What are the pros and cons of native apps and hybrid apps?

Making educated decisions is key to developing mobile applications. As a stakeholder, you must consider various elements to provide an effective and affordable solution. One of those aspects is the development approach, and many business people are curious whether they should opt for native or hybrid apps.

What are they?

Native applications operate on a single operating system. You must create a new version to move them to another operating system. Native iOS apps are written in Swift or Objective-C, whereas Android apps are written in Java.

Advantages of Native Apps

The primary advantage of native applications is that they provide the best user experience and performance because we can use all of the device’s capabilities, they offer functionalities exclusive to the operating system, and their runtime and response speed is superior to hybrid apps.

Remember that you’ll need at least two versions of the code in this case: one for iOS and one for Android. It would entail a more significant investment than required for the development of a hybrid app, which entails the creation and maintenance of two source codes as well as developers who are experts in each platform or operating system.

However, working in your native language has numerous advantages, including:

• Using the Xcode and Android Studio environments, you can work directly with technologies built by the operating system and, in Apple’s case, even the hardware.
• Access to the most recent platform updates, extensive documentation, and publications will assist you in resolving any issues and troubleshooting.
• They improve the application’s performance and appearance.
• Users penalise applications that do not take advantage of their devices’ performance and do not have the platform’s look and feel, so working with native frameworks may give us an edge in user scores.
• It offers better 3D content management or developing an Augmented Reality application, as performance is critical in this situation.
• They provide better integration of devices and external hardware.
• If you wish to employ Edge Computing, AI will run locally rather than on the cloud.

Cons of Native app

Despite all of the advantages we’ve just listed, there are still restrictions with native app development.

Let’s discuss them.

• Less versatility: Running natively compiled code on top of the OS is the strength of native apps, but it is also their biggest flaw. It is because their source code can only be utilised on a single platform and cannot be transferred to another.

Sadly, porting code to a different platform is not as simple as copying it. The logic of your app frequently needs to be rewritten and customised to the particular quirks and SDK of your target OS.

Additionally, manually performing this update will inevitably result in mistakes.

The problem is in changing the UI to work with the target OS rather than just getting the app to function. It must maintain the original’s user-friendliness and UX while blending in with the OS’s appearance and feel.

It would require extensive preparation and work. Sometimes it’s simpler to keep the original app’s appearance and feel.

Although conceivable, it still carries significant risk, and success tales are typically more the exception than the rule.

• More resources are required: In addition to providing less flexibility, building native apps for several platforms may cost more and take more time.

As you can see, developing for a single platform cost roughly the same as designing for multiple platforms. However, each new operating system significantly raises the costs.

The most prominent factor for this is that you must create multiple codes based on each OS for which you wish to develop the app.

All this necessitates the formation of separate teams with specialised knowledge.

Each team will then go through the same steps as the other—there is rarely a way to save time and money by combining them.

It would be a massive waste from a management standpoint.

Unsurprisingly, this will drive up your costs. With average development times ranging from three to nine months per app, you can see how it will extend your project timelines.

• More assistance and upkeep: Native apps are quite complex because each platform has a unique codebase. They need considerable time and effort to maintain because separate teams must work on and support each version. Although hybrid apps frequently share code across platforms to take advantage of the underlying hardware, a large portion of that code is native. Depending on your project, this could make your test suite more challenging. Many developers overlook that app costs do not end once the app is released. The majority of the work, in reality, gets completed during the maintenance phase.

• No assurance that applications will be approved: The play store or app store must approve the apps after they are built, which can be a drawn-out and laborious procedure for the app developer. Additionally, there is a chance that the application will be turned down.

Hybrid apps

The idea behind hybrid app development is to create a single code bar for several platforms. It is feasible to design communication between the platform and the web view using specific tools, making hybrid apps feel like native apps.

The hybrid app development is based on web technologies like JavaScript, CSS, and HTML. Following the development of the code, it is wrapped within a native app using cross-platform frameworks such as React Native. Even though hybrid apps are built with web technologies, they have the same feel and user experience as native apps.

Advantages of Hybrid Apps

• Less expensive: One of the distinguishing features of a hybrid app is that it uses web technology for application content, which simplifies the development process.
• Cross-platform compatibility: The main advantage of hybrid apps is that developers build one app and tweak it slightly so that it works on both platforms instead of building two apps.
• Rapid development cycle: Hybrid apps can be created quickly and easily. They require less maintenance than native apps. Reusability of one code for different operating systems cuts development time.
• Scalability: Hybrid apps are cross-platform apps that are simple to scale across platforms and operating systems.

The Drawbacks of Hybrid Apps

• Slow performance: Because hybrid apps are built on web technology, they are a little slower. Hybrid apps use mobile platforms such as Kendo, Onsen, Ionic, and Cordova; depending on the application, these platforms cause apps to take longer to function, resulting in performance loss.
• Poor UX: One of the significant drawbacks of a hybrid app is that it never provides the full native experience to the user. Better UX allows for greater customer engagement and the app’s future. The user experience must be flawless.
• Design is still an issue because various operating systems operate differently. The designer must adjust the style to accommodate different operating systems.
• Test complexity: Although hybrid apps share code across platforms to benefit from the underlying hardware, part of that code is often native in practice. This may make your test suite more challenging, depending on your project.

Final verdict: native app vs hybrid app

The bottom line is that everything is dependent on the budget. If you are tight on your budget, hybrid app development might be an excellent place to start. If not, the native app should be your choice.

Native apps are easier to support, scale, and provide more comprehensive functionality from a technological perspective. These applications offer native experiences by utilising native components of the device’s operating system. These apps are quicker, more secure, and provide excellent user interaction and navigation, despite being more expensive and having the option to only create one app at a time.

Hybrid apps might be the right choice for a more straightforward development approach, cost savings and compatibility across various platforms. Although they necessitate a little more understanding to integrate the solution together, as well as the use of a UI library to aid in the proper presentation of a user interface, those issues are well-known and can be easily overcome with the right hybrid app development framework.

Conclusion

The development of a native or hybrid app is all about making decisions; it begins with deciding on the type of app, its complexity, UI/UX design, and features. Each option should be well-reasoned, based on thorough market research, and aligned with business objectives. The project’s goals also determine the type of app chosen. In either case, success will be determined by a well-developed business plan and the development team in charge of idea execution. Depending on your needs, today’s global talent pool offers limitless opportunities for collaboration.

If you are looking for a simple app with some essential functions that can handle simple daily tasks, go for a hybrid app. But, if you want a more complex app that can fully use the device’s built-in features and handle complex tasks, then the native app is the best choice. The choice depends on you, and you can contact AKS Interactive Solutions Pvt. Ltd. to get guidance from a team of experts.

AKS Interactive Solutions Pvt. Ltd. is one of the leading Android and iPhone app development companies in India and has a team of experts who work on creating classic android and iOS platforms. We use all the latest techs, frameworks, and tools to build scalable applications.

If this sounds like the perfect solution for your app needs, look at our range of web app development services or reach out! Our team will be happy to discuss what would be the best fit for you and how we can additionally support you with your app development.