If you’re planning on writing the next best phone application, then one of the first things that you’re going to need to decide on is whether you want to use a native app development process or a hybrid approach. Both of these options each have their own advantages and disadvantages, but the argument still continues.
Today, we’re going to take a look at what native app development is, and what some of its perks are.
What is Native App Development
Each platform has a native language on which their apps are usually developed in. For Android, this is Java, for iOS it’s Objective-C or Swift, and for Windows phones it is C#. Native app development involves using only one language to develop the application, whereas hybrid app development utilizes multiple languages.
Advantages of Native App Development
Native app development has quite a few advantages. It’s simpler, easier to run, and the user interface is typically smoother. The main problem that you’re going to run into is that you’re going to have to code multiple versions in different languages if you want to distribute your application on iOS, Google Play, and the Windows store.
Let’s take a look at some of the primary advantages of using a native app development approach.
1. User Experience
User experience is one of the most important features of any application. No matter how useful that you think your app is, the simple fact remains; if your users don’t really like it, they’re probably not going to use it.
The average smartphone user will have 20-30 applications installed on their phone, and they usually only use half of them. The ones that they don’t use will eventually be deleted, forgotten about, and never thought of again.
While you can create a great user experience with hybrid app development, it’s a lot harder and requires far more attention to detail as you’ll need to get all of the parts to work together.
With native app development, everything is written in the same language. This results in smoother scrolling, device-specific motions, animations, and gesture recognition. All of which contribute to a better user experience.
2. Performance
One of the biggest problems that faces app developers is creating an application that is as quick as it is beautiful. There is a fine balance between the two, and it must be struck or else your user is going to be stuck with a slow-loading application or an ugly and fast application.
At then end of the day, it’s a lot simpler to program with performance in mind when you’re taking a native app development approach. A hybrid approach requires you to scan your code more closely and ensure compatibility across various operating system versions.
3. Easy to Write and Keep Track of
From the developer’s point of view, writing your app in the same language is a lot easier to keep track of. You don’t have to worry about different files written in multiple languages, and trying to figure out how to get them all to function congruently. It’s also a lot easier to compile your final product.
Now over to you
Do you think that native app development is the way to go? Are there any caveats app developers should be aware of when deciding on going native with their app building? Please share your thoughts.