Choosing the Right Development Tools for Your Mobile App Development Project

Building a mobile app is not as easy as you think it is – you need to choose your app platform wisely to be able to create a winning app. You need to know where your audience is and build your app’s presence on each of those platforms.

Now there are several ways to do that – you either build a native app for each platform, create a single cross-platform app supported by multiple platforms, or enhance your website and ensure it has an adaptive design. But what’s the difference?

Native App

Native applications are developed through their native operating environment. If developers use a programming language adopted for a particular platform, whether it be Objective-C and Swift for iOS or Java for Android, such an application will be called native.

The advantages of native mobile apps include:

High performance

Robust functionality

Seamless user experience

Cross-platform App

A cross-platform application is a universal solution that is supported by several mobile platforms at once. It is developed through a “shared operating environment”, like Xamarin. Cross-platform frameworks “fit” an application to multiple operating systems, so there is no need to create unique elements for each platform.

Platform-independent applications have multiple advantages:

70–90% reusable code

Easy maintenance and updates

Broader reach Shorter time to market

Cross-Platform

A cross-platform application is a universal solution that is a by several mobile platforms at once. It is developed through a “shared operating environment”, like Xamarin. Cross-platform frameworks “fit” an application to multiple operating systems, so there is no need to create unique elements for each platform.

Platform-independent applications have multiple advantages:

70–90% reusable code

Easy maintenance and updates

Broader reach Shorter time to market

Web App

If your resources are limited at the beginning stage, web development is another option by ensuring the website has an adaptive design. A user will use a mobile browser to interact with the product, instead of installing the app on the smartphone.

Before deciding, ask the question: Do I have the budget?

Developing an application for different platforms (iOS and Android) at once is often very expensive. In order to minimize your budget, you may have to choose between native and cross-platform development for two platforms.

Obviously, if you are developing solutions for a specific platform, it is better to create high-quality native applications for a specific segment of users. And sometimes the creation of two native apps for different platforms maybe even cheaper than cross-platform development.