During the process of mobile application development for your business, you will get many options. Two of those most common and important options, you have to choose from, will be hybrid and native mobile application development.
Both options will seem great, but there will be many different things you need to keep your eye on while choosing an approach for your mobile app. To make this less confusing for you, we will tell the difference between hybrid and native mobile application.
What is a hybrid mobile application?
The hybrid mobile application is a type of application which has a combination of elements from native and web applications. It is a web application in a native shell. They run inside a native container and are written using JavaScript, HTML, and CSS.
The hybrid mobile application allows developers to use a single set of codes for various platforms. Some popular mobile apps that use the hybrid approach are Instagram, Uber, and Evernote.
Advantages of hybrid mobile application development
From affordability to easy integration, with hybrid applications, you get flexibility and many other benefits, which are suitable for a mobile app for business.
Some of the advantages are listed below.
Faster to develop: Hybrid mobile application development is faster than native mobile application development, as developers need only a single code base.
Cost-effective: It is a cost-effective option as the developer doesn’t need to deal with each platform separately.
Easy integration: Hybrid mobile apps provide hassle-free integration. It is easier to use with some important mobile phone features such as GPS and messaging.
Cross-platform support: The biggest benefit you get with hybrid mobile application development is cross-platform compatibility. A developer just needs to write a single code base for every platform.
Easy to update: In terms of adding new features and updates, a hybrid mobile app is a cost and time-saving option. On the other hand, with native apps, you have to update the app for every operating system.
Disadvantages of hybrid mobile application development
Like everything else, hybrid mobile application development also has its pros and cons. While it gives you a long list of advantages, it also gives you a few drawbacks as well.
User experience: Hybrid apps have cross-platform compatibility. That is why you get poor user experience with them. They are less polished and slower, running a higher performance app with hybrid mobile application development is often irritating.
Limited native features: In a hybrid mobile application, you have access to only a limited number of native features.
Debugging: Debugging in a hybrid mobile application is not an easy process, as the tester has to run it on each platform. Finding and fixing errors in a hybrid application is also very difficult.
What is a native mobile application?
The native mobile application is a smartphone application that is developed using a specific programming language for a specific operating system, such as Java for Android and C for IOS.
The two main platforms, those native apps are developed for, is Apple IOS and Google Android. Native apps have the advantage of using the latest available technology.
Advantages of native mobile application development
When it comes to native mobile application development, there are a lot of reasons why it is a suitable approach for a mobile app. Each reason is an important factor to determine its usability for the current generation.
High performance: In terms of performance and speed, a native mobile application is your best bet. Native mobile applications perform better, and they are also much faster in comparison to a hybrid mobile application.
Good user experience: Native mobile applications provide a good user experience to its users, as they are developed keeping users of a specific operating system in mind.
More secure: Another great feature of native mobile application development it that they are much more secure than hybrid apps.
More available features: Native apps have access to many mobile phone features, if your app requires a lot of mobile features such as camera, GPS, messaging, and many other important features the native is the right fit.
Disadvantages of native mobile application development
Just like hybrid mobile application development, native mobile apps also have some drawbacks. These drawbacks often lead businesses to not choosing it for mobile application development.
High cost: Native mobile application development is a costly affair, as developers need to build many similar apps for each operating system.
Time-consuming: It takes a lot of time to develop a native mobile application, as separate codes need to be written for each platform.
Difficult to maintain: Native apps are difficult to maintain because, in case of an update, a developer needs to update the app for each platform separately.
Conclusion
You can see that they are very little similarities between hybrid and native mobile application development. It entirely depends on you, which approach suits you the best. While making this decision, you need to give each factor mentioned above your attention, as it will help you make a better and beneficial decision.
