Native Apps vs. Web Apps

Question: Discuss the difference between the native apps and web apps. Answer: Introduction In this essay, the native apps and web apps have been mutually compared in terms of various factors related to them and the operating systems (Android Authority 2015). The objective of this essay is to find the right app platform for mobile operating systems. Native Apps vs. Web Apps Development Tools Native Apps Web Apps Support They generally have low support from the developers end. However, the developers generally provide regular updates for improving the quality or modify the app. Web apps have high support from developers. Although regular updates or patches are not provided, any issues faced are addressed quickly (Charland and Leroux 2011). Total Cost of Ownership Total cost of ownership is high since these apps are designed by the developer for the specific platform. The developer is responsible for any changes or effects of the apps as well (Jobe 2013). Total cost of ownership is low since the app is hosted to a network browser or similar applications for an operating system. Here, the developer only develops the apps; the responsibilities of effects will be of both developer and host. Access to and the Power of APIs provided Native apps have more access to APIs; they must follow to guidelines and protocols provided. For these apps, high-powered APIs are provided. Web apps have low access to APIs. However, they have some different sets of guidelines and protocols that must be followed properly (Serrano, Hernantes and Gallardo 2013). Ease of Use vs. Flexibility of the tools The apps are easy to use only if their user interfaces are good; in other cases, they are difficult to use, mainly for the new users. The tools are not very flexible for the native apps (Sin, Lawson and Kannoorpatti 2012). These apps are easy to use, have good user interface and the tools are flexible. Support for Single or Multiple Target Platforms These apps are generally developed for one particular platform and hence have no support for multiple target platforms. These apps generally have support for multiple target platforms. Quality and Availability of Support and Documentation Quality of support is good; documentations are available in the case of the most genuine developers. Quality of support is poor in many cases; documentations are not available in most of the web apps (Puder, Tillmann and Moskal 2014). Availability of Potential Staff familiar with the Platform Potential staffs familiar with the platform are not easily available. Potential staffs, familiar with the platform, are available. The likely future path the platform might take The likely future path of the platform depends on the development and quality of the apps available. Users prefer the platform that has the most app support and variety in the apps. The future path of the platform do not generally depend on the web apps. Reasoned Argument After the analysis of the previous comparison, it can be said that native apps are most suitable for mobile software platforms. There are several reasons behind the choice. These are: Native apps are more reliable in the mobile platforms. Moreover, mobile phones have some distinct operating system for which these apps can be developed. Again, if the apps can be utilized for increasing the popularity of the OS, the app developer can get support from the OS company. Native apps utilize less data in comparison to web apps. This is another reason for utilizing native apps instead of web apps. In native apps, regular updates and patches are provided to solve issues or modify the existing features. On the other hand, web apps have to be redownloaded completely in order to update to the latest version. Although low support is available in native apps, they are more viable, have wide range of applications and attractive user interface. Native apps are much more reliable than the web apps although there have been many cases of fraud developers. Native apps follow strict protocols and are less vulnerable to unauthorized access or unethical hacking. All these points favor the use of native apps in the mobile operating systems. However, there are many issues as well that are not found in the web apps. Still, the native apps are to be preferred because the use of less data, attractive user interface and faster operations (Jobe 2013). The existing issues can be mitigated through suitable planning and new updates that help in enhancing the quality of the app. Conclusion From the essay, it is evident that native apps are most suitable for mobile platforms because of the different factors discussed in the essay. References Android Authority, 2015. HTML5 vs Native Android App. [online] Available at: https://www.androidauthority.com/html-5-vs-native-android-app-607214/ [Accessed 29 May 2016]. Charland, A. and Leroux, B., 2011. Mobile application development: web vs. native.Communications of the ACM,54(5), pp.49-53. Jobe, W., 2013. Native Apps Vs. Mobile Web Apps.iJIM,7(4), pp.27-32. Puder, A., Tillmann, N. and Moskal, M., 2014, June. Exposing native device APIs to web apps. InProceedings of the 1st International Conference on Mobile Software Engineering and Systems(pp. 18-26). ACM. Serrano, N., Hernantes, J. and Gallardo, G., 2013. Mobile web apps.Software, IEEE,30(5), pp.22-27. Sin, D., Lawson, E. and Kannoorpatti, K., 2012, June. Mobile Web Apps-The Non-programmer's Alternative to Native Applications. InHuman System Interactions (HSI), 2012 5th International Conference on(pp. 8-15). IEEE.