Apps are life. Scroll through anyone’s phones and you will find tons of apps. There is virtually every app for every function or every app for every person. It has been a way of life and some people will not be able to last a day one.
But you haven’t paid any attention to this. What are the best apps on your phone that can interact with GPS and camera? Initially, these apps are called hybrid apps. They are a combination of native and modern applications. It may sound like gibberish right now, so we are going to explain them to you.
What are hybrid apps?
As we have mentioned above, hybrid apps are a combination of the traditional or native and the more modern apps. Hybrid apps ensure that the user will still enjoy the speed of web development while accessing features such as the GPS and camera on your phone.
For developers who are looking to upgrade their apps regularly, this presents them with a greater advantage. To be able to understand more, let’s see first the difference between a hybrid app and a native app.
Hybrid vs native app- which is better
To answer the question above, let’s take a look at the characteristics of each, their pros and cons.
Native applications are very accurate. They have a quick execution and this helps enable the user to experience a full interface. They are also simpler, but at the same time, they offer the best user experience. And in terms of offline and online support, native applications are great in both. And it’s easy to check for the quality of native apps through the ratings in app stores.
But the downside is, they are not versatile. If you have a native app made for IOs Apple, you will not be able to run them on Android. You have to make a new one that is very specific to that platform. Thus, making a native app involves a huge cost. Not to mention, it will entail more time for the developer’s end. You have to have multiple fabrications on every feature on every platform. That’s a lot of hefty work.
Hybrid apps, on the other hand, can function with or without an internet connection. It makes use of an embedded browser to gain access to data on online content. The advantage is that developing hybrid apps costs less money to make. And it costs less time too.
Hybrid apps are also easier to understand and manage. And unlike native apps, it has a cross-user interface. And in today’s fast-paced generation, many are starting to develop more hybrid apps to keep up with the demand. Developpes only need to use a single code for several platforms.
However, the user experience is not that great compared to native apps. If a hybrid app is given much focus on the Android platform, Apple users might not be able to use the app seamlessly. Because you just need one code for all platforms, it’s kind of universal. The user experience on some platforms might be compromised. Native apps consider the hardware capacity, where hybrid apps do not.
So if we are going to answer the question above, not one is technically better than the other. And several features will affect the answer.
Our favorite hybrid apps
And these are some of the popular hybrid apps you can find in your app stores. For others, these apps have been part of their daily life!
Gmail
Gmail was initially made using HTML, so it’s a web app. Apart from native and hybrid apps, there is also something called a web app. We can put it like this, a web app is kinda outdated. And it will not enable you to access the GPS or your phone camera. That’s why a lot of businesses have been making hybrid apps for their brand. And Gmail is just one of them.
Gmail has been upgraded to HTML5. Hence the addition of more features and functionalities to their users.
Twitter is indeed one of the more in-demand hybrid apps nowadays. Millions of users use this app every single day so even if there are some downsides to a hybrid app, it can still manage or handle such a load.
Uber
This is perhaps one of the reasons why Uber is the most used rider-sharing app worldwide. Since it’s a hybrid app, it’s very convenient and easily accessible.
Coming second or at the same place with Twitter, comes in Instagram. Since it’s a hybrid app, it can support a ton of media and offline data. You will still be able to access some of the app’s features even if you’re not connected to the internet.
How about hybrid app development?
Compared to native and web apps, it’s easier to make hybrid apps. You can develop a ton of apps for multiple platforms in no time and at a lesser cost. And time is of the essence. If time is on your side, you will be able to maximize it to be able to reach your target market better and faster. This will make you expand your brand at a lower cost.
When is a native app or hybrid app suitable?
To be able to determine what type of app will best serve you, here are several notes to consider.
- Those who will launch a paid app on the Playstore are better off with a native app because it can give the best user interface. But if you are making free apps, it’s okay to go hybrid.
- If you are looking to run the app on various platforms, hybrid is the way to go. You only need a single code for all of the platforms. This will save you time and money. Making native apps for several platforms means making a code specific for each one. And this can eat up a lot of time and money.
- If you’re looking to run the app mostly on mobile phones, hybrid apps are more recommended. Though you can also do that with native apps, it’s going to be more seamless with a hybrid app.
- You have to consider the demand for developers. If your business demands a noticeable presence of developers on each platform, it’s better to go hybrid. You don’t need to make a different code for each platform.
Here are several popular hybrid app developers
- React Native
As the name implies, this app developer enables you to infuse native app features into your hybrid app. Thus, it promises to provide a user experience similar to that of native apps.
- Ionic
This offers tons of features and functionality. It even helps you to create interactive mobile applications.
- Flutter
It is powered by Google. And Flutter is quite fast, if we may say so. It also has a vast collection of widgets and real-time updates.
- Phone gap
If you’re looking for a hybrid app that is compatible with multiple platforms, this is it. It’s also very easy to use.
- Xamarin
Similar to React Native, Xamarin lets you have a user experience similar to a native app.
Final Say
They say that hybrid apps are the future. And they may be just right. These apps brought onto a whole new game. It’s fast, versatile, and seamlessly connects with your GPS and phone camera. It combines the benefits of both the web app and the native app.
While it still has some of its downsides, it is quickly overshadowed by the advantages. And everything is convenient and fast nowadays. That’s why hybrid apps are a sure hitter.