We, at Symantra, meet many entrepreneurs and public decision-makers who are confused when they want to invest in the development of a Mobile App. Especially when it comes to making the essential choice between a Native App or a Hybrid App.
Check what are the differences and decide in 5 minutes!
A hybrid app
By “hybrid”, we mean all non-native technologies (Xamarin, Cordova, Ionic…).
The developer increases the web code with a native SDK. A hybrid app is a web app built in HTML5 and JavaScript, wrapped in a native container that downloads most of the information on the page during navigation in the app. The benefits:
More economical solution (at the beginning only)
A little faster to develop (less than 3 months), because the same code is valid for several platforms (iOS, Android, etc.).
This is a valid option, if you want to launch a basic application, with a moderate (initial) cost, in crash test mode (ex: MVP start ups)
The drawbacks:
There are no hybrid Apps in the top 100 Favourite Apps on PlayStore or AppStore.
A hybrid app will never be as good as a native app in terms of user experience, ease of navigation, speed, security... In terms of performance, animations in hybrid apps are not fluid, they stick to the thumb.
Users don't know what a hybrid app is. But one thing's for sure: they don't like them! The proof: Facebook regretted launching a hybrid HTML 5 app and had to redevelop a native app, which frankly increased user satisfaction. Source: Techcrunch, "Mark Zuckerberg: Our Biggest Mistake Was Betting Too Much On HTML5".
A hybrid app is more sensitive to hacking as its content is downloaded from the web.
Cordova is very painful for maintenance.
Xamarin increases the complexity of the configuration and the maintenance of the mobile apps, rarely compensated by the code factorization.
A native app
Native apps are developed specifically for one platform (iOS/Android), and can take full advantage of all the device features and the platform.
Since the app is developed within a mature ecosystem following the technical and user experience guidelines of the Operating System, it provides fast performance, security and a high degree of reliability. The benefits:
A native app offers the best user experience (UX). Your users navigate more intuitively thanks to a native user interface (UI).
A native app allow for quality graphic effects. If your project is part of the IoT/Internet of Things or a project that focuses on the citizen, then developing a native app is the absolute reference.
Native apps are much easier to find in app stores (Apple App store, Play store).
They operate in offline mode.
They offer more security
The drawbacks:
Slightly more expensive initially and a little longer to develop.
Waw Effect: Why is user experience (UX) so crucial?
No one has time to be tolerant with an app that crashes at startup, too slow, not intuitive, with a rotten design. If your app does not roll out the red carpet to the user within 2 seconds, if it has the misfortune to crash once...
It's simple: your app will be deleted in 80% of cases. No second chances. And the certainty of triggering a storm of negative comments.
That being said, if you still want a hybrid app, be aware of the consequences: you will get a "kleenex" app. The users uninstall the app, the loss of money and time (and a lot of laughs in the tech/design community !).
Conclusion
Prefer a Native App to convince users from the very first moment and make them come back again and again. The UX of your app is the most decisive criterion for your medium and long term success.
Native Apps offer the Best Performance, the Best Security, and a much Higher Quality User Experience.