How to Choose Between Native and Cross-Platform Development

Are you looking for a guide for choosing between native and cross-platform development? If yes, then take a look at this guide and explore the difference between native and cross-platform development. There are around 4.4 million apps available on both Google Play Store and App Store, targeting 14 billion Smartphones across the globe. 



If you are interested on launching the mobile, then you can get help from the React native app development company. They help you make informed decisions on choosing between native and cross-platform development.

What is Native App Development?

The native app development can be effectively useful for building mobile applications exclusively for a single platform. The app can be built with programming languages & tools that can be specific to a single platform. 

The native apps are popular to offer extraordinary user experience since they are known to provide high performance. The user experience can be improved as the visuals can be customized to the platform UX. However, startups can be concerned about the cost of native app development since they need to run simultaneous development for various platforms. 

Pros of Native App Development:

Check out below to explore the pros of native app development that can bring to your business:

• Broad Functionality

You can have the proper access to every tool and API offered by the platform that you are working on. There are no limits technically on how programmers from react native app development company can work with the new app. 

• Better Store Support

The native mobile app can be easily published and ranked more in the platform’s app store since it provides better speed and performance. 

• Increased Scalability

Apps developed using native app development can be more scalable. This is mainly due to the array of tools available and flexibility in resources management. 

• High Performance & Great UX

Direct interaction between the underlying resources and code will result in the most extraordinary performance. The native app has a better user experience (UX) that is identical to the platform. 

Cons of Native App Development:

Native app also has some cons that you must consider while making better decisions. 

• Costly Development

Developing a native app can be somewhat costly. Hence it will not be suitable for everyone. 

• Time-Consuming

The time to complete the native app development will be longer. Therefore those who are looking for apps to develop in a short time should never consider native apps.

What is Cross-Platform App Development?

The cross-platform app development can be useful for creating an app that works on many platforms. It can be done using various tools such as Xamarin, Flutter, and React Native, where the apps built can be deployed on both iOS and Android. 

The cross-platform app development can save more time and cost, but you may risk compromising quality during the process. it is very difficult to customer the app that runs perfectly on many platforms and the app must need the additional abstraction layer while running which may result in lower performance. 

Startup companies may find cross-platform development highly beneficial due to the reduction in time and cost. But you must consider that it might be complex to tailor the app apart from what is allowed in the framework. 

Pros of Cross-Platform App Development:

Check out below to explore the pros of cross-platform app development that can bring to your business:

• Less Costly  

Only one developer is enough to create the cross-platform app instead of having two teams of developers. Hence you can hire cross-platform app developers to get the best cross-platform app. 

• Faster Development

Only a single cycle of cross-platform development is required to create an app that runs on various platforms. 

• Single Code Base

When the app is built with a single cross-platform development tool, a single code base is more than enough. 

Cons of Cross-Platform App Development:

The cross-platform app also has some cons which you must consider while making the better decision. 

• Slower App

The requirement for the rendering process and additional abstraction layer make the cross-platform app slower when compared to the native app.

• Limited Functionality

Developers find it hard to access Smartphone functions such as geolocation, microphone, and camera in certain ways possible for the native app. 

• Limited UX Design

Cross-platform apps could never take advantage of the native user experience components. Hence it will never provide the same UX experience that is familiar to the platform. 

Factors to consider while choosing between native and cross-platform development:

Check out below to learn some factors to consider while choosing between native and cross-platform development:

• Time To Market

Time-to-market plays a major role in startup development. Cross-platform is the best option when you consider time to market.

• Development Budget

If your budget is more, then you can go with native app development. If your budget is less, then you can go with cross-platform app development.

• App Performance

The native app can give you better performance and hence you can choose a native app platform instead of cross-platform.

Native Vs Cross-Platform App – Which one to choose?

The decision has a huge implication on the time, cost, and how users can respond to the application. Consider the above-mentioned details before making the decision. If you still have hesitation, then follow the below additional tips:

You can Choose Native Development when:

• The application needs complete access to all services and phone services
• You can build the most responsive application
• You want to take complete advantage of your Smartphone hardware
• You want an app that can be enhanced and easily updated with the latest features in the future

You can choose Cross-Platform Development when:

• You accept the less responsive app
• The app don’t involve complex animation and never deals with complicated process
• You have a short window to test hypotheses and ideas in the app market. 

Conclusion:

From now on, you have explored the difference between native and cross-platform development. You also have to explore which one to choose to build an app. Both native and cross-platform have their pros and cons. The choice of going with either one depends on your project requirements and the skills your developers have. 

Native apps can be best when it comes to performance and user experience. You will be at ease with better visuals and lower defect rates when they are more costly. 

The cross-platform app is very quick and easy to build. But it will take more effort to develop the user experience. Do you have still doubts? Then you can contact with a professional cross-platform or react native app development company and clarify your doubt. The experts suggest a better platform.