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In today's digital age, mobile apps have become an important part of our digital life. Whether it's for work, entertainment or communication, we depend on apps for an easier life. There is a growing demand for mobile apps, and before you start creating one you need to make an important decision: How are you going to build the app?
There are several factors you should consider when choosing a method, and through this post we want to take a closer look at different methods, and help you choose the right one for your project!
Native development: For good performance and access to platform features
Native development involves developing an app for a specific platform, such as iOS or Android, using the platform's own platform language (Swift for iOS and Kotlin or Java for Android). This method gives developers access to all the functions and capabilities of the physical device, such as GPS, camera and accelerometer. One will be able to achieve a better performance by developing Native, which means that it will be perceived as fast and responsive.
Although Native development offers a good performance and better integration with the physical components of the device, there will be disadvantages associated with this method. The cost of creating this type of application will be high, as one will have to develop a separate app separately for both iOS and Android. This results in two different code bases to be developed, further developed and maintained separately, which increases development time and the road to market is greater. The target audience will also be limited to that particular platform.
Hybrid development: To save costs and reach multiple platforms
A Hybrid app leverages technology from both web development and native development and has a common codebase, which allows the application to be used on both iOS and Android. Hybrid development will be cheaper than Native development, as development time is shorter. It also means that you can reach a larger audience because the app can run on multiple platforms.
However, there are some drawbacks associated with Hybrid apps. One will experience somewhat poorer performance in these applications as there will be an extra layer between the app code and the mobile platform. There will also be limited access to platform-specific features, which in turn could affect the user experience in some cases.
Low-Code/No-Code: Simple but limited app development
Low-code development involves delivering applications with minimal manual programming. The developer can adopt pre-made components or visual elements, and then customize these by writing a few lines of code. No-Code Development allows you to build an app using move-and-drop functionality and visual guidance. Thus, minimal, or no, knowledge or experience with code is required.
Developing an app using Low-Code/No-Code will have limitations. Unless one can code their own functions and modules, one will be very limited to what the platform already offers, and it will be difficult to tailor applications to specific needs. This can be a major obstacle if you want to create more advanced applications. Moreover, one must also calculate costs in the form of subscription fees, licenses and other fees to access features.
Flutter:
In conjunction with Google's launch of Flutter in 2018, they took the developer world by storm. Flutter is a development platform (SDK - Software Development Kit) that can be used to develop anything from small to large applications. One will gain natural speed, thanks to the fact that the application is built directly to ARM machine code, using the Native compiler. Apps made with Flutter will launch and run quickly, with a common programming language for all platforms. Flutter also supports web and desktop, and can run on any platform from a single codebase. However, we have learned that it is not quite ripe for web development yet due to the initial loading time of the web product. One doesn't have to worry about customizing the behavior on iOS and Android, as Flutter has its own render engine for on-screen recording. The user interface will look exactly the same on both platforms, unless you want it to look different for the different platforms - then you also have the option to do this. Flutter also has Hot Reload - a feature that allows developers to make changes to the app while it's running, without having to restart it. Changes are displayed in the app on an ongoing basis while the changes are being made, which is very time saving.
For customers, the advantages of Flutter lie in simplicity and reliability. Smaller code leaves less room for errors, and it will thus be less expensive to correct them. As a customer, one can easily get a web version of part, or the whole app, if desired. By choosing Flutter, you get a robust and easy-to-use app in record time, and at a far lower cost than using other tools. With flutter, one can trust that the app will be user-friendly and reliable for both iOS and Android.
Ebay, Google Pay, Google Ads, Toyota and Cryptograph are examples of apps that have been developed using Flutter.
If you want to develop an app or web solution for you or your company, take liaise with us, and we will find the best and most effective solution for you!
Posted by:
Une Newermann Wick and Michelle Sæther
Sources:
https://www.mendix.com/low-code-guide/
https://flutter.dev/?gclid=CjwKCAjwuqiiBhBtEiwATgvixJyFnuv8NTiXJYcAtXBvGkEFpvQIEYgmGA3MPPtYvC-696Ht7hfWghoCPG8QAvD_BwE&gclsrc=aw.ds
https://uxcam.com/glossary/native-app
https://www.upwork.com/resources/hybrid-app
