Mobile app development is one of the biggest areas of expertise for a programmer to get a job in, just look at any job site and you will see thousands of jobs for mobile app developers of every level. The thing being there are many ways to develop a mobile application, when talking about frameworks, devices, methodologies. We will be talking about the three important categories of mobile apps and what each of them are. The first of which is web applications.
Web Mobile Apps
Web mobile apps are simply, web application with mobile first development in mind, designed to fit on a small screen and to be navigated with a touch screen. This might not sound exactly like a mobile app because it is not necessarily as you could access it without an emulator on your computer. This does not mean it cannot have the exact same complex functionality of any traditional mobile app. They are just apps that are optimized to run a on a mobile browser and be used on a smart phone. This is a convenient way to build or prototype a more traditional mobile app as it much cheaper and quicker to develop. Along with that it for the most part is going to be a lighter weight application as it will not require a bunch of SDKs that can be common with mobile development. In fact, they the exact same development path as making a traditional website, which they can be built in traditional HTML/Javascript or your favorite framework. The emphasis is on styling and user stories of how you want the app to be interacted with.
Hybrid Apps
Secondly, hybrid apps are much closer to traditional apps but where they are downloaded from and app store but are rendered in a browser still like web apps, but this browser just happens to be embedded in the app itself. So, you are still installing this container onto your phone, but you are still basically running the app on a browser. This is because a hybrid app deploys in a native container that uses a WebView object, this WebView object then displays the application using the classic web technologies (HTML, JavaScript, CSS) (2). Hybrid apps can be slightly more difficult to develop as you are still reliant on having some knowledge of the device it will be running on but the setup can be the same across many apps as you are simply in a sense making a web app with a in a mobile container.
Native Apps
Lastly, native apps are more what you think of when developing a mobile app, this kind of application development requires much more knowledge of the system you are creating it for and will most likely require you to use many SDKs. In fact most apps you use are native as even thought they are not nearly as light weight as they require the user to fully download the content onto their phone, they are much more responsive and reliable as they wont require internet access or less standardized tools which can be limiting depending on the platform you are developing them for. The niche features you might want that from outside SDKs not suitable for a native mobile is more than made up for all the features you can implement, native apps are the only apps that you can reliably use the phones hardware such as the camera, microphone, push notifications and so on. This obviously comes at a cost you must choose a very specific programming language or framework and stick to it and must follow the rules in a sense of how to develop it. Overall, it is much harder to develop a native app for these reasons. Having dabbled a little bit into app mobile app development making sure things stay up to date and run correctly can be difficult.
Well that was a brief run down of different types of mobile apps, they all have valid uses its up to you to decide which is the right path for your application.
Sources
- https://www.app-press.com/blog/web-app-vs-native-app#:~:text=A%20native%20app%20is%20one,Play%20or%20Apple’s%20App%20Store).&text=And%20native%20apps%20can%20use%20the%20device’s%20notification%20system.
- https://www2.stardust-testing.com/en/blog-en/hybrid-apps#:~:text=Hybrid%20apps%20are%20deployed%20in,adapted%20to%20a%20WebView%20display.
- https://www.mobiloud.com/blog/native-web-or-hybrid-apps
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