Build Your First Android and iOS Mobile App With Kotlin Multiplatform

Cross-platform development offers significant advantages in mobile development, particularly when addressing the distinct ecosystems of Android and iOS, which typically require separate codebases and expertise in different programming languages. Solutions like React Native and Flutter allow developers to streamline this process by creating a single codebase compatible with both platforms, thus reducing development time and costs. However, challenges such as performance limitations compared to native apps persist. Kotlin Multiplatform (KMP) emerges as a flexible solution, enabling the sharing of business logic across platforms while retaining native UI capabilities, a feature that has been embraced by companies like Netflix and McDonald's. KMP does not inherently support shared UI, but Compose Multiplatform offers a way to write and share UI logic using Jetpack Compose syntax across various platforms, maintaining performance and platform-specific functionality. Setting up KMP in Android Studio involves installing the necessary plugins and configurations to allow seamless development across Android, iOS, and other platforms. Despite its early stage, KMP's integration with familiar tools like Kotlin makes it an accessible and promising option for developers interested in cross-platform development.