Native Vs Cross Platform Development: Which is Better?

When it comes to mobile app development, one of the most common debates is whether to go for native or cross-platform development to build an app that's efficient and cost-effective. 

But how do you choose which to use? With pros and cons to both approaches, choosing between them depends on several factors, such as development costs, the need for file encryption and intelligent fraud detection, and the target audience. In this article, we'll explore the advantages and disadvantages of native vs cross-platform development so you can make an informed decision.

What is Native App Development?

Native development refers to building an app specifically for a particular operating system, such as Android or iOS. Apps built with native programming languages and tools are specific to a single platform. 

Native applications are known for their great user experience due to their better performance and enhanced visuals that are tailored to the platform's UX.

The code behind any kind of computer software is collectively known as a codebase and when you build natively, you're creating a single codebase for a single platform. Say iOS. Now, when you want to create an app for Android too, you can't use the original code because it was created with just iOS in mind so, you have to start a second one built natively for Android.

The benefits will be the same – better performance, feature availability and enhanced visuals, however, it'll be more costly because you have to pay for not just one codebase, but as many platforms you want supported.

That's the trade-off, greater development freedom and better performance for a longer, more expensive project.

Pros of using native app development:

• Broad functionality: You’ll be able to access every API and tool provided by the platform that you’re working on so that developers will have more freedom when building. 
• Better store support: A native app is easier to be published and usually ranks higher than cross-platform apps due to its better performance and speed.
• Increased scalability: Native allows apps to be more scalable due to their flexibility in resources and the number of tools available.
• Better performance: Native mobile apps tend to have better performance and responsiveness than cross-platform apps, as they're optimised for a particular platform. This can be especially vital for apps that require a lot of processing power, such as gaming or video editing apps.
• Great user experience: Native apps are able to take full advantage of the platforms' features, such as the camera, GPS and notifications, which can lead to a better user experience. 
• Greater features: Native mobile apps are specifically designed to work on a particular operating system, meaning they can take advantage of the unique features and capabilities of that platform. For example, an iOS app can take advantage of features such as Face ID, while an Android app can use Google Play Services. 

Cons of using native app development:

• Less cost-effective: Native apps can cost more to build than cross-platform apps as you’ll need to build and design for iOS as well as Android meaning you’ll have to deploy two teams to work on the platforms. 
• More time-consuming: Since you’re essentially having to build for both devices, there will be more time and resources used.

What is cross-platform app development? 

Instead of having to build several codebases to support every device, mobile app cross-platform development means you can build your software using one codebase for every platform you want to support.

Cross-platform development is becoming the more modern solution as Google's Flutter and Facebook's React Native are gaining more popularity due to their efficiency when it comes to time and cost. Unfortunately, the cost you risk sacrificing the quality of your app in the process. 

Lower performance is due to the difficulty of tailoring a single application to run optimally on various platforms resulting in the software needing an abstraction layer. 

Pros of cross-platform app development:

•  Less expensive and faster development: Cross-platform development can often be faster and less expensive than native development, as you only need to build the app once and then deploy it to multiple platforms. However, this will depend on the tools you are using and the complexity of the app. 
• Reach a wider audience: Cross-platform development is often the better choice if you want to reach a wider audience. By creating a single app that can work on multiple platforms, you can reach more users without having to create separate apps for each platform. 

Cons of cross-platform app development:

• Issues with compatibility and performance: Cross-platform apps can sometimes have issues with compatibility and performance, especially on older devices. This can be a disadvantage if you need to create an app that works well on a wide range of devices.
• ‍Web designers may have difficulty accessing smartphone functionalities like the microphone, camera, and geolocation in ways possible for a native app. 
• Cross-platform require more maintenance than native apps, as you need to ensure compatibility with multiple platforms.
• Cross-Platform apps are unable to take advantage of all native UX components. Therefore, it cannot sometimes deliver the same UX experience that is accustomed to the platform. 
• Cross-platform apps, may not be able to use all of the platform's features, as they are not built specifically for that platform.