Apache Cordova

Apache Cordova is an open source framework for building so-called hybrid mobile applications: the app is developed with web technologies (HTML, CSS, JavaScript) and then wrapped in a native shell so it can be distributed on the App Store and Google Play. In 2026, the project still exists, but the commercial ecosystem that made it viable has largely withdrawn. For a Cordova application in production, the question is no longer whether to migrate, but when, and to what.

Why Cordova mattered

In the 2010s, Cordova and its commercial distribution PhoneGap allowed thousands of companies to ship an iOS and Android application from a single web codebase, with a single team. A plugin system gave access to device features: camera, GPS, notifications. For many business applications the trade-off was excellent: cheaper than two native developments, and more than enough for management, consultation or data-entry screens.

Why this is the end of a cycle

The project has not been officially discontinued by the Apache foundation: a small community of volunteers still publishes updates, such as cordova-ios 8 in late 2025. But the signs of an ecosystem in retreat are factual and public:

• Adobe shut down PhoneGap in 2020, removing the ecosystem's main commercial backer.
• Microsoft retired Cordova support from its App Center platform in 2022, before closing App Center itself in 2025.
• Ionic, the framework historically built on Cordova, develops and recommends Capacitor, its successor, as the official runtime since 2019.
• Usage has collapsed: according to industry developer surveys, the share of Cordova users was roughly divided by three between 2019 and 2023, and is not recovering.
• Maintenance depends on volunteers: every year, when Apple and Google tighten their requirements (new iOS and Android versions, minimum SDK levels required on the stores), the matching Cordova update arrives when it can.

What this means for your app in production

• Every iOS or Android update can break a plugin that nobody maintains anymore.
• Store requirements rise every year, and each compliance update becomes longer, more expensive and riskier.
• Developers who master Cordova are becoming rare, and new ones no longer learn it.
• The risk is not a sudden outage, it is erosion: fixes that get slower and more costly, until the day an update blocks publication.

The alternatives in 2026

• Capacitor: the successor designed by Ionic. Same principle of a web application wrapped in a native shell, modern tooling, and compatibility with a large share of Cordova plugins. It is the shortest migration path: most of the existing web code is preserved.
• React Native: a rewrite with truly native interfaces. More expensive, relevant when the application is at the heart of your offer and the user experience needs to move upmarket.
• The PWA (Progressive Web App): if store presence is not essential, a web application installable from the browser covers many business use cases, with no store publication and no Apple or Google review.

The PeakLab perspective

At PeakLab, a custom application development agency in Paris, we approach a Cordova application in production as an asset to protect, not a mistake to judge: at the time it was built, it was often the right choice. The reasonable approach has three steps. First, a short audit: which plugins are used, which are no longer maintained, what share of the web code is reusable. Then the choice of target: Capacitor when the existing code is healthy, which turns the migration into a few weeks of work rather than a rewrite; React Native or a PWA when the application deserves a redesign anyway. Finally, a step-by-step migration, with the application staying published and functional throughout the transition.

The decisive point in our view: the migration is the opportunity to regain control. Delivered and documented code, an automated publication pipeline to the stores, dependencies kept up to date and inventoried. The goal is not just to leave Cordova, it is to avoid recreating the same dependence somewhere else five years from now.

When to act

• Your Cordova application still works fine: that is precisely the right moment to plan, because nothing is on fire.
• An iOS, Android or store-requirement update has already required an emergency intervention this year.
• Your historical vendor can no longer find developers comfortable with the subject.
• A major functional evolution is planned: better to build it on the target technology than on one in retreat.

Three questions are enough to open the subject with your team or your vendor: how many Cordova plugins does the application use, and how many are still maintained? What would happen if Apple or Google tightened their requirements next quarter? What share of the code would be preserved with Capacitor? The answers sketch the migration's timeline and budget, while you still get to choose the moment.