Mobile App Development

Android Development

Android software development is the process by which applications are created for devices running the Android operating system. Google states that "Android apps can be written using Kotlin, Java, and C++ languages" using the Android software development kit, while using other languages is also possible

IOS Development

IOS software development is the process by which applications are created for devices running the IOS operating system. Apple provides tools and resources for creating iOS apps and accessories for these devices. As an iOS developer, you can program in native languages such as Swift or Objective-C

Native Apps

Going native is the way most product owners dream of, but not all can afford. It involves the creation of a mobile app that fits one platform only. In this case, engineers leverage a native-to-the-operating-system programming language. It can be Java or since recently Kotlin for Android, and Swift/Objective-C for iOS. Users love native apps for high performance and tailored-to-the-platform UX. This approach, though, scares off startupers for being cost-consuming. And the cost is the key distinction of native vs. hybrid app development.

For development, engineers get access to the device’s full feature set. This allows them to leverage advanced functionalities (memory management, complex networking, etc.). But, the biggest challenge is to run the app on two platforms. To do this, you need to make separate codebases. Yet, some native extensions enable code sharing. For example, you can share the C++ libraries between iOS and Android apps using Java Native Interface. Even so, product owners are desperate to increase development costs almost twofold.

Tools to use:

• Android and Kotlin for Android

• Swift and Objective-C for IOS

Hybrid Apps

Native is not a must for the mobile experience. Besides, your project might need another vector of priority like a fast time to market. To this effect, a hybrid app is not just a cheaper alternative. It requires less time for development and allows for code sharing. The reverse side of the coin is sluggish performance and suboptimal user experience. Theoretically, it is possible to achieve a great UX and navigation patterns from a visual standpoint. This is, however, a challenge to put into practice.

Hybrid apps blend web elements with mobile ones. So, you create a codebase using standard web technologies (HTML, CSS, JavaScript). Then, you wrap it inside a native container – the WebView. The content within WebView is rendered as a plain old website. It is responsible for UX and access to the hardware functionality (camera, GPS, etc.). The latter, however, is quite limited in contexts of hybrid application development vs. native application development. Eventually, a user can get a standalone application in the app store.

Tools to use:

Ionic, Apache Cordova and etc...

Cross-Platform Apps

It is important to remember that hybrid and cross-platform apps are not the same. Perhaps, the only common feature between them is code shareability. Due to that, they both allow you to speed up the pipeline. All the rest discloses many differences between cross-platform vs. hybrid app development.

Cross-platform dev approach uses a native rendering engine. The codebase written in JS connects to native components via the so-called bridges. This provides the close-to-native UX. Cross-platform apps are free of platform hook. They offer seamless functionality, easy implementation, and cost-effective production. Yet, do not expect outstanding performance. Customization is also a pain since it is limited to the framework you use.

Tools to use:

React Native, Flutter, Xamrin and etc...

Note: There are Native and Cross-Platform for Desktop Development also but with different technologies