Do you wish to capture your target audience’s attention on both iOS and Android devices?
To get the best of both worlds, you may consider hiring a cross-platform app development company.
But stop.
Depending on your business and target audience, native app development can also work.
To help you decide, which framework is best for your business we will explore each approach’s strengths and weaknesses, helping you decide whether you should opt towards native app development or cross-platform app development.
What is Native App Development?
Native apps are like custom-tailored apps for your phone. Built for a specific operating system, whether iOS or Android, they unlock the full power of that system. A React native app development provides lightning-fast speed, smooth performance, and seamless integration with features like fingerprint scanners or GPS. Plus, they look and feel perfect within the phone’s design language. A drawback is that you can construct it for a single platform, and building separate apps for each platform can be pricier and take longer.
What is Cross-platform App Development?
If you want to conquer both the Android and iOS platforms, cross-platform app development is the answer. It’s like building bridges and reaching wider shores that everybody can see and experience. It allows you to create an app using a single codebase that can run on multiple platforms.
Cross-platform mobile app development follows the approach of a single app that runs seamlessly on multiple platforms using a unified codebase. One code for two platforms – a sign of efficiency, time-saving, and cost-effective management translates to faster development times and potentially lower costs, perfect for startups or those with tight budgets. Built on cross-platform app development, it reaches a large audience, expanding your user base and maximizing its potential.
Native App Development VS. Cross-Platform App Development
For startups, the choice between native app development and cross-platform app development depends on different factors and needs. Native apps offer a smoother user experience but take longer to develop. Cross-platform apps launch faster and cost less but may feel less polished. Let’s find out which platform is best suited for startups to launch their business and skyrocket their sales in no time!
Time To Market
The bigger concern for startups to launch their business is how quickly they can ready their app and market it. The quicker, the better.
Native app development is a little behind in this factor as it takes time to build an app and is a little harder to maintain in the longer run, while cross-platform app development is quick to build and maintain. You can launch the app in minimum time and get user feedback to enhance user experience.
Development Cost
Native app development takes more time and a team to develop one app for one platform, while cross-platform works in opposite ways. Building a single app for both platforms might cost less and save time. Cross-platform can easily do this for your startup as your app will be in the market in a short period with less development cost. One small team can do the whole work for both platforms, so you will be able to put your cost more on a marketing budget rather than building an app.
Easy Integration and Code Usability
Cross-platform apps are popular for their ability to play nicely with others is also an advantage for startups. Since they are built to work with different device frameworks, they can easily connect to other apps on your phone. This means your cross-platform app can share data or work together with other apps you use, creating a smooth and efficient experience while the native app works on a single framework and requires separate codes for each platform, which is time-consuming in the fast-paced digital era. Cross-platform mobile app development is a game-changer for startups because a single codebase is used to create apps that feel almost native on both systems. This cuts down on development time and costs, allowing startups to get their product to market faster and reach a wider audience with minimal hassle.
Testing Feasibility
Launching a successful startup requires testing and your development approach heavily influences this stage. Native app development is a single platform development, which means it takes more time to test your app on each platform and slower the process of promoting. On the other side, cross-platform mobile app development comes with a single codebase and testing becomes easy on multiple platforms – all at the same time. Most tests work for both Android and iOS, saving time and resources. So, if your startup needs a faster launch with fewer resources, cross-platform app development can be your go-to partner in streamlining testing and delivering a lead-magnet app. However, instead of opting for an app development specialist it would be more preferable to select a full-service app and web development company in Dubai or abroad. As they do not just help you in building the app, but they can also develop a website for your brand that would act as a platform for informing and redirecting users to your mobile app. While they also offer app store optimization services as well, which will help in ensuring that your app appears in top search results in the app store every time a user searches for a relevant keywords or service.
Final Word
To make your app cater to a particular audience through native app development is indeed exciting. Still, to reach a wider audience and potential customers, the need for cross-platform app development is unmatchable. Our suggestion would be to opt for cross-platform app from the get-go to avoid the hassle of making your app shift later to fit different platforms. However, with so many app development companies offering similar services with slight variation in prices, it is crucial to select the mobile app development company that complies with the needs and requirements of your business and specifically the app that your business intends to develop.
FAQs
Q1. What is the difference between native and cross-platform app development?
A major and clear difference that helps in choosing one is – Native apps are built for one platform Android or iOS for top performance and better functionality, while cross-platform mobile app development includes one codebase to run on multiple platforms like both Android and iOS.
Q2. Which are the 5 best languages for cross-platform mobile app development?
There are multiple languages available for cross platform mobile app development but these are 5 best that offer unique strengths like large communities, fast development, or seamless integration with specific tools. These are; React Native (JavaScript), Flutter (Dart), Xamarin (C#), Kotlin Multiplatform (Kotlin), and Ionic (web technologies).
Q3. What is a disadvantage of a Native app development?
Native app is a single platform app development which is also a drawback. It requires separate development and maintenance for each platform you want to reach – Android, iOS etc. It is time consuming and expensive for a startup to launch the business with react native app development.
