I took a look at Xamarin recently to see how far it had come, and the tooling is really impressive. They seem to do a great job of keeping up to date with iOS/Android SDK changes, too.
But when trying to find an example of a native-feeling Xamarin-based app for iOS, I was really underwhelmed. I tried to find one that was (a) well-known and (b) third-party (not developed by Xamarin or Microsoft). The 4 contenders were:
- UPS - 1/4 stars - All views of the app are awkward embedded web views. Every page has a full screen modal spinner.
- Outback Steakhouse - 1/4 stars - Not updated for modern iPhones, so the whole app is letterboxed. UI is completely custom, so didn't attempt to feel native. Crashed as soon as it tried to get my location.
- Alaska Airlines - 3/4 stars - Feels native-ish, nice "vanilla" design. Mix of native forms and web views. All UI related to searching flights & buying tickets is a web view. Every tap on the tab bar causes a full screen modal spinner.
- FOX Sports - 4/4 stars - Wow, impressive. Lots of native-feeling views with their own branded styling. The custom widgets feel native.
It was great to find one "hero" app for Xamarin (FOX Sports), but the fact that it's an outlier is a little concerning.
But when trying to find an example of a native-feeling Xamarin-based app for iOS, I was really underwhelmed. I tried to find one that was (a) well-known and (b) third-party (not developed by Xamarin or Microsoft). The 4 contenders were:
- UPS - 1/4 stars - All views of the app are awkward embedded web views. Every page has a full screen modal spinner.
- Outback Steakhouse - 1/4 stars - Not updated for modern iPhones, so the whole app is letterboxed. UI is completely custom, so didn't attempt to feel native. Crashed as soon as it tried to get my location.
- Alaska Airlines - 3/4 stars - Feels native-ish, nice "vanilla" design. Mix of native forms and web views. All UI related to searching flights & buying tickets is a web view. Every tap on the tab bar causes a full screen modal spinner.
- FOX Sports - 4/4 stars - Wow, impressive. Lots of native-feeling views with their own branded styling. The custom widgets feel native.
It was great to find one "hero" app for Xamarin (FOX Sports), but the fact that it's an outlier is a little concerning.