What to Choose: Cross-platform or Native App Development?

Market overview

The market for mobile apps has been expanding rapidly over the past few years. Look at some recent statistics. 

• By 2026, the total revenue is predicted to expand by 7.77% annually (CAGR 2022-2026), with a market size of US$614.40 billion.
• In the third quarter of 2022, gross app revenue in the Google Play store amounted to around US$10.4 billion worldwide. The Apple App Store generated US$21.2 billion.

Source: Statista​

Native vs. cross-platform development

What is native app development?

Applications that have been created using their native operating system are known as native applications. Each operating system has a distinct technological stack and SDK (Software Development Kit). To figure out the mobile development workflow, check out our article here. 

What to consider when choosing native app development services?

• Since your target audience will be using your app for the first time, you want to make a good first impression.
• A platform-specific coding requirement is necessary.
• You can build a sizable user base for DAUs, attract VC investors for product finance, and create intuitive but simple software.
• You can add device-specific features like GPS, a camera, and other features.
  

Native app examples

• Google Maps
• Artsy
• Pinterest
• Spotify
  

What is cross-platform app development?

Apps designed using a common operating system are called cross-platform apps. A universal solution that works with multiple mobile platforms at once is a cross-platform application. Cross-platform app development company create their code only once and run it across several platforms.

What to consider in cross-platform development?

• You don't need a lot of time, money, or other resources to distribute a mobile application across different platforms.
• You can focus on users of iOS and Android apps.
• You need to develop apps more quickly.
• The app is straightforward and doesn't need features that vary greatly between platforms.
  

Cross-platform apps examples

• Insightly
• Bloomberg
• Reflectly
• Skype
• Slack

The difference between developing cross-platform and native mobile apps

Time

For new product lines and businesses, this is a common worry. Ship the product as soon as possible to start receiving useful user feedback. The ideal option in this situation would be to create cross-platform software because it is simple to design and iterate. Native mobile development would take longer to complete and be more difficult to maintain, which would eventually result in a longer time-to-market.

Security

You must take into account the company's reputation as well as the effects of losing the trust of your customers. For some mobile application types, like financial apps, the dangers can be very significant. Native mobile development offers a wide range of built-in security measures, such as intelligent fraud detection using certain OS libraries and file encryption.

Check out some statistics on mobile app security.

Source: Maruti techlabs​

Performance

The best option for apps that require enhanced performance is frequently native mobile development services. In this case, using cross-platform frameworks would demand additional labor and knowledge of native apps.

Costs

Some businesses can spend more money than others on creating mobile apps. Cross-platform mobile app development is better for cheaper budgets because it requires a smaller team to develop. By sharing your code and projects, cross-platform development also enables you to control costs.

Trends in mobile app development

• AI and machine learning

Predictive analytics, customized suggestions, and speech and image recognition capabilities.

• On-demand services

Food delivery and ride-sharing will continue to gain in popularity.

• Personalization

Mobile apps will prioritize personalized experiences more and more, delivering customized content and recommendations based on user data.

• Performance

Developers are concentrating on improving app speed and cutting load times since users expect apps to load and execute quickly.

• Security

Users are growing more concerned about their privacy and data security as personal information is exchanged through mobile apps.

• Gamification

Popular apps use it to entice users to return, including TikTok, Duolingo, Twitter, and the YouVersion bible app.

Source: Getsocial​

In-app purchases and subscriptions

Developers are seeking ways to monetize their apps through in-app sales and subscriptions as the app market grows more and more competitive.

Analyzing the trends, native app development is more comprehensive as this way, you can reach better app performance and security.

Factors to weigh when choosing between developing native apps or cross-platform apps 

Let's now examine key elements you must take into account while deciding between native and cross-platform solutions for mobile app development.

1. Purpose 
   Understanding the app you will be creating, its features, and its goal is one of the most important tasks. Make sure the mobile development strategy you select offers the tools required to create the app you need and deliver an excellent user experience.
2. Team
   Your team's developers ought to be skilled and knowledgeable enough to operate with specific frameworks. Pay special attention to the coding languages and expertise that the development tools demand.
   For instance, to design native apps for iOS, developers need to be familiar with Objective-C or Swift, while for Android, they need to be familiar with Kotlin or Java. Flutter, a cross-platform framework, requires Dart expertise.
3. Viability 
   You must feel certain that the platform vendor will continue to support it over the long term while deciding between various methodologies and frameworks.
4. Cost
   As was already said, different mobile development tools and solutions have varying costs. You can choose the best option for your project based on how flexible your budget is.
5. Industry
   You can always research what others say about various strategies. Some excellent sources include Google Trends, StackOverflow, and Reddit.

Check the recommendations for some industries.

Gaming apps

These apps need to process match outcomes, bets, and odds quickly as they come from various sources. These applications also have higher security requirements because they need users to upload their IDs or other personal information before they may use them. In these circumstances, native apps outperform cross-platform apps and prove to be the safer option.

Source: Statista​

FinTech apps

Since financial applications receive and retain sensitive data like payment details, they also require the greatest level of security. While cross-platform technology does provide security solutions, they could not be as sophisticated as those used in specialized applications, and insufficient code protection could lead to data leakage. Because of this, native technology might be a preferable choice when it comes to FinTech apps.

E-commerce apps 

Such an app may be created considerably more quickly and inexpensively with a cross-platform framework than it would be to create a native app. For Android and iOS apps, you can have (nearly) the same design.

Healthcare apps

In comparison to native apps, cross-platform ones have a few security limitations. It implies that some complex native features might be more challenging to code and might take too long to implement in a cross-platform solution. Therefore, native technology is a more realistic option if you wish to implement multi-level permission or fingerprint login to safeguard the program.

Finally

Smooth performance and a pleasant user experience are key characteristics of native applications that help them stand out in the crowded market of today. But keep in mind that to make that notion a reality, considerable time and financial investment are needed. 

However, if you require a low-cost app that will be developed quickly, cross-platform app development is your choice. Before making your choice, keep in mind the information in this article.

Looking at the market trends like app performance, security and gamification, I would suggest taking native app development. But each app is individual and requires custom analysis before deciding. 

If you can’t decide which development is better for your particular case, check CGS-team’s mobile app development service here and start the cooperation to let our experts advise you.