Mobile applications are hot topics today, in part because mobile apps such as WhatsApp and Instagram were acquired for billions of dollars, and mobile app companies like Rovio, makers of Angry Birds, and King Digital, makers of Candy Crush, generate annual revenues of hundreds of millions to billions of dollars.
When coding mobile applications, developers can either build
Mobile web applications, using HTML, CSS, and JavaScript.
Native mobile applications using a specific language. For example, Apple devices are programmed using Objective-C or Swift, and Android devices are programmed using Java.
The choice between these two options may seem simple, but there are a few factors at play. Consider the following:
Companies developing mobile web applications must make sure the mobile version works across different browsers, different screen sizes, and even different manufacturers, such as Apple, Samsung, RIM, and Microsoft. This results in thousands of possible phone combinations, which can greatly increase the complexity of testing needed before launch. Native mobile apps run only on one phone platform, so there is less variation to account for.
Despite running on only one platform, native mobile apps are more expensive and take longer to build than mobile web apps.
Some developers have reported that mobile web applications have more performance issues and load more slowly than native mobile applications.
Users are spending more time using native mobile applications and less time using browser-based mobile web apps.
Native mobile apps are distributed through an app store, which may require approval from the app store owner, whereas mobile web apps are accessible from any web browser. For example, Apple has a strict approval policy and takes up to six days to approve an app for inclusion in the Apple App Store, while Google has a more relaxed approval policy and takes two hours to approve an app.
In one famous example of an app rejected from an app store, Apple blocked Google from launching the Google Voice app in the Apple App Store because it overlapped with Apple’s own phone functionality. Google responded by creating a mobile web app accessible from any browser, and Apple could do nothing to block it.
If you’re making this choice, consider the complexity of your application. Simple applications, like schedules or menus, can likely be cheaply developed with a mobile web app, whereas more complex applications, like messaging and social networking, may benefit from having a native mobile app. Even well-established technology companies struggle with this choice.
Initially, Facebook and LinkedIn created mobile web applications, but both have since shifted to primarily promoting and supporting native mobile apps. The companies cited better speed, memory management, and developer tools as some of the reasons for making the switch.