Native Apps Vs. Hybrid Apps: Which One to Choose?

Mobile app development has come a long way regarding approach, types, and technologies. Gone are the days when you had limits to what you could do in terms of functionalities, reach, and development methods.

Today, you can build specific apps for dedicated audiences or reach masses with a single app. This is because the choice of operating systems and platforms keeps changing among users.

You need to choose the right type of app development to ensure that you reach the right audience.

Native and hybrid apps are two of the most popular types of applications that people usually go for. However, it often becomes a point of confusion where they are not sure if a native app will be a suitable choice for them or if they should go for a hybrid one.

If you, too, are unable to make the decision and want to understand the core differences between a native app and a hybrid app, then this is the post for you. In this one, we are going to explore everything about native apps vs. hybrid apps.

Types of Applications that You Can Build for Your Business/Product

Before we dive into the differences between the types of applications that you can develop, let us take a look at all of them and understand what they are about.

► Native Apps

These applications are built individually for dedicated operating systems. With a native app, you can develop a highly optimized app that is closely compatible with the device’s features and resources, allowing you to deliver a seamless user experience.

► Hybrid Apps

These are highly flexible applications that work with different operating systems without having to be developed separately.

It uses a single codebase for all the platforms that you want to target. By taking the hybrid approach, you can easily build an app for different platforms without spending a lot of money.

► Web Apps

These are highly functional browser-based applications that deliver an app-like experience to the user without them having to install a dedicated application.

With a few tweaks here and there, you can go for web app development that is as optimized as a native app. There are two types of web apps that people usually opt for –

► Progressive Web Apps

These web applications use modern capabilities, enabling features like offline access, push notifications, hardware integration, and more.

► Responsive Web Apps

As the name suggests, these web applications are highly responsive and can adjust their layout based on the screen size of your device.

All these types of applications are useful for the users in one way or another. However, this also creates massive confusion about what route to take and which one to identify.

The majority of users are confused between native apps and hybrid apps, as web applications are generally not the first choice for every user.

That is because web applications, though they can get the job done, certainly lack a few features and functionalities that native and hybrid solutions can deliver.

This is also the reason why we will be drawing a comparison between native and hybrid apps in this post.

Native App Development: Definition, Advantages & Disadvantages

As mentioned earlier, native app development is platform-specific app development that allows you to build applications specifically made for an operating system.

Code for native application development is specifically written for one operating system so that it can seamlessly integrate with the hardware that supports the OS.

For instance, if you build a native application to target Android users, the code you write will not work for iOS users and vice versa. Not to mention, native applications do not work in web browsers.

Native app development uses platform-specific tools and programming languages to build the application.

Usually, a Java Development Kit is used for Android app development, and an iOS SDK or Swift is used for developing a native iOS application.

This approach uses dedicated design guidelines that are specific to the platform so that the final application can inherit existing device features and interact well with the hardware components.

Advantages of Native App Development

Using the native app development approach offers several advantages in both the development process and the final application process.

These advantages include –

• Highly Optimized

Native apps are highly performance-oriented and optimized for the best performance. This is because the code is written as per the requirements of the environment in which it will work. This makes the entire performance more suitable and optimized.

• Ease of Integration

Since native applications are built specifically for an operating system, they offer seamless integration with the native device features and functionalities. This integration adds to the convenience of the users, making the experience smoother and smoother.

• Advanced Security Measures

The security architecture for native apps has access to device security features, which strengthens the security of your application while keeping it intact on your device.

• Intuitive Experience

Native compatibility allows you to craft an intuitive user experience that not only blends into your device features but also makes it easier for the user to get used to the app navigation and features.

• Access the Latest Features

Updates to these apps are exclusive and can be rolled out irrespective of other operating systems; hence, rolling out new features is faster and easier in native app development.

Disadvantages of Native App Development

While there are different upsides to choosing native app development, there are some drawbacks too.

These disadvantages are –

• Increased Development Costs

The app development cost is significantly higher as it requires different resources for different platforms. Not to mention, it requires twice the budget if you plan to build native apps for both Android & iOS.

• Longer Time to Market

Since there are two applications that you have to build (minimum) to capture the smartphone market, it will take a longer time. This ends up delaying your application’s release.

• Makes Development More Complex

The development process is complex as two codebases are written, which in itself is time-consuming. Application maintenance becomes further complicated.

An Overview of Hybrid App Development

On the other hand, when we talk about hybrid mobile app development, these are more pocket-friendly and easier-to-manage applications that use a single codebase.

Unlike native app development, which targets a specific operating system, hybrid applications can be used on different platforms.

The codebase prepared once can be used to run the applications on multiple operating systems.

What this means is that you can code the entire application only once and then deploy it to run on both Android and iOS. The OS-friendly nature of hybrid applications makes them cost-effective, easier to deploy, and less time-consuming.

Hybrid app development usually uses the Ionic framework, which consists of web technologies including HTML, CSS, and JavaScript. Other than these, a hybrid app can be built using React Native and Xamarin.

Usually, if the application is built properly, an average user might not even identify if the application uses a hybrid framework.

However, there are certain limitations to which hybrid apps can interact with the hardware and native resources of the devices and operating systems.

Advantages of Hybrid App Development

As it is clear from the above description, hybrid app development brings along a series of advantages that make it a viable choice for several users.

Check out the advantages below –

• Cross-Platform Support

The biggest advantage that Hybrid app development offers is that it offers cross-platform support, which means a single developer can build the app for multiple operating systems. This saves a lot of time and resources.

• Cost-Effective Solution

Since the resources required to build the application are limited to a single team, and the final product targets a wider audience, it surely is a cost-effective solution for any application.

• Faster Time to Market

Applications can be released faster for multiple operating systems, as the time to develop the app is relatively shorter than building dedicated applications for different platforms.

• Write Once, Run Anywhere

Another advantage of using Hybrid app development is that it follows the write once, run anywhere approach for code. What it means all you have to do is invest in a single codebase that can be used to deploy builds, ready to run on different platforms.

• Easy to Maintain & Upgrade

Maintenance of a hybrid app becomes easier as all the changes and all the troubleshooting have to be done once and can be implemented by a single team, making the upgrade easier to roll out.

Disadvantages of Hybrid App Development

These advantages are highly favorable for any user looking to build a hybrid application that reaches the maximum number of users.

However, it certainly comes with disadvantages. What are these disadvantages? Let’s find out!

• Limited Compatibility

For any app to be completely compatible, it requires seamless integration with the device resources and hardware like cameras, gyros, and other sensors. However, a hybrid app has limited compatibility as it is unable to make the most of available resources.

• Performance Issues

Applications built on a hybrid framework can come across a few performance issues when compared to native apps, as they are more seamlessly integrated with the OS than native apps.

• Inconsistent User Experience

Hybrid applications often have UI inconsistencies if not developed with precision. These inconsistencies can be seen in navigation, default features, and more.

Native Apps vs. Hybrid Apps: How to Make Your Decision

After going through all the advantages and disadvantages of both native and hybrid applications, you might have an idea of the key differences between them. One is more performance-oriented, while the other is more focused on reducing cost and time to market.

Here is a clear comparison table between the two, which will help you identify the differences more clearly.

To sum it up,

• Native app development is best for projects that are performance-oriented and need complete access to the hardware and software of the respective device.
• Whereas, hybrid app development is highly suitable for a more balanced application with both native and web-based features.

Native vs. Hybrid: How Nimble AppGenie Can Help You Decide?

With all aspects of these approaches explained, you can now decide if your application needs Native app development or a Hybrid will work.

This directly brings the conversation to the understanding of the project. The better your developers understand your requirements, the better they can suggest a solution.

But that won’t happen unless you have an experienced team of developers with you. And that is where Nimble AppGenie can save the day! With decades of experience in mobile app development services, our experts are the perfect fit for any project you plan to execute.

Schedule a consultation with one of our experts and share your vision to understand how we can approach it.

More importantly, they can give you deeper insights by comparing Native apps vs Hybrid apps. You can accordingly take the decision and make the most suitable decision.

Conclusion

Native vs. Hybrid mobile apps have been an ongoing debate that keeps circling around one thing: the need for a project. Both of these types have their uses, advantages, and disadvantages.

While Native apps help you make the most of an operating system’s capabilities and resources, Hybrid apps offer cross-platform support to help you deploy your application to different platforms, faster. However, Native apps are costly, and Hybrid apps have a few performance limitations.

At the end of it all, it comes down to you and what type of compromises you are ready to make. The decision to choose the right type of mobile app also depends on how your development team guides you. Hence, you should be wise enough to choose the right team of experts.

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Niketan Sharma

Niketan Sharma is the CTO of Nimble AppGenie, a prominent website and mobile app development company in the USA that is delivering excellence with a commitment to boosting business growth & maximizing customer satisfaction. He is a highly motivated individual who helps SMEs and startups grow in this dynamic market with the latest technology and innovation.