So, you want to build a mobile app? Choosing the right technology for your development can determine how successful your mobile app will be and how it will stand up against your competitors. With roughly 2 million apps available for download in the Apple App Store and Google Play Store, only the cream rises to the top - or the cream must vigorously claw its way to the top to launch and sustain a successful mobile app. In 2024, there are three technologies that reign: native applications, hybrid applications, and web applications. Each one is diverse in what it offers developers and users in terms of structure, performance, and long-term growth.

The Camber team knows app development. Our team of movers and shakers thrive on bringing mobile applications to fruition from the initial product ideation and strategy to design, development, and long-term mobile app sustainability and growth. Generally, partnering with a development agency can help support your mobile or web app optimization - no matter what technology you land on. Today, we’re going to jam through native apps versus hybrid apps versus web apps, so you can choose the best one for your mobile app development project.

Native Apps

Native applications are by far the highest-performing of these three technologies, as they use development languages like Swift and Kotlin/Java and are optimized for one specific platform (iOS or Android). Native apps are king at handling graphic-intensive tasks like gaming, animation, AR, VR, and real-time data visualization; making it a great structure to follow if you’re building an e-commerce, social media, health, finance, or gaming app.

Since native apps are specifically designed to follow the UX patterns of their respective platform, and have access to device features like notifications, camera, and GPS, the user experience is flawless. This can most notably be seen in popular apps like Facebook, Instagram, Snapchat, and WhatsApp, all of which not only yield seamless UX integration, but great speed and reliable security.

With greatness, there always comes a price. Native apps are notoriously expensive to not only develop, but maintain as there are separate codebases for each platform. They also take longer to develop and get to market since platform-specific development is needed, which in tandem requires deeply-technical and specialized knowledge of different programming languages and tools. Meaning, you need the budget, the lead time, and the talent. See talent, here.

Hybrid Apps

Hybrid applications combine the very best of native apps and web apps to create an app that might be just right - for some. They’re structurally built using web technologies that run within a native container. This allows hybrid apps to access some device features, while maintaining cross-platform compatibility. Industries like food delivery, education, banking, travel, and social media shine when utilizing hybrid apps for their respective companies.

Hybrid apps generally require lower maintenance since they are built using a single codebase, are typically faster to develop, and require a smaller budget than native app development, making them a great choice for smaller-scale development projects. React Native, Flutter, and Ionic are the most popular frameworks used to develop hybrid apps in 2024. Notable hybrid apps like Twitter and Uber behave almost identically to native apps, but cater to iOS and Android users differently.

The most common issues found with hybrid apps is the decrease in performance and responsiveness that comes with a hybrid integration, limited offline capabilities, and of course, limited access to device features. So, while the user experience is generally good, it often doesn’t meet native apps in terms of a seamless digital experience.

Web Apps

Web applications are essentially the OG apps that run in a web browser, but look and feel like native or hybrid apps. Because of this, web apps don’t need to be downloaded or installed and can be accessed from any device with a browser and internet connection. Web access allows users to always have the latest web app update, never having to rely on updating within the App Store or Google Play. Web apps are an excellent choice for those within the publishing, project management, education, healthcare, and customer support industries.

Unlike native apps and hybrid apps, web apps are developed using web technologies like JavaScript, HTML, and CSS. This approach significantly reduces the development budget and makes the actual road mapped journey smoother. Popular web apps like Trello, Canva, and Google Docs - which we on the marketing team happen to use all of the time - make switching from desktop to mobile on the go incredibly seamless and generally pretty reliable.

The downfalls of web apps lie in the fact that the integration with a web browser will inevitably lower web app performance and responsiveness. This leads to limited offline capabilities, in addition to the inability for web apps to utilize device features as the two aforementioned technologies are able to.

Which Technology Is Right for Your Mobile App?

We hope that by now you have a better understanding of the differences between native apps, hybrid apps, and web apps, and how their unique capabilities can cater to different industries and their audience base. It really all comes down to your users. What are they looking to accomplish by using your mobile app and how can the technology on the table support? Once you answer these questions and equip a team to implement your vision, you’re all gravy.

No team? No problem. Thankfully, Camber Creative is equipped with a team of visionary engineers and product managers to match, who have one goal in mind: build the right thing, in the right way, at the right time. We’re a full-service digital product agency with customizable service offerings fit for a range of budgets and industries. Mash this link to get started with Camber!