Exploring Mobile App Development Frameworks: Which Approach To Go With?

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Published 27 Nov 2024
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Exploring Mobile App Development Frameworks: Which Approach To Go With?

In the fast-evolving landscape of mobile app development, developers and business owners face making crucial decisions when selecting the right framework to build their applications.The most popular approaches and possibilities in this area come down to three prominent ones – native development, cross-platform and hybrid solutions. Let’s take a closer look at the selected advantages and disadvantages to each of them.

Native App Development

Native app development means designing and creating applications separately for each mobile platform using languages like Swift for iOS, and Kotlin/Java for Android. In this model developers are able to fully use the tools and functionalities within a given operating system, which means a stable and efficient application to the end-user. For a long time, it was the only recognized approach when it comes to mobile applications development.

Pros:

Separate operating systems designs allow to achieve optimal performance. Direct access to hardware resources (like the GPU, camera, or microphone) results in faster execution and smoother experiences.
Enhanced security and reliability by adhering to the guidelines and standards set by the operating system.
High level of customizations to create unique and engaging user interface.
Access to latest features and updates released by the operating system before web or hybrid apps.

Cons:

Separate development efforts required to support each platform, increasing development times and costs.
Large size compared to web apps.
Some inconsistencies between platforms, stemming from the solutions being created by separate teams for different operating systems, using separate languages and tools.

native app development

Flutter

Flutter is an open-source framework from Google with SDK (software development kit), which has gained significant popularity for its ability to build solutions that may run on many platforms: iOS, Android, as well as on web or desktop. This fact places Flutter on the top of podium across cross-platform technologies.

Pros:

Wide range of customizable widgets, making it easier to build apps with excellent appearance and consistent user interfaces across different devices or platforms.
Performance close to native apps, ensuring responsive interfaces and smooth navigations within the system.
Rapidly growing community of developers who can also contribute additional plugins, documentations or packages, creating learning opportunities and supporting possibilities.
Much quicker development compared to the native-app and instant view of the changes during implementation, without the need for restarting the application.

Cons:

Lower popularity of the Flutter’s Dart language as compared to e.g. JavaScript, requiring more of qualified developers.
Relatively new framework lacking many possibilities comparable with solutions that have been available in other solutions on the market for years, such as libraries and packages.
New native features available on mobiles require adjustments in Flutter, causing delays.
Lower levels of optimization in comparison to those possible with native app development.
Much less resources available for native development.

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Hybrid Solutions

Hybrid, webview-based approaches in mobile apps development provide the ability to use web technologies, and then pack them into a native app container. It allows to run such applications on different operating systems and launch them simultaneously in App Store, Google Play, and other app distribution platforms. Hybrid solutions ensure consistency between platforms and allow for a relatively easy transition between the web and mobile.

Pros:

Lower costs and short time-to-market, thanks to using a combination of native and web components, which is more efficient than using only one type of components, and requires less resources.
Packing web content into a native container means that any change incorporated in the web is simultaneously applied across all platforms. It also reduces the cost of maintenance.
High level of security thanks to access to native phone functions such as biometrics, push notifications, or camera.
Using web components doesn’t require a lot of storage, which makes for a smaller size than the native solutions.
Key functionalities such as biometrics, access to GPS or camera, are developed natively, which ensures good performance.
Universal solutions that can be easily implemented into any business: financial, insurance, e-commerce, among many others.

Cons:

Performance may be lower compared to native applications, as they have to load the web content, hindering user experience.

Choosing the right framework

Deciding on the right framework for creating mobile applications can be a challenge. It is worth making individual decisions each time, based on the goal we want to achieve as well as the cost and time possibilities.

While native development offers unparalleled performance and access to platform-specific features, it requires separate codebases, leading to extended timelines and costs. Cross-platform solutions like Flutter streamline development, but lack libraries or packages. On the other hand, hybrid solutions like Comarch Mobile Wrapper strike a balance between cross-platform convenience and native performance. With our solution, you can enjoy rapid development, cost-effectiveness, and flexibility. Check out our hybrid application solution to experience the best of both worlds.

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Aneta Laskowska