Kotlin Multiplatform (KMM) App Development

Kotlin multiplatform simplifies the development of cross-platform mobile applications

Combined benefits of creating cross-platform and native apps

Kotlin Multiplatform (KMM) is a SDK for cross-platform mobile development that allows to easily share the business logic between all the platforms.

Developing a cross-platform mobile application

KMM allows to share code between mobile platforms iOS and Android, including business logic, connectivity, among others.
Expanding an existing native app

KMM can be adopted at any point and share as much or as little business logic as you wish between Android and iOS apps.
Relying on native UI solutions

Features involving the camera, augmented reality (AR), machine learning, or complex animations are a great fit for Kotlin Multiplatform Mobile.

Creating an interactive demo of an energy management system with Kotlin Multiplatform

An interactive demo featuring all the most crucial functions

The demo simulated the energy consumption forecast based on a selected date and time, and then visualized it alongside the actual consumption for comparison. It was powered by a machine learning model that was tailor-made for the client. Finally, Netguru created UI Design of wireframes for energy management system visualizations.

Netguru was responsible for:

Providing data science and UI design expertise to build a professional demo under a tight deadline
Guiding the client on what is feasible, realistic, and would bring the most value to their product

Read the case study

Time to market

Kotlin Multiplatform allows to reduce mobile app development time and simplify their development efforts, which shortens the time between you start working on your app and release it to the market.
Low budget

Building a cross-platform app is cheaper than hiring two different teams to build apps operating in two different systems. This solution is particularly suitable for startups that experience financial challenges.
Native solution

Our developers can help you build an almost native app solution with outstanding performance and UX.
Team efficiency

To develop your cross-platform app you will need only one team that will not face platform-specific challenges and cross-team interaction issues.
Low maintenance cost

Maintaining an app written in KMM is cheaper than other solutions because there is only one business logic code to maintain.

Let’s work together

What is Kotlin Multiplatform?

Kotlin Multiplatform (KMP) is an SDK that supports cross-platform app development by allowing developers to write the same business logic for multiple platforms. Kotlin Multiplatform allows development on other platforms such as Linux, Windows, and web apps.

In addition, KMP’s subset Kotlin Multiplatform Mobile (KMM) enables developers to code business logic for iOS and Android from a single codebase.

The release of KMP in 2017 was the result a long-running effort by JetBrains to reduce time spent on creating applications targeting multiple types devices such as desktop computers, Android and iOS powered smartphones — all thanks to power flexibility of Kotlin.

Until recently Kotlin Multiplatform was in alfa phase, when it was extensively tested. KMM is now beta, which means that the technology is ready and safe to use for app development.

The essential advantage of KMP is that it allows developers to write code once and have it working on multiple device types.

Here are some unique characteristics of KMP:

It enables to share the code for mobile as well as desktop. It is possible to share one codebase for an Android, iOS, desktop or even web app if they use the same business logic.
Unlike Flutter or React Native, Kotlin Multiplatform is easily expendable. Developers can create their own common API for some platform-specific functionalities with ease.
It allows businesses to scale an existing application. If you already have an Android and an iOS application, a certain new functionality needs to be added for both, which will reduce the development time needed for implementation.

How is Kotlin Multiplatform different from Flutter and React Native?

KMP doesn’t serve as a direct substitution for Flutter or React Native. Rather, it complements native development, making it ever more appealing thanks to reduced costs of development and maintenance.

Kotlin Multiplatform is essential solution to help meet the increasing need for apps to be available on different platforms through a pragmatic approach by avoiding having to write code twice.

UI rendering: Native—separate UI for Android and iOS
Business logic: Written in Kotlin—shared between platforms
Total % of shared code: Up to 70%

How does KMM enables more efficient and cheaper app development?

It’s completely feasible to save 30-50% of development time by using Kotlin Multiplatform for mobile and web development. When compared to Java, Kotlin can save 40% of code lines.

Furthermore, because Android and iOS apps use the same lines of code for business logic, it’s easier and quicker to introduce and test additional features.

Consequently, thanks to Kotlin you can reduce app development cost because you won't have to create full teams for each platform or pay developers for writing the same lines of code several times.

Are there already any examples of apps built in Kotlin Multiplatform?

Here are some app built in KMM, which demonstrate that businesses are starting to discover the benefits of this technology.

PlanGrid: a construction management application that allows users to create, view, edit, and distribute various types of documents needed on construction sites.
Memrise: a language learning app that uses memes, videos, and pictures as tools to ease the education process.
Cash App: a fintech mobile app allowing users to spend, receive, and invest money.
Netflix: the biggest video streaming service company.
VMware: has a lot of apps in their portfolio. Some of them are part of Workspace ONE, a digital platform that facilitates managing and delivering applications across multiple devices securely

Our Kotlin Multiplatform app development services: How we work

We have a team of experienced mobile app development experts who can support you with everything from market research to product design, and app release.

Discussing and analyzing together with your KMM app development consultants.
Developing cross-platform app development strategy, creating project scope and core team logistics identification.
App development plan execution, including risk identification and mitigation, and best code management practices.
Results analysis, provided with comprehensive documentation and knowledge transfer.