Native and Hybrid App Development: Which is A Better Approach?

Mobile apps are considered one of the most powerful business tools today. Most companies go for mobile app development for their business to gain customer loyalty. A mobile app lets a business to communicate directly with its customers. In-app purchases, advertisements, promotions, etc. have a greater influence on customers than social media ads, roadside banners, email marketing, etc. Considering these benefits, businesses decide to build their own business app. However, the challenge they face is to choose between Native and Hybrid app development.

While choosing the platform for app development, you should consider the factors like:

1. The objective of building the mobile app
2. Features in the app
3. Target audience
4. Decided budget
5. Speed of development

Native app development is a great option when you want an app that provides higher performance, that takes full advantage of OS features, better user experience, etc. Many large businesses have many of the features developed in Native like Facebook, Pinterest, Swiggy, Uber, etc.

However, Hybrid app development is the best choice when you have limited budgets and want the app to function on different platforms at the same time.

Let us have a detailed look into both Native and Hybrid app development along with their pros and cons.

Native App Development

A native app is created for a specific platform or operating system (like Android or iOS). These apps are coded in a particular programming language which can be supported only by a particular platform. For example, Objective C, Swift, etc. are used for iOS platform and Java, Kotlin, etc. are used for Android. Native apps can provide high performance by leveraging the latest technologies and hardware features.

Pros:

• Native mobile apps are fast, reliable and provide better performance. They can also work in an offline mode, unlike hybrid apps.
• These apps have the ability to connect directly to hardware features like cameras, microphones, etc. of mobile devices. These apps provide a robust hardware-software interaction. So, there is no need for additional tools or plugins.
• Native apps can be made more secure and they support the protection of sensitive data. Due to this advantage, most businesses prefer Native app development.
• In a native app, one doesn’t need to compromise on UI/UX compatibility. These apps are focussed on a single platform so the UI/UX design can be made as per the expectations of the target audience and customers.
• They also have an added advantage of push notifications.

Cons:

• Native mobile apps require different codes for every platform which is time-consuming. These apps require more effort for maintenance as well.
• For creating different codes for different platforms, more numbers of Native app developers are required which means more investment of money. It is costly as compared to hybrid apps.

Hybrid App Development

Hybrid mobile apps are a combination of web and native apps. They are created using web-based technologies like HTML, CSS, JavaScript, etc. With a few changes, these apps can look like native apps.

Pros:

• In Hybrid app development, a single code covers both platforms- Android and iOS. So, these apps are simpler to build and test.
• These are easier to maintain as the updates and changes will be done simultaneously on both platforms.
• Single codebase reduces the overall costs. Companies going for these apps can make huge savings as a small team of professionals is required for development.
• A single app can address users on different platforms.
• These apps have a faster delivery time as compared to native apps.

Cons:

• Hybrid apps aren’t performance-oriented like native apps. Also, they depend on different native plugins to be connected with the features of devices.
• These apps require more effort because making a single app to work smoothly on different platforms is quite tedious.
• Hybrid app framework needs a constant internet connection or else some functionality won’t work properly when the users lack an internet connection.

When to go for a Native or Hybrid app?

Native Apps: If your requirement is a performance-based app having rich features, high reliability and good design, then this platform is the best option.

Hybrid Apps: If you want simple and content-oriented apps, also, if you have a tight budget and want the mobile app for both platforms in less time, you should go for a Hybrid app. They are also a best suit for MVP model as you can test your app on several platforms in low budget.

Conclusion:The pros and cons of both Native and Hybrid apps mentioned here can help you make the right choice. Both of these mobile app development approaches are apt and can be opted based on your business requirements. You can take into account different criteria like your budgets, target audience, technologies, etc. for a precise decision.

If you are interested in developing professional mobile apps, get in touch with Biz4Solutions. We have great expertise in building both native and hybrid mobile apps. Feel free to contact us for any assistance.