What is Hybrid Mobile App Development and How Can My Business Use it To Succeed?
Whether your business is small or large, whether your business focus is in retail, manufacturing or technology, there is a good chance that your enterprise can benefit from mobile application development. If you want to understand why mobile app development is important, consider this: Mobile applications allow your business to expand its market and competitive advantage and ensure customer satisfaction.
It is important to recognize that a business cannot isolate and dictate the devices its consumers and/or business users prefer. Even if your business provides its team members with an Android or iPhone device, that user is likely to have more than one device and those devices may not use the same operating system.
You can avoid this issue if you choose to develop your mobile application using cross-platform mobile development. Cross-platform app development ensures that business team members and consumers can access your mobile app, no matter the device they are using.
‘Discover the benefits and components of mobile application development technology, and the hybrid mobile app development environment.’
Hybrid Mobile Apps provide access via Android and iOS (Apple) operating systems, native mobile applications are designed to comply with and operate within only one of the two operating systems, either Android or iOS.
Hybrid Mobile Apps – What are hybrid mobile apps. Hybrid mobile apps blend the native and web application approach with the foundational code written with web technologies like HTML, JavaScript and CSS. Tech Target defines a Hybrid Mobile App as ‘a software app that combines elements of both native and web applications. Hybrid apps are essentially web apps that have a native app shell.’ This approach allows users to access the application via iOS and Android devices. Hybrid mobile app developers can write the code once and deploy it across iOS and Android platforms, so implementation and upgrade is easy and fast.
Native Mobile Apps – When we consider native vs hybrid apps, the biggest difference is that the native app is designed and developed using code that supports the iOS OR the Android environment (not both). Developers use Java or Swift, etc. to create the solution. When a business considers hybrid vs. native applications, it must decide whether to release and support one native app for Android or iOS or to design and develop two separate solutions (one for Android and one for iOS) and maintain and upgrade two versions of the solutions as the application and user needs evolve.
Here are a few examples of existing business applications to help you understand the value and use of hybrid app development:
Social Media – Businesses like Instagram, X (formerly Twitter), and WhatsApp use hybrid apps in a very different way. Whereas Instagram and X look to engage users and support ranking, popularity and community, WhatsApp leverages hybrid development to create an app that is used for communication, messaging, and international access to friends, family and co-workers.
Reservation Systems – Uber and other well-known businesses use hybrid apps to allow customers to book and pay for services, with user-friendly features that allow for ranking, check the status of delivery or arrival, etc.
Communication and Integration – Companies like Gmail provide apps to communicate with friends and co-workers and integrate that functionality with document storage and editing and other applications and features, including video conferencing.
Image and Data Design and Synchronization – Evernote is a great example of how hybrid mobile apps are used to provide a secured interface for scanning, image capture via built-in camera, data synchronization and design features. This app also allows for collaboration and discussion and permits users to make notes.
Banking and Crypto Accounts – Hybrid mobile apps are used to manage accounts and monitor the status of financial investments and/or cryptocurrency investments.
App Stores – The Amazon and Apple App Stores were developed as hybrid mobile applications. Here you can search for and find games, media apps, entertainment apps…in short any kind of app you might need, and download those apps, and you can return to the site to upgrade the app or to find reviews and information about apps.
Streaming – There are mobile apps designed and developed to enable streaming of programs and content from your favorite streaming networks. These apps include the ability to access and login to your streaming account for a particular service, so you can keep all your content and services in one interface for your viewing pleasure.
Shopping and eCommerce – Hybrid mobile apps allow for product searches, and some even allow you to virtually ‘try on’ clothing, using an image of yourself and a product image. You can pay with your favorite payment app, using integrated payment platforms and you can track shipping with integrated shipment apps that provide updates on the status of your shipment. Forbes reports that an impressive 37 of the Top 50 retail apps in America are hybrid.
‘Hybrid Mobile Apps provide access via Android and iOS (Apple) operating systems, native mobile applications are designed to comply with and operate within only one of the two operating systems, either Android or iOS.’
For a comprehensive overview of Hybrid Mobile Application Development and its potential, read our article: ‘Hybrid Mobile Application Development: The What, Why and How.’
Find out if Hybrid Mobile Application Development is right for your mobile app and/or smart watch project, and Build Your Software Team with dedicated resources. Discover the benefits and components of mobile application development technology, and the hybrid mobile app development environment, with these complementary articles: ‘Mobile App Development is Important to Business, So Are Mobile App Programmers,’ ‘What are the Pros and Cons of Flutter Programming?.’ ‘What Are the Pros and Cons of Hybrid Mobile Application Development?’ ‘How Do I Know if Hybrid Mobile App Development is Right for My Business?’ ‘How to Hire the Right Mobile Application Developers,’ ‘Hybrid Mobile Application Development: The What, Why and How.’
