Mobile App Development: Constant Dilemma of Choosing Either Native or Cross Platform
It was not possible to order a taxi service a decade ago or pay by your mobile phone. But after the popularity of smartphones, applications that could perform various tasks were introduced in the market. Most developers are involved in the search for cross-platform apps development. If you consider today, the global mobile app market is over $ 100 billion and is expected to reach $ 407.31 by 2026.
If you decide to build a mobile app for your business, you will face many basic issues that need to be discussed before starting. So in this article, we will focus mainly on an important issue that any developer will face before implementing their idea. Whether to create own mobile apps or cross-site. Before choosing the right path, let’s look at what is native and cross-site.
Native and Cross-Platform Applications: What Are They?
Nowadays, there are many different options for how to create an application and what programming language to use, as mobile applications are used in a variety of industries including e-commerce, healthcare, project management, and many more. Before deciding which type of development to choose, it is important to understand the differences between choosing the one that best suits your existing industry and your needs.
Therefore, Native App Development is the process of creating a processor that runs on a specific operating system, such as Android or iOS. By selecting the native application, you can deliver the maximum user experience and reap the maximum benefits from the site of your choice. Developers can add additional features and capabilities to a specific operating system.
Cross-platform application development, allows developers to create an application with a single code that users can open on multiple platforms. You can significantly reduce the cost of development by using HTML and CSS. Some developers use fully customizable widgets in conjunction with frameworks such as React Native and Flutter to create cross-platform applications that work flawlessly on many operating systems.
Both technologies are widely used by in-developers and outsourcing development companies that provide cross-platform mobile application development services. According to Google Trends, there is a need for two types of mobile app development.
Difference between Native and Cross-Platform
Native versus cross-platform is an endless debate that has divided the tech community over the years. It is good to clearly identify the differences between these two domains.
Native applications can only target one site at a time. But on the other hand, cross-platform applications allow you to create multiple operating system application enhancements.
If you think about the difference in development cost compared to cross-platform apps, native apps are more expensive. Using a cross-platform allows the same application to be used on multiple platforms. Due to this, the cost of cross-platform development is low.
There are some differences between these sites when accessing devices. Own applications can only be accessed by devices with the target OS. On the other hand, native applications are accessible most of the time through multiple OS.
If the code is considered a reuse factor, Native Apps can only view the code for an operating system. It could be Android or iOS. But the same code can be used for easy portability, to build cross-platform applications on multiple platforms.
When it comes to performance, standard applications have seamless performance rather than creating cross-platform applications. This is because the given apps are targeted at the specific device OS in the Native App Development. Performance is high in cross-platform app development but lags behind due to hardware compatibility issues.
Top Native Technologies out there
1. Java
Java has a broad community and is well documented to follow. Java is basically an object-oriented programming language and is considered the official Android development language. There is a very popular Android application these days using Java called Telegram.
2. C++
C++ is also an object-oriented language that possesses the power of creating dynamic technology apps. This simple and effective compiler-based approach makes it a versatile tool that can be used for multiple platforms. Its sister language, Objective-C, was earlier used for app development in Apple systems, prior to the introduction of Swift which was earlier discussed in this article itself.
3. Swift
Swift is useful for creating iOS native apps. It is an open-source programming language with many flexible and convenient features. Swift is used to build applications like Linkedln and Lyft.
4. Kotlin
Codeine is the standard typed language that is widely used these days. It can be considered an advanced version of Java. There are many applications like Pinterest, and Coursera created using Kotlin.
Advantages of Native Development
Offline Functionality & High Speed
Native apps do not require complex code and should work on multiple operating systems, which is why applications like these can display components faster. It also usually turns out to be a cost-effective process. Due to the high growth rate and the potential for cost reduction, Native App development is preferred by start-ups. This is a convenient option for users because an application will work offline. They can get the services they need without having to use an internet connection.
More Intuitive & Interactive with Less Bugs & Issues
The development of a native app adheres to the guidelines and allows you to use actions and gestures already known to users of a particular operating system. Managing a codebase is less challenging than many operating systems ensuring their stability and performance, which is why errors occur so rarely during the development process.
Disadvantages of Native Development
If talking about the possible drawbacks of developing native app, you can encounter the following bottlenecks:
High-Level Development Skills & High Maintenance Costs
Native apps are working with specific languages, like JavaScript, Swift, Kotlin, which is why it can become a challenge for you to find a developer with relevant skills. Otherwise, you will need more members for your team to help them to watch their backs. As a result, it is highly possible that you will need more resources in the process.
No Reusable Codebase
Unlike cross-platform applications, the native ones require different and separate coding for each platform you want to cover. Thus, if you decide to develop an app for iOS and then think about developing one for Android, you will need to start all over again and build from scratch.
Top Cross-Platform Technologies out there
In 2022 there are several technologies you can use for cross-platform app development. Let’s look at them one by one.
1. Flutter
It is very easy to use. This is an open-source, free cross-site created by Google. The flutter is mainly based on the language of the dart. This language is similar to kotlin and swift. So if you come to this field from a native background, it will be much easier for you to catch up. With Flutter, you can design applications that deliver fast and platform-based UX logic. The framework is very suitable for MVP development.
2. Xamarine
If you are familiar with c# and .net best option to build cross-platform apps is Xamarine. This platform allows developers to build applications for various OS like windows, android, ios and many more. If your goal is to design a platform-specific interface, Xamarin.iOS, and Xamarin.Android is the go-to tool. This was launched way back in 2011. Almost a decade ago. But later in 2016, this was acquired by Microsoft lending more credibility than the starting times. This is also an open-source framework that has a strong community around it.
3. React Native
This is introduced by Facebook in 2015. This is the successor of react, which is the javascript library used to develop responsive web apps. One of the best features is hot reloading in this type of multi-platform app development. Hot Reloading feature enables developers to see changes made in code within seconds, not minutes when using native technologies. There are several cross-platform app developments done using this technology. They are interesting, skype, Instagram, and Bloomberg.
4. Ionic
This is also an open-source cross-platform app development framework that is licensed under MIT. This is the first choice of developers who are already doing frontend with angular for web apps. But the major drawback of this is you need some development skills or some familiarity with AngularJs to develop advanced features.
Advantages of Cross-Platform Development
If talking about the advantages of the cross-platform app development, you need to consider the following:
Reusable Codebase & Good Product Maintenance
Choosing a cross-platform development option gives your developers an opportunity to use a common codebase and transfer code to other platforms without writing unique code for each OS. Thus, the testing stage becomes a lot easier for your team. The deployment of upgrades and fixes will lead to flawless outputs, because everybody will know what to expect.
Cost Reduction
Cross-platform app development ensures reduction of the upfront expenses and helps you to cover a wider market and increase popularity of your brand.
Disadvantages of Cross-Platform Development
However, this type of development can also be a reason for some issues. That is why you need to know about the following negative aspects as well:
Complication of Development Lifecycle
Cross-platform development is also not so easy, because a developer has to pay extra attention even to minor differences amongst platforms and features that hardware has. Especially, when you decide to implement complex interfaces.
Challenging Integration
Unfortunately, the integration of the cross-platform applications to local settings can be difficult for some developers, therefore, you need to be ready for that.
What to Consider When Selecting Right Approach
To ensure that your decision is correct, it is recommended to keep several factors in mind. First, you need to determine the type of application you want to create. Your team should be prepared for a high level of programming, and project participants should determine various aspects and aspects of mobile application development, including UX design, UI flexibility, memory and CPU performance, animation, and cross-section. Responsiveness of the platform if needed, and so on. It’s important to allow access to augmented reality (AR), camera or GPS location, and how to add other special features you want.
In addition, you need to think about your end-users. Depending on the audience you want to cover, your team may need to implement different features, thus affecting your choice of the developmental approach. For example, if you want to make your application user-friendly for people with disabilities, you may need additional resources during the development process.
Another factor that will help you determine whether you want to choose Cross-Platform Mobile App Development or Native App Development is the purpose of your application. With this in mind, you can define whether you need special features such as integrating with any social media, creating your own login system and more.
Also, it is important to take into account the level of experience and expertise of your developers. It may be a determinant that hides everything else. As we said before, not every developer has the experience you need, so you need to be prepared for this. Usually, the company seeks the help of outsourcing companies that provide high-quality mobile app development services when the in-house team does not have the required experts. You can do the same if your team does not have the appropriate expertise and wants to plan and waste less resources.
Conclusions
Many developers are convinced that cross-platform app development would be a better choice, while Google search inputs are fraught with demands on native applications. The cross-platform is ideal for those who want to save time and money, while the native is fast and less standard. Therefore, a company decides which option is best to improve the business.
If you want to get help from experts to create one of the apps or do not know what to choose for your business, contact us and we will pick the best option for you.
