Native vs Hybrid Mobile Apps Development

For those of you who want to build a mobile app for your business, especially ones that are just starting to learn mobile app development, you may have across some different question during your preliminary research. They seem to be very confused about the concepts of native and hybrid app development.

1.0  What is Native Mobile Development?

Native mobile development is the process of creating mobile applications for specific devices or platforms. The native application is only suitable for one platform. It may be an operating system, or it may be a series of devices that make use of all the functions of the device.

For example, we take the application developed by Android Studio as an example. It can only run on Android, not on other devices. Similarly, you need to encode on XCode to make the application executable on Apple devices.

An example would be iPhone’s Camera app, which we can’t install on Android.

2.0  What is a Web-Based Application?

Before moving on to hybrid app development, you need to understand this. In simple terms, a web-based application is an application that can run on a web browser – for example, Google Drive and Google sheets.

They can execute on every device given that the device supports the browser.

A web-based application is written with the help of HTML, CSS, and JavaScript – just like a website.

3.0  What is Hybrid App Development?

A hybrid app has both native and web-based components. Its core consists of HTML, CSS, and JavaScript, but later on, it is embedded into an application with the help of native-like components.

Some examples of Hybrid App would be Instagram and Uber. With a hybrid app, you can use the application as if it is a web browser. But still, it will be an application.

They run in WebView – which is also known as a browser embedded in an application. You need to add native plugins on the code to access native features.

Most Hybrid Applications are cross-platform applications, meaning that, in contrary to a native app that only works on a specific platform, hybrid applications can work on multiple Operating Systems.

4.0  Is There any Difference Between Hybrid App Development and Cross-Platform Applications?

You will find different answers regarding this on the internet. However, the difference lies in the meaning of their names.

A cross-platform app is an app that can run on multiple Operating Systems with a single coding. On the other hand, the term ‘hybrid app’ is used to denote an app between native and web applications. This means a hybrid app is a cross-platform app if it can run on multiple devices. On the other hand, a cross-platform app isn’t necessarily a hybrid app if it doesn’t have a web component.

5.0  Is Native or Hybrid App Better?

Picture Source from : mindinventory.com

To answer this, we have to look at a detailed comparison between native and hybrid apps.

Reasons Why Native Apps are Better than Hybrid Apps:

1# Performance

Native applications have a better performance in terms of processor use and speed because native code is faster than HTML and Javascript. This is why developers prefer native app development for HD games and graphic/ processor extensive applications.

2# Better Use of System Components

A Native application is closer to the hardware. Thus, they make the best use of the hardware resources available.

Say you are building an application for an iPhone. With native development, you can go all out, making the best use of the high-quality camera, speakers and graphics that are available in the device.

You would have to sacrifice the performance a little bit if you wanted to run your app on other devices that don’t have as good hardware as the iPhone.

3# UI and Responsiveness

Doesn’t using an iPhone give you a certain kind of feeling? The same goes for Android. A native app will look very matching with the device. Don’t think it is a basic thing, this is because about 21% millennials have deleted a mobile application because it didn’t look good on their home screen

Another is the responsiveness factor. A native app has been built for a specific kind and size of the screen. So, you have full control of where to place your touch elements so that it will be comfortable for the user. Also, the scroll will work well.

4# App Updates and Personalization

This one combines with the previous point of responsiveness. You can focus on a device with the best update tools. So, you can tend better to user reviews.

5# Security

With access to all the native features and components while coding, you will understand data protection better. Thus, native apps tend to be more secure than hybrid applications

Reasons Why Hybrid Apps are Better than Native Apps:

1# Code Reusability and Ease

In the case of native applications, you would have to code separately for every platform, and both development time and costs would pile up. But in the case of a hybrid app, your app will run independently on every operating system.

2# Works on every operating system

Unlike similar local products, the hybrid application can run on iOS and Android operating systems. This means that if you want your app to be available on both the Apple App Store and Google Play Store, you don’t need to build the same app twice.

You can reach users from different demographics around the world. You don’t have to worry about marketing nightmares, just try to determine which operating system to develop based on your target audience. Both can be started at the same time.

This is critical to your company’s brand awareness strategy. Ultimately, your availability on both platforms will make your application grow and prosper easily. You will get more downloads, which can translate into increased revenue.

These downloads will also help you get more ratings and reviews on various app stores, all of which will affect your search ranking. The higher the search ranking, the greater the download volume.

3# A Native Experience

It isn’t to say that hybrid apps look entirely out of theme for devices. They still have what a Native UX would offer. Furthermore, you can shift the app on different platforms without confusing changes in designs.

4# Easier Updates

In the case of a native application, even if updates were effective, they were not efficient. Coding on different platforms would be time-consuming. For hybrid apps, you can easily update the app for every different platform at once.

Ask why it is essential; there have been numerous examples of applications performing better on Android and not on iOS and vice versa. Building a hybrid app will avoid such a situation.

6.0 Which is Better Hybrid or Native App?

Hybrid apps are easy to build, but native apps perform better and are more intact with the device metal. The decision of native or hybrid app development also depends on the coder. There are multiple ways of writing code, and a skilled person can make a hybrid app perform as good as a native app. So, you develop your coding skills and go with what you think is better.

7.0  Which Framework is the Best for Hybrid App Development?

Here are some of the best frameworks for Hybrid App Development:

React Native

React Native comes from Facebook, you can use React and JavaScript to write application code. There are many components and plugins, and you can easily copy the code base between iOS and Android. First, the platform may be a little difficult to understand. Their community is large, and you can get many important resources to learn. And yes, React Native is free.

Xamarin

Xamarin comes from Microsoft and has received many praises as a hybrid application framework. Their community has more than 1.4 million coders. In addition, built-in Xamarin applications tend to have a more native feel than other frameworks. The disadvantage is that even if it is free for sole developers and startups, companies have to pay a lot to use their features.

Framework 7

With Framework 7, you can use HTML, CSS and JavaScript to create excellent hybrid mobile applications. Its UI looks good, and the work is fun. The customization of screen components and widgets is simple, and many of these elements can help you create feature-rich applications. Moreover, it is independent of any third-party libraries. Framework 7 does not have any license fees.

Adobe PhoneGap

Adobe PhoneGap comes with a “build” feature-a cloud service that allows you to compile applications without installing the SDK. It is an easy-to-learn hybrid application builder that can run on Windows, iPhone and Android. In addition, a simple understanding of HTML, CSS and Javascript will also help you build applications. In addition, it is open source and the community is large. Therefore, you can find many tutorials about it on the Internet.

Ionic

Ionic was originally built as an Angular-based system (it’s a platform) to kick the old jQuery mobile framework. Understanding UI components is easy and well designed. Solo developers can use Ionic for personal use for free, but the Pro version may lack some features, which costs money. All in all, this is an excellent framework with a large number of coders.

Flutter

The dart-based Flutter from Google is a free open source platform for building apps. The interface is easy, there are multiple assistive widgets, and it can stand side by side with Xamarin when talking about the native feel of the apps. Also, features like hot reloading speed up the development time.

Flutter was initially released in May 2017, but it has already made the list of the 50 most active repositories on GitHub. That alone shows its popularity and the preference of many coders around the world.

Conclusion

There are many frameworks for hybrid application development. The most important thing is to get a sense of direction-you must have a good idea and know what you are doing. Because after all, what matters is the code.

In addition, you need to know which development is best for you. If you want the best quality, build on the native application framework, but if you are looking for a simpler and more economical method, you can do hybrid application development.

Now you had understand hybird and native mobile application development, and also frameworks. Want to own a mobile apps?

Contact us we will help you to figure out more.

Article Source from : mobileapps.com, buildfire.com