One of the decisions to make when considering developing a mobile app is whether to make the app web-based or native. This article describes the differences between these two options.
A web app is an application or program that you access from your mobile phone or tablet browser. Unlike native apps, you don’t need to download anything to your phone to use it. Simply access or connect to the web app, make a purchase as needed, and you’re ready to go. Think of it as visiting a website to play a game or watch a video. Instead of actually downloading the Navionics Web app or video and installing it on your computer, you can play the game or watch the video online.
Examples of this are camera apps, GPS apps, games, and so on. The native app is downloaded and installed on your device and you can access it by tapping the app icon.
Of course, don’t confuse web apps with another commonly used term, mobile websites. Mobile websites are websites that can be displayed properly on mobile devices. Have you ever tried to browse the internet on your device and had to scroll left, right, up and down to see the entire site? get annoyed! Mobile websites are specially designed for viewing on mobile phones or tablets. Many companies are starting to include mobile websites as part of their online portfolio. They have one website for viewing on computer and mobile websites. This is basically the same website tuned to display on your mobile phone or tablet.
Below are five main differences between web apps and native apps.
- Purchase
Purchase native apps from online stores such as the Apple App Store for iPhone and iPad users and the BlackBerry App World for BlackBerry users. Web apps are purchased through a subscription to the website on which the app is hosted or through some paid store. Making your app available in the app store also means that if you’re trying to sell your app, you don’t have to worry about having all your purchases processed and incorporating this feature into your website.
Of course, you should also consider that the Apple App Store has an application process for listing native apps, and not all apps are accepted. However, BlackBerry’s App World doesn’t have an application process that makes listing BlackBerry apps much easier.
- Compatibility
If you want to use the app on all devices, you need to develop a native app for each device, but since the web app is accessed through a browser, it can be viewed and used on basically all devices.
- Update
Because web apps are controlled at the server level, developers can update their web apps at any time to make the latest version of the app available to all users. Native apps, on the other hand, require the user to update manually.
- User interface
Using native apps can greatly improve the user experience. The graphics are installed with the app and you don’t have to worry about the download speed you are using during development. The graphics used for the web app have been improved, though not due to some restrictions on the web app’s sophisticated user interface.
- Functionality
Web apps cannot use all the hardware built into the phone or access internal data. For example, a web app cannot:
Utilize cameras, accelerometers and GPS
Make a phone call, send a message, send a text
Access photos, videos, contacts, calendars, messages, or emails
Final Words
Native apps have the ability to take advantage of all the information stored on your phone and all the hardware features of your phone.
