Native or hybrid mobile app – what to choose
<Bill’s thoughts>
There are lots of blog posts that cover this topic, so we really need a way to differentiate ourselves from others. Here are some of the decent articles that I found.
- https://clearbridgemobile.com/mobile-app-development-native-vs-web-vs-hybrid/ I like the advantages and disadvantages here. However, it’s more like an inventory of pros and cons for the approaches – which is good. However, it’s doesn’t provide an easy decision matrix.
- https://buildfire.com/hybrid-vs-native-mobile-app-development-better-data-driven-answer/ I like the style, but in this case the stats got in the way. Again, it lacked the framework for making a decision.
- https://blog.bitsrc.io/4-ways-to-build-your-mobile-app-make-the-right-choice-efe079c7c817. This article positions the technology decisions with different scenarios in the Comparison section. Also, just before the Conclusion, there is a great summary of the parameters of choice and the different technologies. However, there is no discussion on how you can actually use this table. But, I like the table a lot! The Conclusion almost does the trick. This is the “best” article so far.
I would reference this last article in our blog post to cut through all of the definitions and feature comparisons. I’d include the matrix and offer a fresher approach. See https://cdn-images-1.medium.com/max/800/1*SlT1xTXNyVf7Zh2F5n941g.png
What is missing from all three articles? The framework you choose is all about the type of application you want to create! Specifically, the capabilities needed for the entire application. For example, if your iOS/Android app is going to include:
- Augmented reality like https://portfolio.dbbest.com/reward-hunter-ios-app
- Video streaming like https://www.dbbest.com/blog/cross-platform-video-streaming-using-rtsp/
- Face detection like https://www.dbbest.com/blog/face-tracking-mobile-apps/
- Commerce with payments like https://www.dbbest.com/blog/mobile-commerce-aws-and-the-great-chinese-firewall/
- Integration with location-based services like https://www.dbbest.com/blog/p2p-car-rental-app/
- Chat based applications like https://www.dbbest.com/blog/momdezvous-application-review/
- IoT integration with Low Energy Bluetooth like https://www.dbbest.com/technologies/bluetooth-low-energy-solutions/
- Integration with App shortcuts for Android – https://developer.android.com/guide/topics/ui/shortcuts and iOS Siri Shortcuts – https://developer.apple.com/design/human-interface-guidelines/sirikit/overview/siri-shortcuts/
With the bullet items above, you can research the frameworks: Native, Compiled, Hybrid, and PWA to determine if they support these capabilities.
This will make this blog post unique!
</Bill’s thoughts>
