Native vs. Hybrid App

Native vs. Hybrid App

Umbrella IT

*This article tells about hybrid applications based on a web browser only.

Native app vs hybrid app: that is the question. In order to make the right choice, one needs to understand clearly, what each type of application is and what purpose it serves.

It is Interesting! According to statistics released by Flurry Analytics, using a phone we spend 90% of the time right in apps.

Although each type has its sticklers, native and hybrid applications are one foot from each other, and it is difficult to choose an unconditional winner.

Having many years experience of developing native and hybrid applications, Umbrella IT has thoroughly studied the features of both types. In this article, we tried to get together the main advantages and disadvantages of natives and hybrids so that you could easily make the right choice.

 

HYBRID AND NATIVE APPS

What is the difference between a native and a hybrid app?

A native app is native to each platform, no matter it is iOS or Android, and is written specially for it in a certain language.

To write a native application for iOS Swift or Objective-C are used. For native Android applications Java or Kotlin are suitable.

Nevertheless, according to statistics from VisionMobile 47% of all native iOS apps and 42% of all native Android apps in fact also use HTML5.

And here is an example of this kind of apps:

Our product for electronic trade “Bounce” which is known throughout the world was written by our developers in Swift for iOS and Java for Android.

Unlike the previous ones, hybrid applications are developed for both platforms simultaneously and are written in a universal language.

You can get acquainted with this type using as an example another app of ours distributed in the western market and called “LASIK”. It helps to search for surgeons online and sign up for an appointment.

Now we want to take a closer look at the hybrid vs native mobile app development and find out the most innermost secrets of these two types. And we’ll start with two-faced hybrid apps.

 

PROS OF HYBRID APPS

  • Saving. In case you are not ready to empty your wallet in pursuit of a perfect application, but you want to get an easy to use an app at an affordable price then the hybrid app is your option.Just think how much you will save by creating one application for two platforms simultaneously!
  • Access to the markets of both platforms simultaneously. Since hybrids are written for two platforms, they simultaneously enter two markets. Due to this the number of potential users also doubles along with the chance that your app will be downloaded. But the strengths of this kind of applications end on this, and we should pay attention to their disadvantages.

 

CONS OF HYBRID APPS

  • Impracticality. Even a well-developed hybrid app can quickly become outdated. Progress does not stand still, and the owners of apps try to keep pace with the times. As soon as new technologies appear, each of the owners tries to add the new function as soon as possible to his application too.Unfortunately for hybrids, it will take from 3 to 6 months to change a framework and add new functionality to it. Only after this, the developers will be able to improve your product too. To native apps, innovations can be added immediately after they are released.

Our app will unlikely be in demand from users if it turns out to be of bad-quality or unstable:

According to statistics, nearly the half of all the users remove boring and poorly developed apps from their smartphones and install instead of them other higher quality competitive applications.

Source

  • Low speed. Such applications are very often web pages, which are not quick enough, for example, in scrolling heavy content: images, animations, etc.

Scrolling ‒ vertical or horizontal scrolling of the page.

Additionally, hybrid app development based on webpage slicing undergoes different compilations, which also reduce the speed and do not please users at all.

Compilation is a process of converting a high-level programming language (PHP, Java, JavaScript) into a machine language.

  • Design difficulties. If you want the look of your app to match the professional and well-developed system design of each of the platforms, whether it’s iOS or Android, you will have to develop the design for both operating systems separately. iOS and Android apps have their own unique design standards, and as far as hybrids do not match them, it is necessary to «adapt» them to the appropriate framework. It turns out that at the end of the work you will get only one app, but you spent as much time and money as you would have spent for two apps.
  • Unprotected sourcecode. One of the serious disadvantages of hybrid applications is the lack of their security. While a native app can be encrypted before going to the official web store, hybrids remain ″naked″. Since many of these apps are based on an HTML page, it’s not difficult to look at its source code and understand how the application works. At least your code can be stolen. The worst thing is that the hacker can use your app for his own deceptive purposes, for example, to get private information and data about the application.

 

PROS OF NATIVE APPS

  • High quality. A qualified native apps developer will write a clean, unique code for you. Many years’ experience of development and the clear standards of iOS & Android apps will help to create a high-quality product with wide functionality and reduce risks of bugs emergence almost to a minimum. And this is one of the main advantages of this type of applications.
  • Low probability of refusal to be placed in App & Play Stores. Since a native app originally meets all the standard requirements of a certain platform, it’s unlikely that you will face any problems when launching your app in App Store and Play Store.
  • 100% use of UX design. Modern users are spoiled with bright, well-developed interfaces, that is why simple standardized applications will unlikely interest them. Native app development uses the UX design for 100% what makes it possible to create a high-quality and interesting application. In a hybrid app, you will get a standardized interface for two platforms.
  • Development tools variety. Due to many years experience in developing this type of applications a huge number of various frameworks, templates, and other proven tools have appeared, which allow making your application unique, individual and stable.
  • A large community of developers. Certainly, you will unlikely face any problem that no one has ever solved while developing such an app. This means that you will not have to spend extra time looking for a suitable solution, and you will have the opportunity to appeal to the experience of other developers.

 

CONS OF NATIVE APPS

  • Cost. As they say, there is always free cheese in a mousetrap. Such an application is a unique, high-quality product, the creation of which requires a lot of time and, of course, a highly qualified developer with many years experience. Therefore, such an app is costly. Here is a hybrid app vs native app comparison:

 

INTERESTING FACT

You will be surprised to find out that the development of a native iOS app actually costs less than the development of a hybrid one. Don’t believe? Just take a look!

When developing natives you have a great variety of tools offered by SDK of one or another platform. So, all you need is to use these tools in your app.

As for hybrid, you can only hope that there is a framework based adaptation for a particular native tool chosen for hybrid development.

If there is no such a tool, you will either have to wait for its appearance or consider alternative frameworks. In other words, there are much more troubles with this kind of apps.

It means that it is cheaper to create one native iOS application than one hybrid iOS app.

If we compare the development of a hybrid application and two native ones, the cost of the hybrid will be lower as we expect, because in a hybrid application backend and frontend are suitable for two platforms simultaneously.

For natives, it is necessary to develop two separate frontends, which meet the common standards of each platform.
Hence the following prices are formed:

HYBRID iOS APP - $11.5K
HYBRID iOS + Android APPS
$12.5K

NATIVE iOS APP - $10K
NATIVE iOS + Android APPS
$18K

However, if we take a closer look we can see that the price of native applications does not greatly exceed the price of hybrid ones.

Now think, should you save money developing one app? Or would it be better to create two natives at ones?

After all, users pay much attention to the look of an app as well as its convenience and quality.

Source

 

WHICH ONE TO CHOOSE?

Proceeding from the above, we advise you to pay special attention to the goals you are pursuing and make your choice based on them.

In this case, you will be 100% sure that the money was not spent in vain and as a result, you will get the app you ordered.

 

So,

Choose a hybrid app, if you want to get:

  • a simple app
  • an app for two platforms at a budget price
  • 1 app having fast access to two markets (ios/Android)

Choose a native app, if you need:

  • a professional app meeting all the standards of the chosen platform
  • a complex app with wide functionality
  • a high-speed app

Now, when you know everything about a hybrid app and a native app and even more, you can easily make the right choice.

Make all your most daring dreams and ideas come true with Umbrella IT.

contact us right now!

Photo by Unsplash