December 8, 2023
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Unleashing the Power of Ionic’s Superapp SDK: A Closer Look at Ionic’s Supernova Superapp

Christine Perez

Product Marketing Manager

In the ever-evolving world of mobile app development, Ionic continues to push boundaries and deliver innovative solutions for enterprises. One such solution is the superapp—a mobile application that combines multiple services —like in-app payments, SSO, and localization—into one app experience. Superapps provide a seamless customer experience and scalable solution for engineering teams. We recently decided to put our money where our mouth is, so we developed the Supernova superapp—a business-to-employee (B2E) application designed to improve internal employee processes— to demonstrate these capabilities using our new product: the Superapp SDK.

In this blog post, we will explore the features and capabilities of Supernova and delve into the magic that makes it all possible.

The concept behind Supernova

At its core, Supernova is designed to cut the time employees take to navigate between internal-facing applications. Our app’s user-friendly interface allows employees to access a range of functionalities, from tracking time off to giving accolades to coworkers. Built using Swift for iOS, Supernova harnesses the power of Ionic and React for its mini apps, showcasing the flexibility and scalability to choose any JavaScript framework to build mini apps.

Built using Ionic’s Superapp SDK

A key factor that sets Supernova apart from building a superapp from scratch is the implementation of the Superapp SDK. This integration within Supernova brings several advantages to the table:

Instant updates. Developers can roll out real-time updates of its mini apps to thousands of devices for internal employees rapidly, ensuring a consistent and bug-free experience.

Enhanced user experience. As a user navigates from one mini app to another, the session information is effortlessly passed from the superapp to the corresponding mini app. The smooth transition between mini apps within the superapp environment creates a cohesive and intuitive user journey.

Flexibility and scalability. The Superapp SDK allows for the integration of various mini apps, built using different technologies, thereby providing developers with the freedom to choose the most suitable tools for each module. This also enables different development teams to work in parallel, scaling the superapp up as needed.

A glimpse into Supernova’s functionality

Let’s take a closer look at some of the features offered by Supernova.

Human Resources. Within the Human Resources mini app, employees can access essential information related to their work environment. This includes viewing time off requests, making vacation or sick leave requests, and managing other HR-related tasks.

People Perks. The People Perks mini app encourages a positive work culture by allowing employees to give accolades to their coworkers. This feature fosters a sense of appreciation and recognition within the organization.

Time Tracking: Supernova’s Time Tracking mini app enables employees to log their working hours efficiently. However, while building the app, a bug in the “Create New Entry” button was encountered. Thanks to the dynamic feature in the SDK that allows for instant updates, the team quickly identified and fixed the issue in the code, and within minutes, the emulator was updated, ensuring a seamless experience for users.

Beyond the Supernova superapp

Supernova is just one example of the countless ways enterprises can use Ionic’s Superapp SDK to build out their own superapp. Enterprises can bring together multiple services into one seamless mobile app experience for their employees or customers. Superapps not only enhance the performance of mobile apps, but also empower developers to deliver dynamic and scalable solutions for businesses of all sizes. Not to mention, businesses can enjoy the benefits of bringing a unique, unified app to users, which ultimately improves usage, retention, and user experience.

To learn more about how your industry can benefit from building a superapp using Ionic’s Superapp SDK, contact us for a demo.


Christine Perez

Product Marketing Manager