A Brief About Different Types of Mobile Apps – Choose the best option

There’s a significant difference between knowing an App and using it. As a user, you don’t go into that much detail finding the types of Apps you use, and you only care about the use case and its efficiency to your requirements.

However, from a business perspective, an App type plays a considerable role in the cost, utility, and revenue. 

In this blog, we will brief you on different types of mobile apps. What are their technical terms? Advantages and disadvantages consist of and comparison between their core components.

What are the various types of mobile Apps?

Usually, there are three main types of mobile apps technology-wise, such as:

• Native Apps – Created for a single operating system or specific platform.
• Web Apps – An upgraded or responsive version of websites that seamlessly works on any mobile web browser.
• Hybrid Apps – Combination of both native and web apps. It comes with its icon and can be downloaded from an App store.

Native Apps

Native Apps are built to run on a single Operating system – Android, iOS, or Web. You can either build a Native Android App or iOS app development and not mix the type.

In simple words, an App designed for Android won’t work on iOS devices and vice versa.

Spotify, Whatsapp, and Waze are some primary examples of Native Apps.

Pros of Native Apps:

• Due to their singular focus, Native Apps are more reliable and perform faster.
• Compared to other mobile App types, Native Apps are more efficient with the device’s resources.
• Native Apps seamlessly work offline without any interruption. f.e., Camera and Bluetooth.

Cons of Native Apps

• Building Native Apps can be costly and time-consuming because you must build a similar App for two different platforms.
• Native Apps are limited to a single platform
• The development and maintenance cost is much higher than the other two types of mobile Apps.

To build Native Apps, developers use various technologies such as Java, Kotlin, Python, Swift, Objective-C, C++, and React Native.

Web Apps

Web Apps behave like Native Apps but can only access via web browsers. Web Apps are more responsive websites that quickly adapt to the device user interface and act accordingly.

PWA or Progressive Web Apps are advanced versions of web Apps. Unlike web apps, you can download PWAs and open them in the web browser with only a single tap on its icon.

Netflix, Flipboard, and Starbucks are primary examples of Progressive Web Apps (PWAs) examples.

Pros of Web Apps

• Web Apps don’t require any installation or download on mobile devices.
• It is fast to update and load
• Web Apps are cost-effective and run on less maintenance and support

Cons of Web Apps

• Web Apps are browser dependent, which gets affected if a browser stops working or faces any maintenance issues.
• Web Apps comprise limited access to features.
• The UI of Web Apps is different than standard Apps, and it varies with web browsers.

Technologies used to build web apps are – Python, Ruby, PHP, PWA Library, React PWA Library, VueJS, and WebAssembly.

Hybrid Apps

Unline Native Apps, the Hybrid Apps run on multiple devices. In short, Hybrid Apps are cross-platform compatible.

However, it gives users the look and feel of Native Apps. Hybrid Apps are responsive in design, comprise a home screen App icon, are faster in performance, and can run offline.

Instagram, Twitter, and Tesla are some primary examples of Hybrid Apps.

Pros of Hybrid Apps:

• Unline Native, the Hybrid Apps are multiplatform compatible.
• Hybrid Apps are developed using a single codebase, making them cost-effective and easy to maintain.
• Hybrid Apps load rapidly and seamlessly run on a slow internet connection.

Cons of Hybrid Apps:

• Hybrid Apps lack user experience, power, and speed.
• Hybrid Apps are slower as they download each element separately.
• The supporting issues are always there.

Developers use technologies like HTMl5, CSS, Flutter, Ionic, JavaScript, Objective-C, Xamarn, Swift, and similar programming languages to build Hybrid Apps.

Key Factors in choosing the right mobile App type

Building a mobile App is not any casual decision you take randomly, it’s a long-term process involving many key factors.

However, it’s an entirely individual decision based on your budget and project requirements.

Meanwhile, you can approach any Mobile App development service provider to help you make the right decision.

I need an App now

If you are in the final stage of a product or service launch and the situation demands a mobile App within the shortest time, then you must opt for Web App development. Compared to the other two options, A PWA is easy to build and maintain, saving development time and cost.

I want to build an App but have limited resources

If you have limited time and budget, then both web and hybrid App options are open. The Hybrid App will allow you to test the market with minim products.

Later, you can upgrade it to a full-fledged Native App based on the market report and analysis.

I want to build a fast and stable Application

If performance and stability are your top priority, then Native App is your all-in-one solution. Curently, Native Apps are ruling the mobile App world.

So if you have time, budget, and resources, you must opt for Native App and no other options for better and faster performance.

Final Words

The mobile App development segment is multiplying with each technological advancement. Many frameworks and languages have come forward to help mobile app developers build intuitive mobile Applications in various niches lately.

However, choosing and sticking to one mobile app type doesn’t bring consistent results in this fast-forwarding digital world.

If you are open to experimenting, we suggest you change your mobile app development game plan and try other options to see the difference.

And if a single mobile app type has brought you the desired results, we suggest you keep it up until it works.

However, it’s your and only your decision to make. I hope this blog helps you make that wise decision.