Native Development vs Cross-Platform: Which is better?

Firstly - a little explainer for anyone who’s not familiar with this terminology. Native development is the practice of creating an application specifically for one platform, using the native programming language for that platform. For example, the main players are iOS and the programming language Swift with development environment XCode, and Android with their preferred languages Java or Kotlin with development environment Android Studio.?

If an application needs to run on both Android and iOS, native development would see separate teams work on 2 separate apps. Cross-platform development is development in which a cross-platform language is used to create 1 app which works across both Android and iOS with the same codebase. This is achieved by using frameworks, runtimes, libraries, or tools that allow developers to write code once and deploy it across different platforms. There are languages for this, such as Flutter, Xamarin and React Native.

To the untrained eye, a codebase that works across both platforms would appear to be much less time and labour intensive, presumably having cost benefits, so it’s no surprise that clients often consider this as a viable option. However, there are many benefits to taking the time to build apps natively. Let’s take a look.?

Native development is simpler

A native app is always going to be simpler than a cross-platform app, except for very basic applications. It isn’t always possible or desirable for the Android and iOS apps to be identical to each other, and in a cross-platform app, this means additional logic to check which platform the app is installed on, and customising the behaviour based on this. This is important for a couple of reasons: it is easier to keep a simple app bug free and functioning well, and a simpler codebase is easier to work on, improving agility.?

Keeping an app bug free and performant is obviously beneficial for the end user, but there is also a business impact. For example - if an app on the Google Play Store suffers from crashes or is slow to load, Google will rank that app lower on the Play Store, making it less likely that users will find it, so it has benefits for more than just the end user to keep the app running smoothly, and native development assists with reliability.

Features can be developed faster

The second advantage is that features can be developed faster, and this deserves more explanation. Some of this complexity can be avoided by using cross-platform libraries or by keeping the app as similar for both platforms as possible, but it is not always possible to keep the app identical for each platform.?

Different platform requirements and APIs force the Android and iOS apps to diverge, and different routes are taken to achieve the same thing across different platforms due to the difference in OS. For example, when using Bluetooth, if the app is running on an Android 11 device, it will need to request the fine location permission and the Bluetooth permission, whereas iOS does not need a location permission but does still need Bluetooth permission. Requesting the Bluetooth permission will be done in different ways for the different platforms, so separate logic is needed for each. Checking the state of whether permission is granted or not is also done in a different way for each platform.

Another thing to consider is that cross-platform apps cannot work alongside the mobileOS feature sets like watchOS and Android Wear, widgets and Instant Apps, to name a few. Apps can integrate with a multitude of other on-device services and their supporting ecosystems. Native development ensures compatibility to these on each respective platform.?

It might be desirable for the apps to diverge based on the platform

?For the best user experience, an iOS app should feel like an iOS app, and an Android app should feel like an Android app. When making a native app, it is straightforward to optimise the look and feel for the platform, however additional logic and complexity is needed to customise the UI for a cross-platform app. The Android and iOS platforms are continually evolving, as Google and Apple strive to implement features that make new things possible and make existing functionality easier or nicer to use. It is definitely possible to take advantage of these new platform features on a cross-platform app, but more custom logic for handling how the app diverges between the two platforms will be needed to do this.

Cross-platform frameworks come and go

Another reason to choose native over cross-platform, is that many cross-platform frameworks have come and gone over the years. This can be seen by comparing three of the better known cross-platform options on Google Trends: Xamarin, React Native, and Flutter.

In 2015, Xamarin was a popular choice for cross-platform development, but this same year, the first release of React was made available. Interest in Xamarin peaked in 2017, the same year Flutter was first released, and by 2019, interest in React Native overtook Xamarin, but interest in Flutter was rising rapidly. Only one year later, in 2020, interest in Flutter overtook React Native, and by 2022, Flutter had also overtaken React Native in popularity on the Stack Overflow Developer Survey: Cross-platform mobile frameworks used by global developers 2022 | Statista. Xamarin is now being phased out and replaced with .NET MAUI, and users will have to migrate their projects over to the new platform.

More recently, Kotlin Multi-platform has been on the rise, and could be set to dethrone Flutter in a few years time.?

If you build a cross-platform app, in several years, you might find yourself in a situation where nobody uses the technology your app is based on any more. Libraries you depend on are no longer maintained, and it has become difficult to hire developers that are proficient with the framework your app is written with. Native development has been a lot more stable.

Despite the perceived convenience and speed of cross-platform development, it seems that extra groundwork and the development of apps natively have more benefits further down the line, future-proofing your application and ensuring a seamless user experience for your users. Investing in native app development provides a solid foundation for long-term success, ensuring the continued relevance and effectiveness of your app.

Coderus has extensive experience in native development, with dedicated teams for both iOS and Android development. With 25 years of experience, it's assured that we can help you with your mobile app project. Get in touch!