There are a lot of factors that come into play when it comes to choosing between Native & cross platform app development for your business. Before we dive into the answer, let’s know the difference between Native & Cross-platform applications.
Native application is about making applications specifically for a particular platform. Native applications are developed with programming languages that are specific to a particular platform. Cross platform applications are applications that are built for multiple platforms, i.e, iOS & Android. It is built with programming languages that are readable by multiple platforms.
PROS OF NATIVE APPLICATION
Better Performance
Native applications are built for a specific platform. This enables it to make use of all the functionalities of that specific platform. For example, Android has certain functionalities that iOS doesn’t have. If you make a native application for Android, then the native application would be able to make use of all the functionalities provided by Android which makes the application perform better.
Better Security
Cross platform app development involves multiple layers, languages and technologies. Applications are more prone to security risks when they have multiple layers & languages. A native application is less risky because it’s built on fewer layers & languages.
Better user experience
Native applications have a faster response time, consume less battery power and also support better UX (user experience) design. A combination of all those factors gives the user a better experience.
CONS OF NATIVE APPLICATION
- High Cost
The main disadvantage when it comes to Native Application is the cost of development. If you want to develop your native application for both iOS & Android, then you would need to develop the application for both of these platforms separately. In the literal sense, you are making the same application twice. Hence the cost of development and maintenance of a Native application is very high.
2. Longer time to market
With cross platform application, you can target users from multiple platforms at once. With a Native application, you can only target users from a specific platform. Hence, the time taken for your application to be popular among the users is lengthier than cross platform applications.
PROS OF CROSS-PLATFORM APP DEVELOPMENT
- Less costly
Unlike a native application, a cross platform app development is less costly. A cross platform application is capable of running on multiple platforms. Hence, you don’t need to develop and maintain your application on multiple platforms individually.
- Faster Development time
Native applications are built separately for different platforms. Cross platform application’s development time is reduced as they’re built individually for multiple platforms.
- Less time to market
Users from many platforms uses cross platform applications. This makes the audience size of cross platform application bigger than the audience size of native applications. Hence, the time for your application to become popular among the users greatly reduces.
CONS OF CROSS-PLATFORM APP DEVELOPMENT
- Poor Performance
Since the languages and the tools used are not specified for a particular platform, the performance delays more than a native application.
- Poor user experience
Cross platform application has a longer response time, consumes more battery and has basic UX design. A combination of these factors makes the user experience poorer compared to native applications.
What should you choose?
There are various opinions to that question. Personally I think that it really depends on the goals of a business. Native application would be better if its goal is to focus more on the user experience above anything else & cross platform app would be better if businesses goal is to lowering down their costs.
Click the link of builtin.com to know more about native vs cross platform differences.
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