A Complete Guide to Native App Development

Planning to get a mobile app developed? We know it’s not that easy, especially for someone who is not tech-savvy.

To stay ahead in the race of competition, mobile apps are a must-have for businesses these days. But how to go for and which app platform to choose are a few questions that most entrepreneurs have. Not every app is loved by users. Some fail while others succeed. The main reason for this is the user experience that each app offers.

Getting a mobile app developed can be cumbersome. It requires both your time and money. If at any stage, anything goes wrong, your effort may go in vain. And hence, choosing the right set of technology and the right mobile application development company is very important.

Also, one of the main concerns while planning for mobile app development is the type of app one should go for. People are often confused about whether to go for native app development or cross-platform app development.

Today in this blog we are going to talk about native app development and what are the benefits that both, a user, and a business get by getting a feature-rich native app developed. So, let’s begin.

What is Native App Development?

The demand for native app development is constantly increasing in the market. The main reason for this is the enhanced user experience that these native apps offer. They are known to be much faster and focused than the others. The simple reason for this is native apps are developed via the same native environment of the operating system.

In simpler words, native apps are developed using the same language as the operating system. Most app development companies prefer providing mobile app development solutions that are more stable and flexible and hence, increasing the demand for such apps.

However, native apps do not run on the browser, and to use them, users have to download them from a particular app store like Google Play Store and Apple App Store.

Native Android apps are mostly developed using Java and Kotlin, while native iOS apps are usually developed using Objective-C and Swift. Both Apple and Google offer multiple interface elements, mobile app development tools, and SDKs to develop scalable and robust apps for each platform.

Now after knowing what native apps are, you might be wondering what makes native apps different from cross-platform apps, and this is what we are going to talk about next.

Native App Development vs. Cross-platform App Development

We have already talked about native apps, let us understand a little bit about what cross-platform apps are and what makes them different from native apps.

As the name suggests, cross-platform apps are those that are capable of running on multiple platforms. These apps are not OS specific, and rather than developing it from the language of OS, there are other mobile app development frameworks available for cross-platform app development, React Native and Flutter being the most common.

Many people often get confused between cross-platform and hybrid app development. Some even consider them to be the same, but this is not the case. Both hybrid and cross-platform apps are different.

Hybrid app development refers to developing apps that are compatible with both mobile and web browsers. However, this is not the case with cross-platform, they are just compatible with different mobile platforms.

Since in this blog we are talking about native app development, let us compare this with cross-platform app development and see what these both have to offer and which one to go for. The main difference between them is the platforms. A native app developed for the Android platform cannot run on the iOS platform, but in the case of cross-platform, it can.

Here is a table depicting some of the major differences between these both.

These were some of the major differences that make native app development and cross-platform app development different from each other. Now let us move on to seeing some advantages and disadvantages of using native apps.

What are the Advantages and Disadvantages of using Native Apps?

There has always been a debate over native app development vs. cross-platform app development. Business owners are often confused about whether to hire mobile app developers who are experts in developing scalable native apps or have proficiency in developing robust cross-platform apps.

Advantages

To make things clearer, here are some of the advantages that you can avail of by opting for native app development:

1. High in Performance

One of the main reasons why entrepreneurs and even mobile app development companies go for native app development is the performance they offer. Since these apps are developed using the same language as OS, they run quite smoothly and are much more reliable than cross-platform and hybrid apps.

Native apps are highly optimized for the platform they are developed as they are developed for the specific platform to run on. They are fast and extremely responsive and much more efficient. Also, these apps take lesser load time as the content and all the visual elements are already stored in the user’s device.

Read Also: A Complete Guide to Low-Code Development

2. Highly Secure

If you are looking for a much more safe and secure option for your mobile app development, native apps are your best friend. Since they are developed keeping in mind the requirements of the specific platform and use SDKs and tools provided by the OS itself, apps created are extremely secure and reliable to use.

3. Responsive and Intuitive

App development companies offering Android and iOS app development solutions believe native apps to be more interactive and intuitive than their counterparts. These apps run smoothly and respond well to users’ queries. Since these apps inherit the same property as OS they are running on, they are eye-pleasing and users love using such apps.

Native apps are also known to offer incredible user experience as they use the same user interface. Users find these apps easy to use as they are already familiar with the nature of the OS.

4. Remarkable Features

For those who are looking for an app that is feature-ladened, native apps are the perfect fit. Since these apps have access to software and features of their respective operating systems. These apps can be wonderfully integrated with the system’s hardware like GPS, speaker, camera, etc. for enhanced performance. Also, if you are planning to integrate push notifications, native apps are a preferred choice by app developers as they go through Google’s Cloud Messaging (GCM) or the iOS server (APNS).

Disadvantages

Everything comes with its own set of advantages and disadvantages, and the same goes with native app development. Though there are too many advantages of opting for native apps, we cannot ignore a few disadvantages that come along.

Let us know about a few disadvantages of going with native app development for your business app.

1. App Development Cost

Mobile app development cost is one of the main factors to consider while getting an app developed, and in this area native apps are a tad bit behind the cross-platform apps. The cost to develop a native app is slightly more than developing cross-platform apps. This is because app developers will have to write separate codes for making apps that are compatible with different platforms.

Also, there are different sets of codes for different functions, and hence, it may increase the app complexity. Developers will have to devote long hours to complete the project, increasing the overall mobile app development cost.

2. Platform Specific

Native apps are OS-specific and are not compatible with other platforms. So, if you already have an iOS app and planning for an Android app you will have to get another app developed.

3. Takes Longer to Develop

Native apps take much longer to develop in comparison to cross-platform apps as the code, once written, cannot be reused. If you already have an iOS app, and planning for an Android app, you will have to hire a separate team having proficiency in providing scalable Android app development solutions, as the code written for creating such apps is entirely different from that of iOS apps. And also, it will take a much longer time to create two separate apps.

Popular Mobile App Development Frameworks for Developing Native Apps

For every type of app development, whether it is native, cross-platform, or hybrid, there is a multitude of frameworks available. It is very important to choose the right mobile app development framework if you want your app to be fully functional and liked by the users using it.

Here are some of the popular mobile app development frameworks that are available to developers to create powerful, feature-rich native mobile apps.

Xcode

Xcode is a popular mobile app development framework used to develop scalable native apps for iOS, macOS, watchOS, and iPadOS. It is an official tool used to develop apps for Apple’s App Store.

Xcode has a lot to offer and an expert iOS app developer can write the code, compile it, test the app, and even you can deploy and publish it on the Apple App Store. Developers love using this tool because it comes with an in-built debugger which makes resolving problems much faster.

Android Studio

Just how Xcode is a framework to develop iOS-based apps, Android Studio is a framework that is available for Android developers to create scalable and robust Android apps for all kinds of Android devices. Android Studio is an official Integrated Development Environment created on the software of IntelliJ IDEA.

Android Studio has a lot to offer as it has an emulator, NDK support, C++, and a lot more features. It offers a fast and efficient environment to create native apps that can run on any Android device.

IntelliJ IDEA

IntelliJ IDEA is an Integrated Development Environment for the JVM language and helps developers to develop apps on various platforms like macOS, Windows, and Linux. It allows developers to do various tasks like code completion, refactoring, static code analysis, etc. It also self-manages all the tasks. For developers, it offers the best interface as they can edit the code quite easily here.

Conclusion

Native app development is the best approach to go for if you are planning to target an audience on a specific operating system. It offers an unmatched user experience and apps developed are faster. Also, native apps offer a much more secure environment and are high in performance.

Though, app-development time and app development cost are a few factors that you might want to reconsider upon. Also, choosing the right platform for your app development depends on your business requirement and goals. We hope that this guide will surely help you in making the right choice.