Hybrid versus native app, which one to develop- A question often asked by developers. Surely, customer experience is everything in today’s competitive business environment, but there are few more aspects to consider.

Imagine your mobile is with you most of the time, which is not even close to the time spent with your loved ones. How would you feel if it does not respond to you in a timely manner? Probably, you might strike it again at the wall. The same goes with the mobile app where users demand quick, responsive and user-friendly.

If you are a developer and thinking of whether to go with the native mobile app or a hybrid mobile app, this article will help you choose the best option. First, let us have a look at, what does native and hybrid mobile app means and what are the pros and cons of each.

Native Mobile App

Native mobile apps are designed for sole device or platform through the operating system and other software offered by the platform dealer.

Pros of Native Mobile App Development

• Few applications run swiftly
• User interface is dependent on device specifications
• Ability to control specific API as they are released on Apple or Google

Cons of Native Mobile App Development

• Requires high budget to build
• Maintenance cost is much higher
• Two separate code bases that require different developers
• Requires more time than developing a hybrid app

Hybrid App Development

Hybrid app development uses both web technologies such as CSS, JavaScript and HTML and mobile platform capabilities.

Pros of Hybrid App Development

• Less Expensive to develop
• Can be taken to market anytime
• Hybrid apps gives consistent looks across devices without need to create separate interface

Cons of Hybrid App Development

• Some applications might act sluggish
• Dissimilar user interface on specific mobile devices
• Interruptions in access to new platform specific APIs released by Google and Apple

After giving a brief overview of native and hybrid mobile apps, now it is time to help you decide which one works better by looking at some of the key aspects.

Ease of Developing Native and Hybrid Apps

If you are going for hybrid, it is a good approach, as many of the organizations have access to HTML, C#, JavaScript or CSS developers. Developers will go through app development on both iOS and Android devices. While sponsors see quick development with project managers allowing them to track progress before being released. However, hybrid approach tricks sponsor on progress until it is too late to change the decision before the inferior product is delivered. Moreover, hybrid platforms cannot release updated tools before the new version of iOS is released.

On the other hand, Native platforms have a subtle difference and are much easier to build and adaptive to the diverse mobile settings. The native app developers are given the access to the new software development kit to start developing applications with extra features. Moreover, unlike a hybrid, native app development can have three to four months extra development time to support the new features of iOS.

Security

Before choosing a hybrid or native platform, it is important to know the security risks of both because users are much concerned about privacy. Remember, every layer of application means an opportunity for a new attack. Hybrid applications incorporate a new layer that links non-native code to native features. For this reason, the layer cannot be checked by the user of the library and is completely owned by a third party.

In comparison, native mobile apps are considered secure and safe as compared to hybrid apps. There are several reasons behind but the native app is easy to leverage platform specific built in security features. While hybrid apps are prone to injection attacks when using explicit APIs.

Updates on Mobile App

If you want to make frequent app updates and want your users to have regular updates from App store, hybrid app development is an ideal option. One of the biggest advantages of developing a hybrid app is that it will update its content from the web directly, except if you need to change the core functionality in the app. The best examples of organizations using hybrid app include news, content delivery platforms, banks, and media. Moreover, it also allows you to work out of a single code base, allowing the teams to work optimally.

User Experience

For a better and ideal user experience, the native app is best to go for. Whereas, the level of the hybrid app cannot match the user experience in comparison to a native app. However, it does not mean that the user experience of a native app is poor. An experienced and well-versed front-end developer can ensure hybrid app close to a native app experience. Moreover, the scrolling functionality in the hybrid app will not be as smooth as that of a native app.

Budget and Cost of Development

Go for a native app, if you can afford spate allocation and budget for both Android and iOS development resources. However, the fact is that with the changing trend in technology, there is an abundance of both iOS and Android developers, which has reduced the cost of resources. Hence, it would be ideal to go for native approach unless your stakeholders are in need of hybrid approach as the number of integration need to fill the gaps will be greater.

Deployment in the Market

The time to release in the market is dependent on many factors like the number of resources and the number of features you want to have in your app. The higher the resources, the higher the cost and budget. It is ideal to go for hybrid app approach if you want to launch mobile app quickly with limited resources. Moreover, if you are already owning a hybrid component that you have worked on, it is ideal to remain on the same platform. Hence, it is quite dependent on the existing investment in the technology and resources.

Conclusion

If your business has a huge budget, big resources and plenty of time, it is wise to go for a native app that will help you achieve your goals on cross platform compatibility. On the other hand, hybrid app development will also offer the best results for your business.