In order to succeed, businesses used to concentrate simply on their products earlier. However, the technology era has forced companies to match the newest software development trends as well, including cloud computing, artificial intelligence, augmented reality and virtual reality, the Internet of Things (IoT), automation, and more. Designed to enable mobile app development businesses to improve corporate efficiency, seize market prospects, and acquire a competitive advantage, enterprise mobile apps enable them to accomplish just that.
However, businesses have to weigh native and cross-platform development. Which is better, and why can they be helpful in creating successful mobile apps? In this blog, we will address these topics by discussing what the two imply, how native vs. cross-platform app development contrasts in terms of pros and cons, and what you should keep in mind when deciding which of the two to use.
Native vs. Cross-Platform: How Should Development of Enterprise Mobile Apps Be Directed?
Given the advantages of the enterprise mobile app development process, it is quite predictable that companies are adopting it on a high scale—those who have to choose finally between native and cross-platform development.
The operating system you wish for will essentially define native and cross-platform programming differently. Native mobile apps are designed for a given operating system, say iOS or Android. Cross-platform apps let companies target various platforms using a single source code, while others operate on several running systems.
Saying that business success depends on selecting cross-platform rather than native mobile development. We will discuss the two development approaches, their advantages and drawbacks, and help you choose what is best for your cross-platform development company.
Native App Development
What are Native Apps?
As was already said, native mobile apps are those created with an eye on either iOS or Android OS, respectively, targeting a specific operating system. Therefore, based on your preferred operating system, business, and customer-wise, you would choose native mobile app development, whereby the application is coded in a suitable programming language.
Native Android apps use Java or Kotlin programming languages, while developers of native iOS applications often employ either Objective-C or Swift programming languages. Originally designed for iOS and Android, some of the most well-known native mobile apps are WhatsApp, Spotify, Google Maps, and Pinterest.
Common Native App Tools
Native app development calls for integrated development environments (IDE) in addition to OS-specific software development kits (SDK). Among the most well-known IDEs for Android are Eclipse with Android Development Tools (ADT), Visual Studio Code (VS Code), Android Studio, and JetBrains Intelligences IDEA. Among iOS’s popular IDE are Xcode, Flutter, Visual Studio for Mac, and AppCode.
Why Rely on Native Mobile App Development?
Generally speaking, native mobile apps outperform most non-native and cross-platform apps. This is because native business mobile apps are developed and optimized for certain platforms, so they also compile utilizing the APIs and programming languages of the chosen platform. Native mobile apps are rather quick, responsive to user activities, and highly efficient. Moreover, a native mobile app has a direct connection between its source code and its foundational assets and is less in scope. Consequently, the native program downloads faster and offers superior performance.
Both Apple and Google have shown commitment to improving and supporting their iOS and Android mobile operating systems. For instance, both tech giants provide SDKs, interface elements, and other essential development tools for developers who want to create or improve upon apps that run on iOS or Android devices.
SDK allows you to speed up the process of building an application while letting you access the latest updates with ease. Therefore, if you are developing a native Android or iOS app, it will remain stable with regard to updates and maintenance. In addition to this, these apps are highly secured because they have access to inbuilt security features specific to the platform, something essential when deciding between a native and cross-platform development approach.
The native enterprise mobile applications provide an exceptional user experience. No worries at all about having any dependencies with the app version from varied operating systems during the development of native mobile applications because most developers are unaware of them. Making it easier to customize or configure a native application than any other type, native applications have grown simpler depending on the preferred OS of an enterprise and its business goals.
In addition, all desired functionalities and features of a targeted device may be accessed via a native mobile app, thus offering a very integrated and prosperous user experience. Similarly, push notification is one feature that allows users to engage with them by notifying them when there is an update; native mobile applications can also access this.
App safety is another basic factor to consider when native and cross-platform development is involved. Native mobile apps are, by nature, more secure and customized than cross-platform apps. Furthermore, using the tools and libraries of the desired platform helps native mobile app developers integrate intelligent fraud detection, file encryption, and other security aspects more easily.
Cross-Platform App Development
What is a Cross-Platform App?
Through one development project, a single codebase is transformed into a cross-platform mobile app aiming at several operating systems. These smartphone apps are built on cross-platform frameworks utilizing a platform-specific SDK (Android or iOS) from a single API.
Cross-platform development is a common choice for corporate mobile app development since it enables developers to access the platform’s several libraries and SDKs readily. Made by Meta (previously Facebook), React Native uses JavaScript as its programming language. Microsoft built XAML and C# as the programming languages for Net MAUI. Google developed Flutter using Dart as their programming language. Based on these frameworks, several cross-platform mobile apps are rather popular nowadays. Among the most often used such apps are Skype, Instagram, My BMW App, Airbnb, Fox Sports, and Walmart.
Renowned Cross-Platform App Tools
Making an Android cross-platform mobile app calls for the Android SDK to run on Linux, Windows, or macOS. Along with a macOS device, iOS calls for Xcode and an iOS SDK.
Furthermore, the IDEs are required mandatorily for robust cross-platform development, which are as follows:
- React Native programs call for VS Code, Xcode, Atom, Android Studio, and WebStorm.
- Visual Studio for apps using Xamarin or Net MAUI
- Android Studio, IntelliJ, and VS Code support Flutter projects.
Why Go With Cross-Platform Development?
Code reusability is among the main factors influencing the choice of cross-platform development for corporate mobile apps. Developers can save time and work by storing the whole codebase of the app in one location, unlike with native app development. Eventually, the unified codebase will help the team of developers work on the Android and iOS platforms concurrently, therefore saving costs. Furthermore, longer maintenance cycles help to avoid app problems in the UI/UX, security, or functions by means of the shared codebase. With little to no change, the shared codebase lets developers make changes that immediately spread to the targeted operating systems.
Since cross-platform applications involve just one development cycle to distribute them on several platforms, the general development time is faster. Furthermore, the software’s reusability helps companies speed the time to market by eliminating the need for distinct teams working on different platform projects.
As was already said, one should take charges for cross-platform against native mobile development into account. Cross-platform is usually the best option in this situation since it results in just one development team instead of two, hence naturally lowering development expenses. Furthermore, developers can make most of the code and other important usage for companies deploying React Native to construct both mobile and web apps. As the app starts to acquire traction, this shortens the cross-platform development cycle, therefore lowering costs and, more significantly, increasing value for money.
Another factor most firms overlook when considering native and cross-platform development is the updates to be introduced to the app. As soon as Google or Apple releases an update or functionality for iOS, cross-platform mobile apps must wait to assist the next launch. This is because the SDK for a native app is updated faster, while a cross-platform app would need a separate upgrade to get the newest features or changes.
Cross-Platform or Native Mobile Development? Which Option Should Businesses Go For?
Duration to Market
Time to market is one of the main determinants of cross-platform against native mobile app development choice. Although native app development takes more time, it offers a more consistent user experience, and cross-platform implies faster development and iteration.
Therefore, cross-platform development would be the preferable choice if your company needs to implement the app quickly to start gathering excellent user comments.
Testing Feasibility
Without a suitable testing cycle, your process of developing a mobile app for your company will stay unfinished. Here, choosing native vs cross-platform development is quite important since native apps are more difficult to test, and they need individual testing for several app versions of different operating systems. On the other hand, their single codebase makes cross-platform apps simpler to test. You are free to proceed with a suitable native app testing phase if you have the time and means to make such investments.
Development Budget
As is already known, cross-platform app creation is a practical and supportive choice compared to native mobile app creation. The latter entails launching two standalone apps aimed at both platforms, which would present the need to hire mobile app developers, allocate more funds, and, finally, spend more money. Thus, pick cross-platform development if your budget is limited and the constraints are not too troublesome. Native app development should be your decision; nevertheless, if you have the budget and wish to give user experience and app upgrades top priority.
Safety
When considering cross-platform or native mobile app development, safety should not be compromised. Security is a critical aspect, specifically for apps that store and handle large volumes of data. In these situations, a native app is preferable, as having been developed in the OS-specific environment, it offers closer security. Native app development also means access to native libraries, which lets developers guarantee app encryption. If you would, however, give maintenance top priority, a cross-platform mobile app would be the better choice. As was already noted, the shared codebase of cross-platform software development facilitates simpler maintenance. Furthermore, maintenance expenses will be less since you will be working with one software rather than two stand-alone ones.
Conclusion
In a nutshell, software development trends are always changing and businesses must keep up with them in order to remain competitive in the industry; thus, the app development approach matters much for the long-term success. Depending on the company’s specific aims, available budget, target audience, as well as time-to-market requirements, both native and cross-platform development have their own merits. On one hand, native apps are known for superior performance security and seamlessness, while on the other hand, cross-platform applications take a shorter time to deploy and require less money to maintain them. When all these aspects are put into consideration by organizations, they can easily identify what suits them most, leading to a successful enterprise mobile application that promotes efficient operations within any given technology-driven business environment at present.