Beyond the Surface: The Reality of Native Mobile Apps

Have you ever thought about developing your own mobile app? Are you hesitating over the technology to use, or whether to choose a 'native' app? Before making your choice, it’s important to understand what happens behind the scenes.

To help you see the full picture, here are some of the downsides to native development that make other options much more cost-effective and practical:

High costs and long development times
Developing for each platform requires specific expertise. Using a cross-platform framework for both Android and iOS may accelerate the process, but it still doesn't bypass the inherent challenges of mobile development.

Complex maintenance and updates
Updates must go through app stores, which can make the process long and complex.Your application is therefore tied to these platforms: if their policies change, failure to adapt immediately could result in your app being delisted.

Moreover, long validation delays can be a major hurdle. Stores often require library updates that are so difficult to implement that starting over from scratch can seem more appealing than trying to fix the existing code.

Users don't always update immediately, meaning your server-side logic must maintain backward compatibility to ensure that data remains consistent across various legacy versions of the app.

Compatibility
Even with libraries like React Native, notable discrepancies between platforms frequently occur. Achieving uniformity is a complex task, as every platform possesses its own unique specifications.

Permission Management
Native apps frequently require extensive access rights. This can trigger privacy concerns, prompting users to refuse permissions or abandon the installation entirely.

Testing Cycles
Native apps require thorough testing for each platform, significantly extending development timelines. These testing phases require meticulous attention and patience, as deploying the app can often be time-consuming.

In addition, some users may face device-specific issues, while no problems are detected for others.

Development tools
The iOS development is tied to the macOS ecosystem. Without a Mac, you cannot run simulations or perform testing on physical Apple devices.

Running the latest version of Xcode requires an up-to-date Mac for both simulation and physical device testing. Essentially, an aging Mac quickly becomes obsolete for development; it might make a good doorstop, but it won't help you build applications for the newest mobile hardware.

Build & Physical Device Testing:
While simulator testing is straightforward, deploying to physical hardware is far more challenging. It demands significant patience and occasionally requires complex, unconventional adaptations.

App Store Management
After development, the challenge continues. Navigating store requirements is a hurdle of its own, from formatting pixel-perfect screenshots to meeting every specific and unconventional demand from the platforms.

An Alternative to... native?

It is clear that if your project doesn't absolutely require native functionality, we recommend a versatile approach blending the best of web and mobile: the Progressive Web App (PWA).

But what exactly is a PWA? It’s a web-based application designed to provide a user experience comparable to native mobile apps. The main difference is that a PWA is not downloaded from an app store (like Google Play or the App Store), but is instead accessed through a web browser. Users can install it directly to their home screen, mirroring the behavior of a classic app. Modern PWAs provide nearly identical capabilities to native versions, with only minor restrictions on certain hardware features (such as camera access, geolocation, or push notifications).

This approach is both more budget-friendly and hassle-free, since it is powered by web technologies:

• Single codebase for all platforms
• Consistent user experience across devices
• No hardware restrictions
• Instant updates
• Less stress and more peace of mind for developers

In conclusion, a PWA requires less development time and is therefore more cost-effective, while retaining all the benefits of web applications.

You’ve seen the picture: native mobile applications are essentially a mix of heavy constraints and black magic.

Before you launch, you must assess whether your app genuinely benefits from being on the stores, or if there are unique technical requirements that only a native solution can satisfy.