Can you imagine a life without smartphone anymore?
Of course not.
It hasn’t been long since smartphone have been introduced in the world. Yet, they have already become an inseparable part of life now.
We need smartphones at every point of life — right from waking up with the morning alarm to wishing good night to near and dear ones. The use of smartphones has driven the growth of mobile applications as well. This is why, mobile application development has surged over the years.
We see hundreds of new mobile applications making its presence in the market every year. The demand for mobile applications is increasing with every passing day. This is why a lot of thought and brainstorming goes into mobile application development. Though we are quite familiar with the introduction of new applications making presence in the market through mobile application development, we have little idea of the platforms the developers are using while building apps.
Let us have a look at the different types of apps that are being introduced through properly planned mobile application development processes.
Native Apps
One of the most well-known mobile application types, these applications are native to a particular platform or device. The mobile application development done for native apps take into account only a particular operating system. For example, a native app developed for an iOS does not function on an Android device and vice versa.
Native mobile applications are preferred by users as they:
- Offer high speed and excellent performance
- Are easy to find
- Ensures great user experience
- Provides access to a number of features
The native mobile apps are costlier than other mobile application types because they need separate support and maintenance for seamless functionality.
You can usually find these types of applications in App Store or Google Play. To use this app, you need to download it on your mobile device.
Hybrid Apps
The applications that use multi-platform technologies are known as hybrid apps. Similar to the native apps, these apps can also be installed on devices. Mobile application development for these apps involves the use of HTML5. However, these applications are not as reliable or fast as their native counterparts. They enjoy better capacity to streamline the development process. It is perfect for applications that primarily involve content development.
Hybrid applications:
- Can be used in multiple platforms
- Are easy and fast to build
- Involves cost-effective maintenance
These apps lack performance, speed and optimisation, that looks promising in the native applications.
Web App
Web apps can be accessed from the mobile browser. They are responsive websites capacitated to adapt to the user’s device. Visit Quora or Facebook using your mobile browser to get a clear idea of how web-based mobile applications look like.
The mobile apps target browsers and thus, work on multiple mobile operating systems. You can view the mobile web apps on iOS, Windows as well as Android devices. CSS, Javascript, HTML, and JQuery are used for developing these applications.
Mobile apps are among the most popular apps among the users, as they:
- Save device memory by utilizing minimum storage space.
- Can be accessed from different devices with internet connection.
As user experience depends on internet connectivity, poor internet connection leads to bad user experience. Moreover, it does not allow access to multiple APIs, a possibility with the hybrid apps.
With so much details, choosing the right type of web application may be tough for your business. So here are a few guidelines for you.
Choose a native app if you
- Want your application to have a lot of graphics
- Need high-performance level
- Are developing for a particular platform
Choose a hybrid app if you
- Have limited resources for maintenance and development
- Want your application be found in the application stores
Choose a web app if you
- Need your app running soon
- Have limited resources
Conclusion
It’s not possible to imagine a world without smartphones any more. And if you use smartphone, you have to depend on smartphone apps. Different types of smartphone apps can be created using proper mobile application development procedures.