The Benefits of Hybrid vs. Native Mobile App Development

We all know mobile apps are popular and widely used. Here’s an interesting statistic, 90% of the time people spend on their mobile phones is spent on apps! 

So you’ve had a brain wave for the next Uber or Airbnb mobile app for your industry. Why not jump on that gravy train? 

This ingenious mobile app will change the world and in return make you a fortune. It’s super exciting and you can visualise its impact. 

A major decision you need to make early on in your mobile application development process is how the mobile app will be developed and deployed. There are two main options you can take: native app or hybrid app.

In this article, we’ll talk about why we feel that hybrid app development is the way to go.

WHAT ARE HYBRID MOBILE APPS?

When it comes to developing mobile apps there are two possible approaches: hybrid or native app development.

Before we get into what hybrid apps are, we need to clarify what native apps are first. 

Native apps are applications developed for a specific platform such as iOS or Android. Each platform requires the development to be done in a specific native programming language: native iOS apps are written in Swift or Objective-C and native Android apps are written in Java.

Hybrid mobile apps are applications that are installed and run on a mobile device, such as a smartphone or tablet, pretty much, just like any other app. 

In fact, users of these mobile apps often aren’t able to distinguish the difference between a hybrid app and a native app because they operate and look pretty much the same (hybrid apps have the look and feel of native apps), provide the same user experience and have the ability to work on different platforms.

What differentiates hybrid mobile apps is that they encompass elements from native apps, with elements from web apps ( websites that are not installed on a device but are accessed via a web browser).

Hybrid apps are deployed in a native container that uses a mobile WebView object. What this means is, when the app is used, this object displays web content thanks to the use of web technologies (CSS, JavaScript, HTML, HTML5).

It is in fact displaying web pages from a website that are adapted to a WebView display. The web content can either be displayed as soon as the app is opened or for certain parts of the app only, for example, the purchase funnel.

In order to access the mobile device's hardware features ( for example GPS, accelerometer, camera, phone contacts) hybrid apps can achieve this by using plugins that will enable them full access to the device's hardware and features.

WHY GO HYBRID INSTEAD OF NATIVE?

When it comes to hybrid app development there are many advantages, which is why building apps using this hybrid approach has become so popular. 

SPEED DEVELOPMENT

Hybrid apps make use of a single codebase, meaning that the code is written once and then is deployed across devices and operating systems. For example, when developing a mobile app using the hybrid approach it can be written (coded/programmed) once and launched for both Android and iOS devices.

This makes development faster than native app development where you would need to write / develop each application separately per operating system. Therefore one set of code for Android and another one for iOS. 

ONLY ONE CODEBASE TO MANAGE

As mentioned in the previous point, not only is it quicker to develop hybrid mobile apps due to the single codebase but it also makes managing the single code easier going forward. 

CHEAPER TO DEVELOP

The cost to develop hybrid apps is significantly cheaper than native apps due to the advantage of having to develop and manage only one codebase. 

SIMPLIFIED SKILL SET NEEDED

As we’ve previously mentioned, to develop a native app you will need developers that are competent with both iOS (Swift) and Android (Java) development. These are two very different operating systems and respective coding languages / frameworks. Therefore a diverse development team is needed to build native apps for multiple operating systems. 

However, with hybrid only one set of development skills are required meaning that you only need a single development team to roll out mobile apps for both iOS and Android.

ACCESS TO THE MOBILE DEVICES FEATURES

As with native apps, hybrid apps let you retain the same ability to access device features. This allows for the development of feature rich mobile apps.

This is thanks to solutions like Cordova plugins which allow us to access these device features and native functionality. 

APP STORE DEPLOYMENT IS NOT ALWAYS NEEDED

For Android devices,  users don’t have to go to an app store or marketplace, to download and install the app. Hybrid apps allow users to install these directly onto their devices through an APK file.

Unfortunately, this is not the case with iOS apps and all mobile apps need to be installed through Apple’s App Store. 

UPGRADE EXISTING WEB APPS TO MOBILE

This is a real gem! Often the natural process for a new digital product is to launch an MVP web app. Once the concept has been proven and gained traction, the next big step is to launch a mobile app. 

A superb advantage with hybrid apps is that you can use your web app code and upgrade it to make it a mobile app.

This of course is very dependent on the tech stack you use and the evolution to a mobile app needs to be thought out from the start and planned but if done correctly, lots of features and code can be re-used allowing you to save significant time and costs to launch your mobile app. 

ARE THERE ANY DRAWBACKS?

Hybrid mobile apps have come a really long way, especially in the recent past with massive strides being made to allow these apps to perform better, operate faster and incorporate extensive features.

But it’s not all roses and sunshine (yet) for hybrid apps, there are still a few drawbacks. 

NOT ALL DEVICE FEATURES ARE ACCESSIBLE

We mentioned that an advantage of hybrid apps is that they have the ability to access mobile phones’ features. However, there are still limitations, whereby certain lower-level device features are not permissible to be accessed by hybrid apps. 

PERFORMANCE AND SHEET

Because hybrid apps load in a web view, they have slightly slower performance than traditional native apps. However, with the advancement of smartphones and the improved web browser performance that we’ve seen in recent years (which will continue for years to come), that speed has drastically improved and will continue to do so.

LIMITATIONS TO THE USER INTERFACE

There are certain restrictions when it comes to how the mobile app can be designed and developed. This is due to the development frameworks which have predefined components for both Android and iOS operating systems, in order to comply with app approval. Therefore these components are slightly limited from a user interface and look and feel point of view, but they are being upgraded constantly and new components are also being added fairly often. 

3D rendering and similar requirements, specifically for gaming, is unfortunately not available through these components and are only achievable through native app development.

WHAT TECH STACK DO WE BUILD HYBRID APPS IN?

We typically develop our mobile apps using the following technology stack: Angular, Cordova, and Ionic. 

WHY DO WE USE THE TECHNOLOGIES?

We make use of this tech stack, as it allows us to take advantage of the components that are pre-developed and are available at our disposal. These technologies are constantly evolving, giving us the ability to tap into updated libraries and new components. 

There is also the advantage that this tech stack is well adopted worldwide, meaning there is a huge worldwide community that provides loads of support.

Finally, the documentation that is available for these technologies is very detailed, updated often, and very helpful to developers that adopt this tech stack.

WHAT TECH IS USED FOR THE REST OF THE PLATFORM

Mobile apps are never standalone tech. Mobile apps need to get and save information from some sort of back-end platform. Administrators need access to this data and they need a comprehensive platform that they can view all the data associated with their app as well as make changes to content and user records, etc.

Mobile apps (whether hybrid or native) need to communicate with these databases and backend platforms. In order to facilitate this communication mechanism, we develop custom APIs (if you’re unsure of what an API is, you can read about it here) that allow these platforms to speak to each other seamlessly. 

We develop our APIs and backend platforms typically using PHP and MySQL. This is usually done within a PHP MVC framework such as CodeIgniter or Laravel.

IS INTEGRATION POSSIBLE WITH THIRD-PARTY PLATFORMS AND APIS?

Yes! Third-party platforms and APIs allow us to extend the functionality of the mobile apps by adding new features and information for users to engage and consume. So it’s natural that we’d want to integrate with as many of these providers as possible. 

Hybrid mobile apps can be developed and integrated with third parties. The best and easiest way to do this is either via their APIs or if they offer some sort of SDK (Software Development Kit). 

However, there may be instances where integrations are not possible as the APIs and SDKs don’t exist. 

HOW DO YOU GO ABOUT TESTING?

With any development project whether it be a mobile app or a web application, testing forms a crucial part of the development lifecycle. Mobile apps in particular require extensive testing as the apps can run on both Android and iOS devices. These different operating systems function and behave quite differently and we can never assume that because the app runs seamlessly on one OS that it will work fine on the other. 

To test the mobile app on Android devices, the process is a bit simpler than on iOS, as iOS is a lot more strict when it comes to what can be installed on the device and how. 

For Android, we’re able to compile and send an APK file to the phone and then literally install the mobile app from the APK file. 

iOS on the other hand, as mentioned can be trickier. We’ve found that the best way to test mobile apps on this type of operating system is to use an app called Test Flight.

This allows us to deploy mobile app updates and invite users to partake in the testing, as well as view analytics of which users have started testing the mobile app.

WHAT ABOUT MAINTENANCE

Maintenance is definitely possible and in many cases, it’s a must have requirement to ensure that the mobile app is supported and well maintained.

It’s important to know that libraries and SDKs are updated from time to time and keeping these upgraded to the latest version is best practice and ensures that your mobile app is secure and incorporates any improvements that are needed.

A bonus as we’ve mentioned earlier in this article is that hybrid apps are easier to maintain compared to native apps due to there only being a single code base for both IOS and Android platforms. 

A further point to keep in mind is that not only do you need to keep your mobile app upgraded and well maintained but the backend platform and any custom written APIs also need to be upgraded and improved from time to time, which should be part of the overall support and maintenance offering.

APP STORE DEPLOYMENT 

To get an app onto a user’s device they need to be downloaded from a play store. Android has the PlayStore and iOS has the App Store. 

For app store deployments, this is perfectly achievable with hybrid mobile apps. The process is pretty much the same as deploying a native app and the necessary steps need to be followed, as well as the appropriate information needs to be submitted in order to get the app reviewed and approved.  

FINAL THOUGHTS ON HYBRID MOBILE APPS

Hybrid mobile apps have become so popular because of their shorter development timeframe, lower development cost and ability to be scaled to a variety of platforms and operating systems.

Many companies are opting to go the hybrid app route rather than the native app route, due to the above benefits. 

However, hybrid apps are not for everyone, neither are they a solution for all mobile app requirements. When planning on launching your new and innovative mobile app that’s going to revolutionise your industry and change the world, it’s important to determine what the actual features are and if these are possible to be achieved going the hybrid route. 

We’ve seen hybrid apps progress in leaps and bounds in recent years and this trend will continue making hybrid apps more and more attractive as a platform to develop and launch custom mobile apps.  

LET'S WORK TOGETHER

You’re in good company if you’re looking to get a mobile app designed and developed and looking to go the hybrid route rather than the native route, we’d be happy to understand what your mobile app is about and how we can help you build the app you desire. Get in touch!