In this article, we’re going to talk about Kivy vs BeeWare. These two are Python frameworks that will help you write the code once and then use it on any platform you like. Besides, you can bring consistency, clarity, and readability to your projects with Kivy and BeeWare.
If you wanted to create a mobile application in the past, Python wasn’t regarded as one of your programming options. But we live in a world of change, and mobile app development is no exception. Nowadays, we have a set of dependable frameworks at hand that will help us create mobile applications of any type.
You may be wondering which option best aligns with your needs. Indeed, we’ll look at the pros and cons of each framework, along with perspectives from experts. Then we’ll review the examples, the learning procedure, and a few alternatives to BeeWare and Kivy.
Kivyy: Is It Good For Mobile Apps?
Kivy is a free Python open-source library. You can use it to develop cross-platform applications with Python. It helps web development companies build graphical user interfaces (GUIs) that run consistently on platforms like Android, Windows, Java, etc.
On one hand, you can bring the unity and portability of your application from one platform to another. On the other hand, your app won’t look and feel like other native apps. So what does that mean?
(A native app is run on a particular platform and can use device-specific software and hardware.)
Let’s say you have an iPhone. If you don’t see familiar buttons, you might feel annoyed, as you are using an app that wasn’t initially designed for iOS. The difference can confuse users who are used to the regular look and feel of true iOS apps and could make the application less enjoyable. Finally, it may lead to a poor user experience.
Leveraging Kivy in your app development depends on your project. For instance, having a native user interface is not a must for mobile games. Thus, if you give up on this point, you’ll offer the users a seamless experience through various devices.
By using Python, you can maximise development speed, reduce costs, and enjoy the ease of using this programming language. Other benefits to Kivy will be discussed later in this article.
Kivy’s Potential: What can it do for you?
There are several features with which you can use Kivy:
- Videos: With Kivy modules, it’s possible to play and stream media files. The video player supports various elements, such as play, pause, and stop buttons, along with the option to display subtitles. For example, you may use these functions to display information or subtitles to the user.
- User Interface: A set of widgets and controls are available to improve the visual appeal of your mobile interface. In addition to supporting dark mode, it introduces new icons and design elements.
- Gestures and multi-touch: Some widgets support gestures and multi-touch actions. Capturing the user’s motions is also possible by creating a gesture library.
- Flexible: As a versatile option, it can be used on different devices and platforms like Windows, Linux, smartphones, tablets, and the Raspberry Pi.
Pros and Cons of Kivy
After learning about the features of Kivy, let’s dig deeper into the benefits and flaws of the framework. For example, although Kivy helps you design innovative user interfaces, it has a larger package size that is unnecessary.
Below, you can gain a better understanding of the pros and cons of using Kivy:
Pros of Kivy
- Single code: By having a single codebase for applications on different devices, you can save time and put more effort into marketing.
- Python-base: It is based on Python, which is significantly powerful due to its variety of rich libraries.
- Business Friendly: Available with an MIT licence, you can expect no hidden costs. Developers opt for Kivy because it’s a stable framework.
- GPU-accelerated: It is accelerated by the GPU, and you can adapt Open GL to build the graphic engine.
- Open-source Library: As an open-source library, it can assist in fast application development.
- Organised codes: With Kivy, writing codes are more organised and precise than other frameworks.
- Clarity: Like Python, the functionalities are clear.
- Performance on HTML5: It has better performance in HTML cross-platform.
Cons of Kivy
Let’s see the downsides of using Kivy in your mobile development:
- It comes with a non-native UI.
- There are several community-rich alternatives, like React Native, if you want to focus on mobile cross-platform devices only.
- Good examples are not available. You’ll learn more about it later in this article.
- It has a larger package size because a Python interpreter is included.
- It may not handle graphics-heavy or real-time processing efficiently; therefore, it is less suitable for complex applications than native frameworks.
The Learning Curve of Kivy: Is It Smooth?
The answer is complicated. Some find it challenging to work within a GUI framework. It’s not easy to pick up, and there may be issues with the documentation. Kivy is adaptable overall, although its deployment may be inconvenient for some.
It is like working with React, JavaScript, and CSS, just within a Pythonic context. The most challenging part will be transferring Kivy codes to mobile devices. You may always turn to the internet for answers to your problems.
It is advised to use Linux or MacOS because Windows requires a virtual machine or WSL. Windows Subsystem for Linux (WSL) lets you run a Linux environment, including command-line tools and applications on Windows.
Here is a Kivy tutorial to help you get started:
It’s a little tricky to install Kivy. But in the video, the Codemy.com team has prepared a comprehensible guide that will guide you through the installation process step by step. John suggests, in the final minute (10:15), to create a virtual environment for all Python-related tasks since it facilitates version updates.
If you want to get your feet wet with Kivy, we recommend watching the entire playlist. The list ranges from creating boxes and buttons to defining animations, sliders, functions, and much more!
You can visit “Kivy.org” to find out more about how to use the Kivy framework.
Investigating Kivy Examples
Kivy.Org includes a GitHub list of Kivy projects available on Google Play and the App Store. What we have found is that most of them are games with no significant commercial success. Why? Well, the number of downloads isn’t eye-catching, and the apps haven’t received any recent updates.
However, this doesn’t prevent you from creating a fantastic game with Kivy. Perhaps there are other factors that a game needs to get attention from users. Nevertheless, Kivy can help you reduce work time, so you‘ll find it helpful in developing your next gaming project.
Here are two examples worth checking that got +10K downloads.
On the left, we have Rocket Kite, a simple and colourful game. Then we have a Time-control chess clock that has been created by Kivy. A chess clock is used in chess matches or any other setting that needs time allocation.
As you can see, they are not stylish apps with millions of users. But it doesn’t mean you must give it up when using a Python framework to develop an excellent mobile game.
There could be several reasons why professionals haven’t widely adopted Kivy to produce popular games. These might involve poor marketing, insufficient funding, and issues with documentation, all of which can discourage programmers from selecting the framework.
Other Use cases of Kivy
There are more cases in which mobile application development involves Kivy. A few samples can be found on Kivy’s website in the gallery section. Watch the video below to see one good example:
Application Salon from Tangible Display on Vimeo.
In this video, you’ll see an interactive application that displays a Marseille métropole map on a touchscreen. The user can explore various locations on the map, zoom in on the photos, read descriptions, and access other useful information about this belle city in France.
As you can see, numerous possibilities exist for bringing Kivy into your mobile app development process. After going through Kivy, it’s time to see what BeeWare brings to the table.
BeeWare: A Bridge from Python to Native Platforms
Now, let’s look at the other option. BeeWare is a brilliant framework that can be employed to write desktop and mobile apps that look native. The benefit of using Beeware is that users can see fonts and buttons they already use.
What's the benefit of using a native interface with BeeWare?
In essence, applying familiar fonts, buttons, and other UI components in an app matches users’ previous mental models, resulting in smoother interactions, higher satisfaction levels, and an overall improved user experience.
Unlike Kivy, which employs a custom UI toolkit, BeeWare uses the platform’s native UI toolkit.
According to the official documentation, Python allows you to develop your software and release it on multiple platforms without the need for code rewriting. So you don’t have to worry about building tools, compatibilities, and new environments.
Here is the list of tools available in BeeWare to write native apps for Android, iOS, desktop, and cross-platform:
- Briefcase: Briefcase is a tool for converting a Python project into a separate native application. It works with various operating systems, like Windows, Linux, iOS, Android, and macOS.
- Toga: It’s a native GUI toolkit for Python. To simplify GUI development, it includes a library of essential components with a standard interface. It is also accessible on different platforms.
- Batavia: As a part of BeeWare’s suite, it uses JavaScript to run Python. With the help of Batavia, you’ll be capable of executing Python bytecode in a web browser. Additionally, it allows developers to reference objects and classes between Python and JavaScript.
- Cricket: It’s a graphical application that assists you in running your test suites without waiting for all the tests to finish. There are some cookie-cutter templates for those tools so that you can get started right away.
Pros and Cons of BeeWare
We have mentioned the available tools on BeeWare. The next step is going through the strengths and weaknesses. With BeeWare, there is no need to write different codes for different devices. That will save you a great deal of time. Yet there is one significant disadvantage that we have discussed below.
Pros of BeeWare
- One-code-based: You can use the codes to offer a consistent experience across various devices.
- Cost-effective: You can reuse the codes, which reduces the cost of future upgrades.
- Native appearance and feel: It provides a native look and feel on the platform that leads to a better user experience.
- Usability: It is BSD-licensed, and anyone can modify and use the tools.
Cons of BeeWare
Despite having a great community of developers, it’s a relatively new framework and hasn’t had enough time to grow. As a result, you have more work to do because of potential API changes, bugs, and a lack of features. We can conclude that the possibilities with this framework are yet to be discovered.
BeeWare Learning Roadmap
Unlike Kivy, BeeWare isn’t a single tool or library. It’s a collection of tools to develop, debug, and launch Python apps. Each tool can be used independently or with other ones. Unfortunately, there are fewer resources available compared to other Python modules. Hence, you’ll need to dig deeper into the web to find helpful learning materials.
After doing some research, we have found a useful BeeWare tutorial:
Here, you can find out how to launch your first BeeWare project. Despite not being as inclusive as the Kivy tutorial playlist, it will surely help you get started with the framework. There are videos on creating buttons and texts, dialogue boxes, customisation, and other functions. Although the series runs slowly, you can watch the examples in action.
Beeware Examples: Hard to find
Podium is a markup-based slide presentation tool that uses BeeWare tools and libraries, notably Toga and Briefcase. You can check it out on GitHub. Sadly, we couldn’t find other significant projects based on BeeWare; however, people are discussing how the framework has helped them with their tasks in forums across the web.
Kivy vs. BeeWare: The Ultimate Showdown
There is no concrete answer to that. It depends on the nature and scope of your intended use. Although both are fascinating GUI frameworks, the real competition lies in the final product’s appearance and feel. BeeWare is new to the market and still in the development stage; however, Kivy is a more well-known framework.
Kivy is particularly popular in game development, while BeeWare says, “Write once, deploy everywhere.” So you can reuse the same code base to create mobile and desktop apps.
By knowing each framework’s advantages and disadvantages, you can choose the best fit your needs and objectives. While Kivy looks modern and offers a wide range of components, BeeWare provides a quick way to build demos from a Figma design. (Figma is a design tool for people to create and test prototypes for websites, mobile apps, and other digital products.)
In any case, here is a short video comparing BeeWare and Kivy:
The video quickly examines the benefits and drawbacks of Kivy vs. BeeWare. The main point is that they are not recommended for creating complex applications, as mentioned earlier in this article. Yet it’s worth trying each one to discover its potential.
What do experts say on Kivy and Beeware?
Some professionals choose Kivy because it is the only platform that supports Android development using a low-performance PC. They have also mentioned they can experiment with it in minutes. Compared to Java, it takes less time to make a simple interface.
As we have explored the web and forums, especially looking into Kivy vs Beeware on Reddit and Quora, most comments date back many years. There are mixed reviews on the topic.
Anyway, we have learned that Kivy has a background and has gained trust among professionals, but you might want to go with a more established alternative. And since BeeWare is a new platform, it is still under development. We might see more of it in the future.
Research expert Lionel Sujay Vailshery says on Statista.com that Flutter is the first choice for a global cross-platform mobile framework. According to the chart above, second place goes to React Native. While Kivy falls into the last column, we couldn’t find accurate BeeWare statistics.
Alternatives to Kivy and BeeWare
Python has a variety of frameworks. Instead of using BeeWare and Kivy, we can name alternatives like Flask, Tkinter, PyQt, Chaquopy, and PyGUI. We’re going to have a brief explanation of each framework as follows:
- Flask: It’s a lightweight web framework that offers only the essentials. But thanks to various libraries, it’s easy for beginners and professionals.
- Tkinter: It’s the only framework built into the Python standard library. Developers can use it to build GUI applications pretty fast. By using Tkinter, you’ll have a native look on every platform.
- PyQt: It’s a bridge between Qt C++ and Python. PyQt is often used to build complex GUI-based programs. It offers a large number of high-quality pre-built designs while giving programmers the ability to create the GUIs of their choice.
- Chaquopy: With the help of this framework, developers can run Python codes from Java or Kotlin on Android. Unlike other cross-language libraries, it’s simple to install and doesn’t require the NDK (native development kit) or native codes.
- PyGUI: It’s a simple API that enables programmers to make user interfaces for Python apps using native elements. Thanks to a lightweight framework, there is less code written between the program and the target platform, which makes it an efficient option.
frequently asked questions
According to the report provided earlier in our article, only 1% of app programmers use Kivy for software development.
It’s a Python framework that helps you create native applications that run on various platforms, like Android, iOS, or desktop.
The short answer is yes. While Python isn’t supported on Android and iOS, thanks to frameworks like BeeWare and Kivy, you can build mobile apps that run on different platforms.
It is a UI toolkit built on Kivy. While the code is almost the same, it provides more attractive components.
In terms of building a beautiful UI, Flutter would be the easier choice. As we mentioned in this article, Kivy is suitable for simple apps, while Flutter would be a better option for bigger projects.
Conclusion
We discussed the use of Kivy vs BeeWare for mobile app development in this article. Each framework offers robust GUI capabilities. While Kivy and BeeWare perform well in certain areas, they differ regarding visual and interactive aspects.
Both are notable Python frameworks. We learned that Kivy is suitable for creating multi-platform user interfaces. BeeWare helps you build native apps that look familiar on each platform without learning another programming language.
We also brought some popular alternatives like Flask and Tkinter, each with advantages and disadvantages. With the right goal, you can employ the best option for your desired project.
Get in touch with The Cyberia Tech for your mobile application projects. Our experts will select the right framework to get the best results with your development budget.
