Hybrid Mobile Apps v/s Native Mobile Apps
Why choose a Hybrid Application?
Just knowing what a hybrid App is will not convince a user to opt for it. Users should know what is the best about Hybrid apps and how they are helpful to businesses and companies.
Single Code
Hybrid Apps have a single code for all the platforms. A developer can easily run this code wherever necessary by simply writing it once. No separate maintenance is required to build a code for a Hybrid Application.
“One for All” App
The “One for All” Hybrid App saves time and money for the developers while developing varied versions of the apps at the same time. In other words, it has a unified development that can run anywhere.
Web-Based
The best feature a Hybrid App offers to its users is that they can use these apps on any web browser without intervention
Both Online and Offline Access
Not just online access but having offline access to the apps makes it simpler, quicker, and easier for the users to plan and plot their work. To keep an eye on your target audience offline, hybrid apps help you reach them out in less time
Used across Varied Platforms
Not just one, Hybrid Apps are used across various platforms to consistently deliver efficiency in less time
Budget-Friendly
Hybrid Apps are cost-effective and save a lot of managing costs than native apps.
These benefits of using Hybrid Apps provide better mobility, transparency, and consistency to users. Hybrid Apps are thus a leading choice to all the perfect frameworks.
Disadvantages of Hybrid Applications
We talked about the benefits provided by the Hybrid Apps, but everything has a bad side too. Here are a few disadvantages of Hybrid Apps that should not be ignored:
A few Hybrid Apps that are used worldwide are as follows:
What are Native Apps?
Native Application is a software program developed on a particular device or platform that provides optimized performance of multiple systems at a time by captivating supremacy of the latest technology like GPS. Native App is specifically developed for one platform only
What advantages do Native Apps offer?
A Native App has much more benefits to offer to its users as compared to Hybrid Apps.
1) Reliable and Responsive
Native Apps offer the most reliable and responsive experience to their users making it quick and easy to use.
2) Less Dependency on Open Sources
A Native Application is least dependent on open sources and platforms like Cordova and Ionic, thereby making it quite simpler to work with its users.
3) Quality Graphics
Offering quality graphics with improved images and maintaining their aspect ratios is one of the best advantages of native apps to its users.
4) Offline Support
Native Apps tend to work better without the internet. You can easily access the basic and required features of the application offline.
5) Wider Device Functionality
With a single tap to varied functions, native apps make it easy for the users to
access alternatives through the app.
6) High-Speed
Native Apps offer high speed to the users while using the application. These
apps are quite faster than Hybrid Apps.
These advantages of Native Apps help the users to work more effectively by saving their time and money.
Disadvantages of Native Apps
A lot of pros have been discussed about the Native Apps. but they have some cons as well.
1. Native Apps take a longer time to download than Hybrid Apps.
2. Having an own release cycle and updates to each platform increase the development cost.
3. Separate efforts for each platform makes it complicated and increase the development time.
4. Unique skill set is required to develop, maintain, and manage the same application at different platforms, thereby increasing the cost of keeping up the application.
5. Having a different codebase for all platforms and delivering the same features at a time makes it quite difficult and consumes a lot of time.
Famous Native Apps used worldwide are:
● Whatsapp ● Spotify ● Pokemon Go ● Waze ● Tesla ● Sound Cloud ● Magento 2 POS ● Facebook ● Skype ● Walmart ● Airbnb
This was a brief about what Native Apps and Hybrid Apps are. To make it more clear and accurate below is a tabular format to differentiate between the two apps with complete transparency.
Difference Between Native Apps and Hybrid Apps
Drafted below the difference between a Hybrid App and a Native App will give you a clear picture of what actually these terms are and how are they different from each other.
| Sr. No. | Basis of Difference | Native Apps | Hybrid Apps |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1. | Codebase | They have multiple Codebases. | They have a single Codebase. |
| 2. | Installation | Installation is required. | No installation is required. |
| 3. | Cost-Effectiveness | Native Apps require a huge budget to build and are not cost-effective. | Hybrid Apps are cheaper and are cost-effective. |
| 4. | Time | A lot of time is required to build Native Apps. | Less time is utilized in building Hybrid Apps. |
| 5. | Maintenance | They require high maintenance. | They require less maintenance. |
| 6. | Updation | The Native mobile apps can be updated through the play store or app store. | Hybrid Apps updation is centralized. |
| 7. | User Experience | They provide the best user experience. | They do not have a good user experience. |
| 8. | Languages Used | Java, Swift, Kotlin. | JavaScript, HTML, CSS. |
| 9. | Platform Dependent | These apps are developed for a single platform. | These apps can be used on different platforms. |
| 10. | Performance | Native Apps are faster and have high performance. | Hybrid Apps are slower and have low performance. |
| 11. | Operating System | These apps are created to work on one Operating System. | These apps are created to work on more than one Operating System. |
| 12. | Channel | Hosted in the Operating System. | Hosted on the Web. |
Which App to choose for a Business / Organization / Company – Native App or Hybrid App?
The above difference has made you clear with both the Native as well as the Hybrid Apps. But still confused about which one to opt for. Have a look at these figures.
One of the most dynamic tools today is mobile applications. According to Comscore, people these days spend 90% of their time using mobile applications, and hardly 10% of people use the web. Statistics say that by the year 2023, mobile applications are going to generate a revenue of $935.2 billion. Thus, investing your time and money in a mobile app is much more consistent than luring it in other deeds.
For deciding about choosing a Native App or a Hybrid App for your business,
everything depends upon what you want and how much you are ready to spend. Undoubtedly, a Native App has better security, improved performance, enhanced user experience, personalization, and great functionality but it takes a lot of money and consumes a lot of time.
On the other hand, if we look towards Hybrid Apps, these are pocket-friendly, save a lot of time, can be maintained easily, and can be accessible to different platforms but it does not have a sufficient User Interface, it requires an internet connection, and most importantly a native app developer is involved.
You have to make a choice of which app is the best for your organization or business or company. Certainly, both are best at their own places. Everything depends on your requirement. If you can spend more and spare some extra time, then opt for a Native App. Similarly, if you want to develop an app that works on varied platforms with less investment, then you should go for a Hybrid App. The choice is yours!!
