Hybrid Apps

A mobile hybrid app is an ap­plic­a­tion for smart­phones and tablets, which combines features of native mobile apps and mobile web apps, learn more about the dif­fer­ences between the two in this article on JavaS­cript frame­works and libraries. We notice the effects of this first and foremost in the com­par­at­ively simple and cost-effective de­vel­op­ment of hybrid apps, as well as in the platform’s ability to run without a mobile operating system. But despite these ad­vant­ages, there are also some dis­ad­vant­ages.

The biggest advantage of a hybrid app is that it doesn’t depend on its platform. Unlike a native app, which is specially pro­grammed for each operating system, you only need to develop a hybrid ap­plic­a­tion once. Hybrid apps can thus be installed and used on almost all operating systems, including Android, iOS, and Windows phones. This im­press­ive cap­ab­il­ity has a positive effect on the number of potential users. This also means that de­velopers save time and money when producing their mobile apps. This can prove par­tic­u­larly be­ne­fi­cial to small busi­nesses who don’t have the capacity to develop multiple versions of a native app. A suitable app framework, which is usually free of charge, can make the pro­gram­ming of hybrid apps con­sid­er­ably easier. Well-known frame­works include Ionic, Onsen UI, Intel XDK, React Native and Famous. Unlike many web apps, hybrid apps don’t always require an internet con­nec­tion. They are designed to run in­de­pend­ently offline, rather than on a server, although the user must be online when down­load­ing and updating the app. Another advantage over web apps: hybrid apps can access a lot more native device functions such as camera, mi­cro­phone, file systems, push no­ti­fic­a­tions, GPS, or motion and location sensors.

Hybrid apps have to admit defeat when it comes to per­form­ance, since they are more of a burden on the hardware compared to native apps. This can quickly lead to damage, es­pe­cially regarding computing-intensive ap­plic­a­tions. A bad per­form­ance affects the app’s speed and animation fluidity, which detracts from the ap­plic­a­tion’s usability. Other areas are also affected, such as response time and touch-screen precision (i.e. the drag-and-drop feature) and the gesture control (i.e. turning the device).

Hybrid apps also lag behind native apps when it comes to a device’s native functions (GPS, camera, etc.). Hybrid apps can access a large amount of the existing features although this varies depending on the device.

Like a native app, a hybrid app always needs to be installed and therefore can’t keep up with a web app that can be easily accessed through a browser. Other short­com­ings include the higher cost of pro­gram­ming and the fact that sometimes designs aren’t com­pat­ible with the re­spect­ive operating system. It also lacks the de­vel­op­ment and debugging tools for a platform.

Naturally, con­ven­tion­al hybrid apps have some weakness that aren’t found in other app formats. When compared to its native coun­ter­parts it seems that the problems are mostly lower per­form­ance and usability and also the fact that web apps implement automatic updates more easily. But hybrid apps do offer a great number of ad­vant­ages (es­pe­cially in terms of platform in­de­pend­ence and cost-benefit ratio). This means they have the potential to catch up with their com­pet­it­ors in these areas – and the de­vel­op­ment is far from over. Thanks to modern app frame­works, hybrid apps can be pro­grammed very easily, and this is making them more and more popular. Whether an ap­plic­a­tion is most suited to a hybrid app, native app, or a web app, is highly dependent on their content and purpose. It’s not always necessary to create an app for mobile content if it makes more sense to display it on a website optimised for mobile devices. Discover which app works best for your project in this article about website apps, re­spons­ive sites and mobile sites.