop high-quality applications that feel natively native on every platform.

With the ever-rising trend of mobile app development, Kotlin Multiplatform is set to play an even more pivotal role. With its growing pool of frameworks and tools, it is becoming one of the leading frameworks for Kotlin Multiplatform development.

So, if you are a developer or a business looking to build cross-platform apps, IPH Technologies is definitely worth considering for Kotlin Multiplatform mobile app development.

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