Cross-platform or hybrid mobile application development, also known as “cross-platform” or “hybrid” is a term that describes a method that allows developers to build mobile solutions that are compatible with multiple operating systems and platforms.
Hybrid applications combine native code and independent code to create a native interface. The code is written once by developers and reused multiple times, making it easy to quickly release products.
Intermediate programming languages, HTML or JavaScript, are used to create cross-platform software. Next, apps are packed into native containers and integrated with platforms.
You will need to create a mobile application for both the app stores and internal use. This usually means you have to target both iOS devices and Android devices.
Some people have the financial resources and the budget to hire two developers teams. Each team will be responsible for programming in the native environment of the platform. However, the advantage of developing the native tooling for each platform is that you are closer to the platform. This comes at a price.
There are some costs involved in hiring native developers. But, even more important, neither the code base that you are building is shareable. Any code developed by the iOS team cannot be reused or modified by the Android team.
Now you have two code bases that must be maintained separately. If there are any changes to the business logic or design of your app, your company will need to update and test both code bases.
Furthermore, it is important to keep the user experience consistent across platforms. Although you must follow platform-specific user experience patterns you also want the ability to customize your application. More work is required.
Cross-Platform vs. Native Apps
There are two app-building approaches for creating mobile solutions: native and hybrid/cross-platform. Each has its advantages and disadvantages. They can be tailored to your specific needs and usage scenario.
Native development depends on tools designed specifically for that platform. They are specific to the device and the operating systems. For iOS apps, Objective C, Swift, and C/C++ can be used. Java, C/C++, and Kotlin are useful for creating Android solutions. C#, Visual Basic, and Visual Basic are ideal for Windows Phone.
Developers must adhere to specific OS requirements when creating native apps. A native app can fully exploit the features and capabilities of a specific computing device when it’s installed there.
One drawback to native apps is their incompatibility with other platforms. It is necessary to create multiple apps for different platforms in order to reach larger audiences. This can be costly and time-consuming.
Cross-platform app development aims to create one application that can run on all platforms. It is platform-agnostic and uses HTML and CSS. This allows businesses to cover many end devices at reduced costs.
Mobile development across platforms: The pros and the cons
Developers find multiplatform mobile app development exciting and dynamic due to the emergence of new technologies.
Benefits
It is costly to create native apps for each platform. A hybrid application only requires one sharable program, which allows you to keep your budget in check.
The cost of maintaining and developing an app is reduced by having only one team. Additionally, a basic knowledge base of standard languages is enough — development tools will take care of the rest.
Cross-platform apps are designed with a native look and feel, which is great to improve user experience.
For companies looking to reach more users via mobile devices while releasing products to the market quickly at a lower cost, hybrid development is the best option.
But there may be some problems.
Challenges
The hybrid code is more complex and combines non-native and native components. This can impact the performance.
Cross-platform applications can’t support all native features and functions on mobile devices. This includes advanced graphics, animations, and 3D effects. This causes app design to be less intuitive and has a negative impact on functionality.
Native apps can instantly start to use new features from Google and Apple when they add them to Android or iOS platforms. However, hybrid apps will need to wait until the updates are made to the appropriate cross-platform framework. This means that there will always be an updating delay.
These challenges could be critical for your project or not; it’s up to you to decide.
Cross-platform development can be used to develop solutions for:
It is not necessary to process inbound data online
Not all features are available on every device.
