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In the year 2019, the number of mobile app downloads exceeded 200 billion. Over the past year, mobile users had downloaded 230 billion mobile apps, up over 63% from the 140.7 billion app downloads in 2016 when this boom started.
The COVID-19 pandemic has also boosted mobile devices and applications’ use. According to the research, mobile app downloads have increased by 23.3% since the pandemic.
So, if you still have no mobile solution, please look at the numbers above. We do believe you have already started searching for a robust mobile app development workflow to build your exceptional mobile app. As you certainly face several dilemmas at this stage, such as which platform is best to decide on or which app development environment is best suited for broader customer interactions, we will help you find answers to one of such dilemmas. Let’s discuss the benefits of the main approaches to mobile app development – native and cross-platform.
Native mobile apps are developed using platform-dependent programming languages (Kotlin, Java for Android and Swift, Objective-C for iOS) and development environments (Android Studio for Android and XCode for iOS). Within this type, the native app development requires a dedicated developer for each platform.
Benefits of native mobile app development
When to opt for native mobile app development
What’s a cross-platform mobile app?
Cross-platform mobile app development involves building a single app that can run on multiple operating systems rather than developing separate versions of apps for each platform. This is done using React Native, Flutter, and Xamarin, and the apps can be deployed to Android, iOS, and Windows.
Cross-platform application development aims to create software that performs well in more than one diverse digital environment, with the primary goal of promoting it to a broader customer base.
When to opt for cross-platform mobile app development?
The biggest focus of each business owner is the cost of mobile app development. That is why we suggested looking at this aspect separately.
Developing a native app for iOS and Android is essentially like building two separate apps maintained by two separate development teams. Naturally, this can be an expensive endeavor.
When it comes to a cross-platform approach, the application code is developed by one team. Having a single code base and one development team certainly reduces the cost. However, you should not think that, in this case, the cost is halved compared to the native approach.
One of our clients came with a request to develop delivery applications for both iOS and Android. The client insisted on a cross-platform approach. After three months, we brought a ready-made cross-platform app to the table. The client placed it on both the App Store and Google Play market. And this is not the end.
After half of the month, the client came to us again. The deal was that a number of features appeared to be unpopular, and it was highly needed to add the new ones specifically for the Android app users. While we were adding the new features, our client’s marketing team conducted dedicated research on user behavior. The result was we had to add some new features for the iOS users.
As you may understand, the initial cost of development grew significantly. What is more, we spent eight months adding all the features outlined and making them work correctly for both iOS and Android.
Comparison criteria | Native | Cross-platform |
Codebase | Separate for each platform | Single for all platforms |
Development cost | 2X | ~1.4X |
Maintenance and enhancement cost | 2X | ~1.8X |
Dependency | Less depended on other open-source libraries and frameworks | High dependency on other libraries and frameworks |
Performance | Excellent | Performance issues occur |
Developer experience | High | It’s still being perfected |
Team size | Each platform requires its team | One team for all platforms |
Time to market | Time-consuming | Time-saving |
Our team can build a cross-platform application with some elements developed natively.
This approach involves implementing part of the application with a cross-platform solution like Ionic / Cordova / React Native / Xamarin / Flutter, and the other one in a native way. In this case, natively separate screens are developed with Kotlin / Swift languages, and communication with cross and natives is carried out through the bridge supported by the cross-platform framework. Integrating external SDK / AR, VR, and others could be the case.
One of our clients brought a Flutter-based mobile application that we needed to integrate with Klarna Payments SDK. The problem was that Klarna didn’t have a Flutter SDK, and along with SDK, we needed to add separate screens. That’s why we added the native part to the cross-platform.
This approach allowed us to meet the client’s requirements by providing the requested integration without rebuilding the application that has already operated and brought the benefit. We saved time and minimized costs while completing the primary task. More success stories from our clients are available on our website.
To gain a robust yet up-to-date application, companies should first understand their needs and then explore the right platform(s) that perfectly meets all of these requirements. And after that, it’s time to define which development approach to invest in.
To greatly simplify your life, we propose a checklist to fill in. Having these questions answered, our mobile development team guarantees to provide you with the right decision that completely satisfies your commitments. Here it is.
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