Understanding Native, Hybrid And Cross-Platform Mobile App Development
Native.
Hybrid.
Cross-platform.
If you’ve ever googled custom mobile app development, you might have come across these terms, but do you know what they mean? And more importantly, do you know the difference between these approaches when it comes to developing software to launch a mobile app for your business? Don’t worry, we’ve got you covered.
This article will take you through these three core approaches to mobile app development, giving you an understanding of what they mean and the advantages and limitations of each to help you make a decision when it comes to building a mobile app that will deliver at a commercial level while keeping to the budget.
Understanding Native Mobile App Development
Native mobile app development refers to the process of building a mobile app that is tailored and dedicated to one particular operating system. A native mobile app is either developed exclusively for iOS devices or for Android devices.
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Advantages and Limitations of Native Mobile App Development
Many mobile app developers consider there to be many benefits to choosing the native mobile app development approach, which include:
Superior functionality compared with other app types
Enhanced control over the app’s design, look and feel
Improved user interface and user experience
Better compatibility with a mobile device’s features (cameras, sensors, push notifications, microphones, etc.)
Easier processes for updates and bug fixes
Increased scalability depending on the type of app being developed.
However, native apps also come with limitations. At Myth, we wouldn’t usually recommend the native approach for most app development projects for a number of reasons. A native app will only function on the type of device it’s been built for. This means that a client who opts for the native mobile app development approach could risk missing out on reaching a percentage of their target market by having an app that only works on a single mobile operating platform. Or, to ensure their native app is accessible across both platforms, they will have to invest in the development of two native apps, which would incur substantial additional costs and increased lead times. Successfully launching a native app for deployment across both iOS and Android platforms would require your mobile app development team to write unique code bases twice, effectively doubling the workload.
In our opinion, the limitations of the native mobile app development approach effect:
Time
Building two native apps for the same project requires a development team to write double the amount of code, therefore taking twice as much time to develop functional apps for both platforms. This increased lead time can significantly delay an app deployment date, as well as increase the time developers need to invest in updates or fixing bugs after the app has gone live.
Cost
Due to the technical requirements and increased labour, it’s significantly more expensive to develop native apps, which provide only a minimal difference in benefits compared with the cross-platform mobile app development approach. By developing natively you need to develop two apps, one for each store, keep in mind also the costs of updating and maintaining both apps as well are increased significantly.
In our opinion, choosing the native approach will provide some improvements in performance, however in most cases these are not essential for the functionality of the app. The differences between native and cross-platform mobile apps’ general functionality, usability and efficiency are incredibly subtle. If you work with an experienced cross-platform app development team who know what they’re doing, you won’t lose out on the benefits of the native approach while saving money and time.
Find out more about the potential costs of developing a mobile app on our blog.
Native Mobile App Development Framework Options
Native mobile apps are built using development tools and software specific to the chosen platform. For a native Android app, the best tools to use would be Kotlin or Java, whereas native iOS apps are most commonly developed using Objective-C or Swift.
For more details on choosing a native mobile app development framework, we cover everything you need to know in our article about the best programming languages for mobile app development.
Understanding Hybrid Mobile App Development
Hybrid mobile app development utilises the native features and functions of a device while running most of its user interface in an embedded browser component, combining native code with existing web technologies. Effectively, a hybrid mobile app blends a traditional app that can access a mobile device’s capabilities, combined with a progressive web app (PWA).
Most parts of a hybrid app appear to be operating natively but are in fact displaying web pages from a desktop site that have been adapted to a WebView display. When done well, hybrid mobile app development services will produce an app that is barely distinguishable from a native or cross-platform app. Hybrid apps are downloaded from the same app stores and are stored on mobile devices in the same way.
Advantages and Limitations of Hybrid Mobile App Development
When compared with other approaches, especially native, hybrid mobile app development is generally:
Simpler
Quicker
Less expensive
Another of the central benefits of choosing the hybrid mobile app development approach is that it will produce a piece of hybrid software that can function as a regular app on a user’s device and will function as a PWA that doesn’t require the user to download it in order to launch it. This significantly improves the accessibility to a wider demographic of users. Two user groups can use a hybrid app in different ways. One group can download the app to their phone and use it in the same way they would a traditional mobile app, while the other group can access it as guest users, with no need to download the application to their device.
Some mobile app developers consider hybrid apps to be less functional than native or cross-platform options, with longer loading times and poorer user experience. However, if you work with an established agency like Myth, which has experience as a hybrid mobile app development company, many of the potential downsides of hybrid apps can be avoided, with money and time saved.
Hybrid Mobile App Development Tools
Some of the most common hybrid mobile app development tools are Javascript, HTML and CSS codes, combined with native codes such as Kotlin or Swift. Utilising widely adopted, accessible web technologies like this means that developing a hybrid app is usually a quicker and less expensive process than native or cross-platform approaches.
The team at Myth used Ionic framework, which is one of the leading hybrid mobile app development tools, to develop a hybrid mobile app for the recruitment platform SeeMe Hired. This project involved integrating a web platform seamlessly with a downloadable mobile app to reach a wider audience.
Case Study: SeeMe Hired
Hybrid Mobile App Development for Established eCommerce Businesses Makes Sense
A 2020 study found that 74% of the top 50 American retail apps where hybrid apps. For most of these leading eCommerce players, opting for the hybrid mobile app development approach makes complete sense. Most large-scale online retailers will have already invested heavily in developing an eCommerce website, so integrating a hybrid app with their existing infrastructure saves time, labour and money without compromising on user experience.
For businesses with an established web platform that doesn’t need a back-end infrastructure built from scratch, developing a hybrid app that integrates with an existing website to offer native and web app functions could be the most cost-effective solution.
Whereas, if you’re running a business whose offering is delivered through the app and native phone functionality is required a cross platform approach might be a better fit. Discuss all options with your development team and they will be able to guide you appropriately.
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If you’re looking to develop an app, there are several considerations that you need to make in order to decide on the right development approach for your product. If you don’t know where to start, don’t panic - we can answer all your mobile app development questions, explain how a development project works and what to expect, and help you decide on the best solution for your needs; get in touch to find out more.
Understanding Cross-platform Mobile App Development
So, now you have an understanding of the native and hybrid approaches, what is cross-platform mobile app development?
Sometimes called ‘cross mobile app development’ or ‘multiplatform mobile app development’, cross-platform mobile app development refers to the development of software applications that are compatible with both of the major mobile operating systems, iOS and Android. Compared with a native mobile app, a cross-platform mobile app is built to function effectively and consistently on both mobile platforms.
In the past, a cross-platform mobile app development company would have to build two different native packages for iOS and Android to ensure the mobile app would function across different mobile platforms. However, this process has improved over time, and now the best way to develop cross-platform mobile apps efficiently (and more cost-effectively) is to develop mobile app software from a single code base that will be compatible with multiple mobile operating platforms.
Advantages and Limitations of Cross-Platform Mobile App Development
As a primarily cross-platform mobile app development agency, Myth is set up to deliver well-designed, highly functional cross-platform apps for a wide range of clients. While every app concept is different, we generally prefer the cross-platform approach for the majority of our client projects. The main reason for this is that both major operating systems can be developed for maintaining a single code base providing these benefits:
Less work, time and manpower to develop an app from scratch.
All future updates and bug fixes only need to be managed once for all device types.
The differences in UX, UI, and app functionality is minimal when compared with more costly and time-consuming native or hybrid approaches.
Cross-platform Mobile App Development Tools
At Myth, our development team consider the best cross-platform mobile app development tools and frameworks to be:
This framework was developed by Facebook and has become perhaps the most popular cross-platform mobile app development tool since its release in 2015. It uses Javascript which is widely considered to be the best language to develop cross-platform mobile apps efficiently. (Check out our article on why we love React Native to learn more.)
The Flutter framework was released by Google in 2017 and has proven to be a great platform for seamless multi-platform app building, making it one of the best cross-platform mobile app development solutions we’ve explored.
You might have heard that app developers often recommend Xamarin as a cross-platform app development tool. It’s not often our first choice at Myth due to certain restrictions around UI meaning that, in our opinion, the Xamarian framework doesn’t suit most of the cross-platform mobile app development projects we work on.
Examples of Myth’s Cross-Platform Mobile App Development Projects
At Myth, we have a well-established understanding of mobile app development, how projects best operate, and can be described as cross-platform mobile app development
agency. We know how to develop cross-platform mobile apps that will provide a return on investment and perform well at a commercial level.
Check out our work with Juice Jar, Indigo, Deep RiverRock, and Newell Stores for examples of successful cross-platform mobile apps developed by the Myth team.
Case Study: Juice Jar
Summary
By now, you hopefully will better understand the native, hybrid and cross-platform app development approaches. While each comes with its benefits, and its downsides, and every app development project is different, at Myth, our preferred approach is most often cross-platform. Developing an app from a single codebase that’s compatible with the two biggest players in the mobile app sector, iOS and Android, saves you (and us) time, labour, and, ultimately, money. Cross-platform design, development, and deployment are smoother and more efficient, providing you with an excellent product on time that’s able to perform commercially, reach a wider audience, and make a lasting impact.
Of course, cross-platform mobile app development is not always the right solution for your business needs and we’re always flexible. If you have questions or concerns, we’re here to answer queries and offer expert guidance at every stage of working with you, from meeting in an initial discovery call to providing post-project support through our Myth Support service.
To learn more about the mobile app development sector, check out our blog. We discuss our top tips, favourite trends, preferred tools, and much more.