Confused to choose between native and cross-platform app development for your business mobile app? Or want to know the actual difference between native and cross-platform app development?
Whatever knowledge you need to get about this, we have gathered it all here in this blog!
Mobile apps play a crucial role in framing our lives in this digital era. And in this competitive era, where 14 billion mobile phones use mobile apps, choosing the right development path becomes confusing and equally important. However, choosing the right development approach requires expertise as no development platform is good or bad.
All the paths, whether it’s native, hybrid, or cross-platform, are good to go if you know exactly what you want to build. So, to make it easier and quicker for you, we have gathered some important ifs and buts related to cross-platform and native app development.
So, without further ado, let’s dive into it now!
What Is Native App Development?
The process of developing native apps specifically works for one platform application, like Web, iOS, or Android. This process used platform-related programming tools, languages, and frameworks. But what does this mean?
Simply, it means you can’t reuse the same code for different platform app development. You have to write the entire code and do the development process for varying platforms.
The process of developing native apps gives:
- Ideal performance
- An excellent user-experience
- A hassle-free amalgamation with device features.
Let’s know more about aspects of the native app development process in detail.
Important Details Of Native App Development
Platform-Related Tools And Languages
One has to use specific tools and programming languages for developing native apps on different platforms. For developing applications for the iOS operating system, developers use Swift, Objective-C with Xcode. And for Android, Kotilin or Java with Android Studio is used.
Perfect Integration With Device Features
The apps based on native functionality can be easily integrated as per device features. Like, GPS, accelerometer, Camera, push notifications, etc. With this aspect, one can develop fully-featured applications to take complete advantage of the platform-specific capabilities.
Time And Cost Associated With The Development Process
The development time and budget associated with the native app development process are a little more than other development options. You can take it as a disadvantage of native apps, but the integrated features are so superior that they can surpass this point. But why the development cost and time is more in native app development?
Because developers have to write separate code bases for different platforms. They have to create, test, and manage code sets for iOS and Androids separately. This automatically increases the development time and cost.
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Excellent UI/UX
As you have already read, native apps are developed as per platform requirements and related guidelines, which results in intuitive UI. Users can feel familiar with the application’s interface, making it easy for them to access the app.
What Is Cross-Platform App Development?
Cross-platform development specifically works for creating mobile apps that run on more than one platform that too with a single code base. Developers have to write the code only once and they can place it across multiple platforms, like iOS, Android, or Web. This saves a lot of time and money associated with the process of development. Partnering with a specialized iOS mobile app development agency can ensure your app leverages the full potential of native features, delivering an optimized experience for your users.
Important Details Of Cross-Platform App Development
Single Code Set
As already discussed, cross-platform apps are developed using a shared codebase for different platforms. This reduces development time, cost, and effort. A single code can work multiple times by reusing it for different platforms. It streamlines the development process very well.
Save Time And Money
As told above, a single code set means lesser time and money needed to complete the development process. It saves resources as there is no need to write down, test, and manage the code set again and again for different platforms.
Consistent UI/UX
What if you will use a single code set for iOS and Android both?
You will get similar and uniform results as the apps’ design and performance remain the same. It may not completely satisfy the platform-specific design requirements. So, it may not always give the same performance results as native apps can give.
Performance Restrictions
Although cross-platform apps can give you satisfying performance, they can not be as well-performed as native apps are. This is because of the abstraction layer added in the cross-platform frameworks. This can give you a little less performance and there may not be a seamless merger with the features of the device.
Famous Languages And Frameworks
The cross-platform app development process has various tools, languages, and frameworks to work with. Some of them are React Native, Xamarin, Flutter, etc.
Developers can use languages like C#, Javascript, or Dart to write the code. This code can be then compiled to run on multiple platforms.
How To Choose Between Native Or Cross-Platform App Development: Factors To Consider!
There are some basic factors that you can consider before opting for one development platform for your mobile app. These factors may affect your choice to a great extent. Let’s read about some key points to select the top approach toward your mobile app development journey!
The Platforms You Want To Cover
Firstly evaluate the needed platforms on which you want to launch your mobile app. If your keen focus is on a single platform, going for native app development might be the right choice. If your goal is to target more than one platform with a single code set, go for cross-platform development.
The Audience You Want To Reach
The very first thing that comes to a mobile app owner’s mind is the target audience. And why shouldn’t be?
After all, the audience is the major reason behind the success or failure of your app. Understanding the target audience is the first step in choosing the right development approach. Consider which kind of platforms your target customers use and what they expect in terms of performance, and design.
User Design And Experience You Want To Give To Your Customers
The level of user design and experience you want to launch in your mobile app decides the development approach. Native apps can give an intuitive user experience as it adheres to platform-specific guidelines.
But if you own an app that is ok with having normal user experience and functionality, you can go for a cross-platform development approach.
Time To Market The App
If you are a startup company, time to market the app plays a crucial role in your mobile app’s journey. The digital market is very competitive which makes it very difficult for the apps to survive. In such case, if you reach timely to your target audience, you can have more and more user base.
Hence, if the time to market is a great deal for you, then go for cross-platform apps. It will save cost and time for you as it builds a strong MVP iteration to launch the app as soon as possible.
The Availability Of The Resources
Last but not least, the available resources around you to complete the development process. You should consider the mastery of the development team. Match the skills of the developers as per specific platform needs, it can be more efficient for you to use their skills to a great extent.
When Should You Go For Native Or Cross-Platform App Development?
Deciding on one development approach has a considerable impact on how much cost your app will need, how much time it will take to be ready, and how will be the user experience. So, to make your decision-making process easier, you have gathered the scenarios of when you should go for native or when for cross-platform.
Native Apps Are A Good Choice When:
- When you need fantastic and exceptional functionality, security, and performance of the mobile app.
- You want to make your app work offline.
- You have to target an audience that uses one platform, like either iOS or Android.
- There is no bar of time and budget or you don’t want to compromise with the app in terms of finance and time.
- The apps need specific operating system capabilities.
Cross-Platform Apps Are A Good Choice When:
- When you want one app for multiple operating systems.
- You need to create MVP first to test the audience’s reaction.
- You don’t need heavily animated apps with difficult graphics.
- You have a limited budget and time to develop the mobile application.
- You need the same look for apps across multiple platforms.
Summing Up
So, what are your thoughts on this battle between native and cross-platform app development? Well, all that depends on the requirements of your mobile app’s project and the skills of the developers.
If you only want to focus on user experience and app designing, you can go for native apps. But if you want a quickly developed app that too on a low budget, then blindly go for cross-platform apps. In the end, whether you choose native, cross-platform, or hybrid app development, the decision is all yours.
Hope you find the desired answer in this blog!
