The advancement of desktops and desktop technology has grown endlessly over the past years. More and more updates to operating systems on MacOS, Windows and Linux are being rolled out, which requires never ending maintenance for developers ensuring their applications are always up to date.
To better handle an application across all the main desktop operating systems, Electron has gained a lot of attention in the developer community. We showed that last year in the 10 Most Popular Electron Apps of 2019, which we wanted to follow up with this year. But before that, let’s have an introduction to what does electron mean.
What is Electron?
In general, the Electron is an open-source framework that lets developers build cross-platform desktop applications using familiar web technologies (JavaScript, HTML, CSS). Specifically, Electron uses NodeJS for its back-end, and HTML and CSS for conventional client-side, and finally JavaScript along with Chromium for the front-end.
There are multiple advantages that Electron can provide for the developers. Electron can deploy desktop applications on all major operating systems, including MacOS, Windows and Linux. Therefore, developers don’t need to learn any new programming languages when building their desktop apps with Electron. Furthermore, Electron also supports automatic updates, OS integrations particularly media keys, tray applets, and more.
Nevertheless, Electron also has some drawbacks such as high memory usage, large download sizes, and some apps that may experience lower quality in for example user experience and performance than native desktop apps.
To get a better, more visual feel, here is a video to get to know Electron more:
Now enough with the Electron introduction, let’s look at the 10 most popular Electron apps of 2020.
The 10 Most Popular Electron Apps of 2020
1. Slack
Slack is one of our favorite desktop apps, this is also what we use to have seamless communication in the workplace. Especially that work from home is on-demand these days due to the COVID-19 crisis.
To give an overview, Slack is a cross-platform productivity app revolving around chat. Moreover, Slack users can connect their profile with other platforms and apps such as Trello and Google Drive. The slack bots can also make you more productive by looking after repetitive tasks for you.
Are you interested in finding out how to use Slack? Here is a precise guideline for you:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9RJZMSsH7-g
2. WordPress Desktop
WordPress is the most well-known content management system (CMS), therefore having a desktop app can deliver an effortless experience to users. Using the Electron framework, WordPress provides a desktop experience, which makes users prioritize their content writing without any tabs as compared to using WordPress in a browser. WordPress Desktop is an app using Electron as a framework, and JavaScript using React as the primary language in their new desktop app.
brainhub.eu
3. Pexels Desktop
We know that grabbing photos in Google requires copyrights. But through Pexels, writers, designers, and publishers can now download free stock photos.
Electron made it possible to create a Pexels desktop version. This app is very user-friendly to copy the photos you need, and use it for articles, infographics, or social media posts. No more downloading and only one click away, the amazing Pexels desktop app for everyone.
brainhub.eu
4. WhatsApp Desktop
WhatsApp is the most popular messenger app which has 2 billion users worldwide in February 2020. WhatsApp is the most downloaded messenger app, and for desktop WhatsApp decided to use Electron and NodeJS, running on Mac, Windows, and Linux. Accordingly, some of the features that it offers involves native desktop notifications, keyboard shortcuts, support for custom CSS, stylesheet, and more.
apps.apple.com
5. Skype
One of the well-known Electron apps is Skype. It offers a lasting experience for the users, especially to communicate with different parts of the world. It has come a long way since it was developed in 2013, now you can see below the newest version of Skype 2020. Its current edition is v8.58.76.92, Microsoft replaced the React Native UQP version with the Electron-based desktop version. The main improvement for its features is: no more people app integration, no sync with outlook, and no more automatic MSA sign in. Skype indeed is one of our favorite telecommunication apps and helps us to improve our connection with people, thanks to Electron!
mspoweruser.com
6. Atom
Atom is a text editor that every developer is using, and it is built in Electron. Atom is a free and open-source code editor for MacOS, Linux, and Microsoft Windows. Electron was known as Atom Shell, supporting several packages that allow you to turn it into an IDE. Additionally, it is exceptionally customizable with an extraordinary range of built-in themes.
Maketecheasier.com
7. Discord
Discord is also a free chat app like WhatsApp and Slack. However, it is designed for gamers. Since its launch in 2015, the number of users is rapidly growing and currently counts about 250 million user accounts. In general, Discord is a VoIP application and digital distribution platform for video gaming communities. It allows you to participate in chat channels, send text, images, or videos to other users as well as make audio calls. Discords run on Windows, MacOS, Android, iOS, Linux, and web browsers.
Github.com
8. Tusk
Let us now introduce the most famous note-taking services web-app, Tusk. Tusk’s main feature is to help you organize your notes, a developed Evernote app that runs on all operating systems. Furthermore, it is perfectly compatible with the note-taking app for Mac, Windows, and Linux. Tusk also provides 70+ keyboard shortcuts, optional themes, and distraction-free focus mode. Consequently, you can export notes as PDF, HTML, or Markdown Files and bring it everywhere with you.
9. Visual Studio Code (VS Code)
Visual Studio Code is a code editor built by Microsoft for Windows, Linux, and Mac. It is a very popular code creator for developers. One of its main features is it supports different programming languages such as Python, Java, C, JavaScript, and more. Furthermore, it is highly customizable, providing users to alter the theme, keyboard shortcuts, preference, and install extensions.
10. Web Torrent Desktop
Web Torrent is the streaming torrent client for the browser, Mac, Windows, and Linux. Web Torrent uses Electron as its codebase to improve its outdated version from before. Now, the waiting time is over for downloading, as you can watch immediately for Web Torrent Desktop. That’s the power of the Electron framework.
techdator.net
Summary
The use of Electron as a desktop framework is rapidly increasing. More and more developers are embracing Electron, making their life easier to maintain their desktop environments. The future of desktop development is most like a cross-platform framework, such as Electron. Are you interested in building your desktop application for your future business? Don’t hesitate to contact us then. In the meantime, check out our book Software is Feeding the World and stay tuned on future technological trends.
