Mobile applications are apps designed for smartphones that we always carry every day. Each day, using applications is becoming more popular since they provide great conveniences to our lives. However, let's focus on the development of these wonderful applications. Here, the question that has recently been on the minds of many developers reveals itself: Should we develop hybrid applications or native applications? Which one should we choose and in which circumstances? In this blog post, I will try to answer these questions, hoping it will be helpful, especially for those who have just started developing mobile applications. I wish you an enjoyable read...
What is native application development?
A native application is an application that you develop with the IDE you are using and a supported programming language based on your IDE. Considering mobile applications, it is what divides IOS and Android according to the language supported by the user device. Android and IOS devices require separate coding. Native application examples include mobile applications written in Kotlin, Java, Swift, or Objective C, and each is used frequently.
What is hybrid application development?
Hybrid applications are written once with one code with the ability to run on both Android and IOS platforms. Going beyond just mobile, it allows you to develop mobile, web, and desktop applications at once. Its ability to integrate web applications into its content allows hybrid applications, also known as cross-platform, to run on all operating systems. These applications run on top of HTML5, CSS3, and JavaScript. Usually, hybrid apps use Flutter, Xamarin, and React Native frameworks.
In a nutshell, developing a hybrid application allows you to launch your product on any platform. However, developing a native application requires writing different codes for each platform to launch your product. Although these differences may initially suggest that hybrid applications are superior, it is not always the case. So what are the different aspects? Do native and hybrid applications have any positive and negative characteristics compared to each other?
What Are Their Advantages and Disadvantages?
First, let's discuss their performance. Considering native applications, their performance on Android devices is considerably higher than hybrid applications. For iOS devices, however, this situation has changed. Hybrid applications excel more, while the performance of native applications is considered adequate. Here, choosing native in developing complex applications may be more helpful.
However, if your application is much simpler, developing it at once will save you both time and money. Because if you want to develop a great mobile application, you need to have both Android and IOS users. Thus, developing two different applications with two different teams will raise costs and postpone your product's launch. However, hybrid applications' motto, 'write once, run everywhere', eliminate these obstacles. Here, hybrid applications stand out with their features providing low cost, saving time, and streamlining learning.
Another important aspect we should discuss is user experience (UX) and design. Since native applications are launched separately based on Android and IOS devices' basic design and usage features, they can be preferable for user adaptation. However, selecting a common design suitable for both platforms allows you to develop great mobile applications for each platform.
Which Do I Prefer?
As someone who focuses on mobile app development, we should know both native and hybrid development. The technologies we utilize will always vary based on the application we want to develop. Sometimes we will even see the integration of native and hybrid development. Thus, I believe it is better to select the hybrid or native whichever is necessary, instead of choosing just one of them. However, considering how native development is at the core of app development and hard to learn, my advice to anyone seeking to learn mobile app development from square one is to comprehend native development first. Besides, switching to hybrid apps after developing native apps will provide you with more convenience while helping you be in demand for both native and hybrid development.
Berna Demir
Maydanoz Junior Android Developer
