Are you on the verge of building a mobile app but all at sea when it comes to decide whether to create a native or hybrid app? If yes, this guide will get you through a comprehensive analysis consisting of a detailed comparison between hybrid vs native app development.Â
Mobile apps, in this completely digitized era tend to be dynamic business tools enabling businesses and customers to get connected for their needs. Right from banking to shopping, or grocery to entertainment the mobile apps are the way for businesses to connect to their customers.Â
However, it’s an excellent way to build an app and grow a business, choosing the right platform to target your customers is a bit difficult. Considering the fact, we have come up with this guide consisting of a comparison of native vs hybrid apps. Let’s explore and decide whether to build a native or a hybrid app for your business!Â
What are Hybrid Apps?
A hybrid mobile application tends to combine the elements of a web app and a native app.Â
Native app (an app built to run on a specific platform, for instance, Android or iOS).Â
Web app (an application targeting to be accessed on the internet through a web browser. Â
A hybrid app gets developed using well-known front-end development tech stacks such as HTML5, CSS, and JavaScript, ensuring platform-agnostic functionalities.Â
To create a hybrid application developers don’t need to write separate code for iOS and Android. They can simply create and single code for both once and run on multiple platforms.Â
When a user downloads a hybrid application from an app store and installs it, its native shell connects to their mobile platform’s competencies via a browser that is embedded in the app.
Examples of Hybrid App
Following are the some of the top-notch examples of hybrid apps:Â
Gmail
Twitter (now X)
Instagram
Uber
Teams
Evernote
Amazon App Store
Advantages of Hybrid Apps
Single Codebase for Multiple Platforms
Cross-platform Capability
Streamlined Time-to-Market
Enhanced UI UX
No Stress for Maintenance
Increased Cost Efficiency
Disadvantages of Hybrid Apps
Variation in Operating System
No Offline FunctionalityÂ
Similar Performance for Native and HybridÂ
Requirements of Native Plugins
What are Native Apps?
Native app development is the process of building an app using specific programming languages intended for a particular operating system. It may be, for instance, Objective-C, or Swift for iOS and Java for Android.Â
A native application is built in a secure ecosystem following comprehensive technical expertise as well as guidelines for the user experience of the targeted operating system. It ensures accelerated performance along with excellent user experience.Â
Examples of Native App
Below mentioned are some of the examples of native applications:Â
What Is The Difference Between Hybrid Apps And Native Apps?
You may have, or haven’t noticed that there are people out there that download apps from Google Play Store, or App Store without even much apposite consideration. Yes, they don’t even know whether they’re going to download the app is native or a hybrid app. They only care about downloading an app that should be adequate either for Android or iOS. But I’m sure you want to know it as you’re flipping through this guide. So, let’s know the difference between native and hybrid apps:Â
Development
When differentiating hybrid vs native apps the development method is one of the considerable first aspects that makes a huge difference. Yes, both native and hybrid apps are different in terms of development. In native app development, developers need to rewrite and redesign the app’s functionalities in the native development language.Â
On the other hand, when building a hybrid app developers need to create the application’s functionality in a single codebase that can run on various platforms.Â
Once code is created, developers wrap it in a native application shell or container. The container provides native-like features in mobile devices. Native apps work directly with the operating system and, hence, work faster, while hybrid apps use a native wrapper and, therefore, are slower in terms of performance.Â
Technology
The technology used is also different in native and hybrid app development. The tech stack is a collection of programming languages, tools, frameworks, and databases that play a vital role in the success of your mobile app idea. A right tech selection can flourish your investment, while a wrong selection of the same can bring counterproductive outcomes, leading to an enhanced development cost and risks.Â
When it comes to developing Android Apps, you should choose programming languages like Java, and Kotlin. In terms of tools, you can make use of Android Studio, an Android Development Tool for automated testing, code editing, debugging, and the like.Â
For developing an iOS mobile app, Swift and Objective-C are the preferred choice in terms of programming language. For tools, you can use Xcode, and Appcode to rescue the app.Â
You can choose technologies like HTML5, and JavaScript for hybrid app development. Ionic, Sencha Touch 2, and Cordova are the frequently used frameworks for building hybrid applications. Â
Developer’s Expertise
The expertise of a developer matters the most when it comes to native app development. You need it because developing a native app requires an excellent level of expertise and excellence, specifically, focused on UI UX design. A native Android app developer has to be proficient in Java, Python, Kotlin, HTML5, and C++, while a native iOS developer should have an excellent command over technologies like Shift, and Objective-C.Â
Hybrid app development tends to be less time-consuming, more accessible, and doesn’t need specialized expertise. A developer having proficiency in web technologies can conveniently work on hybrid app development as it has easy deployment requirements.Â
Development Time
Apart from all of the above, there is a difference between native and hybrid app development in terms of development time. You can choose native app development when you’re ready to take the time to launch an app. No doubt, native apps excel at delivering next-level of performance along with robust security, they take more time compared to hybrid app development.Â
You can choose hybrid app development if you need an app launch in a short period. Hybrid apps get developed differently using a single source code and get released on different platforms. Be it effort, time, or cost, building a hybrid app development can outperform native app development. However, you can cut down the resources by building a hybrid app, they are less performant compared to native mobile applications.Â
Performance
Native applications tend to be faster and high-performance in comparison to hybrid apps. They provide fast gaming, 3D, and other applications with the next level of quality. Native apps are designed in a better way and relatively faster. When you navigate an application, its content, structure, and visual elements are already present in the phone, helping it to offer a seamless app navigation experience.Â
A hybrid app may provide performance and quality equal to a basic native app, however, it’s considerably tough for it to match the quality of the performance delivered by a well-developed and high-end native app. Merely the wrapper of a hybrid app gets downloaded to your phone which is less likely to include the significant navigational elements. This is because the majority of data gets downloaded from the server directly, which may or may not include the crucial navigational elements. Most of the data is loaded directly from the server.
User Experience
An exceptional user experience has a larger role to play when it comes to the success of a mobile app. There’s a difference in terms of user experience as well when it comes to comparing a native and a hybrid app. Native apps are designed specifically to meet individual design guidelines. They follow UX design that matches the requirements of a specific operating system and follow standard practices.Â
When it comes to a hybrid application, the UI (user interface) and UX (user experience) design tend to be common in general for all platforms. This is because the app is designed to perform across various platforms including iOS, Android, and Web.
Updates
Continuous updates are an integral element of an app to be relevant to the ever-evolving needs of users, and native and hybrid apps are different when as far as updates are concerned. With a hybrid app, users need not update an app in their app store in order to access the latest updated version. This is because these apps are more of a web version.Â
In the case of native mobile apps, users need to update their apps on the app store when they want to have access to the updated version. So, in this term, a hybrid app outsmarts a native application.
Cost Efficiency
When comparing native vs hybrid app development in terms of cost-efficiency, the native app development tends to be way more expensive. This is because they need separate coding and additional prerequisites for building an app that can run on specific platforms efficiently. For this, you need to hire a dedicated developer which results in increased development cost.Â
Hybrid app development, on the other hand, embraces equal performance and user experience across the platforms at a reduced expense. A hybrid app developer can build an app using commonly used technologies and programming languages such as HTML5, CSS, and JavaScript. Furthermore, they integrate them with hybrid app development frameworks, for instance, React Native, Cordova, or Ionic. This leads to app development at a reduced expense.Â
Approvals
Native and hybrid apps are different also in terms of approvals. Yes, with a native mobile app, you won’t require approvals from app stores, leading to less hassles and reduced expense.Â
On the other hand, with hybrid apps, you need to get approvals from app stores to launch your app. This is because it is accessed through web browsers. This results in increased hybrid app development costs.Â
Secursity
When comparing native and hybrid apps on the basis of security, there is a difference between the two. Android or iOS apps are saved in local devices and native features, while hybrid apps are accessed through various browsers. Therefore, they are not specific to the user devices. Not all hybrid applications are plugging-agnostic.Â
This is something that makes a native app way more secure compared to a hybrid app. This is because you can’t trust third-party applications and plugins, making hybrid apps vulnerable to security threats. In the native vs hybrid comparison, the clear winner is native Android apps and iOS apps. You cannot trust third-party plugins or applications that make the hybrid app vulnerable.
Wrapping Up:
That’s all about hybrid vs native differences! We performed an intense assessment between native and hybrid apps with examples and tried to let you know the differences between these two. Right from technology, to performance, and developer’s expertise to security, updates, and cost-effectiveness, both native and hybrid apps have huge differences. Â
However, you know the difference between these two, whether you should build a native or a hybrid app is something that depends on your personal needs and preferences. If you need to build an app with urgent requirements, you should go with hybrid app development. In case you’re seeking a quality app with robust security and enhanced performance, you better develop a native mobile app. Be it a native app development or a hybrid app development, CodeEpsilon has all the offerings you need for the same. Contact us now!Â
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