Hey there! I’ve built an Android app on Bubble, creating a responsive website and encapsulating it as an Android app using a wrapper (Jasonelle). That’s fine, but I’d like to build native mobile apps without the mess of involving different systems, wrappers, etc. (also, because that doesn’t solve some requirements on modern mobile apps, as push notifications, native ads, in-app purchases… and these pseudo-apps are usually blocked by Apple’s App Store).
So, what’s the best alternative to Bubble for creating native mobile apps that allows all kind of integrations and native features but that still is easy to use without code? I love Bubble and I’ve built dozens of serious projects, but I’m willing to learn an equivalent technology that bridges this gap.
For me actually, the equivalent to Bubble in mobile app no-code dev is Thunkable.
But, Apple doesn’t like any of theses kind of tools and the rejection rate is higher. But with Thunkable, if you use mobile native features, (and there’s a lot available) the chance of rejection is reduced.
Nice to hear you build in jasonelle
One day I’ll build a full set of jasonelle plugin features, including push notification, work with native ads and in-app purchases. BDK Native caught the wave, and it will probably include them in the short term. 2020 and Bubble, hopefully will be the app year It’s so time saving to have to maintain only one app imo (I tried swift and xcode, not for me).
I’d look at Adalo. Very active team, pricing is reasonable, the tools are nice, and they’re making regular, frequent updates. Generates native iOS and Android code, but also offers a webview component of you want it. Big fan, been fiddling with it for a few weeks.
Thanks, @Jici and @andrewgassen! I’ll take a look at Thunkable and Adalo. Thanks @JohnMark (as always!), having those features (to me, push notifications are critical, I’m thinking of starting using Nativator.io for this) would be awesome: when do you plan to have them released?
Thanks, @stone! Will give it a try as well. I’m just trying Adalo, which seems super convenient. I love the interface and UX: It’s super easy to build beautiful things. The things I don’t like so far are the lack of flexibility when sending push notifications based on database/backend events, a lack of conditional paths, some limitations on forms (no option to have dropdowns or radial buttons within forms) and the pricing model (the first plan is a bit too expensive compared to Bubble, and the free version is limited to 50 entries on the database). If they improve a few things soon, I’ll considering migrating my setup to Adalo for native mobile apps…:
Are they planning on building a feature that allows you to also publish your project as an app to the app stores THIS year? That would be INCREDIBLE. Bc less and less people are using desktop sized websites. Just take a look at China.
Just wanted to add to this thread…appgyver.com is also a good alternative, and is somehow completely free. Only downside is that you have to manage your own database/data.
I’ve built an Android app on Bubble, creating a responsive website and encapsulating it as an Android app using a wrapper (Jasonelle). That’s fine, but I’d like to build native mobile apps without the mess of involving different systems, wrappers, etc. (also, because that doesn’t solve some requirements on modern mobile apps, as push notifications, native ads, in-app purchases… and these pseudo-apps are usually blocked by Apple’s App Store).
