Mobile App Development should be decided accordingly. Before making a decision, you should consider many factors to create a robust and cost-effective solution. Because of that, a question that is quite popular among startups arises, which one is better between Native applications and Hybrid applications.
Difference between Native app and Hybrid app
The first difference is that Native apps are developed for a specific platform like iOS or Android. Diving deeper into the technicalities, Native apps are built with programming languages that are officially supported by the platform. For Android, the languages are Java and Kotlin, while for iOS it is Objective-C and Swift.
What about hybrid apps? They are created with the help of web technologies like JavaScript, CSS, and HTML which are combined together. So technically, hybrid apps are websites that are embedded into native apps to look and function like them. However, hybrid apps take advantage of cross-platform capabilities and use a single codebase to cover multiple platforms, as opposed to native apps. Both native and hybrid apps can be distributed well through official markets like App Store and Google Play.
Another difference is that native apps are built specifically for one platform, while hybrid apps can work across multiple platforms and work pretty well even if it’s a website at its core. Some software development services can be very useful for you.
Pros and cons of hybrid apps
This app was originally a website packaged into a native app. However, when it comes to accessing native features, hybrid apps must use a special API.
Hybrid app development is considered suitable for content-focused products. However, if you need something complex, this can dramatically increase expenses and is also impossible to implement.
Advantages of hybrid apps
Works on multiple platforms
Cross-platform capabilities can be a deciding factor for many startups who are choosing between native or hybrid apps. Hybrid apps can run on Android and iOS with just one codebase.
This is good news for start-ups whose main goal is to target as many audiences as possible where you don’t have to build apps for every platform as in the case of native apps. What’s more, they don’t have to decide which platform to build first because a wide reach can be achieved with a single solution.
Faster to build
It’s less time consuming to build hybrid apps compared to native ones. Developers do not need to create a new codebase for each platform. In addition, the manufacturing and testing process is easier to some extent and your QA technician will need less time to ensure a high-quality, bug-free product.
Easier to change and update
Because of the single codebase, your development team doesn’t have to work with each platform separately to, say, change the placement of some elements. It’s enough to make a change once and it will be applied to all platforms on which your hybrid app works.
Comparing hybrid versus native apps, bug fixes and code additions can be done more easily in a hybrid app. At least from a user experience point of view. Users don’t need to download the latest version; all your user apps will be automatically updated. This is a fairly common situation for the IT industry and hybrid applications are more flexible in this regard. If any issue occurs with the page loaded from the server, the developer can fix it and the user will get the updated version the next time they launch your app. Using a mobile app development services can be very helpful too.
Disadvantages of hybrid apps
Internet connection
Hybrid apps require a constant internet connection to provide users with various features. You may face certain difficulties while implementing offline access to some of its functions. Hybrid apps take more time to load all their elements and, this can affect the loading speed of the app.
That’s the reason why the hybrid approach is perfect for content-oriented applications. They are quite simple and are not burdened with complex functions that have to work quickly.
Limited ability
Due to the nature of the hybrid mobile app architecture, they rely on plugins to access the device’s built-in features. The disadvantage of such a method is that the plugin may be outdated or unreliable. In addition, developers may need to create their own plugins if there is no ready-made solution that allows to access certain parts of the device functionality you need.
The need for native app developers
The hybrid application development approach is still unable to solve the various functional problems that form the basis of native development. Yes, sometimes you do need a native developer as part of your team to build a quality product.
Pros and cons of native apps
Native apps are built specifically for mobile operating systems. Native apps can enhance and fine-tune the user experience within the operating system. Let’s take a more detailed look at the advantages and disadvantages of native apps.
Advantages of native apps
User experience
Mobile developers and UX designers can focus their efforts on tailoring app functionality to a single platform that has its own design language, unique elements, and set of gestures that allow users to navigate the interface more intuitively and better understand the functionality of your app.
In addition, native apps can take full advantage of the capabilities of the offline mode. Developers may face many problems when implementing offline mode on hybrid apps.
High performance
Applications built and optimized for a particular platform can demonstrate an unusually high level of performance. Developers take care of battery and memory consumption to achieve decent results.
However, native apps run fast not only because of the optimization but also the code itself. It works faster because it is written in a programming language that is supported by the platform by default.
Complete functionality
If you’re looking for reasons why native apps are better, we have to stress that they have full access to the database, hardware features of the device. Apart from that, its functionality is not limited to plugins or other third-party tools.
Personalization
Native development is the only way to keep design at a high level and provide a great experience to all users of your product, whether on Android or iOS.
Lack of native apps
Development costs
The native application development process is complex and requires the participation of more qualified staff. That’s why, you can expect quite a large outlay. Because qualified native application development staff in Indonesia is still relatively rare and expensive.
Development time
This kind of application takes more time to build. If you need apps for both platforms and need them quickly, you better think about hybrid development.
