What kind of mobile application should I develop?
by Gaurav Gupta
We already commented that, when facing the development of a mobile application, the first step is to choose your class: will it be native, web or hybrid? After knowing the differences between these approaches, it is time to analyze their particular advantages and disadvantages.
Native
Advantage
-They present the best possible performance.
-They can freely use the hardware elements of the device, such as the camera and the accelerometer.
-They can be promoted on a large scale with ease, since they are published in the official store of the operating system.
-They integrate naturally into the operating system interface, so they provide the best user experience.
Disadvantages
-Its development is difficult and costly.
-They are not cross-platform: an application will only serve a particular operating system. If you want to move it to another environment, it will have to develop another version from scratch, perhaps in another language.
Web
Advantage
-Its development time is much lower than that of a native application.
-They are multiplatform: they can be accessed from any browser.
-They should not submit to the approval process of official app stores or share profits with them.
-The use of JavaScript and CSS3 allows you to easily create good visual effects, which enrich the user interface.
Disadvantages
-Its performance depends largely on the Internet connection. And, generally, they cannot function offline.
-If we are to make a profit, we must generate our own business model, since we cannot charge for its download in an application store.
-They cannot take full advantage of the device hardware.
-They are not suitable when there are high requirements of UI, as in the case of video games.
Hybrid
Advantage
-If you want to move to another operating system, only the native part of the code should be rewritten. It is also easier to maintain.
-Provides the best relationship between development cost and user experience.
-The “native” portion of the program can be installed from the official application store of the operating system, which provides diffusion and perhaps profits.
Disadvantages
-The interface may not fully integrate with the operating system.
-The use of a browser prevents performance from being comparable to that of a native application.
Clearly, when choosing one of the three approaches will have to think about the resources that we are able to invest, the means of distribution that we agree and the service we want to provide our users.