Mobile app development is an umbrella term for a number of processes combined together to offer a number of practices for the users. Talking particularly about the processes in the mobile app development, Native and Hybrid mobile app development are the two most popular ones. Both of these development methods are unique in their ways and differ slightly from each other in their ways. I am going to give you a glimpse of both the development types in brief in order to clear your understanding on both of these mobile app development methods. Here is an extended discussion on the same. Keep on reading till the end to know the points of difference.
Before getting deeper into the discussion, here is the description on both of these processes:
Native app development
Native apps are developed using programming languages for devices that run on specific operating systems. And, the most common languages include object C for iOS devices and Java for Android. These apps get advantage of specific operating systems for which they have been developed.
Hybrid app development
Hybrid app is a program that is developed using HTML5, CSS, and Javascript. The best thing about hybrid app development is, the developed app can run in different environments, which makes it a preferable choice for a number of developers practicing mobile app development.
Here are more points of differences:
Difference number 1
As I have described above, native apps are built to run on specific operating systems. That means a native application developed specifically for the iOS environment would always perform with the environment but will not function when operated on other OS.
Hybrid applications, on the other hand, are developed using different programming languages, which makes such applications easy to run on any of the app environment. The actual point of difference lies in the systems they are developed for.
Difference number 2
The development language that is used in developing native app must remain one that is attached to SDK of that particular OS. It utilized the tools and languages for the specific platform. For Android, the native apps should be developed using Eclipse or Java. For iOS uses, on the other hand, the xCode and Objective-C is used, while Windows Phone uses Visual Studio and C#.
The case with hybrid app development is not that specific but a lot simpler. The apps for hybrid development can be created with web languages such as HTML5, CSS, and JavaScript.
Difference number 3
Native apps are known to bring better experience to the users as such applications are developed using a suite of programming languages that further helps to add to the user experience.
If compared to native apps, hybrid apps lack in user experience. They don’t stand in a better position if compared to the native ones on the grounds of UX. However, the user experience with such apps is not that bad but the element is not as big as it is in native apps.
Difference number 4
Native apps are developed with a complex coding but the case is not similar to the hybrid apps. Due to a complex coding structure, the development time for native apps is a bit more than what hybrid apps take in general. However, both the app development ways have a benefit and demerit of their own.
The conclusion
This is all about the differences between hybrid and native app development. Both the app development measures have merits and disadvantage of their own and the list presented here carries all these points in details. From a technical point of view, the hybrid app development is generally preferred by mobile app development companies due to the ease that comes along.