This blog explains succinctly the advantages of native app development over web app development. Later, it elaborates how developers can create a wonderful concoction of native and web apps through React Native-based hybrid apps.

Let us Start with the Benefits of Investing in Native App Development…

1. Native apps run faster

Native apps are stored on the device so their processing speed is not dependent on internet connectivity or bandwidth. Moreover, these apps utilize a device’s native programming language and APIs to operate. So they run extra efficiently.
In contrast, web apps are actually a bunch of web pages tied together with browser technologies. They just give the look and feel of apps but are HTML-powered user interfaces. For any action to be performed in a web app, calls are made to remote web pages. The speed at which processing occurs is dependent on internet connectivity in the vicinity.

2. They have the App Store advantage.

App stores only feature native mobile apps. And app stores are undeniable one of the most important marketing channels for any app. When a person is in need of a new app, the App store will probably be the first play they’ll look for it. If your app is listed there, its chances of being discovered are greater. There are ways your app can be made more prominent in App Stores. Since native apps are backed by App Stores, they are perceived as the hallmark of quality by most users.

Another big thumbs up for native apps is that their monetization (commission, revenue, etc.) are taken care of by the App Stores from where they are downloaded. For web apps, payment systems have to be integrated within the app.

3. More secure apps

Native apps can leverage the in-built security features of a device’s operating system. Plus, performance enhancement updates of the OS are also available for native apps. Mobile device management feature allows users to take remote control of their app and protect its data from encroachment or compromise.

Web apps, on the other hand, are more prone to security threats since they work on the non-standard programming codes made using HTML, CSS and JavaScript.

4. Scalability and enhancement are non-issues

New features can be added to native apps easily and rapidly. The unlimited APIs available for native apps can render your app scalable and better. If need be, new APIs can be created for crafting features that aren’t provided by existing APIs. Conversely, web apps can work only within the limits of the web browser facilitating them. So they aren’t as flexible as native apps.

5. Good integration with mobile hardware

Mobile devices have super features such as camera, GPS, touch screens, integrated calling and microphone. Native apps can utilize these features with ease. Leveraging these capabilities within a web browser can be challenging and cumbersome.

6. Delights users with anticipated UI and UX

Native apps delight users with the kind of UI and UX they have come to expect from their handheld devices. Web apps give the look of inherent apps but not their feel. They cannot function as seamlessly as native apps. Web apps also give a monotonous user interface across all devices that rarely matches the spectacular user experience provided by native apps.

7. These apps run offline too

One of the biggest advantage of native apps is that, unlike web apps, they don’t need internet to run. Since they are stored within a device, native apps can be worked on the move, in a desert, forest or anywhere else. Web apps are hosted on web browsers that can be accessed only when online. So, if using web apps, you will be hindered by wavering internet speed, connectivity issues and hefty internet usage charges.

React Native Application Development- Best of Native and Web Apps

Native apps are secure, efficient and delightful. This is what makes native apps the preferred choice of most quality developers and vendors. This certainly doesn’t mean that the affordability and rapidity of web application development can be dismissed lightly. Most people find themselves at a veritable crossroad where they are compelled to compromise and settle for cheaper, quick-to-market web apps at the cost of native apps that offer better user experience.

But Facebook’s React Native has changed the rules of the game. React Native apps combine the performance factor of Native Apps with the ease of development of Web Apps. This JavaScript library helps build amazing user interfaces that render flawlessly on all devices and platforms consistently.

Benefits of React Native App Development

1. Reusable components

React Native has components corresponding to iOS and Android and these components can be used time and again to give native look and feel to your app, regardless of the device on which it resides. The speed and functionality of React Native apps is no less than of Native apps. Additionally, these apps can be built in agile frameworks that are speedy and efficient.

2. Reusability of app’s existing code

If you don’t wish to overhaul an app; instead you want to utilize its existing code- React Native Applications are the answer to your prayers. Your Cordova or Ionic code can be reused as a plugin in the React app. So, no coding!

3. Ease of adoption

React Native is easy to pick up for JavaScript programmers. It does away with the need for learning Swift or Java for Android. Essentially, front-end programmers can turn developers and coders by using React Native application development.

4. Platform independent

Whether your device is Android or iOS-based, React Native apps run equally well on both platforms. Initially, React Native apps could be built only for iOS devices. But owing to the popularity and mass appeal of Android devices, React Native’s scope was expanded.

Facebook has made React Native open-source, meaning there is a distinct possibility of compatibility with Windows and TvOS operating systems, in the near future. If that happens, React Native will have all bases covered and beat rival framework undisputedly.

5. Efficiency personified

Native apps are slower to develop and deploy than web apps. But React Native apps bring agility and speed into the system. ReactJS’s simple programming strategies and better performance enhance the efficiency of these apps.

6. Plugin compatibility

You don’t need a Web View for loading third-party plugins. They can be incorporated within a React app and they load fast and ensure a smooth ride, even for devices with older versions of operating systems.

So, as we have covered in this blog, Native mobile apps score over web apps in a multitude of ways. And with React Native-based hybrid apps, things are looking even brighter. But, if you want a detailed information about these technologies before choosing one, consider our mobile app development guide today.

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Seeing how the methodology elevates your app’s performance and look and feel to a whole different level, we realized that it deserves an in-depth analysis. And just for that, we have divided all there is to Native Application in three parts. The first part (the one you are in for) deals with what the process is and the reasons why brands are opting for it.

The next part of the series will show you how to develop a Native Android App using Android Studio and in the third and final part, we will look into the process you will have to follow to develop an iOS Native App using Xcode.

Let’s Begin –

What are Native Apps

Native Applications are those that are designed for a specific platform. Unlike their cross platform apps counterparts that can work on a number of different devices both Android and iOS, Native Applications can only operate on either Android or iOS and sometimes are even made for a specific device.

After learning what Native applications stand for, the next question that gets thrown on us is why invest in an app that can only run on one specific platform or even device, when you can get an app that would run on both the platforms and on various devices as well?

The answer I always give is – Because Native Apps have elements that give a user experience that Cross Platform/Web Apps will take ages to offer, and even then the chances are they will not be able to come up to the mark when the comparison will be made.

Here are the factors that I base my notion that Native Apps are best for Mobile App Development, on.

Why are Native Apps Beneficial for Mobile App Development?

1. Access to Device Features

The environment in which a native application is developed complies with specific OS’s user guidelines and technicalities like swipes, gestures, header position (left for Android and center for iOS). It reduces the app learning time to a huge extent as the users are already aligned with how the different features of their device works.

2. Greater Operational Speed

By not being dependent on the web, Native apps run much faster as compared to their Hybrid counterparts. Their USP of being responsive works not just in the favour of user experience but also speeds up the in-app time.

3. Compatible with Complex Apps

Hybrid Apps are known for their greater application in catalogue type apps, where the aim is to just showcase the product and not to aid their purchase. Adding features beyond simple display, calls for being in sync with device specific features – a move that is only possible when you follow Native Application Development process.

4. Works in Offline Mode

Unlike Web Apps that are dependent on internet connectivity, Native Apps can even function in an offline mode, as the data is already downloaded.

5. Native Experience

The reasons we choose Native App Development as a support for our Mobile UI/UX Design Process is also one of the biggest visibly differentiating factor when it comes to comparing native experience with a hybrid one – Aspect Ratio. As we know that the dpi level varies from device to device, when you try to fit one app in different devices, there are bound to be difference in views. Other than the aspect ratio, using hybrid apps will rob your users off from experiencing personalization in terms of buttons, icons, and gestures.

Read: Native vs. Hybrid Apps: The Decision that holds the Key to Undisputed User Experience

Now that we know what Native Application is and the reasons we swear upon them as compared to the Hybrid apps, let us look at the tools that are used to develop them.

Tools for Native Application Development

When doing Native Mobile Application Development, there are two platforms that both Android and iOS have individually introduced the application industry to – Android Studio and Xcode.

Here’s a little info on both of them –

1. Android Studio

It is the official IDE of Android Operating System. The platform comes with a number of features, including –

• Android Based quick fixes and refactoring
• Gradle specific build support
• Lint tools for catching performance, version compatibility, and usability
• ProGuard Integration
• Layout Editor which allows users to drag and drop UI components.
• Built in support for the Google Cloud Platform that enables integration with the Firebase Cloud Messaging and Google App Engine.

2. Xcode

Xcode is Apple’s IDE that have a suite of tools used for developing apps for iOS, macOS, tvOS, and watchOS.

These are the features that Xcode 9 has come with –

• Source code editor has been rebuilt to give greater control on line spacing, cursor type, and multiple font styles.
• The new editor even comes with built in transformation engine and refactoring.
• Xcode 9 integrates source control with GitHub. With this, the clone window shows both – the personal GitHub repository and the ones where you added a star.
• It allows you to connect any of your tvOS or iOS devices on local network for installing, running, or debugging your app by connecting through network, without the need of a USB Cable.

With this, you now know what Native Applications are and the reasons why brands are preferring them over Hybrid counterparts, along with a basic idea of the features the platform that you will be using to make them, consists of.

The next part of the trilogy will cover how to develop Native Apps using Android Studio. Look out for the info in this section.

See you soon.

The post 5 Reasons to Choose Native App Development: Part 1 in the Native Mobile Application Development Trilogy appeared first on Appinventiv.

According to a report, 67% of users abandon an app because of bad user experience. In addition to this, the user experience will be the key brand differentiator, overtaking the cost and product by 2020.

The above report shows that if you wish to take your business to the newer scale, you cannot compromise on the customer experience. It is necessary to deliver exquisite user experience. And for that, Native app development is are a perfect choice. Unlike Web applications and Hybrid application, Native applications are developed for a specific platform and thus, allow you to better use the functionalities of the platform. Still wondering how? Have a look at the following points:

Factors Proving Native Mobile Apps a Better Choice

Following are the factors that signifies Native app development is a profitable deal:

1. Speed

Speed is one of the most crucial factors in user engagement and retention. According to our mobile app developers, even a delay of 2 seconds is enough to make the users distracted. The web and hybrid apps take higher time to load than native apps, and so native application is a better option.

The renowned companies like Facebook, LinkedIn, and Bank of America have learned this lesson by investing in HTML5 initially and then switching to Native for performance reasons.

2. Aspect Ratio

The customers use applications on different devices. As every smartphone/tablet has varied aspect ratios and dpi, the look and functionality of your application may vary from device to device. If you try to make the app ‘fit for all’ devices, you might have to make serious compromises with the customer experience which is again unacceptable. So, the best solution for this is to adopt native application development. Using Objective-C or Java provides you a better control over resolution, size, and orientation.

3. Native Look & Feel

Native applications completely use the platform functionalities and thus, look and behave like the default apps. According to the top mobile app development companies, this makes it easier for the users to use your app. After all, they will be more familiar with the icons and layout.

4. IDE

These specialized development environments act as ecosystems enabling the mobile app developers to develop native apps. Both Android and iOS provides an extensive range of tools from design to testing. You can better utilize the hardware configurations and can tune, analyze & trace the app performance. This reduces the development time and allows the developers to work on bugs and other associated things. Many of these tools are unavailable to web and cross development platforms. So, the native app development is more profitable.

5. Advanced UI Interactions

Native mobile app development supports double taps, pinch-spread, multi-finger touch and several other such user interface gestures. It remains updated with the trending technologies and features to reinvent the customer experience. The other application types, however, do not support all these features all at once.

6. Usability

The device features like camera, notifications, contacts, calendar, etc. can be easily accessed by the native mobile applications, but not by web & hybrid apps. This is because these features are the built-in components to the related operating system.

7. Huge Back Up

The tech giants Google and Apple hold the largest market share and introduces new tools & technology for supporting the native app development. This proves that the native apps are not going to lose the market soon. Again, there are a lot of resources and documentation through which you learn the development and overcome the errors, making it a better opportunity.

8. Offline Accessibility

There are various native mobile apps that work in offline mode as well. That means the applications can provide impressive user experience even in places where there’s poor or no internet accessibility. This feature is not supported by other app types yet.

Conclusion

In the ongoing battle of app development and user experience, the Native mobile apps take the throne. They not just provide a great experience to the users, but the developers as well. Thus, there are the right option to meet your business mobile app needs. In case you still have any doubt regarding the native application development, get in touch with our experts!

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