Comparison of Mobile Applications: [626308]

Comparison of Mobile Applications:

Native vs Web vs Hybrid

Teodor-Dorin Tripon

University of Oradea, Romania,

Master Student: [anonimizat],

1, Universității Str., 410087 Oradea, Romania, E-Mail:
​
[anonimizat]
​
.

Abstract
–
In
this
paper
I
present
three
types
of

mobile
applications,
we
will
look
at
the
advantages

and
disadvantages
of
each
one.
WEB
applications

are
build
with
web
technologies

HTML5//CSS/Javascript
optimized
to
appear
the

same as native ones on mobile devices screens.

Native
applications
offers
platform-specific
styling,

capabilities
and
behavior,
they
are
written
with

platform
accepted
languages
(Java,
Objective-C,

Swift).

Hybrid
applications
are
build
similar
to
WEB

applications
and
are
given
a
native
device
wrapper

in
order
to
be
able
to
run
as
a
stand-alone

application,
rather
than
a
web
page
that
is
rendered

in
the
web
browser.
These
types
of
application
look

the same on each platform they are deployed to

Keywords:
operating
system;
mobile;

mobile-platform
web;
native;
hybrid;
mobile

development;

I. INTRODUCTION IN MOBILE PLATFORMS

The
mobile
phone
or
smartphone
has
become
an

integrated
part
of
our
daily
lives,
they
let
us

communicate
with
one
another
and
remind
us
of

appointments
and
other
events,
they
know
our

secrets
and
represent
us,
the
applications
installed

on our phone can tell many things about us.

The
utility
of
the
smartphone
is
possible
because
of

the many applications developed for them.

An
operating
system
represents
the
collection
of

programs,
responsible
for
managing
the
physical

and logical resources of a device [1].

A
mobile
platform
is
an
operating
system
which
is

created
only
for
mobile
devices,
like
smartphones,

personal digital assistants or tablets.

A
mobile
offers
limited
functionality,
like

managing
wireless
networks,
multimedia
tasks
and

various
input
methods.
These
restrictions
are
due
to

the
hardware
limitations
a
phone/tablet
has:
less

operating
memory,
slower
processors
and
smaller

storage units compared to a traditional computer.

At
this
moment
there
are
several
mobile
platforms

on
the
market,
and
the
two
most
important
are:
iOS

and
Android.
These
two
operating
systems
have

different
origins.
Android
has
a
modified
Linux

kernel,
and
it
requires
Java
as
its
programming

language [2].

iOS
is
a
mobile
variant
of
the
Mac
OS
X
desktop

operating
system,
and
similarly
to
Android,
it’s
a

Unix
like
OS,
but
it
uses
Objective-C
as
its
primary

programming language [3].

II . NATIVE APPLICATIONS

The
most
common
type
of
app.
They
are
built
for

specific
platforms
and
are
written
in
languages
native

for
the
platform,
for
example,
Swift
and
Objective-C

for
native
iOS
apps
and
Java
or
Kotlin
for
native

Android
apps.
Native
apps
are
also
built
using
the

specific
Integrated
Development
Environment
(IDE)

for the given operating systems.[4]

App
developers
are
provided
by
Apple
and
Google

with
their
own
development
tools,
interface
elements,

and SDK.

Native
apps
are
installed
via
the
platform
specific

application
marketplace
App
Store
for
iOS
and

Google Play Android.

Most
companies
will
invest
in
native
mobile
app

development
because
of
the
multitude
of
benefits

offered.

Advantages of Native
​
Applications

●
They are distributed in app stores

●
Very
fast
and
responsive
because
they
are

built for a specific platform

●
They have the best performance

●
More
interactive,
intuitive
and
run
better
in

terms of user input and output

●
Allows
to
access
the
full
feature
set
of
the

given platform

●
Ability to operate offline

●
Better security & reliability

●
Overall
better
user
experience
due
to

platform specific UI standards

Disadvantages of Native
​
Applications

●
Difficult
programming
languages,
needed

experienced developers

●
More
expensive
to
develop,
especially
when

multiple
platforms
are
required,
each

platform needs its own app

●
Complex maintenance

●
The necessity of capable tech specialists

●
30% commissions from app marketplaces

●
Not the best option for very simple apps

III . WEB APPLICATIONS

Web
applications
are
basically
websites
with

interactivity
that
feels
similar
to
a
mobile
app.
Web

apps
load
in
browsers
like
Chrome,
Safari,
or
Firefox,

and
don’t
need
to
be
downloaded
from
app
stores
like

mobile apps[5].

​
Typically,
web
apps
are
built
in
JavaScript,
CSS,
and

HTML5
and
other
libraries
and
frameworks.
There
is

no
software
development
kit
for
developers
to
use,

however,
there
are
templates
that
developers
can

work with.

Changing
the
design
or
content
of
a
mobile
website

consists
of
publishing
your
edits
once,
after
which

they’ll be immediately visible to all users.

Advantages of Web
​
Applications

●
Straightforward and quick to build

●
Inexpensive to develop initially

●
One
app
for
all
platforms
–
iOS,
Android,

etc

●
Easy
to
maintain,
updates
are
done
once
for

all
platforms
users
do
not
need
to
download

the latest version

●
Installation
is
not
required,
and
do
not
use

space on the devices storage

Disadvantages of Web
​
Applications

●
Requires
a
browser
to
run
and
internet

connection

●
Much slower than native apps

●
Users
don’t
have
the
automatically

downloaded
to
their
home
screens,
so
they

won’t
be
constantly
reminded
to
use
your

app

●
Less
interactive
and
intuitive
than
native

apps

●
No
icon
on
the
mobile
desktop
as
you
would

if it were downloaded from app stores

●
Cannot
access
device
utilities
and

platform-features
(camera,
accelerometer,

contacts, etc.)

IV. HYBRID APPLICATIONS

Hybrid
apps
are
essentially
a
combination
of
native

and
web
apps.
A
hybrid
app
consists
of
two
parts:
the

first
is
the
back-end
code,
and
the
second
is
a
native

shell
that
is
downloadable
and
loads
the
code
using
a

webview. [6]
 
Hybrid
apps
are
less
expensive
than
native
apps,

don’t
require
a
browser,
and
can
leverage
device

APIs;
however,
they’re
slower
than
native
apps
and

are
not
customizable
to
individual
platforms
like

native apps.

A
hybrid
app
combines
elements
of
both
native
and

web
applications.
Hybrid
apps
can
be
distributed

through
the
app
stores
just
like
a
native
app,
and
they

can
incorporate
operating
system
features.
Like
a
web

app,
hybrid
apps
can
also
use
cross-compatible
web

technologies.[7]

There
are
multiple
development
tools
available
for

the development of hybrid applications:

●
PhoneGap & Apache Cordova

●
Ionic

●
Xamarin

●
NativeScript

Advantages of Hybrid Applications

●
Easier and faster to develop than native apps

●
One single code base to maintain

●
Flexible
UX/UI
development
for
smaller

projects

●
Can use cross-compatible web technologies

●
Cost-efficient for simple projects

●
Access
to
some
or
most
device
utilities
and

platform-features
(camera,
accelerometer,

contacts, etc.)

Disadvantages of Hybrid
​
Applications

●
Less performance compared to native apps

●
Possible user experience issues

●
Possible integration problems

●
Possible issues with the app stores

V.
COMPARISON
NATIVE
VS
WEB
VS

HYBRID

Native
applications
offer
full
access
to
the
platform

capabilities
and
are
the
best
in
term
of
performance

and
stability
compared
to
hybrid
and
web.
It
is
more

costly
to
develop
due
to
the
language
restrictions
and

the
time
required
it
also
requires
one
app
for
each
of

the targeted platforms.

WEB
applications
are
quicker
to
develop
and
not
as

costly
they
also
work
on
all
platforms
that
support
a

web
browser
also
easy
to
maintain,
on
the
other
hand

they
don’t
have
access
to
the
platform
capabilities
,

the
performance
is
greatly
surpassed
by
the
Native

applications
they
also
require
internet
connection
to

work.
The
UX/UI
is
not
the
same
it
differs
on
each

device
screen
size
and
OS
version,
this
can
cause

difficult to fix Bugs.

The
Hybrid
application
are
the
middle
ground
they

are
less
expensive
to
produce
compared
to
the
Native

applications
and
have
access
to
some
if
not
most

platform
specific
capabilities,
yet
the
performance
is

not
as
high
and
due
to
the
web
technologies
used

compatibility bug are more probable to appear.

VI. CONCLUSIONS

All
three
methods
of
mobile
applications

development
presented
are
viable
and
used
today
,
as

for
declaring
a
best
method
that
is
not
a
simple

matter.

Depending
on
the
desired
outcome
of
the
application,

the
available
development
time
and
the
available

budget
one
of
them
will
be
better
compared
to
the

others, in that particular situation.

In
my
opinion
the
best
approach
depends
on
each

particular
mobile
application
desired.
If
the

application
don’t
require
platform
specific

functionalities
then
web
applications
can
suffice,
they

are
also
less
costly
to
develop
across
multiple

platforms.
If
platform
specific
functionalities
are

required
then
the
choice
is
between
Hybrid
and

Native,
here
the
criterias
of
available
budget
and
time

as
well
as
performance
will
be
the
major
factors
to

influence the choice.

REFERENCES

[1]
https://www.techopedia.com/definition/3391/mob
ile-operating-system-mobile-os

[2]
http://www.techopedia.com/definition/4219/andr
oid-platform

[3]
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/IOS

[4]
https://clearbridgemobile.com/mobile-app-develo
pment-native-vs-web-vs-hybrid/

[5]
https://getgist.com/difference-between-native-vs-
web-vs-hybrid-apps/

[6]
https://medium.com/@MLSDevCom/native-app-
development-vs-hybrid-and-web-app-building-65
23f128d621

[7]
https://www.archer-soft.com/en/blog/native-vs-h
ybrid-vs-mobile-web-apps