Cross-Platform vs Native Mobile App Development

Thus, if there is no rush as a business owner for launching your app, stick with Native app development. Developing a Native app is costlier as compared to Cross-platform apps. So if there are no budget constraints for your app development process, you can go for Native app development. Although it’s free to work with, you still must install Visual Studio IDE, which is proprietary and distributed on a subscription basis.

The app isn’t complex and doesn’t need functionalities which vary much between the platforms. Hybrid platform comprises majorly 2 components- a backend code and a native viewer which is downloaded for displaying the functions and the backend. You are planning to grab a wide base of DAUs and target VC investors for product funding and develop an easy-to-learn yet intuitive app. Your target audience will be using your app for the first time and you plan to impress them with the best possible app experience.

The Native apps have direct access to the hardware of the device such as a microphone, camera, GPS, and many more. Thus, they acquire all the possible advantages of the device and deliver a high-performance and better user experience. This is the reason why the majority of the CTOs prefer developing Native applications for their product. We’ve already established that not every app can be built with a cross-platform solution as well as native development isn’t always a perfect match.

At the end of the day, you may go completely native or stay on cross-platform depending on what brings more profits at every stage. However, bear in mind that it android app developer might be a little more tricky to customize the app beyond what’s allowed in the framework. The question is, what is the right technology stack for YOUR project?

At the same time, investors should avoid native technologies if they wish to decrease development and maintenance costs. Swift remains among the most popular languages created by Apple for iOS, and many developers praise it for exceptional frameworks and documentation. Comparing Flutter and Swift, the integration with Swift iOS is simpler and involves less configuration.

This is because these apps are responsive, fast, and are less likely to get crashed. These apps are often plagued by performance issues and are comparatively slower than the Native apps. Thus, it does not have any negative impact on the overall business revenue. So if you are a bootstrapped company looking for maximum results with minimum investment, Cross-platform apps are a better choice. The Ionic community grows continuously and according to the 2017 Ionic Developer Survey, about 80 percent of engineers consider themselves experienced.

Corona SDK is the best cross-platform development framework for creating 2D games for desktop and mobile devices. It is known for developing highly robust and scalable apps in less time. Ionic was introduced in 2013 by Drift CO. Its first alpha version was launched in November 2013. Since then, various versions of the Ionic platform have been launched, allowing developers to develop unusual and innovative mobile applications.

Cross-platform vs Native Apps: Key Differences

Your choice should depend on your targeted user expectations, complexity of your app and the stage of your business maturity. A native app is made with platform-specific code in a language dedicated to a specific mobile OS. These are usually Java or Kotlin for Android and Swift or Objective-C for iOS. So if you want to see your app in both Play Market and App Store, you would need to employ two teams of programmers working in IDEs specific to a chosen OS. If your business needs to have an application that can run on different operating systems then the answer to your problems is cross-platform application development.

Net Solutions is a strategic design & build consultancy that unites creative design thinking with agile software development under one expert roof. Founded in 2000, we create award-winning transformative digital products & platforms for startups and enterprises worldwide. Unlike cross-platform and hybrid apps, native apps offer offline support of the app functionalities. Modern customers have higher expectations from a brand and getting a rich user experience throughout their app journey is the first thing they expect from a business.

By using a platform-independent approach, your developers will be more inclined to focus on the performance results for both engines. Like so many other frameworks, Framework 7 is an open-source project that’s also powered by Apache Cordova. There are plenty of built-in themes available to customize your app’s interface with as well.

Benefit #1: Rapid development and maintenance

They don’t have to invest separately to build different versions of applications for multiple platforms. Hybrid app development frameworks enable developers to develop a single version and utilize the same for multiple platforms. NativeScript is one of the widely used cross-platform app development frameworks.

• Flutter needs more memory expenses than native, while React Native shows even worse performance.
• Brands looking to create apps that use the latest technology and perform as well as possible may prefer native app development.
• Its multiple hybrid features and multiple language offering make it possible to build complex apps in a flexible manner.
• The performance might be worse – Since the cross-platform app code is made to fit different systems and devices, it requires more workload to make it run as smoothly as a native app would.

Also, it is easier for developers to adhere to the standards of a particular platform. Developers use a programming language called Dart to develop mobile applications using Flutter. This language is mainly used for front-end development, but you can also use it for developing web and mobile applications. Google created Dart language in 2011, https://globalcloudteam.com/ and has improved significantly in the past few years. Let’s discuss all such benefits you achieved when developing apps for your enterprise solution using cross-platform app development frameworks. Now businesses leave no stone unturned and reach potential customers through different mediums like desktops, tablets, mobiles, PC, etc.

What is a Cross Platform App?

For Android apps, you need to use Android Studio or IntelliJ IDEA. These tools work on Windows, macOS, or Linux. Still doubtful about choosing native or cross-platform development? Cross-platform apps are unable to take advantage of native UX components.

You want to have a single codebase for the app logic while keeping full control over UI elements. Not all cross-platform frameworks allow you to do this, but some, like Kotlin Multiplatform Mobile, provide this capability. As mentioned above, different mobile development solutions and tools come with different expenses. Depending on how flexible your budget is, you can choose the right solution for your project. Cross-platform solutions help you more effectively manage resources.

Benefits of Cross-Platform Applications

Yet, in the case of cross-platform vs. native mobile app development, there are downsides to both approaches. Considering these disadvantages is crucial when choosing between cross-platform vs. native mobile app development. Let’s proceed to the second approach – native mobile app development. Finally, there is a definite appeal toward cross-platform mobile app development in the community. The number of developers using the approach is rising, which means you have greater access to the talent pool. Typically, a cross-platform mobile app comes with a more consistent feel and look, which means users across different platforms have a similarly good user experience.

This helps companies reduce the time required to fix back-end logic issues (which usually takes 10–20% of total project time) and launch apps faster. It can be harder to find professionals who can build multiplatform apps, compared to native app developers. For example, while writing this article, we found about 2,400 Android developer jobs versus 348 Flutter developer vacancies on Glassdoor.

Instead, it uses JavaScript to render native components into a JavaScript application, successfully omitting all the drawbacks of simply loading a web page into a mobile app. Cross-platform application development is about building a single application that can run on various operating systems, instead of developing different app versions for each platform. React Native is one of the top cross-platform mobile development frameworks. It is based on React — a best-in-class JavaScript library for creating user interfaces — and targets mobile platforms. Creating separate native apps for each platform is expensive, while a hybrid application uses a single sharable code, which helps you keep within your budget. Multiplatform mobile app development is continuously evolving due to emerging technologies, becoming more dynamic and attractive for developers.

Next-gen cross platform app development company

You don’t have to do double work, and QA will also take significantly less time. Since the cross-platform app is focused on several different platforms, it’ll enter those markets at once. The number of potential users will also increase, as well as the chances of getting them to download your program. As said, instead of having two teams of developers, one for each platform, you’ll need only one to create a cross-platform app. While cross-platform development saves time and cost, you risk sacrificing a little quality in the process.

Sharing code across platforms also means you’re able to get a viable product out faster and cheaper than if you opt for native app development. They’re native in that they’re built for specific platforms and written in languages that the platform accepts. Most native iOS apps use Swift, for example, and native Android apps default to Kotlin . For iOS apps meanwhile, native app developers would instead use Swift or Objective-C and applications such as AppCode, Xcode, or Atom. Thus, if you want to build a native app that works well on both platforms, you would have to create two different apps. Such a solution usually requires separate teams of developers for both technologies.

If you already have a native iOS/Android app and want to rebuild it in React Native, it will be a significant initial investment. For example, you could develop a native Android app using Java and choose Swift for iOS apps. Companies need tools to distribute their content, ensure fast access to corporate data, manage smart devices, and allow their customers to complete transactions faster.

We are Surf — Mobile App Development Company

In a nutshell, cross-platform app development is the approach to building mobile apps that can operate on various platforms and operating systems using a single source code. As we mentioned above, mobile apps running on Android and iOS dominate the market. In such a case, cross-platform development enables developers to build apps that work on both these platforms.

Ionic is based on Apache Cordova, which implements the native part of the application. On iOS, Xamarin uses AOT compilation to compile the source code directly into native ARM assembly code. Since it’s a part of the .NET framework, you can use your code with other .NET features while enjoying a lot of stability. Some of the features include Lambdas and Language Integrated Query . Therefore, most developers with even a little experience in web development often find it easy adopting React Native as a new skill.

Customization of features and UI/UX.

It consists of 1000 APIs and plugins that help to transform your ideas into fascinating apps. In React Native framework, developers can either incorporate the framework components into the existing app’s code or reuse the Cordova-based code with the help of plugins. This framework is capable of building complex and highly customized widgets as per the requirement of your application. One question that might be running through your mind is how to choose the best framework for your app development. In fact, a lot of companies encourage their employees to bring their own devices to use at work as well. Businesses often develop their own app specifically for this purpose.