Is Native Mobile Apps Development Dead?

Native Mobile Apps or Hybrid and Web Apps: Which is Right for You?

Amrit Pal Singh
CodeHeim
3 min readJul 11, 2023

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Photo by Ion (Ivan) Sipilov on Unsplash

The mobile app development scene is a fast-paced, ever-changing world. While many of the technologies we use today were developed years ago, new ones are being created every day by developers and designers from around the world.

One of the most notable changes in recent years has been the rise of hybrid mobile apps. These apps are built using web technologies like HTML5, CSS3, and JavaScript, which means they can run on any device without needing to be specifically designed for that device. As a result, native mobile app development has fallen out of favor with many developers and businesses because it’s difficult to keep up with the constantly changing technology landscape.

Native apps have their own pros and cons.

The main advantage of native apps is that they offer a better user experience because they’re designed specifically for the platform, so they work more quickly and efficiently than hybrid apps do.

The native apps also provide many operating systems features that hybrid apps may lack. Native apps worked exactly as advertised. Native apps were easy to use, and they offered a consistent experience across different devices.

The downside is that they take longer to create than web-based apps do, which makes them more expensive upfront. In addition, you may lose some functionality with this type of app because it can only access certain features on the device itself instead of accessing all information through an internet connection like a hybrid app does.

There are more options now

Fast forward to now, we have a choice to make between hybrid apps and native apps. We have more options now than we did 10 years ago when hybrid apps were first introduced. With the emergence of progressive web apps (PWA), developers can now build apps that look and feel like native apps without having to go through a full development cycle.

Apart from PWAs, hybrid apps are gaining popularity these days. Hybrid apps are the most common type of app today. They use web technologies to build an app that can run on any device, including mobile phones and desktop computers. The technology behind hybrid apps has improved over time and now it’s possible to create high-end experiences using them.

Native apps need to be written in many languages

This creates a lot of overhead for developers and might increase the cost of development. It’s also very hard to maintain multiple code bases, so native apps should only be used when it’s absolutely necessary.

Latest Trends

The latest trends in mobile app development are moving towards PWAs. This is because PWAs offer a number of advantages over native and hybrid apps, including:

  • Lower development costs: PWAs can be developed using web technologies, which makes them a more cost-effective option than native and hybrid apps.
  • Faster development time: PWAs can be developed using a single codebase, which can significantly reduce development time.
  • Better user experience: PWAs can provide a native-like user experience, including offline access and the ability to be launched from the home screen.
  • Better SEO: PWAs can be indexed by search engines, which can help to improve their discoverability.

Conclusion

As a result of these advantages, PWAs are becoming increasingly popular among businesses and developers. In fact, a recent study by Google found that 70% of businesses are planning to adopt PWAs in the next two years.

The choice of which type of app to develop will depend on the specific needs of the business or developer.

Certainly, native app development is far from dead. For complex apps still native apps are preferred.

However, the latest trends in mobile app development indicate that PWAs are becoming a more popular option. This is due to their lower development costs, faster development time, better user experience, and improved SEO.

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Amrit Pal Singh
CodeHeim

Cloud Software Engineer | Product Development | I write about Tech and Travel | Profile https://bit.ly/3dNxaiK | Golang Web Dev Course - https://bit.ly/go-gin