Hybrid vs Native App Development: Tips to Pick the Right One for Your Business

With researchers predicting that mobile app will generate roughly $188.9 billion in revenue in 2020, it is only to be expected to see companies rush to embrace and integrate mobile apps in their business strategies. However, their earnest efforts are often impeded by one crucial question: do you need a native app, or should you go with hybrid mobile application development? We described this as a vital question, for it plays a crucial role in deciding if an organization’s mobile strategy will succeed or come to naught.

While the layman isn’t concerned about the technology that drives their mobile devices, they are utterly conscious of their experience with them. Moreover, that is one of the central differences between native and hybrid app development. However, don’t get us wrong, there are many other significant differences between the two — the kinds that can make or break the project. So, let’s take a deep dive into some of the most fundamental differences between them to help you decide which one should be your pick.

1. Fundamentals: A native app is one that has been developed for a specific smartphone OS. Hybrid apps, on the other hand, behave like native mobile apps and yet their comparability with native apps is restricted to just the framework, i.e., basic controls, navigational components, and more.

2. Tools for development: Native apps for smartphones are typically built using either Swift or Objective-C for iOS. For Android phones, there’s Java. Whereas for hybrid, developers are generally known to make use of Appcelerator Titanium and Cordova or PhoneGap since they enable the development of CSS/JavaScript/HTML local files.

3. Compatibility: In the context of native apps, every platform necessitates not only a different skill set but also a different development process. It means ensuring the availability of even similar features on every platform can prove to be quite challenging. However, that isn’t a problem with hybrid apps since they’re compatible with a variety of platforms. So, to cut a long story short, one hybrid app will work across all the OS’ you are targeting.

4. Cost: As mentioned above, with native apps, you need to build a separate app for every platform on which you want to offer your app. It means that you will need multiple app developers for every version, which means additional costs. Meanwhile, in hybrid apps, the source code isn’t very different for each platform. It means a company that has opted for hybrid mobile application development needs just one developer to build the app they want. Also, you know what that means? Lots of saving your valuable monetary resources!

The native vs. hybrid debate isn’t new — it has, in fact, divided experts, developers, and businesses alike all over the globe. The choice, of course, must be driven by factors such as the business’ requirements and customers’ expectations, among other things. Nonetheless, it is hard to ignore that hybrid mobile application development seems to have a distinct edge over native app development — the advantages the former offers seem to outshine that of native app development easily.