Handling datetime values in web development is notoriously challenging due to inconsistent behavior across different browsers and operating systems, especially with JavaScript and HTML. Ionic addresses these issues by providing the ion-datetime component, which offers a consistent and customizable user interface for selecting dates and times, overcoming the limitations of native HTML inputs. This component is part of Ionic's broader effort to enhance app development by smoothing out the inconsistencies and difficulties associated with native HTML elements, allowing developers to easily style and format datetime inputs with CSS. The ion-datetime component is supported by Ionic's Picker API, which allows for the creation of various selectable inputs beyond just dates and times, and ensures that the user interface feels native to different platforms like Material Design, iOS, and Windows, all while using the same source code.