Overview
Firstly, app development itself is a complex topic which companies and organizations try to achieve. This is with due respect to the different kinds of technologies that are present in the IT market. These technologies help developers and coders make this possible. Secondly, it depends on what system requirements you are trying to meet. Apps seem to be everywhere, it has taken over the market of smartphones. With now over 800 million active users having smartphones in India, this number will continue to rise over a billion by the end of 2021. Let us compare and contrast Native App VS Hybrid App.
Particularly in the case of smartphones, manufactures are trying to squeeze every possible feature into their phones. This is needless to say that even the same is happening in the world of smartphone apps. Developers and designers are trying every level of their bit to add unique and exquisite features to their smartphone apps. Developers and designers in their conquest to do good to their apps they overthink and overdo the feature set that leads to a flimsy design for their app. Subsequently, newer technologies and possibilities are hitting the market with more and more benefits and advantages to app makers and designers. These advantages should leverage the overall design and functioning of smartphone apps.
What’s in a smartphone app?
Firstly, a smartphone application, short for an app is nothing but a piece of developed software that provides and offerers functionality that controls the smartphone. The app provides unique and exquisite features that are true to the app. This helps the user solve his daily problems in real time. Now with that out of the way, there are many techniques to design and develop apps.
We are going to talk about two specific techniques that app developers use and these are Native and Hybrid apps (Hybrid App vs Native App).
What are Native Apps?
A native app seems to be an app that developed specifically using the native features and functionalities of the operating system. Under the hood, the app is using the software development kit. This kit was specifically designed to use the full potential of the device or smartphone. The native app can access the native features and functionalities of the smartphone. Namely accessing the contacts, reading the SMS messages, accessing the camera, access to data connections and many more.
These features and functionalities offer the app the true potential use for the smartphone. Native apps designed using Android studio or similar technologies. These technologies provide the full functionality to the app. Typically, the native app designed and created using the underlying hardware. Particularly, native apps can access any feature supported and provided by the smartphone. Particularly, the native apps control what the app can do using the capabilities of the smartphone.
The native app created with the sole purpose of helping the user deal with the problems faced when he or she uses the phone. Native app supported by the android operating system and provides full functionality to the app. Native apps are in a way fully compatible with the smartphone environment and provide new capabilities to it.
Advantages of Native apps
Native apps come with their own share of advantages or benefits. These benefits leveraged by using the native environment of the smartphone such as the android or iOS platform.
- Native apps can access any feature of the smartphone.
- It can do everything that a smartphone is capable of doing
- Native apps are high performance in nature and come down to the hardware interaction of the phone.
- Many capabilities such as GPU access or CPU processing access can be done using these apps.
- Native apps can easily outperform any other app technology that boasts to create apps on the platform.
- Native apps can be used as offline apps as well
Disadvantages of Native apps
The native app also comes with its own share of disadvantages as well
- Native apps incur the highest amount of cost to design and create
- These apps take more time and efforts to be developed
What are Hybrid Apps?
So that we have seen what Native app has to offer. Lets see what hybrid apps are bringing to the table.
Apps created using HTML, CSS, and JavaScript technologies called hybrid apps. These apps typically make use of a wrapper that renders the HTML page used by the app. If you have a requirement to keep the cost of the app as low as possible then you should opt for developing a hybrid app. A hybrid app takes less development time as well as efforts to create the app. As there is not much work involved. These apps require an active internet connection or a data connection, If caching is used then these apps can also be used as offline apps as well.
The amount of time and money that is invested to make a hybrid app is much less and smaller compared to the time and efforts required to make a native app. Hybrid apps can take access of native features as well similar to what native apps can do. Hybrid apps approach should be used only when the cost and budget factor need to be as low as possible. This should be also used the time is a crucial factor and needs to market well.
Advantages of Hybrid apps
- The cost required to develop a hybrid app is less compared to native app.
- The time required to develop a hybrid app is also less compared to native.
Disadvantages of hybrid apps
- Hybrid apps can offer similar native app performance. But is still miles away when it comes to raw performance
- The hybrid app doesn’t seem to feel robust when it comes to accessing device specific features.
Also Read: 4 Tips for Outsourcing Mobile App Development Projects
What to use when?- Native App vs Hybrid App
When you have a time constraint for the app that needs to be developed, then you can go with the hybrid app approach. Hybrid apps are known to facilitate great time to market options when it comes to quickly launching an app. As and when you gain popularity and your app idea expands, you can gain funds and then invest into a native app design that will emulate the hybrid app one. Take for example the popular social media giant Facebook. When Facebook first launched it was using a hybrid app approach. It used to provide a wrapper in which the app was rendered and used by the public.
If you intend to invest your time and money into having that raw performance such as you need to design a game that requires high amount of processing power. You should go for a native app design. Native app offers better control of your hardware functionalities than hybrid apps, so if you want to have better control of your smartphone, then go the native route. Say for example if you want to develop an e-commerce application that can sync which store you visit and makes use of GPS, then a native app would be a much better option here.
Native Apps VS Hybrid Apps- Direct Comparison
| Native Apps | Hybrid Apps |
| Native apps conform to a single operating system | Hybrid apps conform to multiple operating systems |
| Native apps are expensive to make | Hybrid apps are cheap to make |
| Native apps are generally high performance in nature | These apps are generally low performance in nature |
| These apps use different native technologies like Android and iOS | Hybrid apps make use of HTML, CSS and JavaScript to develop |
| Native apps are generally difficult to test and maintain | Hybrid apps are easier to test and maintain |
| You may not require an internet connection to download and use these apps | You may require an internet connection to download and use these apps |
| Native apps run in the operating system | Hybrid apps run in the browser of the operating system |
| Native apps can make use of underlying hardware easily like GPS, camera, and so on | Hybrid apps do not have access to underlying hardware features like GPS and cameras. |
When the testing stage is done and the provisions are tried and characterized, it very well might be insightful to change to crossover to scale to more stages. On the off chance that the application didn’t work out in the testing stage, you got lucky and saved a decent load of cash by not putting resources into mixture advancement.
On the off chance that, regardless of anything else, you need an application with the most ideal client experience, security, and execution, decide on local advancement for your business application. All things considered, a local application is a more secure way to deal with advancement since it drives you to zero in on the least suitable items instead of huge scope include sets. As the colloquialism goes, it is smarter to do one thing all-around well than numerous things ineffectively.
Read More: Hybrid Mobile App Development Benefits For Small Businesses
Conclusion
Native apps and hybrid have its own fair share of benefits and use. You need to decide which uses and benefits you can truly leverage and make use of in your app design. This will provide you a better understanding of which app will suit you in which situation, and that you can make the best use of it. If you are looking for app development then do contact us at enquiry@nimapinfotech.com or at info@nimapinfotech.com with your requirements. We have the most seasoned and professional developers at extremely competitive costs ready to help you out. Hope you like this blog on Native App vs Hybrid App.
