Hybrid vs Native: Making a choice

I have met several developers and startups out there interested in developing an app and one somewhat tricky decision they find themselves making is usually on the technology to be employed in the development of their project. The fact that there are several via options out there (including “zero codings” options) does not make things easier for new teams. 
No matter the option you choose, there are going to be upsides, as well as downsides and these, will affect teams and individuals differently. Let us take a look at the two choices and what they entail.

Hybrid apps

Hybrid is a term used to describe applications that are able to run on multiple/different platforms with little to no change to the codebase and they are developed using hybrid app frameworks like Ionic, React Native, Flutter etc. The main advantage of hybrid apps is that they are cheaper and easier to support and maintain.

Native apps

Native apps, unlike hybrid apps, are built using official and specific tools tailored for a particular platform. The tools like the IDEs, the programming language, the UI language, the libraries etc. are different and must be used in a specified manner laid out for the platforms. Native apps can only run on a single platform as a result and they usually have to be rewritten from scratch in order to support a different platform. The main advantage of native apps is that they have better performance than hybrid apps.

Making a Choice

• Development Teams

Development teams in startups are especially faced with this choice as they are mostly working on new projects. The easiest way to make a choice is to consider the tools and technologies that members of the team are most familiar with and then making a choice based on that. Also, consider the platforms to be supported by the application and whether members on the team can build apps for all of them within a reasonable timeframe as you do not want to spend a lot of time learning new technology.
For example, if members of the team are more familiar with web technologies, then a hybrid framework like ionic becomes an easy (and the fastest) choice.

• Individual Developers

Individual developers have a bit more freedom when it comes to making a choice as they are more likely to be able to afford to spend time to learn a new technology which may be a necessity when building native apps for different platforms. However, in cases where time is of the essence is to go with a technology that is already familiar.

Conclusion

The choice between both methods of development ultimately boils down to budget and schedule. A larger team may be able to go the native way as they are more likely to have the budget and manpower required to build and maintain apps on different platforms and enjoy the better performance native apps usually offers. Smaller teams on the other hand with limited resources may have to stick with the more manageable hybrid option.
 
 
 

Written by Sumaila Bello