Mobile Apps are now a necessity for all companies, irrespective of the industry. If you’re planning to develop a mobile app that acts in the same way as your company online and increases your digital exposure, you will have heard of platforms like Native vs Hybrid vs Cross-Platform application development. Each of these platforms or approaches comes with its own advantages. The question is now a million dollars which option to pick among these three?
This article will provide helpful tips to help make the right choice. However, let me make sure you know that it is largely dependent on your company and customers.
Native Apps: Overview
Native apps are created specifically on specific platforms. They utilize their native OS of the platform as well as specific programming languages for the platform. Since these applications were designed to work on a specific platform, they are able to take maximum benefit of the specific software for your device and hardware, thereby improving users’ experience.
Benefits of Native Apps
- Native apps use simpler code when compared to hybrid and cross-platform applications, which makes them quicker. The majority of the elements in apps are integrated within the framework that help the apps to load quicker.
- The user experience is improved when native apps are used since they harness the full power of both software & hardware.
- Native apps are very secure since they have been designed in consideration of the vulnerabilities of the platforms they are designed for. There is less chance of viruses and bugs to attack these applications.
- Native apps are popular for their offline capability that makes them perfect in areas having connectivity issues. This is a huge benefit as far as the app’s usability.
Cross-Platform Apps: Overview
People who aren’t experts often think of cross-platform and hybrid apps as one. There’s a lot of distinctions between the two frameworks. In contrast to hybrid apps which rely on web technology, Cross platform application development is via non-web technologies , such as Xamarin, React Native cross platform, & Flutter. They use the concept of code shareability, where code for one platform could work on other platforms, thereby reducing cost of development.
Benefits of Cross-Platform Apps
- In the development of cross-platform apps, reused code improves the efficiency and productivity of the app, resulting in a quicker development process.
- Since Cross-platform application development code is reused, they result in a lower cost of development when the application is used on different platforms.
- Cloud-friendly apps for cross-platforms are easily integrated into cloud services using one source code.
- Cross-platform apps are less complicated & less expensive to maintain compared to native apps, & even hybrid apps.
Hybrid Apps: Overview
Hybrid applications are a mix of web-based solutions and native app design. They bring the two best practices to deliver rich user experiences. A typical hybrid application consists of two parts: a backend program that runs the application, and the native viewer, which is downloadable.
Pros of Hybrid Apps
- Hybrid apps are more efficient in terms of time to market since they are less difficult to develop in comparison to native applications.
- Because these applications use popular programming languages, they’re simpler and less expensive to maintain.
- Hybrid applications aren’t costly which is a huge benefit for startups and small-sized businesses who don’t have huge budgets.
- Hybrid app framework is flexible and developers are able to create apps for different OS and browsers with this framework for development.
Native vs Hybrid vs Cross-Platform
Performance
Performance of an App is the primary factor that can enhance the user experience to an enormous degree. Native apps are able to efficiently explore the advanced capabilities of smartphones, such as networking, memory management or wireless connection points and so on. While this best cross-platform app development might provide similar services, however, native apps are the real winners in this regard. In addition, hybrid and cross-platform applications aren’t able to tap into the full potential of smartphones. This is due to more framework-based support in order to offer greater features at the same time.
Security
In the case of native app Vs cross-platform apps Vs hybrid apps, in regards to protection, native apps have numerous security options. This makes it simple for developers to use security features like encryption of files, & smart fraud detection in the core OS libraries. They also provide absolute security for the apps. In the case of startups, the main concentration is on developing costs in addition to time for the market. Cross-platform application development & hybrid app framework development are given a greater demand. When their apps are stable and well-known on the market, they may eventually move to native apps to ensure safety throughout the application.
Development Tools & Library Support
The three different development methods have distinctive sets of libraries and tools. For example the Native approach has powerful tools such as AppCode, Xcode, & Android studio, which can do amazing things. However, powerful tools such as Ionic, Apache Cordova, & Visual Studio come to the help of a hybrid approach. But, cross-platform users also benefit from powerful tools such as React Native cross platform, Flutter, & Xamarin. It is evident that every platform has enough capabilities and we aren’t able to come to any conclusion about a single winner in this particular segment.
Customization & UX
70% of customers claim they’ve dropped their carts as a result due to a poor user experience. 85% of smartphone customers say they are more likely to continue shopping if they’re experiencing an enjoyable user experience. Customers today are more demanding of brands and an excellent user experience during their journey with apps, is the very first thing they’re looking for in businesses. This suggests that the total customer retention rate is solely based on the experience that users get from the mobile apps.
Delivering personalization, customization and improved user experience is the goal that businesses must work on. In the case of native mobile app development and cross-platform creation, native applications offer more UI capabilities. This is because they use pre-built libraries and interface components and you can customize them. Thus, opting for developing native apps is your most effective option in terms of customization & UX.
Development Costs
The main concern of any new business is their budget- they want an advanced and modern mobile app created within their budget. If that’s the case, startups that have a low budget are unable to afford a native application. Cross-platform application development is the most suitable option to make. It allows developers to create a single source code that they can later transform into an OS-based app. Additionally, the development of cross-platform apps requires comparatively less effort & resources.
Final Say
Whatever sector that you work in, businesses must make investments in a mobile application design approach perfectly suited to their business needs, their nature, & expectations of customers and their needs.
You can choose to use the best cross platform app development company depending on the specific needs of your business. To create a strong but modern application, businesses have to identify their requirements initially. When they are clear about that, find the appropriate platform for development suitable for meeting all these needs.
In comparing Native vs Hybrid vs Cross-Platform application development, each comes with its pros and cons. You must think about the larger picture and comprehend what you intend to achieve with your application. It can help in creating an innovative and engaging mobile app. You can sell the app and then eventually get to the top in time.
