Native or cross-platform development: which one to choose?

To start with, native app development is the creation of applications specifically for a particular platform/operating system. To put it simply, if you need your native app to be presented on Android and iOS, you should create two distinct apps applying different tech stacks and tools. Thanks to this, you can provide the best possible user experience in the matter of the app’s visual style and functionality.

What are the most popular native apps? We bet you’ve already known them: WhatsApp, Spotify, Pokemon Go, SoundCloud, Twitter, DocuSign etc.

To gain a better grasp of why you need separate native apps for iOS and Android platforms, let’s delve into distinctions between them:

It’s proven that native apps are highly responsive and efficient and have excellent operations. This is explained by the fact that such apps are capable of interacting directly with native APIs. They do not need to rely on any middleware.

With a native app development approach, you can get full access to customization options (including camera, microphone, and geolocation that are always challenging to implement). It means that you can create something unique, impress your target audience, and outpace competitors. Moreover, you can create a solution that will be perfectly tailored to your needs and goals.

Native app development provides an unrestricted environment, eliminating the need to combine features from various operating systems. So you can enjoy the benefits of a single, consolidated platform for your development needs!

Native apps are always more intuitive and provide a more convenient experience for users. As we mentioned above, each platform has its own UI/UX design guidelines. With a native approach, developers can fully adhere to these standards and take care of users' visual comfort and habits.

File encryption, intelligent fraud detection — these and many other security features are much easier to implement in native apps.

If you’re thinking of your project’s potential and growth, native app development will provide you with the best possible conditions for this. Flexible architecture, lower chance of errors, better support of high loads, and increased traffic — that’s what you’ll love when deciding to scale your app.

These and many other benefits make native app development a preferred choice for businesses for many years. However, cross platform app development has also gained momentum. Let’s delve into its specifics as well!

Cross platform app development is a process of building applications that are capable of running smoothly on different platforms/operating systems using a single codebase. Still, there could be minor differences in workflow or the app’s design. For example, for another platform developers can cut some features that are in the original app to keep the seamless performance. Developing cross platform apps, you can save your time and budget, as well as reach a broader and more diverse audience.

The most popular cross platform apps: Skype, Slack, Adobe Reader,TeamViewer.

This is a question that typically arises when discussing cross-platform development. The concepts of hybrid apps and cross platforms apps are quite similar; however, they’re not interchangeable.

The first thing you need to know is that both of these app types enable developers to create mobile applications that can operate on multiple platforms. The main difference is the following:

Hybrid apps have a web nature. It means that if you want to develop hybrid app you need to use web technologies such as HTML, CSS, and JavaScript. However, if you want to distribute it through the app stores, it could be wrapped in a native container. That’s how without any magic your web app can turn into a mobile hybrid app!

In contrast, cross platform app development is about building a single codebase that can be compiled into native code for multiple platforms.

All you need to do is to create a single codebase that can be reusable for different platforms. There is no need to create separate apps, hire two development teams and cover other development costs twice. This way you can save your budget significantly.

Again, with a cross platform approach and single code, you can reduce the time and effort needed to create and maintain multiple versions of the same app.

You’re not limited by the audience of one platform. You can engage a wider audience than would be possible with a single native app.

Updates and constant support of several apps at once can be too stressful and exhausting. Moreover, it requires additional costs and increases the risk of errors and other issues. With a single codebase, maintenance tasks can be performed more efficiently and consistently across all platforms.

As you can see both native apps and cross platform apps can be a beneficial solution for your business. So how should you make your final decision? Our bonus tips may come in handy.

To make a winning decision, it's essential to consider both the advantages and disadvantages of each approach, and then compare them with the specific requirements and available resources of your project, such as time, budget, available talents, etc.

We recommend taking into account the following points:

1. If your key priority is loading speed and perfect performance, it would be better to pick a native app development approach. The thing is that cross platform apps are usually slower compared to native apps as they need an additional abstraction layer and rendering process. Moreover, because of difficulties caused by adaptation to different platforms, you can face some functional constraints.

Also, there’s always a risk that cross platform apps may not work consistently across all devices or platforms.

2. If you don’t have enough time and your budget is tight, you should think of a cross platform app. Native app development can turn out to be too time and cost-consuming.

3. If you don’t need to focus on a single platform, then choose a cross platform approach as native apps have limited cross platform compatibility. However, if you analyzed your audience and found out that your customers are, for example, mainly Android users, and then develop an Android app only using a native approach.

4. If you need to create a one-of-a-kind app, you may probably need full access to all the native features. In this case, native app will be a better solution. Cross platform app development can be tricky in terms of customization.

And last but not least…

It's a very important factor to consider as app development does not end up launching on app stores. You should constantly preserve its smooth operations, fix unexpected errors, make updates etc.

Actually, both native and cross platform apps are easy to maintain if you apply correct approaches and know the nuances of different platforms.

For example, in the long run, native apps are generally easier to maintain for the following reason. Native apps are designed to operate exclusively on a specific platform, utilizing the platform's native programming language and tools. Consequently, there should be no problems with updates and compliance with security patches.

Still, keep in mind: if you have not one but several native apps, you should spend more time and effort to ensure that each app operates following the relevant requirements of various platforms.

The maintenance of cross platform apps can be also seamless as your developers just need to update the codebase once to make changes across all platforms.

However, cross-platform apps may require additional testing and development time to ensure that the app works smoothly on all platforms, which can make maintenance more complicated.

To sum up, the decision on which approach to take is tightly connected with the specifics, needs, and aims of your business. If you still doubt which solution is the most optimal for your project, our team is ready to provide consultations and help you make the winning choice!

Also, if you're looking to develop a cross platform or native app, don't hesitate to get in touch with us! DreamX team has the expertise and experience to help you achieve your goals. Wait no more to get started!